How To Travel Switzerland On A Budget – Essential tips for budget travel in Switzerland, one of the most expensive countries in the world! After 6 trips (3 with kids) to Alpine and Chocolateland, I have 10 tips for budget travel in Switzerland to make your trip more affordable. Using these tips, our recent trip in August 2021 for 9 days in Switzerland cost our family 4 less than 5 days at Disney World.
This website uses affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase, I will earn you a small commission on any additional cost.
How To Travel Switzerland On A Budget
As the sign in our Zurich Marriott Hotel room says, it’s “Clean, Healthy, 0 Plastic, Fresh, Organic, Safe to Drink, Tap Water!” The water in Switzerland is some of the best in the world (and often bottled and sold for a lot of $$) Take a reusable water bottle with you wherever you go, in a city or in the Alps Take it and fill it up at the water fountains. My kids love taking turns drinking the crisp mountain water and the savings add up!
Switzerland Travel Tips: How To Save Money For Train, Food, And More
Bonus tip: We used our Marriott Bonus points to stay at this beautiful hotel for a free night on the way to the airport. Very useful because hotels in Zurich are very expensive.
There is no shortage of souvenir and gift shops in tourist areas, but prices can be high. In 2021 I saw a postcard for 3 francs, a cowbell for 13 francs and a chain for 20 francs. But hit the Swiss budget travel hack for grocery stores. Many Aldi Suisse, Coop and Migros grocery chains are stocked with Swiss chocolates, treats, souvenirs and more. On our recent trip, I bought Alpine tea and Alpine salt for gifts to take home to our family for less than 3 francs each … plus 15 bars of delicious Swiss chocolate!
Eating out is one of the main expenses of a trip to Switzerland and I cannot recommend Aldi Suisse enough. We also planned our trip to Switzerland based on Aldi locations! (Aldi Suisse Interlaken has a special place in my heart as we visited in 2017, 2019 and 2021!) The produce is extremely fresh and there are many organic options marked ‘Bio’ in German with the ladybug symbol . We usually buy frozen schnitzel, pasta, fresh bread, granola bars for the hike, and all the fruits and vegetables we want before we head into the Jungfrau region.
When we were in Switzerland eating out as a family was more expensive than anywhere else we went! At a sit-down restaurant, it’s usually around $80-$100 USD, though it’s not fancy. I saw a regular pizza in Grindelwald for 24 Swiss francs, so take away! For our family, the best way to cut costs was to find an apartment through Airbnb and Booking.com. We ate all our breakfasts and most dinners in the apartment. We usually had a simple lunch out in the mountains if we were hiking or in town if we were visiting. Typically, bratwurst, schnitzel or pizza can cost anywhere from $8-$20 per entree.
Switzerland On A Budget: How To Travel In A Campervan
Along with the bread, we took out our travel coffee mugs and made our own coffee every morning. (We use this Philo mug every day at home in Virginia and Switzerland and it worked great! Swiss is quite good but very expensive! Espresso was never less than 2.50 CHF and in the mountains, in Jungfrau it once It was $4.50.espresso!(It was necessary to spend after a long walk but glad not to have to pay every day!)
For most places we’ve traveled, I have an “I bought there” approach. I buy diapers, shampoo, and sunscreen if I need to pack light to save space. But these things can be more expensive in Switzerland than in the US or other parts of Europe. I read an article that it was due to low competition. So especially for lotions, shampoos, etc. I would suggest taking your essentials with you. Everything is available in Switzerland, but it can add up!
Speaking of mountains, a great way to save money is to take the train or cable car and then walk down a mountain. Two great places to do this are to drive from the car-free town of Wengen to the Lauterbrunnen Valley (about 1 hour) or from Kleinscheidg to Wengen (a 1.5-hour walk). Train tickets can range from 13-40 CHF per ticket in some places so going down can save you half the fare!
The Swiss train system is world famous and not to be missed! Running trains run very efficiently and will take you anywhere in the country including the top of Europe! They can get expensive so check out the special passes they offer to see if they save you money. The good news is that children under the age of 5 are usually free, and some passes offer deep discounts for children under the age of 12. I will write a full blog post about this soon but Rick Steves has a great outline here for more information on the various aspects.
Essential Tips To Travel Switzerland On A Budget
Car rentals were actually very affordable for our family on the last 3 trips we took. A “home station” for our luggage and car seats was more convenient than transferring to each train.
Note: Swiss car rental companies are tight-lipped about any breakdowns or damage to their cars. I have seen them take white gloves to cars when they come back to find scratches so make sure you inspect your car before driving off and take pictures and mark any scratches.
Another piece of advice for budget travel to Switzerland is to stay outside the main tourist centers. This is true anywhere in the world, but especially in Switzerland. The main cities of Zurich and Geneva and the tourist centers of Interlaken and Grindelwald in the Alps are very expensive. Just living out can save you a lot less and you can get a bigger apartment. Below are some ideas:
Unfortunately, there are no easy Switzerland travel options for flights. All 3 of our trips with the kids were booked with points on United. We opened the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card and used the 40k bonus points. Twice we have used United points to book 3 point travel. Meaning we booked DC to Scotland, Ryan used Scotland to Switzerland and then Switzerland back to DC.
Switzerland On A Budget: How To Save Money
Points aside, the best deals I’ve seen for tickets have all been done well in advance, so time is your friend. I love Scott’s Cheap Flights for sharing cheap flights. This is a 100% free email newsletter that broadcasts cheap flights from the airports of your choice. Magnificent peaks, pristine green fields and wooden cabins, turquoise lakes – Switzerland is easily one of the most beautiful destinations in Europe. It also happens to be a big one
. While many people work on backpacking in the Swiss Alps, the price tags on food, transportation, lodging, and experiences make planning a weekend getaway or extended vacation a big hit on the wallet. But you can still save money and make your dream trip a reality – use these tips to do Switzerland on a budget.
Some of these links are affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through this link, I will receive a small commission on your additional purchase. Read my statement!
The currency used in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF). As of August 2022, 1 CHF equals $1.05 USD. And while the exchange rate is great, the cost of living in Switzerland is very different than in most of the US!
Travel Switzerland On A Budget
To put into perspective how much prices can vary in Switzerland, a Big Mac and McDonald’s 6-course chicken meal cost me 27 CHF in Switzerland. In America it will cost me 10 dollars!
One of the easiest ways to save money in Switzerland is to live like a local! Skip the restaurant and go to the grocery store for breakfast, packed lunches, and even regular grocery shopping if you have the means to cook at your residence.
While the Swiss lifestyle isn’t cheap and the prices of some items can still make you do a double take, you’ll still find more affordable food options here than some restaurants or takeaways in the area.
You are on your dream trip to Switzerland, so it is impossible to tell you not to try the local cuisine or eat good food all the time! But if saving is your biggest concern, you should try to avoid eating out for every meal and instead plan to go on a picnic or eat with your grocery store.
How To See The Matterhorn In Switzerland If You’re On A Budget
The secret to travel is… grocery store restaurants! I found out that at least two major grocery chains in Switzerland, Migros and Coop, also have their own IKEA dining areas. It may sound strange but they are a budget traveler’s dream!
Some are buffet style where you can stack your plate
How to travel switzerland, switzerland on a budget, where to stay in switzerland on a budget, how to travel on budget, budget travel to switzerland, how to visit switzerland on a budget, switzerland on budget, switzerland budget travel, travel switzerland on a budget, visit switzerland on a budget, budget trip to switzerland, how to travel switzerland on a budget