How expensive is Switzerland then? Self catering there so trying to get some idea

[cakeorwine]

We have been before for a day! And now we've been even more adventurous and booked 4 nights camping before a stay in France.

The camping wasn't too expensive. We always self cater - and do pack lunches. I have done some research looking at Swiss supermarkets online - and food does seem expensive.

We will be taking some food with us - but we will be needing to buy things like meat, milk, drinks, bread.

Roughly how much more than the UK is it for things like that?

the only thing I remember is butter at 3.50 franks :) I would say 30% more than UK prices in Coop supermarket. we had Mcdonald once, a meal that costs us 30£ was 50 swiss franks.

Everyone I know who lives in Geneva goes to France to do the big shop! Eg the Leclerc in Ville La Grand is right on the border. I'd bring food with you if you can.

That's the plan....

But we may well have to venture into a supermarket.

Having lived in Bern for 5 years - Switzerland is insanely expensive .

Whatever you think it will cost - double it at least !

The beauty of the place helps though !

Wildly expensive

It's not that bad in the supermarket, but yes cheaper in France. Way too expensive to eat out there though. I go for the Jazz festival every year and a gin and tonic is 17 francs for example 😳

Is Switzerland expensive? You need to take out a loan just to buy a coffee.

Prices can be found on https://www.migros.ch/en in English. Or Lidl.ch in German/French/Italian.

lidl and aldi are the cheapest.
the Migros and coop is usually more expensive.

Migros doesn’t sell wine - the founder was a Quaker

If you shop in France be aware of the customs limits in meat - I think it’s 500g per person. And the customs limit . I think it’s 300chf of products per person.
Above this you have to declare it.

Do they check you at the border?

I thought it was all free movement between the 2 places?

We went to Switzerland last year, and shopped in a Lidl, it was similar to here.

I think they're more likely to check locals than tourists tbh. We did see them checking people when we drove over the border but they just waved us through.

Thanks

We've just been to Switzerland once for the day - and we basically entered via a "back" road - suddenly we were in Switzerland!

If you stay near the french border, you could do a shop in french supermarket first.
We stayed in the french jura one year and crossed over to Switzerland, but yeah, it was so expensive in comparison

I've been twice for the day. First time was via a "back road" and we had the car checked ie boot opened to take a look around by armed border guards. The second time, I can't remember if they looked in the car but did make us pay road tax - we'd not realised about that. So budget for that as well.

You're not technically permitted to do this. You need to be careful with meat and alcohol. We have been fined (taxed) at the border before. Think it's 2 kg of meat.

I ate a meal there passing through at it cost similar to the U.K. - yes only a panini and chips and a coffee but it wasn't bad at all. Perhaps where in Switzerland matters too?

If driving pick up your main groceries in France then choose where you eat out wisely, supermarket I went in was similar to Italy so around 20% more than the U.K. remember it's us that is cheaper than most countries (France being the other exception)

I work there. It's expensive for everything. I'd bring what you can (wine etc) and be comprehensive with your packing (a forgotten jumper, cooking utensils etc would soon add up) but I would just budget for supermarket expenses. Plan to spend d 2x more than you would normally. ALWAYS ask to see the price list when you go to a restaurant. Never order a glass of house wine and "what he's eating it looks delicious" as you may be stung with a very expensive bill cough

I work with people who commute 5 hours a day to live in france. That's how pricy it can be.

We went last year and found it really pricey. Ran out of wine and bought some from campsite, 500ml bottle was £22…didn’t do that again. Was relieved (for our pockets!) when we moved on to Italy. And the flies were ridiculous, ending up buying fly paper, spray and a swatter 😂

Yes it is expensive and we rarely eat out but we do go out for a drink - a glass of wine, a coffee or coke isn't too bad but don't buy a bottle as that is expensive! I find Migros supermarket slightly cheaper than Coop. We buy any branded stuff (e.g ketchup, kellogs etc) in France. Migros has a budget range which is more reasonably priced - it can be a bit hit and miss, the fish is good but the budget pizza was awful.

So as others have said buy in France then get the fresh stuff in Switzerland. If you shop carefully you can bring the cost down i.e I never eat fresh blueberries but will buy frozen instead. Local fruit is good value - summer is apricot season.

We went for the day when staying in France a few years ago. Hadn't realised about the motorway vignette, and we only travelled about 2 miles on the motorway but still had to pay for one at 40 francs. And we were in two cars, so it cost us 80 francs for 2 miles of travel....... still bitter about it! There is no day/week/month option, so you have to fork out for a year, no matter how long you're there for.

https://www.ch.ch/en/vehicles-and-traffic/how-to-behave-in-road-traffic/motorway-vignette#costs-and-validity

Soured it a bit for us if I'm honest, though I guess we should have done better research before going. Wasn't a thing when we last went (in 1975!)

And yes, once there (and 80 francs lighter), everything was VERY expensive. We'd changed what we thought was enough money for the day, but after a coffee each we didn't even have enough left for a burger for lunch - had to share.

But it was very pretty :-)

I worked for a company with HQ in Switzerland in the 90s/00s and we regularly went over in groups from the uk to attend project workshops, the expense claims we logged were ridiculous!

I spend long periods of time in Switzerland. Last time was in April this year and I reckon it's 50% more expensive than London. I'm talking about the supermarket. Other things can be double the price