How we do family travel to Switzerland on a budget
Switzerland is a notoriously expensive country, and honestly, it is probably one of the least, if not THE least, budget friendly destinations I think it’s possible to have! We still love it, though, and don’t want the fact we aren’t millionaires to stop us from enjoying this place, which if you love the mountains, is heaven on earth!
In this post, I share what we do in order to make a trip to Switzerland as a family of four more affordable.
Just how expensive is Switzerland?
The first time we came to Switzerland, the cost of living was a huge shock. A Google search brings up results reporting anywhere from 40% – 70% more expensive on average than the UK.
On that first trip, we ended up running out of spending money and had to rack the holiday spends up on a credit card. An example of the high costs was in 2017 on that trip, and a packet of nappies for our 3 month old son was £25, compared to about 6 at home.
Some other notably high prices we have encountered on our last trip in 2023 are: £30 for a pair of nail scissors; £60 for a box of washing powder; £15 for 1 small ice lolly, all which feels so expensive it borders on the ridiculous!
When speaking to expats, they told us they generally drive to France or Germany once a month to stock up on groceries as it is significantly cheaper, even with the cost of fuel. That in itself tells you how expensive everything is here.
While we think it’s best to be pre-warned about the expense, also try not to let it put you off. We have holidays in Switzerland, at what we consider a reasonable price (£4k for a family of 4 for 17 days). We just have to monitor our spending and also do things a certain way…
Drive your own car
A road trip type holiday isn’t for everyone but we love it, especially for Switzerland and one of the reasons we love it so much is we save money by doing so. Obviously, this only really works if you are from the UK like us or another European country.
If you are coming from outside of Europe, it may be worth flying to neighbouring France, Austria, or Germany and exploring car rentals there and then driving to the border as I have heard anecdotaly that it can be significantly cheaper.
We save money on a car rental/ public transport when there. And we save again by packing the car full to the brim with everything we will need from home to minimise excess spending when in Switzerland.
We find that flights end up being about the cost as ferry/ fuel/ tolls/ hotels en route / breakdown cover. Obviously, it takes a hell of a lot longer, though! We still think driving is better value and better for convenience when on holiday, though. Plus, we get to see many cool destinations along the way.
For our favourite stopovers en route to Switzerland, check out our post on stopover ideas in France.
Be Prepared
Bring stuff from home whenever possible
As mentioned previously, nappies at £25 per pack, washing powder at £60 per pack are eye wateringly expensive! We make sure we bring everything we might need with us to avoid these costs.
In other countires you can get away with being relaxed when packing, and just buy whatever you have forgotten at the destination, but you can’t do that on a trip to Switzerland unless you don’t mind spending a small fortune. Medications, toiletries, baby products, food (read more about that in the self-catering section below), sundries – it all comes with us from home, and we make sure we have enough not to run out. Even though we do still forget the odd thing- I forgot the nail kit last time, but I could not bring myself to spend £30 on some flimsy nail scissors from the pharmacy, so we just had to have long nails that holiday!
We have an aldi near us on our favourite Swiss campsite, which we normally use for fresh food (we bring all the dry stuff from home). We are heading back to Switzerland this August 2024, and we are going to do a big shop in France before we head over the border for a lot of fresh produce. We will pop it in a cool box and straight in the fridge when we get there. Hopefully, this will save even more on food costs this holiday.
Self catering accommodation
We tend to use self catering accomodation on trips anyway, but ALWAYS when in Switzerland!
Self catering accomodation is normally cheaper anyway, and being able to shop, store and cook our own meals can drastically reduce the amount spent on a trip – especially in a country with exceptionally high eating out costs like in Switzerland. Other benefits include we can make food we know our kids will eat for dinner and lunch, and make breakfast at the crack of dawn when they wake up demanding food without having to get dressed!
I know it’s more work than a hotel, but we have saved a small fortune in Switzerland this way. We usually eat out at the campsite restaurant on the first night at camping manor farm, it’s a lovely pizzeria, and the boys love it. It’s meals back at base, though after that, because 2 pizzas and 2 kids meals, plus one drink each, came in at about £130. We do packed lunches and take our own snacks.
We eat breakfast at the campsite but often stop for a coffee and pastry, etc, when out mid-morning. So really its normally only coffee, ice creams, drinks, and the occasional snack we buy when we are out exploring. Also remember that the higher up the mountain you go, the more expensive things become.
Try camping
We are a family that travels on a budget, and the most inexpensive accommodation is, of course, camping. I have a love-hate relationship with camping – the kids love it, and when it’s sunny, I love it too. However, I really hate being cold and wet, and I’m miserable if we are camping in the rain! It’s also a lot more work and more tiring when you camp, but it feels like a great adventure and is full of fun.
We try to hedge our bets and do car and tent camping in the UK; when we get a good weather forecast we will quickly.pack up the car and head somewhere for the weekend.
When camping abroad, we always go with Eurocamp (or similar) and use one of their tents or cabins. It’s easier to organise, and usually a better chance of dry weather.
Using eurocamp tents are more like glamping than traditional camping- they have beds, electricity and a fridge freezer. The cabins are also good and are like a static home, and make things even more comfortable with your own shower, toilet, and kitchenette (and solid walls!)
We think the deals are amazing, especially if you travel outside of the 6 weeks holidays (for example, Easter holidays or May half term). You can normally get good deals on the last two weeks of August, too.
Securing accomodation at good prices through Eurocamp and similar holiday companies is the only way we can afford multiple holidays in Europe with the kids. A 5 star resort it is not; but we have so much fun, there are activities for the kids, basic but comfortable accomodation, and we get to explore these amazing countries, which to us is what it is all about.
Pick your activities wisely
Activites in Switzerland are expensive, but with prior planning and research, you can plan a fun family itinery without blowing your budget.
There are so many amazing places to explore in Switzerland, you could easily fill up every day with excursions to viewpoints, mountain tops, and take part in the many mountain activites that are on offer in the summer. Unfortunately, all this comes with a hefty price tag. Access to the mountains is very expensive with funicular trains, cable cars and gondola’s sometimes coming in at extortionate prices per ticket and that’s before you’ve added parking or buying and food, drinks or activities.
Even free activities such as hiking require getting to the trail head, which can easily add up once you have paid for mountain transport and parking your vehicle. For example, to walk the Panorama Trail at Schynige Platte, we caught the train, and it was 170 CHF ( approx £150) for a family of 4, plus 10- 20 CHF in parking fees. That’s nearly £200 just to get up there!
The very popular Jungfraujoch is something we are yet to try due to the cost; it currently comes in at over £500 for 2 adults and 2 children to take this train to the top.
In the Bernese Oberland/ Central Switzerland region, Jungfraujoch and Grindelwald First are very popular tourist experiences and, therefore, are the most expensive.
We have “done” Grindelwald before, but we don’t do it every time we come because we find cheaper alternatives to explore the mountains. These are peaks such as the Schilthorn, Neiderhorn, and Schynige Platte, and we also visit Oschininsee, and explore mountain villages in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Although these are still costly, they are significantly cheaper than the “big name” experiences.
It is worth utilising special discounts on offer for tourists for mountain transport tickets and popular sightseeing destinations. Check out the Swiss travel pass for up to 50% off certain trips, to be used over 3, 4, 6, 8, or 15 consecutive days. Remember to research carefully what trains, etc, are included as some of the mountain trains to the peaks are not included, although they do get you 50% off the full price.
At our Manor Farm Campsite we are given a book of vouchers with discounts on popular tourist attractions and mountains railways etc, and alot of holiday places here have these avaliable so it’s worth asking if they have any vouchers for tourists. We’ve saved lots over the years ny utilising the vouchers which offer 10, 20, or 30% off the total cost of popular local activities.
We usually pick 2 or 3 excursions we would like to do on a trip and research the cost of it, so it’s not a shock to the holiday budget. Once we are up there, we normally stick to free activities such as picnicking, walking, doing one of the kids’ trails or swimming in the lakes, and only buy a drink or ice cream etc.
If there are tobogganing or ” thrill” activities such as zip lining, etc, we don’t usually participate as we can’t afford the extra expense. However bear in mind that some of the smaller rides ( like a summer tobogann or trottibiking) can be on the cheaper side ( 5- 10 CHF per person) in smaller mountain resorts such as Mannlichen, and we will have a go then.
We will normally hire bikes for half a day in the Lauterbrunnen Valley as well, but as previously said, we will plan for this and have it in the budget. Therr is also kayaking on Lake Brienz for a change, which we are yet to try, but looks like so much fun!
Another tip is to mix in free days, with days you know are going to be a lot of money. For example, spending the day walking the Lauterbrunnen Valley floor trail or swimming in Lake Thun or visiting Lake Brienz is free except for parking, and it is very beautiful and fun.
In conclusion, our take is, if you throw money around at everything that takes your fancy, it quickly adds up, making Switzerland a place budgets come to die! However, you can organise a plan and stick to it, and you can come in at budget on this holiday and have an amazing time.
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Travel Happy Family 
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