Mountain tourist bases in Switzerland are very popular among experienced tourists – less comfort, but plenty of unforgettable impressions.
Switzerland is among the most expensive countries in the world. But it is not for nothing that they say: forewarned is forearmed! The portal Swissinfo.ch offers several very specific tips that will help you have a fun and educational vacation in Switzerland without too much damage to your family budget.
In Switzerland, when talking about how expensive everything is here, they often use the concept of a "high-price island" ("eine Hochpreisinsel"), hinting at the "island" position of Switzerland, surrounded by EU countries where retail prices are noticeably lower than Swiss ones. For foreign tourists, the strong Swiss franc and the general high cost, especially recently, have become a serious obstacle. Many therefore refuse to travel to this country.
But that is a shame, because, as paradoxical as it may sound, there are also many opportunities here to spend time interestingly and without too much damage to your wallet. Yes, Switzerland was and, probably, will remain an expensive country, but our specific tips will help you not to refuse a trip to this country. So, here are our recommendations.
Choose the place and time of year
You can save money in Switzerland, and very noticeably, by avoiding the "beaten" standard tourist routes offered by ordinary tour operators. Do not believe them, it is better to read this material further.
A trip, for example, to the peaks of Jungfrau, Pilatus, Rigi will quickly punch a hole of several hundred dollars in your budget. The routes leading to these, no one argues, very interesting places, are specially designed to "pump" money out of tourists. There, the lifts, trains and restaurants are really expensive. But does this mean that besides Mount Pilatus there is nothing to see in Switzerland without damaging your finances? Nothing of the sort.
But first, think about when is the best time to come to Switzerland? Our advice is to come here in the summer. Warm weather will help you save significantly on food and accommodation, because in winter you are unlikely to be able to spend the night in a hayloft. And in summer it is quite possible to do so. If you still really want to go skiing, then choose small resorts, avoiding Davos, Zermatt or St. Moritz.
But if you want to save money but not comfort, you can, for example, go to the town of Ovronnaz in the canton of Valais. Never heard of it? Of course, few people know about it even outside the canton, and yet here you can rent a chalet very profitably and combine skiing with a wonderful thermal complex, in no way inferior to the same Leukerbad. And most importantly – no crowds of tourists. And there are many such places in Switzerland.
Transport issues
The Swiss Federal Railways ("Die Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen – SBB") offer tourists special "budget" fares and programs called "Swiss Travel Pass". You can purchase different types of "All-in-One" tickets.
For example, for 216 francs (at the time of publication of this material, the exchange rate of the Swiss franc was 1.04 US dollars or 0.90 euros) you can buy yourself the opportunity to travel unlimitedly throughout Switzerland for three consecutive days. By purchasing a "Swiss Half Fare Card" (cost for 1 month – 120 francs) you can buy travel tickets for trains, buses, steamships (and even some lifts) for half the price.
Do not forget that children under 6 years old can use transport in Switzerland for free. By obtaining a "Swiss Family Card", you can also bring children up to 16 years old with you for free.
However, our advice: it is best to travel around Switzerland on foot. Swiss cities are relatively small, historical centers can be easily walked around in a couple of hours. Many cities have free or extremely cheap bicycle rentals – Swiss cities are perfectly adapted for cycling.
Fuel for cars in Switzerland currently costs 1.46 francs per liter of 95-octane and 1.48 francs per liter of diesel. This is significantly more expensive than in the countries of the former Union, but cheaper than in the EU countries (do not forget, Switzerland is not an EU member, but a Schengen participant).
Parking is quite expensive in Switzerland, especially in underground parking lots. In the center of any city, there are always enough such parking lots – both aboveground and underground – although it is clear that arriving in the city on Saturday at 12 noon you may encounter a problem. For a day of parking in such "parkings" you can pay from 6 francs (Bern suburb Köniz) to 15 francs in Zurich. The most shamelessly overcharge in Geneva (20 francs per day).
Let us also remind you that there are no or almost no free parking lots in Switzerland. On the other hand, a motorist in the country is still considered by the authorities as a guest, not as an enemy and a cash cow. In the cities of the country, parking on streets and on curbs is divided by marking color into "white", "yellow" and "blue" zones.
The "white" zone is accessible to everyone for a fee. When parking in it, you need to find a parking meter (Parkuhr), select the duration of parking, insert the corresponding amount (sometimes you can pay with a regular credit card, no SMS messages that need to be sent somewhere, and other oddities), get a receipt and put it in a visible place in your car under the windshield.
The "yellow" zone, as a rule, is reserved for someone – for example, for employees of a given office building or for the disabled. God forbid you park in a disabled spot! The penalties will be immediate and harsh. No, even the most convincing excuses will help you.
The "blue" marking on the asphalt, as a rule, outlines the parking zone in residential areas for residents of a given area, designated by the corresponding postal code number. Residents must buy an annual permit costing 260 francs.
Guests can park, by the way, in the white zone, and for free on weekends (from 7:00 PM Friday to 7:00 AM Monday). For the blue zone, tourists can obtain a special "Guest Card" from the police or buy it at a machine. In Basel, it can recently even be ordered online and then simply printed out. Many residential complexes in Switzerland have special parking for guests – but for that you really need to be visiting one of the residents.
And by the way, don't forget to purchase in Switzerland, if you want to travel by car on expressways, the so-called "vignette" for 40 francs.
Where to stay overnight?
Hotels in Switzerland are expensive: from 80 to 200 francs per night per person. Want more expensive? No problem: finding a room for 300-400 francs is not difficult. The only advantageous point: many hotels cover the cost of local transport. But there are also budget hotels, which have recently united under the organization "Swiss Budget Hotels". Those who use the special booking platform have a chance to find a room even for less than 80 francs. And for those willing to sacrifice a certain degree of comfort, there are other options.
• First of all, camping. Compared to hotels, using campsites can be very inexpensive, although, of course, in Switzerland even this option can be relatively costly. The cost of using a campsite usually consists of a fee calculated based on the number of people and nights, as well as the type of overnight stay: in a tent it will be cheaper, in campers/motorhomes it will be more expensive. In any case, you should initially plan your route and familiarize yourself with the prices for using auto-camping services, because, as always in Switzerland, depending on the canton and region, prices can vary greatly. For example, a family with two children with their own car and tent will pay at the "Campingplatz Eichholz" campsite in the Bern suburb of Wabern 36.5 francs per night.
• It will be cheaper only if you want to sleep somewhere "in the wild", which is not recommended in Switzerland. There is no ban on this, but you can run into a serious fine if you sleep in a nature reserve or if you "don't see" a sign with the corresponding prohibition: in Switzerland it is customary to respect private property rights. On the other hand, private owners here are not capitalists with a monocle, cigar, and bowler hat, as in caricatures. You can quite ask the owner of a forest or field for permission to stay overnight. And you will most likely get that permission – provided you behave decently and take all trash with you.
There may, however, be a difficulty with communication: in the countryside, farmers generally do not speak any languages other than the local dialect. Although there are exceptions. You can also sleep on the autobahn, in specially designated rest areas (in German they are called "Rasthof", so watch for road signs).
• Another option to look for: sleeping on a hayloft at a farmer's or peasant's. Such opportunities exist; google them using the keywords "Übernachten im Stroh". This type of overnight stay is not only cost-effective, but it will also give you a unique opportunity to touch the real life of people. Peasants in Switzerland are, as a rule, wealthy and advanced people, although, as already mentioned, language problems may arise. They will gladly welcome you on their farm and even offer a breakfast included in the price of the stay, consisting of local fresh products. Some farmers even offer wireless internet. All this pleasure will cost from 25 to 30 francs per night per person.
• Where else can you stay? In private apartments, which can be found using services such as "Bed and Breakfast", "airbnb", or "Couchsurfing". Those who search have a chance to find very advantageous options. And again, in this way you will get a unique chance that no international hotel can offer you, namely, the opportunity to meet people and, who knows, even strike up a friendship with them. And maybe even more.
• Overnight stay for nature lovers. Those who are ready to sleep very "simply" can use the "Naturfreunde" service, which offers to stay overnight in a kind of hostels located at the edge of the forest, on the riverbank, on picturesque hills, or right on the territory of a ski resort. Such an overnight stay costs literally pennies – from 10 to 30 francs per night per person. Depending on the region, you can get the opportunity to explore the area via hiking trails, which are always well marked.
• Mountain huts and youth hostels. The Swiss Alpine Club "Der Schweizer Alpen-Club SAC" offers tourists the use of more than one and a half hundred mountain huts throughout Switzerland, where an overnight stay will cost from 20 to 40 francs per night per person. An overnight stay in a youth hostel will cost on average 40 francs. Some hostels offer free tickets for mountain lifts or city transport, as well as discounts on entry to pools, museums, or casinos.
Where to eat?
Visiting a restaurant sometimes shocks foreign guests of Switzerland. Alas, a good restaurant can cost a pretty penny. On the other hand, who forces you to eat in a restaurant? Eat in the park on a bench! Strange? Not at all. Just once walk through the center of Bern at lunchtime, and we will see: eating a sandwich (by the way, fresh and high-quality, handmade from the best bread and tenderest ham) sitting somewhere on the steps is not disdained even by bankers and officials from nearby ministries.
Swiss supermarkets Coop and Migros offer customers, at a fairly budget-friendly price, excellent sandwiches, salads, smoothies, pâtés, and other culinary delights made from the best ingredients (if needed, a convenient plastic fork or spoon is included). Pay attention to the "Prix Garantie" product line at Coop and "M-Budget" at Migros: these are the same cheeses and sausages, but specially prepared for these Swiss retailers, saving you from overpaying for a big brand.
It's worth visiting the supermarkets in the evening around closing time (approximately 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM) and looking for items with a bright red sticker showing 25% or 50%. This means the store has reduced the price to sell everything still today. Take advantage of this opportunity!
Another interesting feature is the series of so-called "Äss-bare" (in German, this also means "edible"). In the stores of this chain, you can buy products whose expiration date expired literally yesterday or expires today very cheaply. Don't worry — all these items (bread, pastries, drinks, sausages, cheese) are of good quality. The goal of this project is to contribute to the fight against senseless waste of still usable products (so-called "food wasting").
But if you still want to sit in a restaurant, do it during the day when you can buy a business lunch for absolutely reasonable money.
Don't forget that almost every chain supermarket (Migros, Coop, Manor) has self-service restaurants; the quality of food in such canteens is high, and the prices are quite affordable. In some cities, you can purchase a so-called "Prozentbuch" (discount booklet). It costs 45 francs and usually contains 90 discount coupons for all occasions, including restaurant visits at a discount.
Are you thirsty? Don't buy expensive mineral water; drink tap water! In Switzerland, the water supply is exclusively artesian water, whose quality is almost as good as expensive brands like Evian and Apollinaris. Don't believe it? Try it yourself!
Sybilla Bondolfi.
Translation by Igor Petrov.