[I'm BACK - after a few successful years on Steemit, I'm very excited to re-enter Hive! And yes, I'm still on the road... 6 years full-time and counting (this is getting outta hand). This time: Live from Switzerland, where I'm spending the corona-lockdown]

“Wow, I never imagined Switzerland to be that damn cheap!” - said nobody ever. I was recently following a Twitter-poll taken in an online travel community, where an overwhelming 85% chose Switzerland as the most expensive country they’ve ever visited. Obviously, this might mean they never visited places such as Scandinavia (especially Norway and Iceland), which are by any means significantly more costly than Switzerland ever was, but it nevertheless provides an overall idea of your budget expectations.

I’m not here to deny this obvious truth, hell no… I’m simply here to tell you that there are actually ways to save on your overall expenses when heading to this must-visit country (it’s definitely in my Europe-Top-3… Talking: A European citizen who visited 90% of all European countries, most of them several times and many months). And if you wonder what the hell I know: I visited Switzerland 4 times as a tourist, the last time was 6 months ago… and I’m still here. I landed a job, moved to the Alps and eventually got stuck in the corona virus lockdown. I’m basically a “local” now, being subscribed in the village of Adelboden, speaking German all day, carrying an Auslanderausweis with me and, sadly, paying taxes (1000-1500 francs a month). Yet, instead of slowly milking my bank account into bankruptcy, I found a way to actually save up and eventually leave Switzerland with pockets stuffed with travel money. A franc not spent is definitely a franc saved, especially in Switzerland.

Okay, saving money in Switzerland: let’s divide it up, shall we? What are the main expenditure items when traveling? Right: Transport, Accommodation, Activities and Food. Great news, most of them can be either entirely free or significantly well-priced. Let me tell you how:

TRANSPORT

Hitchhiking (free)

If you’re a regular reader of my blog you might have seen this one coming. Yes, I hitchhike about 75% of all my travels (not taking cross-continent flying into account). Alone, as a woman, and no, nothing bad has ever happened because the world is in fact a better place than the media or your mum tries to make you believe. It’s funny that people generally tell me that in their country hitchhiking is really not possible, which simply means they haven’t done it before themselves. So was the case in Switzerland, where in fact my maximum waiting time was a rough 5 minutes. Even in a big city like Zürich, where I simply walked to the highway exit of town and held up a sign. I’m not saying you have to do this, it might not be for you… but it definitely is possible, it's very safe in Switzerland, and it won’t cost you a dime (warning: unexpected friendships might be included though).

A particularly useful website I check every time is Hitchwiki.

Buses & Public City Transport (within the municipality free with guest card)

I almost got a heart attack googling bus and train prices in Switzerland, especially considering the relatively short distances. Until I learned about ‘guest cards’ once I landed a seasonal job as a hotel receptionist. True, you only get one if you’re opting for paid accommodation and as such pay city tax (or if you become friends with a hotel receptionist – just saying), but at least you get something in return granting you free public transport travel (valid in the municipality receiving your city tax), including discounted or free entry into attractions and when booking activities. Verify at reception when checking in.

Bicycles (free)

Nowadays every self-respecting European city of considerable size has a bike-share system. Switzerland is no exception. You’re required to sign up (online or on-site) with your ID, and most of the times a deposit of about CHF 20 is in place (which will be refunded), but it’s definitely worth the bicycle use which is entirely free if you park the bike into the next station within 30 minutes. Cities such as Zürich, Bern, Geneva, Neuchatel, Zug and Valais already have this green environmentally friendly system in place, and we can only expect that more are to follow.

Strong legs? Bring your own bike or buy one at Heilsarmee (keep reading) and cross the entire country for free. But mind you, the steep Alps are for the fittest-of-the-fittest only!Flixbus (cheap)

While inside of Switzerland I hitchhiked the entire journey, I however decided to enter Switzerland by bus due to time limitations. Costs? 10 bucks, all they way from Heidelberg, Germany (half a day of travel). Yes, they suck… I’m not gonna lie and try to convince you what a gem of a company this is. But it’s a way to get you from A to B for next to nothing. (if you’re doing Europe overland: they generally have winter- and summer-season deals including 5 trips for 99 euros, no matter how far you go). Switzerland has Flixbus stops in Basel, Bellinzona, Bern, Chur, Fribourg, Geneva, Interlaken, Lausanne, Lugano, Luzern, Montreux, Schaffhausen, Splügen, St. Gallen, Thun, Winterthur, Yverdon les Bains and Zürich.

Blablacar (moderate)

More expensive than Flixbus, but cheaper than taking a random intercity bus- or train: Blablacar is quite active in Switzerland. If hitchhiking scares you, the review-system of this app might take your concerns away.

Trains(the earlier the cheaper) on the SBB website, and specifically search for discount deals such as Super Savers or the Swiss Travel Pass (all have their own up- and downsides, so first write your intended itinerary and travel plans down, then check which deal suits your specific travel needs).

Flights: If you have to fly, check out budget airlines Ryanair and Easyjet. Another way to find cheap deals is putting a flexible search in Skyscanner: just select the to- and from-country (with complete flexibility in airports) and search for the entire month… graphs show the cheapest dates to travel, allowing you to immediately book (and my experience is to indeed do that once you see a rate & date you like, as it might disappear within 5 minutes). Always search incognito to avoid cookies tracking your flight search history and pumping up the prices upon return visits.

ACCOMMODATION

Couchsurfing (cheap)

Up until a month ago I would have listed this as a free option, but corona also pushed our favourite travel community over the edge. Depending on your listed country, a monthly or yearly paid membership is required, but with about 15 euros a year this is too insignificant to mention. Even more so as you’d be avoiding the tourist taxes this way… and possibly make friends for a lifetime.

Workaway (cheap)

I did a lot of Work Away projects in my life. Not to “save money” on accommodation or food, as most backpackers might imply… I’ve got a cum laude master degree and 10+ years of working experience, hiring me is more expensive than a crappy bed in a shared dormitory and a plate of pasta. [In Switzerland you’re better off finding a seasonal job if saving money is what you’re after, as the salaries about 2-3 times higher than in the rest of Europe, and Workaway even requires a membership fee.] However, if you’re simply looking for a ‘feel of the country’ breaking through the superficial layer of tourist experiences, or if you want to form a part of humanitarian projects (which, let’s face it, are less common in one of Europe’s wealthiest nations)… this might be an option. And indeed, costs of food and shelter are avoided.

Sleep on Straw (cheap to moderate)

Something I heard of, but never tried out myself (yet – I let you know once I do) is the agricultural initiative ‘sleep on straw’. And no, this is not a symbolical expression. We’re actually talking about sleeping inside of a farm… on straw… reliving that Milka-commercial hardcore. It started off really cheap, but after some successful years some straw-spots became actually quite expensive… but if you search well you might find some around 15-20 francs, which is about half the price of a hostel bed.

Bring your own sleeping bag.

Camping (free to moderate)

Sadly, wild camping is not permitted in Switzerland. As expected, I’m the first person to wipe my ass with such ‘rules’… but I paid the price for it. 60 francs to be exact, the fine I received. Switzerland is a country where people follow the rules and specifically not deviate from what’s considered ‘normal’. It’s not meant in a negative way, just an overall conclusion after living here for a fair bit. That crazy village guy? Doesn’t exist here. Wild fashion excesses? Not even in the capital. Rules? Society is built on it. Find a list of campsites here.

Air BnB (moderate)

In the 4* hotel I work the cheapest room is CHF 160 per night… the most expensive about CHF 360. And we’re definitely not an over-the-top-expensive hotel. Hostels are around CHF 30-40… for a bed in a shared dormitory. With these prices in mind, you’ll find you get a much better deal when scrolling around Air BnB. Even more so if you’re traveling as a couple or in a group. Generally I book for one night, and extend face-to-face, which allows me to negotiate a better price and avoid booking fees.

Hotel / Hostel: It’s not the main way to go budget here, but if you feel like splurging once in a while… this is how you save on ho(s)tel bookings: Go on Booking.com, check out the price, do not book it…. Call the hotel, mention this price, and be extremely honest with them by saying you’d like to book it for that rate minus the 10% commission, which gives them the exact same earnings but without the risk of you leaving a bad review on their main booking engine. I work in a hotel in Switzerland, I guarantee you: this is how it works.

Seasons: Off-seasons are spring and autumn, which are also the best seasons if you’re here for the hiking. However, skiing is one of the best experiences here, which is done from about October-April with the best snow mid-season.

ACTIVITIES

Self-Organize

Given the current technology and wealth of available information, why would you even pay for a guide? Why would you reserve a tour? With all the budget transport options just listed, you definitely won’t have any problems getting from A to B, even more so considering how incredibly tiny this country is (although - the necessity to loop around mountains can add a considerable amount of travel time). A pleasant plus is that you can exactly plan around the activities that catch your interest, while avoid losing time one the ones that were ‘unfortunately part of the tour’.

Prioritize Free Activities

HIKING, I’m talking about HIKING. I mean, why else go to Switzerland? It simply doesn’t get any better than in the Alps. And where other countries often charge entry prices for National Parks, all trails are entirely free here… and they are literally everywhere. You couldn’t finish them in a lifetime! I spent the last half year of my life in one tiny village called Adelboden, smack-bam in between the Alps, and after hiking several times a week for this entire time span there are still trails I haven’t checked off.

And no, unless you miss a leg or two, you do not need to pay for a chairlift. There’s a trail up, you’re walking mister!

In the cities, free activities include outdoor sightseeing, visiting parks, urban strolls, and graffiti-watching. Download the free offline available Maps.me-app to self-plan your walks around ‘em (they list all hiking trails too), or make a real-life treasure hunt out of it with Geocaching. “Free City Tours” are a Plan-B, considering they will guilt-trip you into paying whatever they think is fair.

Visit Museums on their Free Days

Wherever you travel in the world, and whichever museum you visit… you’ll notice there is one weekly or monthly free day in about 75% of all museums. And most of the time, these free days overlap in the same city. This is also true for Switzerland, in every single city that might be on your itinerary. All you have to do is plan your travel days around them. Instead of listing every single museum in the country, I’m going to advice you to quickly email or call the local tourism office of the city you intend to visit to obtain the latest up-to-date info.

Ski on the Cheap

Stop reading any travelblog stating you should skip on skiing/snowboarding when visiting Switzerland. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Skiing is THE BEST here! It’s together with hiking the most sublime, almost orgasmic experience you can get yourself when visiting this country. Withholding yourself from this delight is comparable with going to India and skipping on the Taj Mahal, or visiting Australia while passing on the beaches.

Yes, it costs money. But unlike you might expect from a crazy expensive country like Switzerland, the prices are comparable, if not lower, than for example in the neighbouring French or Austrian Alps. In fact, when researching jobs and ski opportunities before making the choice in which country I was gonna spend the entire season, I noticed that season-ski-passes were about half price here compared to France and Austria, while the salaries are twice/triple as high. Easy choice! I bought my hardly-ever-used skis, ski shoes, helmet and glasses second-hand in the Heilsarmee (Salvation Army) for 90 bucks (the price of renting it for 2 days), and I was ready to hit the slopes, every single free moment I was granted. In one word DIVINE.

In case you want to stretch your dollar even further, focus on low-key ski resorts such as Andermatt, Val d’Anniviers and Bettmeralp.

Hit Festival Season

It seems an almost extra-terrestrial comment straight after corona-quarantine, but assuming that one day everything will entirely ‘normalize’ again (a subjective concept in itself), festival season – spring/summer season – is a fantastic time to travel down to Switzerland. If only because of the ample supply of freebie-events.

Paid activities: So you ran out of free activities and really need to check off that one bucket-list-item that requires an entry price? Pre-book to save! Plus, skipping the lines is a welcome plus. It might also be worth it to research the many different Travel Passes out there, but only do so after you wrote down your must-see’s which are reasonable to visit in the given time frame… the last thing you want is paying for a package including attractions you don’t have time for or aren’t interested in.

FOOD

Cook

It seems like a logical suggestion, given we’re all budget backpackers here, but: self-cater… always! Especially here! It’s completely normal to pay about 30-50 Swiss Francs for dinner in Switzerland, and coffee starts at about 4,50. It goes without saying how many opportunities this provides in terms of saving. Make sure your accommodation has cooking facilities, or even better, always carry a gas bottle and a travel-cooking-kit with you, which you can use anywhere from outside at the riverside picnic-tables to the balcony / window opening of your hotel room.

Only shop in Aldi / Lidl, of which there are several in any reasonably sized city. Coop is the most expensive supermarket of all, and often the only one available in smaller (mountain) villages, so plan ahead. If you travel with your own vehicle, or have plenty of space in your pack: hamster-purchase as much as you can carry before crossing the land borders… especially when it comes to non-food items, which are expensive to replace.Too Good To Go

Jeej, my favourite app is also alive and kicking in Switzerland! Too Good To Go aims to fight food waste by letting restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets offer their left-over or soon-to-expire products for only a fraction of the price, to avoid having it end up in the trash as is sadly often the reality. Admitted, where in The Netherlands, Belgium or UK I often received massive-ass bags with food I literally had to divide over all my family members to possibly finish it all, the times I used it in Switzerland the suppliers were quite scanty… offering the absolute minimum for the price provided. But it might just have been my bad luck.

In case you don’t feel like downloading the app or organizing your time around the specific pick-up times, visit supermarkets in the evening about 45-60 minutes before closing time… this is when the must-go products are heavily discounted.

Ässbar Stores

The concept of Too Good To Go morphed into a store. The idea of shops selling “fresh from yesterday” products really took off in Switzerland. Google any store near you (mainly in the bigger cities) to seriously save.

Drink a lot of Wine

The tip you needed to hear. Or the one I write down to justify my own behaviour.

Anyway… look at the map. You’re literally rubbing shoulders with France and (even better) Italy. The import costs are basically zero. Head to any supermarket to get yourself a decent bottle for 4-5, or even as low as 2 francs. There’s literally no excuse to stay sober.

Still decided to stick with water? Get a reusable bottle, as delicious drinking water comes right from the tap… hell, when in the Alps you can even drink straight out of the streams and river. I did.

Heilsarmee! (Salvation Army)

Salvation it truly is. Every time any item needed replacement my heart skipped a few beats when checking out Swiss prices. “We get it, you folks are rich, doesn’t mean I am!” Luckily, rich people buy a lot of useless shit, and replace stuff before it hits the 1-year mark… very often without even having used it at all, in their sea of surplus. Time for us beggars to profit! I bought perfect unused cross-country skis for 25 francs, even enticing the man from the ski-service shop, asking me where I got these bad boys from (apparently they normally cost over a 1000 francs). Snow chains, unused hiking boots, water-proof jackets, and even a unicycle… we bought it all at Heilsarmee!

OTHER TIPS

Get a TransferWise Pass. Exchange rates for Swiss Francs suck balls in- and outside Switzerland, and cashing out will not only involve costs from your own bank: many ATM’s here have an additional fee when using a foreign pass. Plus, you’ll have to accept the bank’s exchange rate, which by definition is 100% crap. TransferWise uses the actual live exchange rates (the ones you find on the internet) and takes the smallest commission I could find (both in Switzerland as in New Zealand where I used it too), and if you deposit in for example euro’s, you can cash out in francs for this actual rate. If you open a Swiss bank account, you can also use it to send money from this bank account to another foreign one... which is pretty sweet as Transferwise holds accounts in all participating countries, so you won't have to pay extra fees for sending/receiving money to/from foreign accounts (I'm at the Swiss Raiffeisen Bank - and fees are outrageous if I'd directly send from this bank account to my native one, but zero when using Transferwise). I'm not trying to sell you anything, you can do whatever the hell you please, but just do the math and you'll conclude this is indeed the cheapest option.

If you sign up via this refer-link, you get your first transaction entirely commission-free, and I can save for some extra funds to make up for the costs of this website (I don't think one blogger was ever that honest):

https://transferwise.com/invite/u/stephaniev80

Stay up to 90 days. If you stay longer you are obliged to arrange Swiss health insurance, the notorious Krankenkasse, even if you already have full coverage from your home country… and the Krankenkasse is a fucking NIGHTMARE! The cheapest one I found costs a hysterical CHF 235 a month (prices go up to 650 a month) and you have to pay the first CHF 2500 yourself. So unless you’re basically dying, there’s no way this is by any means beneficial. Oh, and they let you pay back 3 months as well, from the date of entry into Switzerland. If you have a job, try to leave and re-enter the country before you hit the 90 days mark (and register again if that’s required – it costs about CHF 90, which is still cheaper than 3 months Krankenkasse). Personally, I kept my own Dutch health insurance on the side during corona-times, as for 49 euros a month I get paid back every last cent from any health care expense (talking about a WAY better deal). Alternatively arrange a travel insurance on the side which includes uncovered healthcare expenses.

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