Visiting the Alps - Switzerland or Austria?

jcspixiepen - Both areas are worth going to. However, as you mentioned Switzerland is very expensive. The beauty of it though compensate for the price. Calculate your budget and see what is feasible for you to do. You can't go wrong with either alpine destination.

Look at the town of Seefeld as a base for your Austrian alpine adventure in case you decide to go to the Innsbruck area.

Where will you be before and after this part of your trip?

Stan - we will likely be coming either from Paris or Stuttgart, although we may stop in the Lucerne area for a couple of days since my husband wants to visit a childhood friend. After that we would head to the Alps!

for those looking for context, there is a discussion earlier this month at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/europe-2020-itinerary-help-comments-suggestions

I believe that, technically, Luzern is in the Swiss Alps. Certainly plenty of mountains there. No question the BO area is more spectacular than Innsbruck. If it were me, I'd bite the bullet and stay in Switzerland. But if you're going on to Austria anyway, Luzern might be enough. Yes you can economize, by not eating restaurant meals three times a day, and taking advantage of the various transportation pass options. The RS or Lonely Planet guidebook can be very helpful with tips. Just my opinion.

What Stan said. Innsbruck is nothing compared to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and greater environs. Spend at least 3 nights.

In September 2017, my husband and I travelled by train from Paris to Basel, Switzerland for 29 euro each. These were non refundable tickets booked about four months in advance. We then travelled to Murren after purchasing the Swiss Half Price Pass at the Basel train station. We stayed in a wonderful, basic apartment (one of three) in a Swiss chalet where the owners also lived for about 90 CHF per night (for 4 nights) plus taxes and 60 CHF for end of stay cleaning. We looked out the bedroom window directly at a mountain face. It was jaw dropping. I think the apartment we stayed in is now 120 CHF. Food is very expensive in Switzerland and we were able to cut expenses by eating breakfast and dinner in the apartment. This also worked out well because we were quite tired by the end of the day after hiking. If you decide on staying in mountains, I would recommend that you stay four nights giving you three days to explore and make plans based on the weather. We had one glorious day, one middling and one rainy day but had fun all the days using all the various modes of transportation to see quite a bit of the area. The Swiss Half Price pass worked out about even for us but only because we used it to go up to the Shilthorn.

If you don't eat out much, Switzerland is not that bad. So look to rent an apt., or look in to renting a trailer or bungalow at www.campingjungfrau.swiss

If you want to see what the Lauterbrunnen/Wengen area looks like, click on my name and you'll find a link to our dozen favorite hikes in the area, with plenty of pictures.

There can also be sticker shock for trains and cable car fares in Switzerland, but if you price it out, the cost per day is often than what you'd pay for a car rental and gas. (Though we skipped the Jungfraujoch because it didn't seem like the value was there)

If you can make the numbers work, I'd say definitely go for Bernese Oberland. While we had a lot of fun in the Alps along the Germany/Austria border, it didn't steal our hearts the way Lauterbrunnen and Murren did.

Is Austria going to be a better choice if budget plays a role in our decision?

Definitely.

I just want to emphasize that while restaurants in Switzerland are expensive (roughly 1.5 times New York City prices for comparable places), supermarkets in Switzerland are very reasonable. They have lots of prepared items (sandwiches, salads, etc), so even if you don't have a kitchen, it's easy to get a number of your meals that way.

Similarly, while hotels in Switzerland are expensive, apartment rentals can be very reasonable. Look at VRBO, HomeAway, Airbnb, etc.

I will chime in with my travel mantra which is, “ I rarely regret the money I spend, but I often regret the money I didn’t spend.” I don’t mean that in a snobby first-world-problems kind of way but rather for things like if there is $100 hotel that gets poor views on trip advisor for noise and down the street there’s $150 hotel that gets mentions of being quiet, the extra $50 a night is well worth a peaceful night’s sleep and especially as compared to the cost of, say, a $3000 Europe trip if it’s not a huge portion of the overall budget—it’s definitely worth it. My point here is, if you really want to go to Switzerland, go to Switzerland. I have not been to the Austrian Alps so I can’t compare it but when I went to Switzerland last summer (Murren) it was truly one of the most gorgeous and peaceful places I have ever seen.

If budget is of concern the Julian Alps in Slovenia might be with a thought. Lake Bled is breathtaking. And the Alps region does have a Swiss/Austrian feel. Plus you get a dash of Slavic in the mix.

I’ve also been to the areas in Switzerland you mentioned. Definitely worth the added cost. I drove through the Austrian Alps from Germany to Slovenia very similar to Switzerland. We visited Salzburg and Hallstatt. We also did Hohenwerfen Castle.

Austria is slightly cheaper. Accommodation was the most expensive In Switzerland. We paid $100 a night for a room with shared bathroom for entire floor. An ok breakfast was included. A MacMeal was apx 30 Swiss franks.

They are both lovely. There are many places to stay in the Austrian Alps -- I wouldn't stay in Innsbruck itself. You're $$ will go further in Austria and you'll still have an authentic alpen experience.