6-Day Drive 9 Swiss Passes, Glacier Express Route +Stelvio, Italy

The main event here is simple: you get behind the wheel of a Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 Roadster and drive through some of the Alps’ great roads. Over six days, the route links Furka, Oberalp, Julier, Stelvio, Bernina, Albula, Klausen, and other high passes with glacier views, deep gorges, old monasteries, and the scenic stretch followed by the Glacier Express.

I like the freedom of a self-led trip, since you can stop for photos, coffee, walks, or a longer look at St. Moritz without following a group. I also like the careful support: Stephan provides the road book, programmed GPS, hotel arrangements, car delivery, and WhatsApp or phone help. The main drawback is the price, $11,629.51 for two, before fuel, parking, meals, taxes, and admission fees.

Key details before you book

• Nine major Alpine passes: Drive Susten, Grimsel, Furka, Oberalp, Julier, Fuorn, Stelvio, Bernina, Albula, and Klausen, with the exact route affected by road conditions.
• A Porsche made for mountain roads: The 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 Roadster is provided for 96 hours, with mileage included.
• Five nights in luxury hotels: Two nights are at the Renaissance Zurich Hotel, two at GrandHotel Kronenhof in Pontresina, and one at The Chedi in Andermatt.
• A private trip for two: You set the pace instead of sharing a vehicle or following a large coach group.
• The best route sections: Furka gives you the famous Goldfinger view, Stelvio delivers 48 hairpins, and Oberalp follows the Glacier Express route.
• Costs to plan for: Fuel, parking, tourism taxes, meals, travel insurance, and paid sights are extra.

Why this Porsche route works for Alpine driving

This is not a standard sightseeing tour with a bus, fixed meal stops, and a guide waving you toward the next photo stop. You receive a Porsche, a programmed GPS, an English road book, and a personal briefing at your Zurich hotel. Then you drive.

That arrangement matters in the Alps. The roads are the attraction, not just the way to reach an attraction. A bend above a reservoir may be worth ten minutes. A glacier viewpoint may deserve an hour. With your own car, you can make those choices.

The route also has a useful balance. You get dramatic driving on high passes, but the days include places where you can leave the car behind for a while. Aare Gorge offers a walk through narrow rock walls. The Abbey of Saint John in Müstair brings medieval art and quiet. The Albula Railway Museum adds a look at the engineering behind the famous mountain railway.

You should understand the format, though. This is a road trip with support, not a daily guided excursion. Your briefing and navigation tools do much of the work. If you want a guide beside you explaining every valley and monument, this is not the right style of trip.

Day one in Zurich: briefing before the mountain roads

The experience begins at 5pm at the Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel. You meet the team, receive the Porsche, go over the route, and get your road book and programmed GPS.

The first hotel is practical for meeting and collecting the car, but its setting is a weak point. It is in Zurich’s industrial section, away from the historic center and from a good range of restaurants. If you arrive early, do not assume the hotel location gives you a pleasant old-town evening. Plan your Zurich sightseeing separately.

The two nights in Zurich are useful as a soft start and finish, but they also mean the tour does not rush straight into the mountains. That may suit you if you are arriving from a long flight or want time to settle in. If you are focused only on Alpine roads, the city nights feel less exciting than the mountain hotels.

Day two: Lake Lucerne, Susten, Grimsel, Furka, and Andermatt

The first driving day gives you a strong introduction to Swiss mountain roads. The route heads toward Lake Lucerne through green meadows and rolling hills before reaching roads cut into steep mountain sides.

Near Weggis, you get one of the classic views associated with Lake Lucerne. The stop is brief, around 20 minutes, so treat it as a first look rather than a full lake visit. If you want a longer stay, you will need to manage the day carefully.

Susten Pass is one of the driving highlights. Its road includes 26 bridges and tunnels cut through the rock, with the route climbing toward the Gotthard area. This is exactly the kind of road that makes a Porsche useful, although you still need to drive with care. Hairpins, tunnels, cyclists, motorcycles, and changing weather all share the road.

At Stein Glacier, you pause for views of the ice. The stop is also brief, so the value here comes from the setting rather than a long activity. You then reach Aare Gorge, where a short walk takes you between impressive rock formations. The suggested stop is about two hours, and admission is not included.

Aare Gorge is a good reminder that this tour is not only about speed. Bring practical walking shoes and allow enough time to enjoy the path. The road book can move you from pass to pass, but the best memories may come from getting out of the car.

Grimsel Pass follows with granite walls, tunnels, reservoirs, and a steady series of bends. The road leads toward the Furka Pass, and the two work well together as one long mountain-driving section.

A stop in Andermatt lets you stroll among wooden houses before reaching the Rhone Glacier. The glacier visit includes a 100-meter blue ice tunnel and ice chamber cut into the glacier each spring, dating back to around 1870. Admission is extra, and the suggested visit lasts about an hour.

Furka Pass is the dramatic finish to the day. From the famous viewpoint, you can see the same general setting used for Sean Connery’s Aston Martin scene in the 1964 film Goldfinger. The movie connection is fun, but the real reward is the high road, wide views, and sense of crossing the Alps under your own power.

The night at The Chedi in Andermatt gives this demanding day a comfortable finish. You cover a lot of ground and should not treat every listed stop as mandatory. If you linger at Aare Gorge or the glacier, you may need to shorten other photo stops.

Day three: the Glacier Express route and Engadine

Day three follows the scenic route of the Glacier Express toward Oberalp Pass. At 2,033 meters, Oberalp is the highest point on the famous rail route. You are driving the road beside scenery many people see from a panoramic train window.

The Benedictine monastery at Disentis is a worthwhile cultural pause. It sits in the Vorderrheintal valley where the Lukmanier and Oberalp passes meet. The suggested stop is 45 minutes, and admission is extra. This gives the day a change of pace after the road work.

At the Il Spir viewing platform, you look into the Rhine Gorge and toward its horseshoe bend. The stop is short, around ten minutes, but it is one of the route’s best viewpoints. If you have a fear of heights, you may want to take your time and stay within your comfort zone.

Pradaschier adds a playful stop: Switzerland’s longest toboggan run. The visit is planned for about two hours, with admission extra. It is not essential if your priority is driving, but it gives the day a welcome family-style activity and breaks up the mountain roads.

Julier Pass takes you into the Engadine Valley at 2,284 meters. The road climbs high before the route reaches Pontresina. You can also make a one-hour stop in St. Moritz for a walk by the lake, coffee, and views toward the surrounding mountains.

Pontresina is a calmer base than St. Moritz. You remain close to the resort town while staying in a quieter mountain setting. The GrandHotel Kronenhof is your base for two nights, giving you time to slow the pace after the first two driving days.

The two nights here are one of the tour’s best planning choices. You are not packing every morning, and you have a comfortable base for the Engadine roads. Still, the day is full. Oberalp, Disentis, Rhine Gorge, Pradaschier, Julier, St. Moritz, and Pontresina can become a checklist if you try to do everything.

Day four: Swiss National Park, Müstair, and Stelvio

Day four crosses toward Italy. You can stop to learn about the flora and animals of Switzerland’s only national park, although the details of that optional stop are not fixed. The Fuorn Pass then becomes your route into the Italian Tyrol.

The Abbey of Saint John in Müstair is a UNESCO World Heritage site, recognized for its well-preserved Carolingian art. The planned visit is about 20 minutes, with admission extra. That is enough for a first look, but not a detailed museum visit.

Then comes the day’s headline road: Stelvio Pass. The route has 48 numbered hairpins over 47 kilometers and climbs to 2,757 meters. It is famous for its tight zigzags and high mountain setting, but the road is not a private racetrack. You need patience, clean lines, and awareness of other vehicles.

The Porsche makes the climb memorable, but the experience depends more on your driving style than on speed. Take the hairpins steadily, pull over only where permitted, and leave time to enjoy the views. A road this famous can also be busy, and the turns are not forgiving.

The Bernina Pass follows, running parallel to the UNESCO-listed Rhaetian Railway. This is another strong pairing of driving and engineering. You may see trains crossing viaducts elsewhere on the route, which adds a human scale to the mountain setting.

This day crosses an international border, so keep your schedule flexible. The route is weather dependent, and high passes can be affected by conditions. The provider requires a minimum driver age of 23, and a CHF 3,000 credit card deposit is required for the car.

Day five: Albula, railway engineering, and Klausen

Day five returns to the roads around the Albula Pass. The route follows the Albula River and climbs toward Bergün, with a canyon view and a series of bends near the cliffs.

The Albula Railway Museum gives the day more depth. The railway follows the pass for part of the route, and the museum explains the line’s mountain engineering. Admission is not included, and the suggested stop lasts an hour.

If you are lucky with timing, you may see a train crossing one of the stone viaducts. That moment shows why this part of Switzerland is more than a collection of pretty roads. The railway, tunnels, bridges, and passes all reveal how people have connected these valleys over difficult terrain.

Klausen Pass is the final major driving section. It links Altdorf in Uri with Linthal in Glarus, rises to 1,948 meters, and includes 136 curves over 46 kilometers. It is close enough to Zurich to work as a final Alpine road before returning to the city.

The suggested stop is only around ten minutes, and admission is listed as not included, so check the road book and local conditions for the exact plan. Day five may feel less polished than the earlier days because it is more of a return route, but Klausen gives you one last serious mountain drive.

Day six and the practical cost of the trip

Day six is at leisure, followed by departure to your next destination. The car is collected at the hotel, so you do not need to find a separate rental office.

The price is $11,629.51 per group of up to two people. That is a large sum, but it covers the things that make a self-drive holiday difficult to arrange yourself: a Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0, 96 hours of rental, mileage, insurance, hotel delivery and collection, five-star accommodation, GPS, the English road book, a briefing, private transport, and phone or WhatsApp support.

It does not cover fuel, parking, hotel tourism taxes, meals, admission fees, or travel insurance. Those extras will not change the basic value calculation, but they do affect your final budget. You should also remember the CHF 3,000 deposit and the age rule before booking.

For two people who want a luxury driving holiday and would otherwise spend time arranging hotels, rental insurance, border travel, and mountain roads, the package can make financial sense. For someone mainly seeking Swiss scenery, it is expensive. You could see much of the route by train or ordinary rental car for far less.

Who should choose this six-day Alpine drive?

I would choose this trip if you care as much about the road as the destination. You should enjoy driving, be comfortable with mountain bends, and accept that weather can change plans.

It suits a couple celebrating a major anniversary or another important occasion. One past booking involved a two-week Porsche trip arranged with help on car delivery, hotel reservations, government forms, and GPS directions. This six-day version is shorter, but the same kind of careful planning is part of its appeal.

It also works for people who want privacy. Only your group participates, and the vehicle is for up to two people. You can stop at St. Moritz, Aare Gorge, the national park, or the railway museum according to your own interests.

I would think twice if you dislike driving, want nightlife and historic city centers, or expect all activities and meals to be included. The Zurich hotel location is not ideal for exploring on foot, and the schedule can feel packed if you try to complete every stop.

Cancellation is flexible only up to a point. You receive a full refund if you cancel at least six full days before the start time, a 50 percent refund two to six days before, and no refund less than two days before. Poor weather can lead to a different date or a full refund.

FAQ

Where does the tour start?

It starts at the Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel, Turbinenstrasse 20, 8005 Zürich, Switzerland.

Where does the tour end?

The experience ends back at the meeting point.

How long does the experience last?

The driving holiday lasts six days and includes five nights.

How many people can join the private tour?

The price covers one group of up to two people.

What Porsche is provided?

You receive a Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 Roadster for 96 hours.

Is there a minimum driver age?

Yes. The minimum driver age is 23.

Is insurance included?

Comprehensive car insurance is included. Travel insurance is not included.

Are fuel and parking included?

No. You pay separately for fuel and parking.

Are meals included?

No. Lunch and dinner are not included.

Are admission fees included?

No. Admission fees for places such as Aare Gorge, the Rhone Glacier ice tunnel, the Disentis monastery, Pradaschier, the Abbey of Saint John, and the Albula Railway Museum are extra.

Should you book this Porsche Alpine tour?

Book it if the thought of driving Stelvio’s 48 hairpins, crossing Furka under your own control, and following the Glacier Express route sounds better than sitting back on a coach. The Porsche, luxury hotels, private format, GPS, and personal support give you a rare level of freedom with much of the planning handled.

Skip it if the cost feels uncomfortable or if you want a relaxed sightseeing holiday with little driving. For the right couple, this is a memorable Alpine road trip. For everyone else, the price may be paying for a dream you do not really need.