Switzerland is far from cheap, but it's a gorgeous place. If you've made up your mind to visit, I've compiled important points about the cost of meals, accommodation, transport and activities, along with tips and tricks to save money so you can travel longer and farther!
Car or Swiss Travel Pass?
When planning your trip to Switzerland, the first decision to make is whether to rent a car. Renting a car can be cheaper if you are a family and plan to stay for over a week. However, there are several important factors to consider:
Additional Transport Costs: You'll need to pay for certain mountain excursions (mountain trains, gondolas, cable cars, etc.) separately to reach mountain tops, such as Harder Kulm.
Boat Rides: If you want to enjoy a boat ride, you will need to pay for that separately as well.
Attraction Fees: You will need to pay the full price for all attractions you wish to visit.
Driving Adjustments: Indians are used to driving on the left side of the road, while most European countries, except the UK, drive on the right. This can be challenging for first-time visitors.
Parking Costs: Parking can be expensive at tourist attractions and in cities.
We Decided to Go for the 8-Day Swiss Travel Pass
Switzerland is a small country with an excellent public transport system that connects even the most remote places! During your time in the country, you'll want to explore as many places as possible, from charming cities to the stunning Alps with their amazing hiking trails.
What is the Swiss Travel Pass?
If you plan to travel extensively in Switzerland, the Swiss Travel Pass is a fantastic choice. This pass includes unlimited access to the extensive Swiss transport network. It is available for 3, 4, 8, and 15 days and allows free entrance to around 500 attractions across Switzerland, including some mountain excursions. Additionally, it provides discounted rates for special excursions, such as the Jungfrau - Top of Europe.
With the Swiss Travel Pass, you can hop on trains, buses, and boats across Switzerland as many times as you like during its validity period.
The pass is available for both 1st class and 2nd class on trains. In my opinion, a 2nd class pass is more than sufficient as Swiss trains are rarely overcrowded, clean, and comfortable. Plus, 1st class might be too quiet for a family with a toddler!
Children under 16 years of age travel for free with their parents.
Check out the details about the Swiss Travel Pass on their official website.
The Swiss Travel Pass can be bought online or at all main train stations at SBB offices and information centers. I suggest purchasing your Swiss Travel Pass (STP) after reaching Switzerland, on the first day you want to start long-distance travel and exploration. We bought ours from the information center at Lucerne Station. The process is quick, taking hardly 10 minutes. You will need to show your passports for name verification.
An 8 day STP for an adult over 25 years of age costs 419 CHF ( approximately 38000 INR) in June 2024.
A few excursions are free or included with your Swiss Travel Pass, such as the excursion to Mount Rigi. More importantly, we discovered that you can visit these destinations as many times as you want; it's not limited to one trip per card.
The Swiss Travel Pass also provides 50% off on other mountain excursions such as Harder Kulm and Oeschinensee, and a 25% discount on trips to Jungfrau.
Read more about how to plan an excellent day trip to Oeschinensee in our post Oeschinensee : Turquoise jewel of the Bernese Oberland
The STP offers flexibility that allows you to plan your exploration according to weather predictions and visibility from the top of the mountains (live webcam feeds are available on the official websites of the mountains) from anywhere in Switzerland without worrying about the costs of travel.
The Swiss Travel Pass also includes access to various beautiful castles, such as Chateau de Chillon and Oberhofen Castle.
Read our blog castles in Switzerland - gems not many travel to! for more information .
But the biggest advantage of the Swiss Travel Pass is the spontaneity it offers! Travel anywhere, anytime, and as many times as you want without worrying about buying tickets for every single leg of your journey, thus saving a lot of time.
Additionally, if you don't already know, traveling on Swiss trains is a fantastic experience in itself. The views on most routes are nothing less than gorgeous!
The Swiss Travel Pass was an excellent choice for our family during our visit to Switzerland. We found it not only cost-effective way to travel, but it also provided a fun, hassle-free, and extremely seamless experience with the big advantage of spontaneity!
Check out our blogs The perfect itinerary to Switzerland trip! 10 days in paradise and 10 tips to cut costs on food while traveling in Switzerland .
Happy travels!
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