Starting to Book places to stay. Affordable Advice?

I would start with booking.com. At least get an idea of what is available and price range.

Be prepared for Switzerland to be the opposite of affordable. It is what it is.

We loved Chalet Gerbera in Wengen. https://www.chalet-protea-gerbera.com/?lang=en

We started looking at booking.com and air bnb. Most definitely knew going into the trip, in general, Switzerland is pricey…hence asking my peeps on this forum lol 😆 🧐

Look for chalet apartments, they are usually a better deal than hotels, although short stays and moving around a lot makes it less so. Places like e-Domizil, Interhome + local rental companies will show you a lot. For example, in Wengen there are places like Alpine Holiday Services and Wengen Apartments, as well as the local tourist office website that lists all the rentals with links. Like this for Wengen, as an example: https://chalet.myswitzerland.com/holiday-rentals/wengen/

Also a comment on your itinerary, I don’t know your flights, but I’d remove the night in Bern and just do a day trip there from Luzern. I’m assuming based on your list that you’re flying in and out of Zurich. If so, consider something like this….
Arrive Zurich, train to Wengen - 5 nights
Montreux - 3 Nights
Annecy - 3 Nights
Luzern - 3 nights (day trip to Bern plus travel to Zurich airport for departure)

When is your trip? I’ve found that for Switzerland, the best prices are usually offered 10-12 months out.

I’m not sure what you consider to be affordable. For Lucerne, I stayed at hotel des alpes in 2022 and am staying there again this June. For Montreux, in 2022 I stayed at the grand hotel Suisse and am staying there again this June. Prices are a lot higher for 2024, but it’s such a convenient location. For Wengen, I’m doing a repeat stay at the hotel schonegg.

Like wanderweg suggested, I would also skip the one night in Bern and keep as a possible day trip option.

Good luck!!

We arrive May 27th and depart June 9. I just added Bern to be close to Zurich airport. Maybe just go into Zurich since we arnt doing anything there when we land. There was no real reason to stay in Bern. We depart the 9th 12:45pm.

Whether you use Booking.com or Airbnb or a local property management company, I would focus on rentals that have kitchens. You will save a lot of money if you aren't buying into hotel breakfasts; can brew your own coffee; and can make some of your own meals using fresh ingredients from markets or grocery stores.

Yes, definitely considering that in each place we look at!

If your flight isn’t until 12:45 and you don’t care about Bern, then definitely do something along the lines I recommended, because you can easily get to the airport from Luzern in time and not have to change hotels again unnecessarily.

Arrive Zurich, train to Wengen - 5 nights
Montreux - 3 Nights
Annecy - 3 Nights
Luzern - 3 nights (travel to Zurich airport on departure morning)

Or to allow a bit more time for snow melt in the mountains, maybe

Arrive Zurich, train to Annecy - 3 nights (is flying into Geneva an option instead? It would save you time to fly into Geneva and out of Zurich)
Montreux - 3 Nights
Wengen - 5 nights
Luzern - 3 nights (travel to Zurich airport on departure morning)

We have already purchased our tickets in and out of Zurich.

Confused- you have a STP but have purchased Zurich train tickets?

@Pat -- I believe OP was referring to plane tickets in and out of Zurich (in response to the query if she could fly into Geneva instead to save time).

@HT correct…I was referring to the flight.

Flipping the trip may not be a bad idea. Thank you for the suggestion, Pat.

Hi! I’m not too sure when you will be traveling to Switzerland, but i would recommend getting accommodations way way in advance. We are going to Switzerland in July 2024 and we booked our accommodations Oct 2023. Prices will be much lower, ofc it depends how much you want to spend and where. We booked through airbnb and found a lot of the more affordable options were being booked out for July in October. Try Booking.com, airbnb, and Expedia! I hope you have a great trip!

We leave May 26 lol 😆 eeeek

I used Booking.com for many trips, especially for the hotels with free cancellation and Genius discounts. Planning for my Switzerland trip, I found much fewer listed hotels offer those. Instead, I got quotes directly from the hotels that are 5-20% lower for the same rooms than at Booking. Almost every one has free cancellation.

Also be aware of the Mobility Passes from the hotels, which may not be available from the apartments.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/switzerland/guest-cards

I have stayed several places in Montreux. The last two times I have stayed at the 3 star Hotel Spendid. It is a quicky hotel, but if you get a lake view room (with balcony), the view is fabulous. Walking distance to the train station. Check it out.

@Barbara TY. Rockstar! I will check it out tomorrow!

Well Switzerland is an expensive place... maybe check the B+B site as it might have something cheaper than booking.com: https://bnb.ch/en/