I am swiss, and yes, Switzerland is really not cheap :-( but its beautiful, especially the nature. For eating, if you dont want to have picnic and want to have a cheapish lunch or dinner, I wouldnt go to Mac Donalds, but into a COOP or Migros Restaurant. Those are the two biggest supermarket chains in Switzerland, and in bigger location they have self-service restaurants, with good quality food, which is not too expensive. They have a big choice, including salads, local dishes and desserts, so not only burgers, fries, chicken nugget like at MD's.
Also, in big cities at lunch time many restaurants have a take away counter, where you can get a curry, a pasta dish or a traditional dish for 10 to 20 francs. For water, I totally agree with Mark. Tap water is really good and totally safe (and where its not, you will find a sign saying that its not drinking water), and I never buy water, unless I want some sparkling water. In the cities, you can also refill your bottle at fountains, the water there is usually also fine for drinking. The most amazing attractions in Switzerland in my opinion are in the nature, and thats free (you will have to pay to get there however). Walk around vineyards on the shore of lake Geneva or lake Biel, walk around a park, a forest, along a river, along a lake in so many places. Go hiking on a mountain. Now as it is summer, go swimming in a lake or river. Most of the time this is free, when you have to pay an entrance fee, you will also have toilets, changing rooms etc. The water is clean in most rivers and its great fun to swim in them. But only go if you are a good swimmer, where you see other people swimming and dont go alone. The current can be strong.
Yes, Switzerland is expensive............but not as expensive as Norway. I was shocked at how expensive everything is in Norway. Like Switzerland, it has stunning landscapes but even a cake and a coffee costs much more than you think. As for the price of train tickets, imo the UK is the most expensive. Ridiculous ticket prices.
It is not beautiful, It's superb, mind-blowing, breath-taking hahaha. Congrats to you for being born in the most beautiful place on earth. Been to a lot of places but IMO nothing compares to Switzerland.
The swiss is cheap. One of the cheapest country world wide. We have so good salary, we can buy more stuff then others in there countris. Kaufkrat in german.
I was just in Switzerland about a week ago. We were in Zurich and Geneva. One thing I realized were the waiters, if they know you are a tourist, they will ask if you want to tip when you eat out in restaurants. I avoided this after the third time, I gave my girlfriend my credit card to pay and behold, they do not ask the woman to tip. That was definitely the biggest turn off. Other than that, it is a beautiful country with amazing chocolate and fondue. The Lindt museum in Zurich is the best museum in the world in my opinion.
Other Tips from a local: Maybe the hotelcard is an Option for you Go and eat at the university Mensa. Good food for a good price. Go to the grocery Stores after 6pm. A lot of food is half price. Travel by train.
does anyone know if airbnb place is obligated to give you the guest pass (hotel pass) so guests can travel freely on public transportation during their stay?
As a Swiss, I give you also tips : cantons of Ticino, Jura and Neuchatel, for example, are way cheaper than swiss german part and there is also fantastic things to see, do and experience. Furthermore, to save money, countrysides are way cheaper than cities (hotels, restaurants, accomodations, etc.). Avoid the main touristic places (like some "typical" restaurant in the center of Lucerne or Zurich, it's definitely expansive - even for us, the swiss - and it's not worth it). Some touristic spot are insanely expensive, and most swiss don't even go there 'cause it's too expensive for families (example : Jungfraujoch, Zermatt, St. Moritz, Cran Montana, etc) and it's also ridiculously cliché. You wanna eat cheaper but very good food ? Try for example the small mountain restaurants AWAY from the main touristic spots, ask the locals to give you some advice about this and you will discover more authentic AND cheaper places to eat. You can do a lot of things for free, like hiking ; we have so many "postcards landscapes" for real and it costs nothing to walk and have an amazing experience. For cheaper accomodation, AirBnB are excellent options. You also have nice B&B but you have to scratch a bit more the surface of the touristic ads you might see. Same with campings, in most of these you have everything you need. Finally, transports : these are expansive a.f. but it's true, you have some pass, etc that are great. Some region for example offer a pass with you can use public transportation for free for a couple of days if you stay in hotel or accomodation (I saw it while visiting canton Neuchatel, for example). The local touristic information desk will give you such tips. And the public transportation network is really good. So yes, of course, Switzerland will be more expansive vacations than in most european countries (except maybe Norway, Iceland, etc.) but these tips might help you spend less money and enjoy more authentic things here :)
Any tips for lower level hiking end of April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then (end of the month/start of may (1 week in each month) and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of yea, if there is much that's doable and not too flat and dull.
My girlfriend and I just took a trip to Locarno/ Lugano/ Gambarogno Flew to Milan from the UK for £20-30 return can't remember exactly how much, stayed in an Airbnb and bought all our groceries in Italy. 4 days and cost us barely over £100 each!
2:40 Some supermarkets (e.g. Migros) also feature a self-service restaurant, which is a common way to eat prepared food while traveling in Switzerland.
Bonus tips: - I would stay away from big and often frequented cities as a budget visit. You will be seeing a bunch of those mainstream chain businesses instead of local unique ones. Also you will be charged almost twice as much for exactly the same products you can get in smaller cities or towns. - If I could only visit 1 area to experience as much "swissness" as possible, that would be Graubünden. - If you're interested in eating at restaurants, do so at lunchtime. Most restaurants offer a small selection of their menu for much cheaper at lunch. It's not uncommon to get a full meal for $20-30 or even less depending on the type of food. During the evening there's only à la carte in most places and that will quickly cost you $40-50 per person.
I do agree with all the advices except McDO. You can find local fast food with swiss quality food for about the same price. Moreover, the cheapest option is to grab something to lunch at Migros supermarket (this is the only place where you'll find affordable prices in Switzerland).
We’re currently In Zermatt. Traveling in Switzerland for 3 months total, we love this country. Yes it is expensive but there’s always a way to save money, by cooking your own meals & having a half fare card save us a lot. We did the glacier express, Gornergrat with half fare card & planning to buy a season pass to Jungfrau top of Europe gives ypu access to Jungfrau region unlimited. We enjoyed drinking out instead of eating out. Thanks for the video. I will add Basel to our list.😊
If you're visiting Zurich & like chocolate, by all means go on the Lindt chocolate factory tour. It's a little outside Zurich [15 minutes by train? It's been over 30 years, so my remembry isn't perfect] and the cost is not high (iirc, they donate the receipts to charity.) The tour is very interesting, you'll learn a lot about chocolate history that you never knew, and at the end they give you a little gift bag of chocolates that is easily worth half the price of the tour, if not more. One of my fondest memories of my visit to Switzerland, along with the Swiss family that we got to know thru the travel council's "Meet the Swiss" program.
From a swiss: how much it will cost you, really depends on what you want to do. Accommodation and food will be expensive, but you can go all day without spending a single dime from there on. For example in the Engadine valley, public transport is included in your hotel and you can go hiking, biking, wind/kite/wing surfing etc. For free.
My advice on swiss public transport : First, accept it's expensive and money lost. Then choose freedom of mind and pay a pass. And finally, while on holydays quickest is not the best experience : go slow and enjoy the scenaries.
At least our public transportation system works and it's general on time. You can get easily to any place in Switzerland. The prices might be high but therefore there is a certain reliability.
im swiss i make average median wage and i dont think its expensive at all. train drivers have to make money, infrastructure is expensive etc. seriously. with a halbtax its cheap as fukc in my opinion.
Good advice Mark. One thing I suspect the restauranting Wolters folks don't understand: Meal prices can easily be twice as expensive as the US. And if you have to have steak? It can be three times as much. Another tip, by your sundries (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, at a chain store in the cities. I was in a mountain resort in the French canton of Vaud. I bought small containers of toothpaste, mouthwash and shampoo... $30+ USD. Ouch! Advanced level, buy your needs in France and Germany. But while in Switzerland do buy yogurt, cheese (I found a smoked wet cheese that still blows my mind.) and chocolate. SPLURGE ON CHOCOLATE!!! Try smoked meat. At Migros or Coop try horse meat steaks, seriously. If you have cooking facilities. Buy the rail passes that allow you five days in a month or something like that. Use them on the buses to connect with the trains. I have spent a lot of time in French Switzerland. I stay with friends, so that part is taken care of. But my recommendations for the most enjoyment. Get a detailed local map. They are readily available in every village. Use them. Hike! (Don't fully trust your GPS.) Follow the little yellow signs. Next, get familiar with the rail and bus lines. Study them. You'll be amazed where you can go in a day.
A big tip for "cheaper" food at least in the bigger cities like Zürich is to look for restaurants that have a Lunch menu. Many restaurants have a lunch menu during the work week which is usually around CHF 20.- and most of the time they even includes a salad or soup. However you will find those restaurants more around office locations than tourist locations. Another tip is to go around 11:45 before all the workers fill up the place at noon. Also be aware a lot of restaurants charge for tap water.
I lived in Zurich for over 10 years, I have never known any restaurant to charge for tap water, but having said that, I don`t think I have ordered tap water so I may not know.
Something my husband's niece and nephew did when visiting us in Switzerland from Spain is they would stay in Saint Louis France and travel to Basel for the day. They got an Air BNB and it was significantly cheaper. They would cook breakfast and make lunch in France and then travel to Basel to see my husband, daughter, and I. We would do our thing and then we would travel back to France to eat dinner. Saint Louis is about a 30 minute Tram ride from Basel. My brother stayed in Bushwiller France when I had my daughter. This city in France is in a small town of Alschwil which is a small town outside of Germany. You could go stay in Weil am Rhein Germany and tram into Basel. If you're directly over the border you can walk to the Northern part of Basel or a 20 minute Tram ride. Zurich you can stay in Germany and ride the Tram into Switzerland. Going during the celebrations like Vogel Gryff or Fasnacht (Carnival) hotels in Germany and France are going to be more expensive, so avoid this time. Don't get me wrong Vogel Gryff and Fasnacht is a cool thing to see. If you go to Fasnacht go to Morgestreich. Yes you need to get up at 3:30 am (or 3 am depending where you are) to be in the city at the start which is 4 am. If you go to Vogel Gryff read the story about why this ceremony started. This will give you an understanding to what is happening. Another free thing is Lange Erlen Animal Park (just the animal park. They have an area where you can drive electric cars around a track. This isn't free). There are fountains across the city that has water and its drinkable. You don't have to find a sink to get tap water. If the fountain isn't drinkable they'll have a glass with a red line going through it. Your safe bets for drinking water are the green Basilisk fountain throughout the city. The Basilisk is a half rooster half snake. In Basel if you go grocery shopping when you shop the clerk will say "grüezi (hello)" to you. Say Guten Tag (hello) back. If you don't you're seen as being rude. One of the most important phrases is "Sprechen sie Englisch? Mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut" This means do you speak English. My German isn't so good. People will be more friendly to you when you say this little phrase. I lived off of this phrase for way way way ro long when living in Switzerland. When I lived out in the country I was forced to speak German. *Edit if you get cellphone service that services the EU make sure that you aren't roaming at your hotel. My nephew got a hefty cellphone bill when he stayed in France. He thought he was on EU towers, but he was really on Swiss towers. Switzerland isn't part of the EU.
basel is not worth a visit compared to all the ncie things in switzerland. btw basle is the most criminal city in switzerland. but its nice after a few hours you saw everything in basel
One thing to add: If you do decide to eat out, remember there is no "mandatory tip". You don't have to feel awkward not tipping, completely ok in Switzerland.
I'm Swiss and if the service is good, it's akward not to tipp!!! Makes you cheap! If you can't afford to tipp, you should hit McDonald's or Migros restaurant
There may be a difference between regions on this, because in the Zurich area and the German mountain region, most of the time the waiter/waitress doesn't even give me time to say how much I want to pay, just puts in the number on the bill to the card terminal. And no, I don't have extra cash on me just for tips. And if the service was extraordinary, I'll tell them to increase that number on the terminal.
ehhh not entirely. It's definitely not like in the US and certainly no "fixed" % you're supposed to tip. But it is pretty rude to not tip anything at all. What us Swiss do is usually round up for a small bill and maybe add 10 or 20 chf on top if you're paying for dinner at a nice restaurant.
my great grandfather was from Switzerland... I've been to Europe several times but never actually made it there. Hoping to visit sometime and see where he was from.
all you have mentioned are 101% right. I'm doing my own research for couple of years on travelling to Swiss on budget and finally have booked my flight ticket, will be coming to Swiss in June 2023 and going to have a blast for 10 days. anyway your videos really informative for people who planning to visit Swiss. tq
hello. I am planning to go to Switzerland. would you mind sharing some challenges you faced there and what you wish you did differently now that you have been there. also what all tips did help you.
It also good to understand that most Swiss cities are relatively small which means it's quite easy to leave the city center to avoid overpaying for food. In Bern where I live the restaurant around the parliament building are really expensive but In 15min by foot you'll have the same food for half the price in a less touristic neighborhood. The tip I give to my friend when they visit is to listen to people sitting outside the restaurant. If everyone is speaking English it means its probably a tourist trap and you should keep walking until you hear clients speaking in Swiss German.
Exploring new countries is such a rewarding experience! For first-time travelers, I'd recommend considering destinations that offer a mix of cultural richness and natural beauty. Personally, I've been fortunate to travel to over 10 countries thanks to careful budgeting and smart investments.I wasnt financial free until my 40’s and I’m still in my 40’s, bought my second house already, earn on a monthly through passive income and got 2 out of 5 goals, just hope it encourages someone that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any of them right now, you can start TODAY regardless your age INVEST and change your future...
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Im headed to Zurich for one night. We are going by train from Paris, then to Italy the next day in September. I found a tiny room with its own shower, we arent college students. I like the idea of staying away from entrees to eat. We will be neck deep in museums during our trip. We can walk around Zurich. Great video, as always.
Not only in fast foods! In Switzerland there are also supermarket restaurants such as Coop, Migros and Manor which cost about the same as Mc Donalds. It's true: it all depends on where you go in Switzerland. I live in Ticino and we are latins! We speak Italian, we eat like in Italy (don’t come here for a fondue, but for pizza, pasta and polenta con brasato!) and we drink Merlot wine, like in Italy. A coffee here costs 1: 80Fr. In Zürich it costs more than double and in St Moritz it is even worse!
@@jeanpieerjean7356 I have lived for 7 years in Lausanne when I was a student and many times I've been in the Gruyère region. I miss the countryside, the beautiful villages among the hills, and especially the cheese and heavy cream! You can find them here too, but it's not the same as eating them locally!
Switzerland is so fascinating to non-Swiss people, I never realized that! My only impression of it was that it was a little nation. Switzerland makes me happy, and I'm delighted to be there.
On the water thing In the german speaking part you can actually just refill your bottles on most water fountains as long as it isn't written to not be drinkable because Swiss fountains do just use tap water in most cases
If you want to eat out, some places will offer a lunch deal. Indeed many museums will do free days once a month. Taking a ferry can also be a cheap way to see a lot of the country for cheap (e.g in Luzern). As for the trains, always book in advance the 'sparpreis'-tickets, this can mean you get the same ticket for a third of the price. If you book in advance, you can also book train day passes which means you can see a lot of different places cheap. Some places in Switzerland are also a nice one day trip from abroad, e.g Lugano from Milan and Geneva from France and Zurich/Basel from Germany.
I enjoyed this video very much - thank you! Switzerland has been on my bucket list ever since I was a young girl. Something about the mtns and meadows and of course, the Saint Bernard's 😊 A thing I do wherever I travel is I divide all my spending money per day and separate it w a yellow sticky ie: I put ea days spending/food money w it's own sticker and date (means i arrive w currency unless i need to use bank machine for extenuating circumstances). Then I know when I look in my wallet that's what I have (I use a double sided wallet. One compartment hides the bulk money or I leave it in a safe etc and only take that day's cash w me when I go out). If I spend less, that diff can go towards another day. If I borrow from another day, I economize on the day I borrowed from and catch up on the 3rd day etc. My friends laugh at me but I don't use credit whilst on vac and never come home broke 🤣. Cash only (outside of airbnb and flights, bus/train tkts of course).
As a Swiss, going on vacation in Switzerland is also expensive for me (and many others). I fully agree on the advice given by Wolters and can add maybe some more: - If you like having a meal at a restaurant go there for lunch, not for dinner. Most restaurants have a set menu at lunch time which is significantly cheaper than "à la carte". These are not served in the evening. - Don't drink wine in restaurants regularly, wine is very expensive there (like factors more expensive than in a shop!). In Switzerland it is accepted to drink in public. So if you want to enjoy a bottle of wine with your family or friends, just buy a nice bottle in Coop or Denner, buy a couple of glasses, and sit down at a nice lake shore and enjoy your wine. Buy some bread and cheese, cured or smoked meat and enjoy it as a meal. Be aware that being drunk in public is a completely different thing though... - Do some hikes! There are hiking trails all over the place. There is a trail for everyone, for every level of fitness. You will get to the most amazing places by walking there. Of course there are some spots, where you have to take a railway to the mountains if you want to go there. But to some of these you can also walk one or both ways. - Go swimming in the lake, there are great locations where you can use infrastructure for very little money. In Bern the public swimming pools are free to use. - Be ready to walk a lot. For a swiss it is totally normal to walk somewhere for 10-15min just to get around. We don't take the bus or tram for every step. - Look out for discount tickets in the SBB app. If you are willing to travel at times nobody else travels (not in the rush hour) you can buy cheap tickets in advance. Be aware that these are bound to a specific connection, which is not the case for normal tickets. One of the biggest points in my opinion: Plan ahead. If you have an Idea of what you intend to do, you will always find a discount or a different way how you could get there cheaper. Do a bit of research in advance and ask people for help. Swiss people do not normally just approach tourists to help them if they seem a bit lost, but they are ready to help when asked. Many people speak english.
Any tips for lower level hiking end of April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then (end of the month/start of may (1 week in each month) and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of yea, if there is much that's doable and not too flat and dull.
@@caesiumx1334 Definitely check out the Jura region in northern Switzerland. One particular land mark I like a lot is Creux du Van and the adjacent Gorge de l' Areuse. One place I unfortunately never visited but is on my list is the Vallée de Joux. In the eastern part of the Jura is e.g. Weissenstein which even has a small gondola lift. There I'm not sure about when they begin to operate in spring.
I would support the suggestion that certain parts of Switzerland are more affordable than others. I tend to recommend to people that want to go to Switzerland to consider spending most of their time in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. Lugano and the surrounding area is possibly one of the most scenic parts of Switzerland and the area won't create a huge hole in your travel budget.
I am going to be in Switzerland in April. One thing that can help you save money on lodging is to avoid the big chain hotels which are substantially more expensive. Looking in Zurich a Best Western was over $250, and a Crown Plaza was almost $200 but I was able to find a nice hotel within walking distance of the train station, that overall has good reviews and private bathrooms was able to book it for under a $100 a night.
Did you do any hiking in April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of year.
I did not have time to do any hiking on my trip as I was pretty busy. Did a couple of hours walk around Zurich before it started pouring rain and then took a trip to Strasbourg and did a couple hours walk, but that was it. Spent a week in Switzerland, and it rained three of the 7 days but the other days were beautiful, with one of the days that rained I was in Lussanne and it was pouring rain but it was beautiful when I got to Zurich.
I recommend taking the 8 tram to DE and the 3 tram to F when in Basel. The groceries are way cheaper and it’s cool to ride a tram to another country. Rheinschwimmen is free! Just hop in the Rhein by the Tingley Museum and hop out wherever you want - we always hit up a buvette, not free for biers after and kick it.
I live in Switzerland and i must say, most of the best things come for free here! Swim in the lakes, drive up a mountain and hike the last stretch etc. Also for food: Coop Restaurant is probably the cheapest for a hot meal, i would not necessarily recommend McDo as it is expensive for what it is.
Any tips for lower level hiking end of April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then (end of the month/start of may (1 week in each month) and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of yea, if there is much that's doable and not too flat and dull.
Hooray for Migros & COOP!! Best places to get reasonably priced good food. They have takeout--even hot foods! And no to McDonalds except for one thing--their McFlurries are mixed with Swiss chocolates like Toblerone or Cailler. Stay outside of the larger cities for better rates and go local rather than the familiar chains, even the lesser priced hotels are sparkling clean, although simple. Cheapest and best thing to do--walk! Especially in the mountains and you can fill up your water bottle at any of those fountains, city or mountain, with no concerns! One more thing--Basel & Luzern are my favorite cities. Basel is often overlooked for the more touristy Zurich, Luzern, & Geneva.
If you are in basel you can stay in a hotel in france or switzerland because of that the border is really near and you can also eat there it will be a lot cheaper
Went last Fall and can definitely say the SwissRail Pass was the best thing you can get to spend a week and travel around, between the daily train trips, the museums, etc. easily would have spent at least twice more doing everything individually and it was super easy to stay in one place and travel to other cities for day trips rather than moving around constantly.
Yup, unless you work a corporate job with a decent salary, we don't eat at restaurants that often. It's more of a treat for special occasions. If you ever want to do more research about what to do in Basel, Zürich or Berne, I'll gladly be of help.
If you are travelling into Zurich, there is a big Coop hypermarket conveniently located just outside the Hauptbahnhof (central station), which is the perfect one-stop shop for affordable things. Food, drink, coffee, all the Swiss chocolate you could ever want and more all at a much more reasonable price than any restaurant, cafe or tourist trap chocolate shop you may find around the city. Migros and Coop in general (the two main Swiss supermarket chains) are your best bet for Swiss shopping on a budget.
As others already said, I would recommend the restaurants of Migros and Coop and lunch menues and buying food in the grocery stores (this includes chocolate as a souvenir, you don’t need to go to a speciality store, Migros own brand Frey and Lindt from Coop are cheaper and have an amazing quality. You sould also take advantage of the big cheese selection they offer). Bakeries are also a good option for amazing bread and pastries and many also have sandwiches and salads for lunch. When the weather is warm, you can do a picnic and it’s legal to drink alcohol in public, so you can enjoy some drinks by the water or in a park, and safe a lot of money. Renting an apartment with multiple people can be cheaper than a hotel and you can even cook some groceries for a warm meal. The train is also a good place to eat your groceries and see the landscape at the same time. Just a “normal” train for example the route from Bern to Geneva or Bern to Interlaken and Luzern has an amazing landscape, you don’t need to go a “special” expensive panoramic train to experience that. And as already mentioned, a day pass or regional pass for public transportation is always cheaper and more convenient as individual tickets, especially for cable cars or cog railways in the mountains. That being said, it is still expensive, so traveling in Switzerland is one big splurge and you should treat it as such and save up as much money as possible beforehand.
My tip to visit switzerland. Bring what you need to bivouac, buy a train pass, and at night, take the train to the countryside to stealth camp in a forest. Buy food at migros. Even if you lazy, the sandwich at migros restaurant (not the ones in the in shop fridge) are really good, and much cheaper than mac donald. You can hike everywhere for free, when the weather is too bad, take the train to reload your phone and get dry and warm.
Just got back from Luzern and Zurich, it was wonderful! We spent some time in Germany and Strasbourg, France also and noticed Switzerland was significantly more expensive. It was our favorite part of the trip though.
Thank you for this video Professor! I'm currently planning a future spring break trip through Switzerland and I'm super intrigued to see where I can save some money but still have a great time.
Hello Wolter, i live in Switzerland and like your tips ! The hostel and breakfast tip is awesome, food stalls as well, shop for lunch, swim in the rivers and lakes go HIKING !!! in the mountains is the best way to experience Switzerland. Transport and hotels ( above Chf 120.-) are really expensive ! lots of places to park a van and sleep in a van witch is transport and roof over your head, and portable kitchen for Chf 150.- a day. see you guys in Interlaken !!
As far as I know there's also some sort of travel card for non-residents of Switzerland that you can get for a set amount of money. If you're going around by train a couple of times that might already be worth it. I don't know much about this card because I don't use it (I live here) but I have seen it advertised.
As for budget eating, I'd recommend the restaurants in Coop and/or Migros, as well as IKEA if it happens to be on your way. Another tip: in most of the big cities, if you have official accommodation (hotels, hostels, B&Bs,...), there should be a public transport ticket within the city included.
If staying in switzerland, avoid eating at mcdonald's. You will pay about 18$ a menu when you could eat for more like 10$-12$ at chinese or turkish restaurants, or even pizzas to takeout. If you can find a manor, definitely head there : cheap and good food for take away.
1) Where possible visit Swiss destinations as a day trip from a neighbouring country such as Germany or France. 2) Go to Austria instead - it looks the same but is far easier on the pocket and lacks the snootiness of its neighbour.
Jup, just been to switzerland 2 weeks ago for 4 days before going to Italy. It's crazy expensive, especially when you want to see the Jungfraujoch. But it is so beautiful.
If you know anyone in switzerland ask them for a Tageskarte. these cost 45 bucks and you can use almost all the public transport in Switzerland for the whole day. That includes trains, busses, trams, some ships etc. You have to pick these up and book them some week in advance so probably like I said there as to be someone that picks them up for you. My gf and myself use this quite a lot. We just go to the trainstation early in the morning and look at the board with all the trains and chose a city that we like to go to. Hang out in the morning and do the same thing after lunch. Then go to a hostel and do the same thing the next day and go some in the evening. You can travel around see like 4 to 5 cities. Traveling around in the trains is also quite nice because its just a beautiful country. and for two days its 90.- per person. If you would book all the traintickets that would probably be 200 to 300 bucks. So enjoy!
Also some cantons / cities also give you a free public transport pass with your hotel stay and the great thing on both national and local passes is they include scenic ferries. Also for the restaurants, I find especially for lunch that compared to a Podunk town with nothing going on isn’t incredibly marked up at a scenic spot so you don’t feel you’re paying a tourist tax so while is expensive, the scenic stuff isn’t that marked up compared to similar scenic places in other countries. Like here in Ireland Killarney is extremely more marked up compared to my town but over there it’s more even nationwide. At least in my experience
I had a trip to Basel a few years back. Really nice place but my god, I cried whenever I opened my wallet! Our hotel actually gave us a Basel card for free for duration of our trip... and that made it doable. It gave us free public transport, access to zoo (really nice) and as well as museums, discounts in some restaurants! For lunch, we went to a discounted restaurant and ate well. Even with discount it was still pricey, but everything was very good! At night for dinner, we found a little fast food kebab shop in the city centre. Worked our way around the menu each night for a much more affordable meal. Basel is right on the border with France and Germany... and the free public transport (Basel card) takes you buy tram into both countries. So we had a nice cheap day just crossing international borders and taking selfies standing in different countries... filled a day cheaply!!
I was in Zurich last month and OMG it was one of the best parts of my trip. Summertime swimming in the lake and beers on the grass. Great way to beat the heat, and wasn't pricy
We’re going to be there in July. For a family of 4 or more, it can be expensive to buy 4 transport passes, as well as pay for large enough accommodations in or near a major city. We actually saved a ton by getting an AirBnb in the country just outside Friboug (only US$95/night) and renting a car at GVA. You can drive pretty much anywhere in a relatively short time, get groceries at Coop or Migros, eat “at home” and pack picnic lunches, etc. Also, you can park relatively inexpensively outside city centers and take a tram or bus in. Kind of “living like a local.” Will second all the free or inexpensive things to do… Like visit the Gurten in Bern for great views and a fun alpine slide/toboggan run…
Its not cheap anyway you slice it. Cheap is not a word that should be used when talking about a vacay to Switzerland. All that said, it is still worth it. My goodness it is beautiful. I found just driving to be therapy for my mind.
Hi Mark, this video is wonderfully timed. I am going to Luzern for the first time with a bunch of friends however we are all broke as hell since we're students. Very helpful video! Greetings from Ghent, Belgium.
Als je met de auto gaat kan je wel heel goedkoop parkeren in de city garage. Dan loop je in 5 minuten het centrum in. De mcdonalds daar is ook best prima. Iets duurder dan Nederland en België, maar wel beter.
If you have a pass for the public transport anyway, look for accomodation outside of the cities and touristic hotspots. Often you'll find cheaper options just a 20 minutes train ride away.
Get the travel pass, and stay in a town outside of the big city that the public system can easily reach. might be expensive upfront but will save you $. In addition, the small towns COOPs are considerably cheaper.
I ll grab a chawarma or go to migros or coop before going to mcdo (it s just not food) 😅 .. cities have free walking tours, but def get a rail/tourist pass .. fountain water is usually also safe to drink unless it has a sign saying otherwise .. enjoy 🇨🇭
Canton Glarus is a gorgeous area in the Eastern Swiss-German part of Switzerland. It has beautiful waterfalls, high vertical peaks, very few foreign tourists & has lots of things to do. It is far more cost effective than the more traditional tourist hot spots. I know about it as my family emigrated from Glarus Switzerland to New Glarus Wisconsin, of New Glarus beer fame, 170 years ago. 🇨🇭❤️👍🏼
Good video. I'm hoping to ski with Oak Hall Holidays UK in Switzerland in January 2023 and its cheaper as all meals included. Last time I went I spent no money in Switzerland after buying the lift pass.
Great tips! I had great inexpensive filling meal at Zurich Fried Chicken - ZFC was much better quality than KFC! Also, great market food in Geneva led to often eating in a nice park area by the shops I couldn’t afford 😂
Book hotels or hostels that are NOT in a main road. Book them 2-3 blocks away from a train station or major road. Noise and tourist area will cost you more. Walk a couple of blocks and save a couple of hundreds $
I went in shoulder season(late april) and renting a car worked a lot better than public transportation. There are parking garages in the city centers so not as hard to park as it had been suggested to me. You also have the freedom to stop wherever you want and not worry about transportation schedules.
Did you do any hiking in April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then (end of the month/start of may (1 week in each month) and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of year.
If you take kids with you, get a Junior Swiss Pass. They cost 30 Franks per year per kid and you can use all transportation and a lot of cable cars without buying an extra ticket for them. This pays off after only a few short trips already!
Austria might be a good alternative (price-to-quality ratio) for the (germanic) alpine experience (they are very similar). The Italian part of Switzerland (Ticino) might also be cheaper, with a slightly different climate and architecture. Stay in a nearby village instead of city (they aren't so big anyways in Switzerland). It might be cheaper and provide a more unique experience.
I am swiss, and yes, Switzerland is really not cheap :-( but its beautiful, especially the nature. For eating, if you dont want to have picnic and want to have a cheapish lunch or dinner, I wouldnt go to Mac Donalds, but into a COOP or Migros Restaurant. Those are the two biggest supermarket chains in Switzerland, and in bigger location they have self-service restaurants, with good quality food, which is not too expensive. They have a big choice, including salads, local dishes and desserts, so not only burgers, fries, chicken nugget like at MD's.
Also, in big cities at lunch time many restaurants have a take away counter, where you can get a curry, a pasta dish or a traditional dish for 10 to 20 francs. For water, I totally agree with Mark. Tap water is really good and totally safe (and where its not, you will find a sign saying that its not drinking water), and I never buy water, unless I want some sparkling water. In the cities, you can also refill your bottle at fountains, the water there is usually also fine for drinking.
The most amazing attractions in Switzerland in my opinion are in the nature, and thats free (you will have to pay to get there however). Walk around vineyards on the shore of lake Geneva or lake Biel, walk around a park, a forest, along a river, along a lake in so many places. Go hiking on a mountain.
Now as it is summer, go swimming in a lake or river. Most of the time this is free, when you have to pay an entrance fee, you will also have toilets, changing rooms etc. The water is clean in most rivers and its great fun to swim in them. But only go if you are a good swimmer, where you see other people swimming and dont go alone. The current can be strong.
Yes, Switzerland is expensive............but not as expensive as Norway. I was shocked at how expensive everything is in Norway. Like Switzerland, it has stunning landscapes but even a cake and a coffee costs much more than you think.
As for the price of train tickets, imo the UK is the most expensive. Ridiculous ticket prices.
It is not beautiful, It's superb, mind-blowing, breath-taking hahaha.
Congrats to you for being born in the most beautiful place on earth.
Been to a lot of places but IMO nothing compares to Switzerland.
The swiss is cheap. One of the cheapest country world wide. We have so good salary, we can buy more stuff then others in there countris. Kaufkrat in german.
Migros saved my ass in Lucerne...and at the main train station is open 7 days a week
I was just in Switzerland about a week ago. We were in Zurich and Geneva. One thing I realized were the waiters, if they know you are a tourist, they will ask if you want to tip when you eat out in restaurants. I avoided this after the third time, I gave my girlfriend my credit card to pay and behold, they do not ask the woman to tip. That was definitely the biggest turn off. Other than that, it is a beautiful country with amazing chocolate and fondue. The Lindt museum in Zurich is the best museum in the world in my opinion.
Other Tips from a local:
Maybe the hotelcard is an Option for you
Go and eat at the university Mensa. Good food for a good price.
Go to the grocery Stores after 6pm. A lot of food is half price.
Travel by train.
does anyone know if airbnb place is obligated to give you the guest pass (hotel pass) so guests can travel freely on public transportation during their stay?
@@tramnguyenpham9978 I would say no. But check the Homepage from the tourist center.
As a Swiss, I give you also tips : cantons of Ticino, Jura and Neuchatel, for example, are way cheaper than swiss german part and there is also fantastic things to see, do and experience. Furthermore, to save money, countrysides are way cheaper than cities (hotels, restaurants, accomodations, etc.). Avoid the main touristic places (like some "typical" restaurant in the center of Lucerne or Zurich, it's definitely expansive - even for us, the swiss - and it's not worth it). Some touristic spot are insanely expensive, and most swiss don't even go there 'cause it's too expensive for families (example : Jungfraujoch, Zermatt, St. Moritz, Cran Montana, etc) and it's also ridiculously cliché. You wanna eat cheaper but very good food ? Try for example the small mountain restaurants AWAY from the main touristic spots, ask the locals to give you some advice about this and you will discover more authentic AND cheaper places to eat. You can do a lot of things for free, like hiking ; we have so many "postcards landscapes" for real and it costs nothing to walk and have an amazing experience. For cheaper accomodation, AirBnB are excellent options. You also have nice B&B but you have to scratch a bit more the surface of the touristic ads you might see. Same with campings, in most of these you have everything you need. Finally, transports : these are expansive a.f. but it's true, you have some pass, etc that are great. Some region for example offer a pass with you can use public transportation for free for a couple of days if you stay in hotel or accomodation (I saw it while visiting canton Neuchatel, for example). The local touristic information desk will give you such tips. And the public transportation network is really good. So yes, of course, Switzerland will be more expansive vacations than in most european countries (except maybe Norway, Iceland, etc.) but these tips might help you spend less money and enjoy more authentic things here :)
Thank you!!!!
Well said, it`s crazy that I will spend way less to visit a foreign country (including flights)for 10 days than a 3 day vacation here in Switzerland.
Any tips for lower level hiking end of April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then (end of the month/start of may (1 week in each month) and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of yea, if there is much that's doable and not too flat and dull.
My girlfriend and I just took a trip to Locarno/ Lugano/ Gambarogno
Flew to Milan from the UK for £20-30 return can't remember exactly how much, stayed in an Airbnb and bought all our groceries in Italy. 4 days and cost us barely over £100 each!
Do you have instagram?
Would love to know how you did it all xx
2:40 Some supermarkets (e.g. Migros) also feature a self-service restaurant, which is a common way to eat prepared food while traveling in Switzerland.
Bonus tips:
- I would stay away from big and often frequented cities as a budget visit. You will be seeing a bunch of those mainstream chain businesses instead of local unique ones. Also you will be charged almost twice as much for exactly the same products you can get in smaller cities or towns.
- If I could only visit 1 area to experience as much "swissness" as possible, that would be Graubünden.
- If you're interested in eating at restaurants, do so at lunchtime. Most restaurants offer a small selection of their menu for much cheaper at lunch. It's not uncommon to get a full meal for $20-30 or even less depending on the type of food. During the evening there's only à la carte in most places and that will quickly cost you $40-50 per person.
I do agree with all the advices except McDO. You can find local fast food with swiss quality food for about the same price. Moreover, the cheapest option is to grab something to lunch at Migros supermarket (this is the only place where you'll find affordable prices in Switzerland).
what about Denner, Aldi and Lidl. They are way cheaper then Migros
COOP too do sell hot lunches and they are as affordable as Migros
The most beautiful clean country. Expensive yes but quality in everything. I've been twice and really needed this video. Thankyou 😘
We’re currently In Zermatt. Traveling in Switzerland for 3 months total, we love this country. Yes it is expensive but there’s always a way to save money, by cooking your own meals & having a half fare card save us a lot. We did the glacier express, Gornergrat with half fare card & planning to buy a season pass to Jungfrau top of Europe gives ypu access to Jungfrau region unlimited. We enjoyed drinking out instead of eating out. Thanks for the video. I will add Basel to our list.😊
If you're visiting Zurich & like chocolate, by all means go on the Lindt chocolate factory tour. It's a little outside Zurich [15 minutes by train? It's been over 30 years, so my remembry isn't perfect] and the cost is not high (iirc, they donate the receipts to charity.) The tour is very interesting, you'll learn a lot about chocolate history that you never knew, and at the end they give you a little gift bag of chocolates that is easily worth half the price of the tour, if not more. One of my fondest memories of my visit to Switzerland, along with the Swiss family that we got to know thru the travel council's "Meet the Swiss" program.
From a swiss: how much it will cost you, really depends on what you want to do. Accommodation and food will be expensive, but you can go all day without spending a single dime from there on. For example in the Engadine valley, public transport is included in your hotel and you can go hiking, biking, wind/kite/wing surfing etc. For free.
Even for us (swiss) if you don't have the 1/2 tarif pass for public transport, train tickets are stupidly expensive.
Thanks for the heads up
My advice on swiss public transport : First, accept it's expensive and money lost. Then choose freedom of mind and pay a pass. And finally, while on holydays quickest is not the best experience : go slow and enjoy the scenaries.
Even with the 1/2 tarif pass it's still too expensive. It's ridiculous.
At least our public transportation system works and it's general on time. You can get easily to any place in Switzerland. The prices might be high but therefore there is a certain reliability.
im swiss i make average median wage and i dont think its expensive at all. train drivers have to make money, infrastructure is expensive etc. seriously. with a halbtax its cheap as fukc in my opinion.
Switzerland is the best and most gorgeous country I've been to. Nothing compares to it... I never get tired of coming back. Heaven on earth.
Visit pakistan once too
Good advice Mark. One thing I suspect the restauranting Wolters folks don't understand: Meal prices can easily be twice as expensive as the US. And if you have to have steak? It can be three times as much. Another tip, by your sundries (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, at a chain store in the cities. I was in a mountain resort in the French canton of Vaud. I bought small containers of toothpaste, mouthwash and shampoo... $30+ USD. Ouch! Advanced level, buy your needs in France and Germany. But while in Switzerland do buy yogurt, cheese (I found a smoked wet cheese that still blows my mind.) and chocolate. SPLURGE ON CHOCOLATE!!! Try smoked meat. At Migros or Coop try horse meat steaks, seriously. If you have cooking facilities.
Buy the rail passes that allow you five days in a month or something like that. Use them on the buses to connect with the trains. I have spent a lot of time in French Switzerland. I stay with friends, so that part is taken care of. But my recommendations for the most enjoyment. Get a detailed local map. They are readily available in every village. Use them. Hike! (Don't fully trust your GPS.) Follow the little yellow signs. Next, get familiar with the rail and bus lines. Study them. You'll be amazed where you can go in a day.
A big tip for "cheaper" food at least in the bigger cities like Zürich is to look for restaurants that have a Lunch menu. Many restaurants have a lunch menu during the work week which is usually around CHF 20.- and most of the time they even includes a salad or soup. However you will find those restaurants more around office locations than tourist locations. Another tip is to go around 11:45 before all the workers fill up the place at noon. Also be aware a lot of restaurants charge for tap water.
I lived in Zurich for over 10 years, I have never known any restaurant to charge for tap water, but having said that, I don`t think I have ordered tap water so I may not know.
Something my husband's niece and nephew did when visiting us in Switzerland from Spain is they would stay in Saint Louis France and travel to Basel for the day. They got an Air BNB and it was significantly cheaper. They would cook breakfast and make lunch in France and then travel to Basel to see my husband, daughter, and I. We would do our thing and then we would travel back to France to eat dinner. Saint Louis is about a 30 minute Tram ride from Basel. My brother stayed in Bushwiller France when I had my daughter. This city in France is in a small town of Alschwil which is a small town outside of Germany. You could go stay in Weil am Rhein Germany and tram into Basel. If you're directly over the border you can walk to the Northern part of Basel or a 20 minute Tram ride. Zurich you can stay in Germany and ride the Tram into Switzerland. Going during the celebrations like Vogel Gryff or Fasnacht (Carnival) hotels in Germany and France are going to be more expensive, so avoid this time. Don't get me wrong Vogel Gryff and Fasnacht is a cool thing to see. If you go to Fasnacht go to Morgestreich. Yes you need to get up at 3:30 am (or 3 am depending where you are) to be in the city at the start which is 4 am. If you go to Vogel Gryff read the story about why this ceremony started. This will give you an understanding to what is happening. Another free thing is Lange Erlen Animal Park (just the animal park. They have an area where you can drive electric cars around a track. This isn't free). There are fountains across the city that has water and its drinkable. You don't have to find a sink to get tap water. If the fountain isn't drinkable they'll have a glass with a red line going through it. Your safe bets for drinking water are the green Basilisk fountain throughout the city. The Basilisk is a half rooster half snake. In Basel if you go grocery shopping when you shop the clerk will say "grüezi (hello)" to you. Say Guten Tag (hello) back. If you don't you're seen as being rude. One of the most important phrases is "Sprechen sie Englisch? Mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut" This means do you speak English. My German isn't so good. People will be more friendly to you when you say this little phrase. I lived off of this phrase for way way way ro long when living in Switzerland. When I lived out in the country I was forced to speak German.
*Edit if you get cellphone service that services the EU make sure that you aren't roaming at your hotel. My nephew got a hefty cellphone bill when he stayed in France. He thought he was on EU towers, but he was really on Swiss towers. Switzerland isn't part of the EU.
Great tips!! Thank you!! 🇨🇭❤️👍🏼
Thank you so much for these tips!!
basel is not worth a visit compared to all the ncie things in switzerland. btw basle is the most criminal city in switzerland. but its nice after a few hours you saw everything in basel
Thanks Mark! I think you summarized some great tips to help people visiting my country!
One thing to add: If you do decide to eat out, remember there is no "mandatory tip". You don't have to feel awkward not tipping, completely ok in Switzerland.
I'm Swiss and if the service is good, it's akward not to tipp!!! Makes you cheap! If you can't afford to tipp, you should hit McDonald's or Migros restaurant
@@missikin.5233 Not true.
There may be a difference between regions on this, because in the Zurich area and the German mountain region, most of the time the waiter/waitress doesn't even give me time to say how much I want to pay, just puts in the number on the bill to the card terminal. And no, I don't have extra cash on me just for tips. And if the service was extraordinary, I'll tell them to increase that number on the terminal.
ehhh not entirely. It's definitely not like in the US and certainly no "fixed" % you're supposed to tip. But it is pretty rude to not tip anything at all. What us Swiss do is usually round up for a small bill and maybe add 10 or 20 chf on top if you're paying for dinner at a nice restaurant.
That's not true; not tipping always awkward in Switzerland.
Thank you for this. I am going to Switzerland this year so any and all videos are greatly appreciated.
my great grandfather was from Switzerland... I've been to Europe several times but never actually made it there. Hoping to visit sometime and see where he was from.
all you have mentioned are 101% right. I'm doing my own research for couple of years on travelling to Swiss on budget and finally have booked my flight ticket, will be coming to Swiss in June 2023 and going to have a blast for 10 days. anyway your videos really informative for people who planning to visit Swiss. tq
hello. I am planning to go to Switzerland. would you mind sharing some challenges you faced there and what you wish you did differently now that you have been there. also what all tips did help you.
It also good to understand that most Swiss cities are relatively small which means it's quite easy to leave the city center to avoid overpaying for food.
In Bern where I live the restaurant around the parliament building are really expensive but In 15min by foot you'll have the same food for half the price in a less touristic neighborhood. The tip I give to my friend when they visit is to listen to people sitting outside the restaurant. If everyone is speaking English it means its probably a tourist trap and you should keep walking until you hear clients speaking in Swiss German.
Exploring new countries is such a rewarding experience! For first-time travelers, I'd recommend considering destinations that offer a mix of cultural richness and natural beauty. Personally, I've been fortunate to travel to over 10 countries thanks to careful budgeting and smart investments.I wasnt financial free until my 40’s and I’m still in my 40’s, bought my second house already, earn on a monthly through passive income and got 2 out of 5 goals, just hope it encourages someone that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any of them right now, you can start TODAY regardless your age INVEST and change your future...
Alright, speaking in general terms, investing requires a good amount of knowledge. That's why it's essential to have a solid support system like a financial counselor, especially when picking out assets. I've been working with Regina Louise Collaro, who is an investment advisor at a registered wealth management company. I can't recommend her enough; my financial journey has been fantastic thanks to her. She's quite well-known for her services, and she helped me achieve financial stability through investments. Now, I benefit from her passive income strategies every month. So, I'd strongly suggest finding a reliable investment advisor for yourself
Regina Louise Collaro is based in the United States and can work with anybody wherever they stay. If you would like more information on reaching her, you can conduct a search online.
personally, I'm blessed and realizing I'm not the only one working with Regina Louise Collaro. I will consider myself lucky. I've been able to feed and make a living through her advice and great work. For such a person as Regina, I owe her gratitude, support and endless prayers as it is not easy to gain access to such a competent and reliable adviser. Who isn't just wise but has all it takes to handle an investment and is good at what she does..
Sure Alexedmartin. It's donaldgaffney2😊
What is your job description
Best part about Switzerland (besides the amazing views) was the delicious free water everywhere I went from the fountains.
Thanks for the advice. Budget and Switzerland are two things that don't really go together but you've inspired me.
Im headed to Zurich for one night. We are going by train from Paris, then to Italy the next day in September. I found a tiny room with its own shower, we arent college students. I like the idea of staying away from entrees to eat. We will be neck deep in museums during our trip. We can walk around Zurich. Great video, as always.
Great tips! Thank you for another wonderful video!
Not only in fast foods! In Switzerland there are also supermarket restaurants such as Coop, Migros and Manor which cost about the same as Mc Donalds. It's true: it all depends on where you go in Switzerland. I live in Ticino and we are latins! We speak Italian, we eat like in Italy (don’t come here for a fondue, but for pizza, pasta and polenta con brasato!) and we drink Merlot wine, like in Italy. A coffee here costs 1: 80Fr. In Zürich it costs more than double and in St Moritz it is even worse!
Wherever you can get a coffee in Zurich for less than 4, let's say for less than 5 CHF, you can consider yourself lucky.
@@xxx_phantom_xxxw_t_a9479 True! Come to the South and you won't regret!
Ticino!!! One of the most beautiful place on Switzerland. Greeting from gruyère region
@@jeanpieerjean7356 Ciaoooo!!!!!
@@jeanpieerjean7356 I have lived for 7 years in Lausanne when I was a student and many times I've been in the Gruyère region. I miss the countryside, the beautiful villages among the hills, and especially the cheese and heavy cream! You can find them here too, but it's not the same as eating them locally!
Switzerland is so fascinating to non-Swiss people, I never realized that! My only impression of it was that it was a little nation. Switzerland makes me happy, and I'm delighted to be there.
Thank you glad to found your channel ! Going Switzerland for 2 weeks in nov . Saw your video about Milan too ! Really helpful ! Stay safe
On the water thing
In the german speaking part you can actually just refill your bottles on most water fountains as long as it isn't written to not be drinkable because Swiss fountains do just use tap water in most cases
If you want to eat out, some places will offer a lunch deal. Indeed many museums will do free days once a month. Taking a ferry can also be a cheap way to see a lot of the country for cheap (e.g in Luzern). As for the trains, always book in advance the 'sparpreis'-tickets, this can mean you get the same ticket for a third of the price. If you book in advance, you can also book train day passes which means you can see a lot of different places cheap. Some places in Switzerland are also a nice one day trip from abroad, e.g Lugano from Milan and Geneva from France and Zurich/Basel from Germany.
I enjoyed this video very much - thank you! Switzerland has been on my bucket list ever since I was a young girl. Something about the mtns and meadows and of course, the Saint Bernard's 😊 A thing I do wherever I travel is I divide all my spending money per day and separate it w a yellow sticky ie: I put ea days spending/food money w it's own sticker and date (means i arrive w currency unless i need to use bank machine for extenuating circumstances). Then I know when I look in my wallet that's what I have (I use a double sided wallet. One compartment hides the bulk money or I leave it in a safe etc and only take that day's cash w me when I go out). If I spend less, that diff can go towards another day. If I borrow from another day, I economize on the day I borrowed from and catch up on the 3rd day etc. My friends laugh at me but I don't use credit whilst on vac and never come home broke 🤣. Cash only (outside of airbnb and flights, bus/train tkts of course).
Swiss farmers markets are a great option for grocery shopping, especially if you want cheese
Thank you sir! Very nice and informative video with great tips ❤. Take care and stay safe 🌹
As a Swiss, going on vacation in Switzerland is also expensive for me (and many others). I fully agree on the advice given by Wolters and can add maybe some more:
- If you like having a meal at a restaurant go there for lunch, not for dinner. Most restaurants have a set menu at lunch time which is significantly cheaper than "à la carte". These are not served in the evening.
- Don't drink wine in restaurants regularly, wine is very expensive there (like factors more expensive than in a shop!). In Switzerland it is accepted to drink in public. So if you want to enjoy a bottle of wine with your family or friends, just buy a nice bottle in Coop or Denner, buy a couple of glasses, and sit down at a nice lake shore and enjoy your wine. Buy some bread and cheese, cured or smoked meat and enjoy it as a meal. Be aware that being drunk in public is a completely different thing though...
- Do some hikes! There are hiking trails all over the place. There is a trail for everyone, for every level of fitness. You will get to the most amazing places by walking there. Of course there are some spots, where you have to take a railway to the mountains if you want to go there. But to some of these you can also walk one or both ways.
- Go swimming in the lake, there are great locations where you can use infrastructure for very little money. In Bern the public swimming pools are free to use.
- Be ready to walk a lot. For a swiss it is totally normal to walk somewhere for 10-15min just to get around. We don't take the bus or tram for every step.
- Look out for discount tickets in the SBB app. If you are willing to travel at times nobody else travels (not in the rush hour) you can buy cheap tickets in advance. Be aware that these are bound to a specific connection, which is not the case for normal tickets.
One of the biggest points in my opinion: Plan ahead. If you have an Idea of what you intend to do, you will always find a discount or a different way how you could get there cheaper. Do a bit of research in advance and ask people for help. Swiss people do not normally just approach tourists to help them if they seem a bit lost, but they are ready to help when asked. Many people speak english.
Any tips for lower level hiking end of April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then (end of the month/start of may (1 week in each month) and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of yea, if there is much that's doable and not too flat and dull.
@@caesiumx1334 Definitely check out the Jura region in northern Switzerland. One particular land mark I like a lot is Creux du Van and the adjacent Gorge de l' Areuse. One place I unfortunately never visited but is on my list is the Vallée de Joux. In the eastern part of the Jura is e.g. Weissenstein which even has a small gondola lift. There I'm not sure about when they begin to operate in spring.
We appreciate your videos as fellow Georgians! You go to all the same places we do and your assessments are usually spot on!
I would support the suggestion that certain parts of Switzerland are more affordable than others. I tend to recommend to people that want to go to Switzerland to consider spending most of their time in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. Lugano and the surrounding area is possibly one of the most scenic parts of Switzerland and the area won't create a huge hole in your travel budget.
Especially if you just cross the border to Italy for shopping, it is way cheaper!
Great advice!!!!
I am going to Geneva and Grindelwald next week! Very excited as this is my 1st trip abroad. Thanks for the tips!
Awesome! Have fun!
I am going to be in Switzerland in April. One thing that can help you save money on lodging is to avoid the big chain hotels which are substantially more expensive. Looking in Zurich a Best Western was over $250, and a Crown Plaza was almost $200 but I was able to find a nice hotel within walking distance of the train station, that overall has good reviews and private bathrooms was able to book it for under a $100 a night.
What is the name of the $100 hotel?
Hotel Limmathof
You can buy Reka Checks and safe up to 3%.
You can pay white Reka for public transportaiton and a lot of activitis and other things
Did you do any hiking in April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of year.
I did not have time to do any hiking on my trip as I was pretty busy. Did a couple of hours walk around Zurich before it started pouring rain and then took a trip to Strasbourg and did a couple hours walk, but that was it. Spent a week in Switzerland, and it rained three of the 7 days but the other days were beautiful, with one of the days that rained I was in Lussanne and it was pouring rain but it was beautiful when I got to Zurich.
I recommend taking the 8 tram to DE and the 3 tram to F when in Basel. The groceries are way cheaper and it’s cool to ride a tram to another country.
Rheinschwimmen is free! Just hop in the Rhein by the Tingley Museum and hop out wherever you want - we always hit up a buvette, not free for biers after and kick it.
I live in Switzerland and i must say, most of the best things come for free here! Swim in the lakes, drive up a mountain and hike the last stretch etc. Also for food: Coop Restaurant is probably the cheapest for a hot meal, i would not necessarily recommend McDo as it is expensive for what it is.
Any tips for lower level hiking end of April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then (end of the month/start of may (1 week in each month) and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of yea, if there is much that's doable and not too flat and dull.
just in time, i want to visit Switzerland soon
Hooray for Migros & COOP!! Best places to get reasonably priced good food. They have takeout--even hot foods! And no to McDonalds except for one thing--their McFlurries are mixed with Swiss chocolates like Toblerone or Cailler. Stay outside of the larger cities for better rates and go local rather than the familiar chains, even the lesser priced hotels are sparkling clean, although simple. Cheapest and best thing to do--walk! Especially in the mountains and you can fill up your water bottle at any of those fountains, city or mountain, with no concerns! One more thing--Basel & Luzern are my favorite cities. Basel is often overlooked for the more touristy Zurich, Luzern, & Geneva.
If you are in basel you can stay in a hotel in france or switzerland because of that the border is really near and you can also eat there it will be a lot cheaper
Went last Fall and can definitely say the SwissRail Pass was the best thing you can get to spend a week and travel around, between the daily train trips, the museums, etc. easily would have spent at least twice more doing everything individually and it was super easy to stay in one place and travel to other cities for day trips rather than moving around constantly.
Yup, unless you work a corporate job with a decent salary, we don't eat at restaurants that often. It's more of a treat for special occasions. If you ever want to do more research about what to do in Basel, Zürich or Berne, I'll gladly be of help.
If you are travelling into Zurich, there is a big Coop hypermarket conveniently located just outside the Hauptbahnhof (central station), which is the perfect one-stop shop for affordable things. Food, drink, coffee, all the Swiss chocolate you could ever want and more all at a much more reasonable price than any restaurant, cafe or tourist trap chocolate shop you may find around the city. Migros and Coop in general (the two main Swiss supermarket chains) are your best bet for Swiss shopping on a budget.
As others already said, I would recommend the restaurants of Migros and Coop and lunch menues and buying food in the grocery stores (this includes chocolate as a souvenir, you don’t need to go to a speciality store, Migros own brand Frey and Lindt from Coop are cheaper and have an amazing quality. You sould also take advantage of the big cheese selection they offer). Bakeries are also a good option for amazing bread and pastries and many also have sandwiches and salads for lunch. When the weather is warm, you can do a picnic and it’s legal to drink alcohol in public, so you can enjoy some drinks by the water or in a park, and safe a lot of money. Renting an apartment with multiple people can be cheaper than a hotel and you can even cook some groceries for a warm meal. The train is also a good place to eat your groceries and see the landscape at the same time. Just a “normal” train for example the route from Bern to Geneva or Bern to Interlaken and Luzern has an amazing landscape, you don’t need to go a “special” expensive panoramic train to experience that. And as already mentioned, a day pass or regional pass for public transportation is always cheaper and more convenient as individual tickets, especially for cable cars or cog railways in the mountains.
That being said, it is still expensive, so traveling in Switzerland is one big splurge and you should treat it as such and save up as much money as possible beforehand.
Thank you so much. Great tips 👌
My tip to visit switzerland.
Bring what you need to bivouac, buy a train pass, and at night, take the train to the countryside to stealth camp in a forest.
Buy food at migros. Even if you lazy, the sandwich at migros restaurant (not the ones in the in shop fridge) are really good, and much cheaper than mac donald.
You can hike everywhere for free, when the weather is too bad, take the train to reload your phone and get dry and warm.
Just got back from Luzern and Zurich, it was wonderful! We spent some time in Germany and Strasbourg, France also and noticed Switzerland was significantly more expensive. It was our favorite part of the trip though.
You can also see whether restaurants have a lunch menu. Its often cheaper than when you go out for dinner.
Thank you for this video Professor! I'm currently planning a future spring break trip through Switzerland and I'm super intrigued to see where I can save some money but still have a great time.
You can buy Reka Checks and safe up to 3% on public transportaiton and a lot more. But dont buy more of them as you need.
Hello Wolter, i live in Switzerland and like your tips !
The hostel and breakfast tip is awesome, food stalls as well, shop for lunch, swim in the rivers and lakes go HIKING !!! in the mountains is the best way to experience Switzerland.
Transport and hotels ( above Chf 120.-) are really expensive ! lots of places to park a van and sleep in a van witch is transport and roof over your head, and portable kitchen for Chf 150.- a day.
see you guys in Interlaken !!
Again another helpful video and I totally agree to all of this. Been to Switzerland recently and this tips really helps a lot.
As far as I know there's also some sort of travel card for non-residents of Switzerland that you can get for a set amount of money. If you're going around by train a couple of times that might already be worth it. I don't know much about this card because I don't use it (I live here) but I have seen it advertised.
Would like to see another video on Switzerland, for example more of, what to see and do etc...
He’s got a few older videos that cover that
@@zjgvergara that's great...
Thanks for the video, please make more videos on Europe travel on budget. Thanks!
I'm working on it
As for budget eating, I'd recommend the restaurants in Coop and/or Migros, as well as IKEA if it happens to be on your way.
Another tip: in most of the big cities, if you have official accommodation (hotels, hostels, B&Bs,...), there should be a public transport ticket within the city included.
If staying in switzerland, avoid eating at mcdonald's. You will pay about 18$ a menu when you could eat for more like 10$-12$ at chinese or turkish restaurants, or even pizzas to takeout.
If you can find a manor, definitely head there : cheap and good food for take away.
1) Where possible visit Swiss destinations as a day trip from a neighbouring country such as Germany or France.
2) Go to Austria instead - it looks the same but is far easier on the pocket and lacks the snootiness of its neighbour.
Thanks for the video of Switzerland and the really helpful advice.
You are welcome
Jup, just been to switzerland 2 weeks ago for 4 days before going to Italy.
It's crazy expensive, especially when you want to see the Jungfraujoch. But it is so beautiful.
If you know anyone in switzerland ask them for a Tageskarte. these cost 45 bucks and you can use almost all the public transport in Switzerland for the whole day. That includes trains, busses, trams, some ships etc. You have to pick these up and book them some week in advance so probably like I said there as to be someone that picks them up for you. My gf and myself use this quite a lot. We just go to the trainstation early in the morning and look at the board with all the trains and chose a city that we like to go to. Hang out in the morning and do the same thing after lunch. Then go to a hostel and do the same thing the next day and go some in the evening. You can travel around see like 4 to 5 cities. Traveling around in the trains is also quite nice because its just a beautiful country. and for two days its 90.- per person. If you would book all the traintickets that would probably be 200 to 300 bucks. So enjoy!
Shop in ALDI and save money, also interlaken and several major city's offer Tourist free bus travel in a certain area. use the Tourist office
Excellent advices! It is expensive, but still not as expensive as Sweden & Norway
Really? In my experience Sweden was definitely cheaper than Switzerland. But I guess it changes over time with the currency rates.
Your work just keeps getting better!👍
Also some cantons / cities also give you a free public transport pass with your hotel stay and the great thing on both national and local passes is they include scenic ferries. Also for the restaurants, I find especially for lunch that compared to a Podunk town with nothing going on isn’t incredibly marked up at a scenic spot so you don’t feel you’re paying a tourist tax so while is expensive, the scenic stuff isn’t that marked up compared to similar scenic places in other countries. Like here in Ireland Killarney is extremely more marked up compared to my town but over there it’s more even nationwide. At least in my experience
That's cool
You also get the free public transport cards when staying at hostels. That should have been one of the tips.
@@googlyooglyoogl didn’t know it inc hostels
I had a trip to Basel a few years back. Really nice place but my god, I cried whenever I opened my wallet!
Our hotel actually gave us a Basel card for free for duration of our trip... and that made it doable.
It gave us free public transport, access to zoo (really nice) and as well as museums, discounts in some restaurants!
For lunch, we went to a discounted restaurant and ate well. Even with discount it was still pricey, but everything was very good! At night for dinner, we found a little fast food kebab shop in the city centre. Worked our way around the menu each night for a much more affordable meal.
Basel is right on the border with France and Germany... and the free public transport (Basel card) takes you buy tram into both countries. So we had a nice cheap day just crossing international borders and taking selfies standing in different countries... filled a day cheaply!!
I was in Zurich last month and OMG it was one of the best parts of my trip. Summertime swimming in the lake and beers on the grass. Great way to beat the heat, and wasn't pricy
Go to Coop or Migros Restaurant in the shopping centers. They are self serve, and cheaper. Greetings from Thun SWITZERLAND 😊
Basel my hometown❤️❤️❤️
We’re going to be there in July. For a family of 4 or more, it can be expensive to buy 4 transport passes, as well as pay for large enough accommodations in or near a major city. We actually saved a ton by getting an AirBnb in the country just outside Friboug (only US$95/night) and renting a car at GVA. You can drive pretty much anywhere in a relatively short time, get groceries at Coop or Migros, eat “at home” and pack picnic lunches, etc. Also, you can park relatively inexpensively outside city centers and take a tram or bus in. Kind of “living like a local.” Will second all the free or inexpensive things to do… Like visit the Gurten in Bern for great views and a fun alpine slide/toboggan run…
Its not cheap anyway you slice it. Cheap is not a word that should be used when talking about a vacay to Switzerland. All that said, it is still worth it. My goodness it is beautiful. I found just driving to be therapy for my mind.
Hi Mark, this video is wonderfully timed. I am going to Luzern for the first time with a bunch of friends however we are all broke as hell since we're students. Very helpful video! Greetings from Ghent, Belgium.
Been to Switzerland recently and I find Lucern to be more expensive compared to other places/cities in Switzerland.
@@smo5998 That‘s because there are a lot of tourists. Go to smaller towns and it will get cheaper
Als je met de auto gaat kan je wel heel goedkoop parkeren in de city garage. Dan loop je in 5 minuten het centrum in. De mcdonalds daar is ook best prima. Iets duurder dan Nederland en België, maar wel beter.
Lucerne is the best town in Europe in my opinion. I loved the kapellbrüke and stadtkeller Lucerne.
@@greg11161 Bern & St. Gallen (& Vaduz!) are nice. Zurich is boring, visit Garmisch instead.
Awesome video
Thanks Tobi
If you have a pass for the public transport anyway, look for accomodation outside of the cities and touristic hotspots. Often you'll find cheaper options just a 20 minutes train ride away.
Get the travel pass, and stay in a town outside of the big city that the public system can easily reach. might be expensive upfront but will save you $. In addition, the small towns COOPs are considerably cheaper.
You can travel Switzerland on a budget.
Austria
Happy travels Professor 😄
Great video , thanks!
I ll grab a chawarma or go to migros or coop before going to mcdo (it s just not food) 😅 .. cities have free walking tours, but def get a rail/tourist pass .. fountain water is usually also safe to drink unless it has a sign saying otherwise .. enjoy 🇨🇭
even tho i am swiss and live here i like to watch every video about switzerland
Canton Glarus is a gorgeous area in the Eastern Swiss-German part of Switzerland. It has beautiful waterfalls, high vertical peaks, very few foreign tourists & has lots of things to do. It is far more cost effective than the more traditional tourist hot spots. I know about it as my family emigrated from Glarus Switzerland to New Glarus Wisconsin, of New Glarus beer fame, 170 years ago. 🇨🇭❤️👍🏼
How interesting!!!
Best regards from Glarus, Switzerland to you :D
@@The811997 Thank you so much Simon! Best wishes to you!!🇨🇭❤️👍🏼
@@The811997 Glarus is so gorgeous!!!!! 🇨🇭👍🏼
if you want to eat cheap just buy groceries at aldi or lidl. Migros and Coop are more expensive. Avoid Spar and Volg since they are very pricey.
I used the tried-and-true "hike across the Alps" system, which saved me a fortune on public transit. ;-)
Good video. I'm hoping to ski with Oak Hall Holidays UK in Switzerland in January 2023 and its cheaper as all meals included. Last time I went I spent no money in Switzerland after buying the lift pass.
Great suggestions! Switzerland looks like a beautiful country.
Great tips! I had great inexpensive filling meal at Zurich Fried Chicken - ZFC was much better quality than KFC! Also, great market food in Geneva led to often eating in a nice park area by the shops I couldn’t afford 😂
Fun
There may be a few drawbacks to traveling in Switzerland, but at least the flag is a big plus!
Lol!!! So true!! 🇨🇭❤️👍🏼
I appreciate you taking the time to try and make my country (not cheaper because that's impossible) but less expensive for people wanting to visit :)
oh Thanks for this vid, it helps an idea - I am planning with the fam to visit in Switzerland...
Thanx for this great video... guess Turkey will do just fine... bye Switzerland
Book hotels or hostels that are NOT in a main road. Book them 2-3 blocks away from a train station or major road. Noise and tourist area will cost you more. Walk a couple of blocks and save a couple of hundreds $
I went in shoulder season(late april) and renting a car worked a lot better than public transportation. There are parking garages in the city centers so not as hard to park as it had been suggested to me. You also have the freedom to stop wherever you want and not worry about transportation schedules.
Did you do any hiking in April? Due to everyone's schedules we are stuck going then (end of the month/start of may (1 week in each month) and found out it's not the best time for that and are looking for trails that are doable that time of year.
If you take kids with you, get a Junior Swiss Pass. They cost 30 Franks per year per kid and you can use all transportation and a lot of cable cars without buying an extra ticket for them. This pays off after only a few short trips already!
Austria might be a good alternative (price-to-quality ratio) for the (germanic) alpine experience (they are very similar).
The Italian part of Switzerland (Ticino) might also be cheaper, with a slightly different climate and architecture.
Stay in a nearby village instead of city (they aren't so big anyways in Switzerland). It might be cheaper and provide a more unique experience.
We've been to Basel a couple of times & we did the McDonald's in the city square by the old city hall... it was not cheap! 🤣🤣