Just came from paris. Definitely one of the more expensive countries.
Will be going to switzerland in September.
My oh my! Very expensive from what I read which worries me
Wondering what the costs will be? want to avoid breaking the bank.
Cost of hotel in the city?
Cost of hotel in gimmeweld?
Cost of fast food?
Cost of eating lunch cheaply for 2 at a good place locals eat?
Cost of gas?
Cost of dinner for 2?
Cost of train tickets roughly for a weeks worth?
Thanks!
I didn’t think Switzerland was as expensive as everyone says. The Zürich hotels seemed on par for any other major city and our hotel in Murren was 275 francs/night for a 2-room suite and breakfast for 4 each day. The Swiss Pass for the trains did feel a bit pricey but given how clean and on time the trains are, it’s money well spent. The one area that I felt was more pricey than average was restaurants. For example the Chinese restaurant in Murren was over 100 francs for 4 people, probably would have been half that here in atlanta. But I do understand the logistics of getting supplies high in the Alps. That being said Switzerland was worth every penny and we definitely want to return in the future.
The Swiss Pass is a great value if you are on the move and use the trains and
boats and take the discounts on the cable cars etc. - the ease of not having to
purchase tickets is great and trains are in great shape and on time. Food is very
expensive so have a great breakfast at your B&B and picnic for lunch. I leave in
less than two months for Lauterbrunnen. Booked my plane on freq flyer miles 11
months ago and paid $60 RT from Chicago and got the only single room with balcony
at Hotel Oberland for $110 and Annex Antika in Zermatt for $100-both Hotels with great
ratings on booking.com. Planning ahead will make this trip very reasonable for
Switzerland.
We have been to several places in Switzerland there was not anything out of line from other areas of Europe. Except as the previous poster stated, the cost of food in some restaurants.
Short answer: On Par, or 25% more than the big cities of Europe (London, Paris, Rome), but just as expensive in the mountains as in the cities.
Cost of hotel in the city? - Please tell me you're not staying in cities. Switzerland is about mountains, not cities. CHF 150 per night upwards.
Cost of hotel in gimmeweld? - All the hotels and prices are on this website: https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/summer/eat-and-stay/hotel-hostels/
Cost of fast food? - Take away Pizza from CHF 10-15. Cans of beer in supermarket, from under CHF 1, up to CHF 2-3, depending on brand.
Cost of eating lunch cheaply for 2 at a good place locals eat? CHF 20 per head upwards. I just had my lunch in a department store restaurant. 1 plate of hot food, CHF 15.
Cost of gas? - Please don't tell me your thinking of driving a car. You can't drive to Gimmelwald, that's why it is so nice. Currently about CHF 1.65 /Litre. Cheaper than France or Germany, foreigners cross the border to fill up in Switzerland. Here are some current prices Europe-wide, from the Swiss driving club (TCS), in local currency, and converted to EUR and CHF: https://www.tcs.ch/mam/Digital-Media/PDF/Info-Sheet/benzinpreise-in-europa.pdf
Cost of dinner for 2? CHF 100
Cost of train tickets roughly for a weeks worth? 8-day pass costs CHF 418 (15-day CHF 513). See here: https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/international-guests/swiss-travel-pass.html
My takeaway was that it was more expensive than other places I've been in Europe (countries--Germany, Spain, France, Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary) except for Amsterdam. For us, it was hotel and restaurant prices. Slightly annoying in the German speaking parts of Switzerland was the practice of charging for tap water in the restaurants, even when purchasing a glass of wine. There are ways to make Switzerland less expensive and the country is worth seeking those out. We stayed one night in Geneva and to keep costs down my daughters and I stayed in a hostel. Incredibly, there were some business travelers in the hostel as well. I also had difficulty finding a moderately priced hotel/inn in Luzern, but I did come up with one I was comfortable paying for that had a wonderful included breakfast. In Lauterbrunnen we had a nice VRBO for what we felt was a very reasonable price, then we used the very reasonably priced Coop stores to make our own meals, especially breakfasts and lunches. While wine was moderately expensive in restaurants for a small glass, good wine was available in the Coops and great prices. I was able to find a nice accommodation in Basel for an extremely reasonable price. Basel is a very beautiful little city that I think is underrated. Unfortunately Basel is not in the mountains which is why most people want to be in Switzerland, but one could make day trips into luzern and the mountains, but I would want to wake up in the mountains for at least part of my time in Switzerland.
We did a Rhine cruise that ended in Basel and I definitely noticed that the price of things like souvenirs was way higher. A fridge magnet that cost about 3 euros in Germany or France was closer to 6 in Basel. On the other hand, the city bus/tram network was free for visitors.
Restaurant food in Switzerland is more expensive because the wait staff is actually paid a living wage...total foreign concept in USA (unfortunately). If you want to tip in Swiss restaurants you only round up your bill to the nearest franc or 2. But you’re not expected to tip.
Charging for a glass of water sounds a bit ridiculous until you think it through. The water pitcher and glasses still have to be washed and dried...so why should you expect that to be a free service? There are plenty of public drinking fountains located around most places to fill your water bottle at no cost..so be sure to take advantage of that.
Costs are high but so are the standards.
Your questions are too broad to answer easily. Switzerland is high cost, but manageable if you travel informed. Check out a guidebook and it will give you a flavor of what things relatively cost. But there will be some good advice here once you nail down an itinerary and have more specific questions.
If you compare Rick Steves Tour pricing, Switzerland cost is in the same ball park as Paris/France.
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/switzerland/best-switzerland-tour
Best of Switzerland in 12 Days Tour (11 Nights)
$3795 to $3995 = $363/night high
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/france/paris-france
Paris & the Heart of France in 11 Days Tour (10 Nights)
$3295 ro $3595 = $359.50/night high
These days, Swiss Francs are almost at parity with US dollars. So if you see any prices listed in CHF, it's pretty easy to decide if it's expensive or not.
Who knows what it will be in September? You can easily keep track by Googling something like "usd to chf conversion."
@Tim, I don't typically have to pay for napkins or silverware in restaurants. There was one restaurant in Luzern that charged us 8 Swiss Francs for water for 3 people. We all had ordered a beverage, too. It is slightly reasonable to be charged at the top at Schilthorn, but not in a city. It also is frustrating in a country noted for health and interest in the environment to be encouraging people to purchase bottled/sparkling water in restaurants. I would feel uncomfortable/tacky pulling out my water bottle in a restaurant, but sorry, $2 for a glass of water is ridiculous.
I hope you'll bring Rick's Switzerland guidebook, which will address these specifics, as well as budget strategies. As usual, hotels can easily become the biggest expense, so that's probably where you want to focus your planning first, to find something within your budget.
@Jules - Sorry you misunderstood...I didn’t recommend you to take your own water bottle into a restaurant.
And if it’s too ridiculous for your comfort then just don’t order water.
The prices in Switzerland are high as are the standards. My Swiss son-in-law comes to the USA and marvels at how cheap things are here. Of course, USA prices are cheap because we import cheap Chinese made products to fill the aisles of all our Walmarts. Swiss standards are not quite so low....thankfully.
We splurged on a room in Murren with a spectacular view balcony and soon felt it was worth the extra cost -- it allowed us a terrific place to relax, drink wine, drink tea and coffee, have snacks or a grocery store meal, without paying restaurant prices.
@Tim, I would call a charge for water, nickel and diming when its a charge for a glass of tap water and silly and environmentally irresponsible for a bottle of still water. If that's what they choose to do, they should include it in the menu, Glass of Tap Water 2CHF/NO REFILLS, because in fact we were charged another 2CHF for simply refilling the glass.
We splurged on a room in Murren with a spectacular view balcony and soon felt it was worth the extra cost -- it allowed us a terrific place to relax, drink wine, drink tea and coffee, have snacks or a grocery store meal, without paying restaurant prices.
That is, in my mind, the very definition of value vs price.
Well done!
@Andrea, Awesome! I love that idea. When traveling especially for an extended period, it sometimes feels like a lot of effort to find a restaurant, etc., and so much more relaxing to prepare your own food, cocktails and pick a lovely wine. And with a fantastic view, kind of a no brainer!
Please,
At my request lets avoid further convo about water.
Thanks for info,
Some want more details:
We are not frugal by any means.
Excluding air my recent paris stay was around 6k.
Is this enough for switzerland 9 days stay for the following:
We have specific diet- wife is pescatarian and i do not consume dairy other than some ice cream, hard cheese or aged or mozzarella (all are low to no lactose content), we are not adventurous in our eating-no escargots or andouilletes etc in france for us. Is it doable to meet these restrictions at the smaller villages towns etc?
We are not interested in hostels. Most important it should be near the action-if city then downtown or if town near town center, near the ski resort or lake (view or walking distance <.25 mile) ;Prefer good hotels that have working amenities including ac clean sheets working hot and cold shower and wifi, nonsmoking, breakfast available. Typically we get the above bw1-200 in ireland and germany and 3-400 in france.
Dont mind walking and hiking but definitely are not into biking long trails. No interest in car so trains are perfect for us.
6k in 9 days? No sweat. 250 CHF/night for nice hotels, same amount per day for food, travel, entertainment. So that is 500 CHF/day times 9 days gives 4.5k.
there is no "action" in Gimmelwald, except maybe at the hostel. It doesn't have a bunch hotels or restaurants to choose from. Its at the end of the road half way up the mountain, so you will be disappointed according to your description of wants. Its not exactly remote wilderness but Rick talks about it because it isn't action-packed. Just relaxing.
Perhaps Grindelwald is more of what you're thinking of - its more of a resort town.
Your wife should have no trouble finding fish at nice restaurants even in the mountain villages. GenerLlybit will be trout or salmon, or maybe Zander ( pike perch).
Here is a typical menu, with prices, from our favorite restaurant in Mürren ( at Hotel Bellevue):
I agree with the above posters that a hotel with breakfast really helps, and that eating lunch at the grocery stores and/or buying a grocery/picnic lunch is a great strategy. As I remember, many of the Coop stores had a hot food- sit down area.
At the restaurants we went to, it seemed that the lunch and dinner prices were the same, which is very different from the USA: a Swiss $100 dinner tab for two doesn't seem excessive, but a $100 lunch tab for two does seem to be.
Nonetheless, Switzerland is a beautiful country and I can't wait to return.
Safe travels!
The Jungfrau/Bernese Oberland part of Switzerland apparently gets a lot of Indian tourists because they've filmed a bunch of Bollywood movies there. So vegetarians and vegans are not uncommon there given how many Indians restrict their diets and the vegan-friendly Indian restaurants in the region seem to get good reviews.
Jay,
I find Switzerland to be an expensive place to travel, and not just because of the currency exchange. A few thoughts.....
You may want to have a look at the RS Switzerland guidebook as there's a lot of good information there that will help you find the best solutions that fit your budget.
Even though it's expensive to travel in Switzerland, it's an incredibly beautiful country and well worth a visit, so I just budget accordingly. "It is what it is".
When I mentioned the Geneva hostel, I should have been more clear. I was looking for a room for my daughters and I, and we found hotels in Geneva to be extremely expensive. Bare bones hotels 200euro and above. My takeaway was that Geneva and Zurich hotels are quite expensive while hotels in smaller cities were more within my budget. Perhaps hotels in larger Swiss cities on the mid and high range are similar or only a bit more expensive than other cities in Europe, but budget friendly properties seemed to be in very low supply.
Try the Hotel Bel Esperance for a clean budget hotel in Geneva. It’s run by the Salvation Army.
A Geneva Hotel for 60chf...there's probably a reason.
60 CHF might buy a few glasses of tap water in Geneva. . . .
But why are we talking about Geneva? It doesn’t Seem to be on the OP’s list.
FWIW, I have looked at Hotel Suisse in Geneva as a one-night stop on our next trip, after the long-haul flight and before proceedings to our destination (Chamonix). I am seeing prices well under 200 CHF for a standard double room this summer (like 166-176 CHF).
For us, it was hotel and restaurant prices.
Just got back from a trip that included 4 days in Switzerland (Sierre and Bern). These are definitely 2 items that are significantly pricier than elsewhere. And I'm not comparing it to the US, but rather to all the places in France I've been to. We stayed in 2 AirBnBs, and they were probably 25-40% more than comparable Chambre d'Hotes or Air BnBs we've stayed at in France. Our host at one of the Air BnBs confirmed that eating in restaurants is very pricey. Another big item is wine, which is far more than comparable French wine (maybe double), whether in shops or at a restaurant. But despite all that, we loved our visit.
Expensive is in the eye of the beholder. :)
Cost of city hotels can range from backpacker hostels/budget hotels (130chf+) to mid-range chains (250chf+) to luxury (400chf+).
Fast food is available everywhere. A big Mac is about $7.50, but you can get a quick to-go lunch at the supermarket for $10-12 (a better option). A take-out roti on the street is $18.
Eating out in Switzerland is expensive. I live in Zurich and frequent a small cafe downtown when we're out giving guests a local tour. A burger, fries and coke = $30. Club sandwich with no sides, beer $ 23, Chicken Cesar salad with roll, coke $27. A special dinner out at my favorite downtown restaurant is easily $80 per person without wine.
Gas (I bought yesterday) was about $6.90 a gallon.
Train tickets depend on regions of travel and if you've decided to use any type of discount passes.
Our point of reference is a small city in northern Italy, so for us, double. Hamburgers at a pub in Lucern were over 20CHF- same with fish and chips. Pizzas, which seem to be one of the lower cost options in some menus, over $20. We are used to €8-10. 2 americano coffees- $9 in Switzerland. In Italy, 2 cappuccinos-€3.50-4.00.
Looked up cost of meals in Milan, based in cc purchases
$62.99. Italian food for 2 with bottle of wine
$70.64. All you can eat sushi for 2, 2 beers, 2 sakis
Switzerland
$51.66. 2 burgers (paid cash at bar for drinks)
$85.44 (burger, fish and chips 2 beers, 2 glasses wine
$128.36 2 fish entrees and glass wine, beer (not fancy restaurant)
Verbania Italy
$82.47. 3 fish entrees, 3 salads, bottle of wine, sparkling water,
$41.34. 2 burgers, 2 beers, 2 glasses of wine
Regarding lodging,
hotel in Lucern for 150CHF per night.
Mürren was 190CHF/ night.
Hotel on Lake near Interlaken 144CHF per night
Florence apt €107
Lucca B&B €75
Milan 4points Sheridan €131
I concur that food is very expensive in Switzerland. Also, portions are small, at least for Americans. At a restaurant in a small mall in Zurich, I once spent CHF 25 on a "house special" burger, which was nothing special. It's a 1/4 pounder at best (almost looked a kid's burger--no kidding!). After this, I still needed more food. CHarging for water seems outrageous, but bear in mind that tax is already included in the menu price. So, think of it as a minimum charge, which is common in many countries.
Don't bother with fast food. It's better and healthier to buy sandwiches or picnic food at supermarkets. Grab some cheese, salami, ham, fruits, and a good bottle of wine.
Cost of hotels: there isn't anything dirt cheap, but mid-range hotels aren't as $$$ as in San Francisco. At the high-end, it can be as sky high. Having A/C is NOT common. So, if the weather is muggy, then it can get very uncomfortable. I live in CA and therefore am not used to humidity. I was in Zurich last summer--the temp was only upper 70F/low 80F, but it was unbearable for me. I picked a hotel with A/C and had to book very early. Bear in mind that you need to book a place where the in-room temp can be adjusted. Some hotels only have central air and they keep the temp high to save $.
Cost of transportation is also very high, whether you drive or take public transit.
Overall, as mentioned above, things are expensive for a reason. Plan your trip well, stick to a realistic budget, and enjoy!
