Switzerland - Budget

Having just returned from 10 days in Switzerland, your budget requirements will need to be much more generous for Switzerland. The cost of basic accommodation and food was staggering.
It would be helpful if you could outline what sort of accommodation and food requirements etc. you have.

Yes, Switzerland is terribly expensive. We were in Lugano, Bern, Lucerne and Zurich, two years ago. We spent two weeks in those places. You will be shocked at how expensive Switzerland is.

If you bought a cheeseburger at McDonald's in Switzerland today (the same cheeseburger you know from back home) it would be $4. No, I'm not joking. Their overall price level is much higher than in e.g. Germany, the UK or the US. And then the exchange rate is so bad these days that the Swiss government has called in tasks forces to come up with ideas as to how to get foreign visitors into the country. In 2011 Switzerland lost more incoming travelers than Egypt (who went through a revolution at the time). But please, enjoy the great landscape!

Well, my lodging will be at a friend's apartment which I will not have to pay for but I do plan to at least buy the groceries for the time I am there. I only need a hotel for 3 days at the end of my trip. We will be using his car to do the traveling but I will be buying the gas. I want to sightsee and go to a thermal spa. We are not extravagant spenders so I dont see us eating a sit down meal in a restaurant everyday.

Relax - grocery store prices are very normal. It's only when you buy the prepared food that the price jumps through the roof. Grocery stores like Migros or Coop will also have packaged food like sandwiches and bottled drinks that are good for traveling. The train stations are also a good source of good and less expensive food items. You might find that public transport is actually cheaper than buying gas and paying to park.

I'll agree that managed carefully it is possible to stay in Switzerland and not have to sell the house or the children. I can stay at Muerren in the Berner Oberland for less than I can in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy or England. Once in place there, walking is free, as are the views. As mentioned above non-hot food is available quite reasonably at Coop and Migros. Other staples are reasonable too. Every year we stock up on toothpaste, cough drops, sunscreen and jam in Migros and take home a year's supply of each (except the jam, 25% in Migros, 75% in Carrefour in France) because the quality is superior and the prices either competitive or cheaper than equivalents in England. Granted, I am comparing to the UK. But I have the choice of buying the rest at Carrefour or Auchun in France, Belgium, Germany or Italy; or other stores like Rewe or Casino (Casino in France do a pretty good job too), and we always stock up at Migros even though we have to tote it (ok the car does, usually) across 3 or 4 countries. Swiss travel isn't cheap but its cheaper than the UK for trains. I agree that cable cars are not cheap, nor is restaurant food. You can do well at the supermarkets for cafeteria type service, and its hard to get cheaper than a prepackaged sandwiches or salad bowls.