Is it possible to have a cheap holiday in Switzerland?

[munchbunch12]

Hello wise and well-travelled mumsnetters!

I enjoyed a couple of summer holidays in Switzerland when I was a child and would love to go back next year with DH & our 2 DCs, but know it’s expensive.

Does anyone have any tips on how to visit on the cheap? If we go, it’ll probably be for 4 or 5 nights at Spring Bank (so late May to early June 2025).

I’d love to stay where I stayed before, in the Grindelwald/Interlaken area of the Bernese Oberland if possible.

We are in the West Mids, so would ideally fly from there, but could travel to Manchester or London airports if necessary. We wouldn’t be going for long enough to make driving or trains to get there an option.

Does anyone have any tips on airlines with cheap flights? Good value accommodation? Attractions that a teen and pre-teen would both like? All for under about £3000.

I know it may not be possible, so am posting in hope rather than expectation!

Thanks

Watching with interest! I would also love to holiday there with my young children but it just seems so expensive.

IKR, hopefully someone will come along with some top tips for Switzerland on a shoestring to help us out.

Would you consider camping? We camped at jungfrau a few years ago - fabulous scenic campsite . Probably not practical unless you drive though

Try staying in youth hostels? We’ve stayed in some really good ones across Europe in pricey places like Luxembourg and Austria.

You get a family room and nearly all of the ones we have stayed in have their own loo and shower attached. Probably similar quality to a Premier Inn or Travelodge. Continental breakfast will be good and you can sneak some fruit/rolls out for lunch/snacks.

Only disadvantage is you have to make your own beds up! But you could maybe mix it up and stay for first half of the holiday in a youth hostel, second half in a slightly fancier hotel?

If you drive and self cater you could buy food in France. Similarly Geneva would also mean you could shop over the border.

I love that area too but have decided it is too expensive at the moment :(.

I would recommend Annecy, Bodensee, or Schwangau for non-Swiss areas that are still beautiful!

I remember a family holiday to Switzerland in my teens with Eurocamp in a mobile home, might be an option?

Thanks for your reply. I've looked at Eurocamp which has (I think) that parc as an option. It also has one in Interlaken which might be doable without a car. When I last went (about 25 years ago) we flew to Zurich the got trains to where we stayed. From what I remember, for most trips out we ended up changing in Interlaken anyway.

That's a good idea, I hadn't thought of Youth Hostels but am definitely open to the idea. I've stayed in some lovely ones in the Yorkshire Dales!

Annecy does look beautiful, tbf. Thanks for the good ideas.

Yes, definitely open to the idea of a campsite. Thanks for your reply.

It's very tricky, because the exchange rate is absolutely brutal. Try SW Germany instead (near the Swiss border) on the Bodensee..... lots of swimming, sailing, cycling etc and plenty of nice campsites.

Easyjet fly to Basel and Zurich. Train pass can be good value then a b and b or self cater. There is a campsite in Lauterbrunnen which has chalets www.campingjungfrau.swiss/en and another near Interlaken although you may find the cost not much cheaper than a basic hotel. Check if the dates correspond to Pfingsten as that is a local bank holiday weekend and can be busy. Not all summer lifts, cafes and activities will open that early in the season.

That sounds good too, maybe somewhere in the Black Forest. Thanks

Just be aware of the limits on what you can bring into Switzerland from France. There are limits on all sorts of things such as meat and butter. Also be aware that if the limit is 1kg per person, you can't bring in a 2lg chicken and say it's for 2 people. The meat for 2 people must be in 2 separate 1kg packs.

Thanks for that, I didn't realise there were those limits.

As an aside, just checked the exchange rates and got a shock, last time I went to Switzerland a Swiss franc was worth about 40p, now it's 88p!! 😱

We stayed at the Ibis hotel in Basel. It did cost a lot but I'd won a voucher, which helped considerably.
When we were there tho,Yes, food was expensive and you had to pay city tax, but bus from airport to hotel was free as long as you could prove you had a hotel booked for that night (nobody actually asked us for it but there were signs at the airport), the hotel then gave you a travel pass for the duration of your stay in Basel, so trams etc were free and also some museums were half price; I thought that was quite a good deal.
We were interrailing so had bought those tickets in advance and were on the trains quite a lot anyway.
I think all of the hotels in Basel sort you out a free travel pass (one for each person staying).
Also in Basel, there was a place called Tibits by the station; this was a buffet place so you went round, got your rice, curry, sushi etc or whatever you fancied (plus a free bread roll) and then you were charged by whatever your plate weighed, thought that was a great idea tbh. Even my autistic son found himself carrots, broccoli and potato wedges in this place. We just drank water at Tibits and you could top that up at a tap there.
We did take food with us too, hotel breakfasts were extremely expensive for what they were. We spent a couple of nights in Chur and breakfast was included, sorry can't remember the name of that hotel but it wasn't a chain.
We did end up at McDonalds a bit, not really a fan but it was (relatively) cheap. Couldn't use points or whatever from the UK tho as the apps aren't the same.
Also, Switzerland has Too Good to Go, which could be an option? We didn't end up using it tho, so I don't know what it's like; hopefully better than the one my sister got in France that contained only herbs!

Meant to add, if you can be near the Italian border, it would be cheaper to go on the train into Italy and stock up/eat there.

Another vote for Camping Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen. One of my favourite places in the world! They have cabins etc or Eurocamp have accommodation there. We always drive but don’t really use the car once we get there. Train station in the village with regular trains to Interlaken.

Can’t recommend a cheap accommodation in those areas but my experience with CH is that eating out is VERY expensive. A very simple lunch (one salad plus drink) can easily be 25CH per person. Dinner can easily be 50CHF per person. So either go for airbnb and cook yourself or at least always have supermarket lunches. The food in Migros and Coop is amazing, super selection of cheeses, breads, salads, meats, hams, etc Supermarket prices aren’t too bad and the quality of food is good. Alcohol is expensive too, either buy in supermarkets or don’t drink for a week.

My friend who lives close to the German border said there is a limit on how much you can spend on food and bring across the border and they definitely check at the border too.

Thanks for this, hadn't thought of Basel. We use Too Good To Go here so would happily use it abroad.

The supermarkets Migros and Coop offer buffet meals in their cafes you can pay for by weight.

Easyjet fly very cheaply to Geneva and Zurich from Gatwick, don’t know about East Midlands sorry. Probably best to use skyscanner.

Thanks, I've been to Lauterbrunnen and thought it was lovely. I suppose we could drive (we both have a car) but we'd prefer not to. However, it Camping Jungfrau is so highly rated maybe we should reconsider.

Thanks, I remember buying sandwiches from somewhere similar to Aldi last time I was there. It's good to know what's available nowadays.

Thanks, last time I went we flew Luton to Zurich with Easyjet. I suspect we may need to travel to get the best fares.