Switzerland: Tips for budget travellers!
When I researched Switzerland, I was worried by comments about how expensive it is, but don't worry!
Having just been, I can reassure you that it's really not too bad at all! Table service restaurants were pricey, as is meat at a supermarket, but overwise it's completely afforable for the budget traveller!
I had a 5 days 5 nights trip that covered a lot, including three main cities and two mountain days. I went to Lucerne, to Interlaken, to Bern, to Basil, as well as going up Mt. Rigi and Mt. Niederhorn, where I went cross country skiing and sledging respectively.
In total I spent £650. Transport (flights, trains, buses, cable cars, ferries, funicular train): cost me £150, £70 of which I spent on pre-booked tickets (flights, trains) and the remaining £80 for tickets on the day.
Accommodation (2 private airbnb's, 1 private room airbnb): cost me £180, for 5 nights.
Spending money: I choose to convert £400 (gets you 530 CHF), which was the right amount for me for 5 days and nights.
Flights
First off, I saved massively off the bat with super cheap return flights to Basel. Back in the beginning, when I had been flexible as to where to go, I had used skyscanner.net to find cheap flights. Among others, Basel popped up with a direct return for £20 from London Stansted. Unbelievable value. Book that straight up, then figure out the rest.
Trains
Next, I discovered I could make huge savings by purchasing ‘supersaver’ tickets in advance online on the official Swiss transport site, https://www.sbb.ch/en/ticketshop/. The typical cost for a short journey single ticket was 15 CHF / €15 / £10. I booked four single train tickets, which totalled £50. Note that you need a credit card to book on the website, a debit card won’t be accepted. That’s where your parents come in very handy, unless you are more grown-up than me and moved on from a debit card long ago.
The only downside is it ties to a specific time and train, so it is not flexible at all, but I figured that as you can choose virtually any time of the day for the train, there was no reason I couldn’t abide by my schedule. I booked trains leaving around 10 AM if I had plans at my destination that day, or at around 7 PM if I was leaving after a day of activities.
The major upsides were short travel times, as each train I took was roughly 1 hour in duration, plus the fact that the printed tickets listed my platform and train time, which was immensely helpful in arriving in time. It certainly helps your schedule when you know without a shadow of a doubt that the train will bang on time, every time. Screw you English trains, thank you kindly Swiss trains.
The Swiss Travel Pass
I had considered the expensive ‘all inclusive’ Swiss Pass. However, it is very expensive and is not quite the ‘golden ticket’. Offered in a variety of durations, the pass best suited me would have been the 4 day pass, which costs £245 for a youth ticket (ages 16-25), or otherwise £288 for an adult. That is a lot, even if you abuse Swiss transport like Mexicans abuse fair queuing (sorry, bad personal experience).
I spent £80 on 5 train singles and a ferry return. I spent change for the bus in Lucerne, but otherwise was given a free city bus and tram travel pass as standard by my accommodation in Bern and Basel. I spent £50 or so* on cable cars over two mountain days (*we slipped up one day on the mountains, paying more than was necessary on singles when we could have saved with a winter day ticket), which the Swiss Pass would only get you 50% off. So, in summary, on transport I spent roughly £130 over five days, being as mobile as reasonably possible, achieved with forward planning on train tickets but otherwise buying tickets on the day. Had I bought the Swiss Pass, I would have spent £245, an additional £25 on discounted cable cars, then a £10 train single for the day not covered by a 4 day pass, so a total of £280. Do the math!
Mountain Day Passes
Finally, as I eluded to earlier, inclusive winter day passes probably offer the best value for money when visiting mountains. On our day up Mt. Rigi, I had planned for a return cable car ticket, but the plan unravelled and we ended up buying an additional cable car ticket and a funicular train ticket. These singles were pricey. We could have bought a day pass for 47 CHF. Had we followed the plan we would have spent a faction less, but of course in hindsight the day pass would have included that safety net. We learnt our lesson well for our trip from Interlaken up to Beatenburg and up Mt. Niederhorn. I found an excellent value ticket, the Sledging Day Pass, which cost 51 CHF and could be bought at the Interlaken train station or tourist office. This included return bus travel from Interlaken to Beatenburg, unlimited cable car rides, sled rental and even a snack and drink at the mountain restaurant. I’ve been skiing and snowboarding, but I have to say that tobogganing/sledging is so much fun, it’s cheaper, easier and less tiring. It can also be done without all the additional gear; I wore robust trainers and thin waterproof trousers over jeans and it was fine. No uncomfortable boots, no salopettes.
Accommodation
As far as accommodation goes, I have had plenty of experience travelling at the low budget end of mixed dorms in youth hostels, usually costing £25-30 a night. Travelling with only one friend (the more friends, the better value you can get), I was more than happy to spend a little more to get fully private small apartments through airbnb.co.uk. I spent £40 a night for places like this, where you can relax, cook, sleep in, stretch out and generally chill out as you please. It’s not so good if you want to meet new people, as youth hostels are great for that, but on the other hand it’s great for additional facilities, privacy and the authentic experience of living in local neighbourhoods in homely accommodation.
If you are interested, here is a quick breakdown of the places where I stayed with a short review of each accommodation. I’d recommend all three.
This was our place in Lucerne. A nice, spacious, private, self-contained loft studio apartment. It was a little out from the city centre and we didn’t receive a free city travel pass so spent a little on buses, but the apartment itself was very nice and the host Marcus was very easy to arrange details with. He left some food and drink in the fridge and said we were welcome too it, which was really nice.
This was our place in Bern. This had to be the pick of the bunch with all the games available, such as snooker, table football and darts. It was also a very alternative style, one long room with a downstairs shower room and gym area. Johnny even swung by and gave us some free beers when I asked where I could get some after 5 PM when all the shops seemed to have closed (I could of only gone to the central station). Again, it was a little out of the city centre, but with the free travel pass this really wasn’t an issue.
This was a budget option as we were only there the one night and would pretty much only sleep there, with no downtime there. It was a basic private bedroom, although the small kitchen and shower on the top floor was good as it meant we didn’t have to worry about disturbing Jean downstairs. I’d take him up on his offer for breakfast, it’s not great, but that’s a continental breakfast for you. Oh, and Jean is very eccentric, so prepare to put up with a bit of a humorous ramble; we thought his best joke was when he warned us that ‘’the shower is wet, so be careful’’. He talks, you smile and listen, he’s harmless.