Can You Really Visit Switzerland on a Budget? (Honest Advice)

Is Switzerland expensive to visit? Absolutely. Yet, there are a few things that can help if you’re trying to travel to Switzerland on a budget. We’ve now been several times and have done everything from luxury spa hotels on Lake Lucerne to camping out in nature! Hopefully, this article will give you some fun route ideas, Switzerland budget travel tips, and inspiration for your own trip. 

Can You Really Travel to Switzerland on a Budget?

Yes! Still, it’s important to have realistic expectations. This is 100% one of the most expensive countries to travel to in Europe. With that, comes high speed rail networks, upscale accommodations, and beautiful cities and towns that you’ll feel safe exploring.

When planning your own trip, keep in mind that you may have to spend more on certain activities, gondolas, and other adventure experiences. Trust us when we say that they’re worth it! You might just have to sacrifice in other places if you’re truly trying to visit Switzerland on a budget.

Now, if you’re attempting to spend the same as you would in Portugal, Spain, or Greece, you’re in for a rude surprise! However, as you’ll see in this article, there are plenty of ways to dramatically reduce your costs without sacrificing too much fun.

Our 8 Best Switzerland Budget Travel Tips

1. Utilize the Grocery Stores

This is our first, and maybe most important, Switzerland budget tip. It’s no secret that eating out can be expensive, especially in the cities and popular mountain villages. Delicious Swiss cuisine can cost anywhere from €20 to 50 Euros (or more) depending on what you’re looking for. 

Unfortunately, we’ve found that some of our favorite Swiss dishes such as fondue and raclette are not cheap! You still might want to splurge for a few great meals out on your Switzerland vacation.

At the same time, you should be making plenty of trips to the grocery stores if you’re visiting Switzerland on a budget. We’ve used Aldi and Lidl quite a bit here and the prices are very comparable to other European countries. 

We’ve started our mornings out countless times by stopping into Lidl with our own coffee cups to use their machine for under 1 euro. There’s also a fine selection of Swiss cheeses to make a sandwich or tasty snack plate with.

Sorry, but you might have to skip the epic James Bond breakfast atop Schilthorn Peak. Instead, bring your own sandwich and enjoy the same views of alps to save money.

It’s a nice bonus if your accommodation has a kitchen to cook some meals in as well. You don’t have to go out of your way to pay more for it, but just something to keep in mind when searching for where to stay.

2. Consider Camping

An effective and exciting way to keep on budget in Switzerland is by staying outside in the great outdoors! While we’ve stayed in some unreal places like Hotel Vitznauerhof and Deltapark Vitalresort, many of our favorite moments have been camping around the country.

We specifically fell in love with the area around Interlaken, and even found a campsite for 30 euros a night right on Lake Brienz. At Strandbad & Camping we had access to the shower, a fire pit for cooking, and could hop right in the alpine waters when we needed to cool off in mid-August. 

This was such an amazing way to be in nature and also save money the more expensive things to do in Interlaken we knew couldn’t miss out on. 

You might be thinking now… do you need to live in Europe and have camping gear to do it this way? This might sound crazy, but we got a little creative with our Switzerland budget travel ideas.

First, we stopped at a Decathlon store near the Swiss border in Germany. We spent roughly 250 euros on a tent, mattress, two chairs, some camping cookware, and other essentials like sleeping bags and head lamps. When you consider that’s probably what you would pay for 1 night at a hotel in the summertime, we thought it was a deal!

Also, since we do live in in Europe, we were able to keep all our stuff and use it again. If you plan to camp for 2 weeks though, this could actually be a great way to save money either way. You could even sell it online or donate everything to a local charity shop when you’re done. 

3. Look Into Switzerland Budget Travel Passes

Another great way to save money is look into the bundle packages offered in different mountain regions. We recently used the Jungfrau Travel Pass, which gave us access to four different mountains on our trip.

You usually get a discount the more days you book. So if you’re planning to use all the railways and gondolas, it makes sense to purchase a longer pass. 

Some of our favorite activities included were the historic train and hike at Schynige Platte, hitting the zip-lines at Grindelwald-First, the views from Harder Klum, and our day trip to the top of Europe at Jungfraujoch. There are separate passes you could buy for each activity as well if you’re short on time.

Keep in mind, you’ll want to check exactly what’s included when it comes to the railways and popular Swiss Pass. It still may be cheaper to book things individually after some proper research.

A great place to get an idea of different passes, gondola prices, and tours is  Get Your Guide. Just simply search the towns you plan to visit for some cool ideas and more information on what’s offered. 

4. Skip the Gondola and Hike Instead

While the epic Gondolas shouldn’t be missed on your trip, there is plenty to do out in nature without it costing an arm and a leg. If you’re visiting Switzerland on a budget, you should be the type of person that loves hiking and doing things on your own. 

Switzerland has some of the best hiking trails in the world and the vast majority of them are free! The expensive part is often getting to them if they start at high altitude.

For instance, we’ve found that there’s almost always a trail to take up and down instead of paying for the gondolas. You could also opt to take the lift one way and hike the other to save some Swiss Francs.

5. Enjoy the Swiss Tap Water

This one may seem obvious, but it has to be said! Switzerland is known for having some of the cleanest and drinkable water in the entire world. 

So often, along our budget travels, we’ve had to buy water out of necessity. This has definitely been the case in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Greek Islands.

Well, you will not include that in your Switzerland travel budget! Enjoy the fresh tap water, which is safe to sip straight from the sink most places through the country. 

We recommend bringing a reusable water bottle with you so you can fill up on the go. 

6. Check If Your Hotel Offers Tourist Cards 

Something we didn’t know before our first visit is about the free passes for transportation. Although you will likely have to pay a small tourist tax when checking into your hotel, many will offer you a pass or big discount to get around on your Switzerland adventures.

We saw this firsthand in areas like Interlaken and Lucerne, where even our campground gave us a card to use the buses for free. Be sure to ask when you’re checking into your hotel if this is available.

7. Avoid Hotels in Cities & Famous Towns

Now that we’ve covered some of the basics of traveling in Switzerland on a budget, here comes the hard truth. It’s extremely hard to avoid spending  money on accommodations in Switzerland, with the prices climbing even higher in the big cities and tourist towns. 

That means unless you’re good with a hostel bed, you might not be spending long in Zurich Switzerland on a budget! Luckily, you can still see most of the best things to do in Zurich in one day and continue on your journey. You could even pop into the city on a Zurich layover if you have time!

To keep a tight Switzerland budget, we would save the cities for the first or last day of your trip. You can also plan day trips to destinations like Zermatt, Lauterbrunnen, and Grindelwald, then stay overnight in less popular towns where hotels cost less.

Guesthouses and bed and breakfasts are a great option, even if they’re located just outside the main area you’re looking to stay in. This is one reason to consider renting a car for your Switzerland budget travel itinerary. 

Vehicles can obviously be expensive during the peak summer months. Nevertheless, if you book outside of July and August, you can find deals using tools like DiscoverCars. This could save you money in the long run as your car will allow you to get you to lower-priced accommodations. 

8. Stay Across the Border From Switzerland

Funny enough, you don’t actually have to stay in Switzerland overnight to see it! Some of our best travel memories have come from dipping over the border from France, Germany, or Italy and then heading back at night.

One thing to remember is that you will have to pay for the Swiss toll pass if you’re traveling by car. We paid 40 Swiss Francs ($50 USD), so it probably isn’t worth it for only a day trip. 

We were dying to see Lake Lugano on our most recent trip. If you can believe it, this led us to staying on the Italian side for an entire month in a long-term Airbnb.

For many travelers, towns like Albogasio-Oria would never cross their minds. The Swiss side of the lake is much more popular, but we were still only three minutes from the border, and a 15 minute drive from Lugano city center.

This was a far cheaper way to experience the country, as we could quickly drive over the border whenever we wanted. Having a long-term accommodation gave us plenty of time to see beautiful Swiss villages like Morcote, Mont Bre, and take the lovely Olive Tree Trail to Gandria.

→ 8 Unforgettable Things to do in Lugano Switzerland

Is Switzerland Expensive to Visit?

At this point, we think you know the answer! The reality is, that if you’re booking a trip to Switzerland, you need to accept that you’re going to spend money.

Hopefully, our Switzerland budget travel guide gave you some ideas for where you can save. It’s easy to wing it a little bit with you’re planning in some countries, but this isn’t one of those places.

You’ll want to have a solid itinerary, hotels booked in advance, and activities planned before you go. It’s also smart to visit Switzerland outside of the busy summer and winter ski seasons, when you can find better deals on hotels and rental cars.

Check out these general Switzerland travel tips for more info before your trip! Once you get to the packing stage, here are some cute Switzerland outfits for all your days of adventure.

Have any questions about this article or want to share your own tips for traveling in Switzerland on a budget? Leave us a comment below!

Safe Travels,
Brigitte & Jake

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