Prices in Switzerland
We want to do an Untour this year. We have done several of the tours. But last year and this year we did not go to Europe because of the poor exchange rate of the dollar. When we travel we really enjoy trying new restaurants., etc. Since Switzerland does not use the Euro, is it a better choice, value-wise?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Edward on
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My wife and I are booked for the Heartland in late September. While I hate the weak dollar, it took ten years to get this way and it is unlikely to recover in less than another then years. Consequentially, while we may reduce our European travel somewhat, we don't intend to eliminate it. Untours provides the best way for us to enjoy Europe on a budget, Since we have a kitchen in our apartment, we intend to eat lunch our main meal of the day, which is priced lower than the evening meals, and eat most evening meals in our room. If we do plan a special evening meal at a restaurant, we'll picnic lunch on that day.
If you are waiting for the dollar to recover before going to Europe you may wait for many, many years. Go while you can as who knows what tomorrow will bring!
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Permalink Reply by Amy Schaffner on -
Yea, I am concerned about the dollar this year, but as it has already been said - travel when you can. We are going to Frutigen in July. I plan to cut back on all the bakery treats, meals out, and ice cream. We will also not be taking trips with expensive lifts. My son will turn 13 there tho, so we will buy some kind of cake.
I am not sure how to get around the ordering of beverages with meals. I read about the "asprin trick", but with a family of 4, that would be hard to pull off. Any other ideas? Beverages really add to the cost of the meal. I am also considering taking coffee - just to avoid buying it there. Not sure if this makes sense tho.
No shopping for us (I kind of dislike it anyway) - we will try to stay away from cities. Spending 2 days in Zurich tho & boy is that an expensive town. I once paid $15 for a smoothie. I didn't look at the price before I ordered. I drank every drop even tho it made me a little sick.
The prices are a bummer, but I will just buy less stuff. The hardest thing will be resisting the ice cream.
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Permalink Reply by Bill Kover on -
Instead of eating at the tourist restaurants, why not try the places the locals frequent. For example, in 2004 we ate at the following Zurich eatery popular with the locals. This is an excerpt from my triplog :
"We arrived at Vorderer Sternen, Bellevue Platz and Freieckgasse at 11:55am. While Eleanor found a table, I went up to the counter to purchase our lunch. There was a lady ahead of me at the counter purchasing about a half dozen of a unique crusty bread roll called "bürli" to take home. The bread comes out of the oven as a 4 pointed star-shaped loaf, which is then broken up into 4 separate rolls. When it was my turn, I requested two St. Galler Bratwursts which were handed to me wrapped in wax paper. While there, I picked out two of the bürli rolls and small cups filled with mustard. Two 3cl glasses of beer had to be ordered from a waiter who came to our table. Total cost of the meal came to 19.80CHF ($15.84 U.S. dollars). You can eat sitting down or standing up. This place is popular with the locals."
With the current exchange rate, our $15.84 lunch would now cost $19.90. That's still very reasonable for Zurich.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Schaffner on
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Very nice suggestion. Your entire meal for two cost about as much as my smoothie! Sounds like something the teens would really like too! Thanks very much. My gosh, I can't wait to go back. I do love to go to Zurich - helps us readjust our clocks. After our Untour, we are going to Appenzel.
We made a very good friend in Urnasch & are planning to go see him as well.
Funny how we met. Several years back we e-mailed the Hotel Krone in Urnasch for reservations, but the owner can't read English. He asked his friend to come to the hotel & translate my e-mail. After we arrived, the man who translated came to the hotel to meet us & talk about the US. We wound up getting along quite well and have visited him on 2 trips since. We also e-mail quite regularly. Sadly, his wife died last year.
Anyway, that is what I look forward to the most - seeing our friend Walter.
I will save up for the trip - maybe work a little extra between now & then....But you know, I think it will be fun to see just how inexpensively we can get by. It will add a new dimension to the trip! I have read many of your trip logs, but will go back thru them to look for clues for my new quest. amy
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So, basically $10 for a hot dog and a small glass of beer. That puts it into perspective.
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Permalink Reply by Shari on -
I totally agree about resisting the ice cream. No way am I going to do that. We haven't done an Untours in Switzerland. It is just my husband and myself going...no kids. Which Swiss trip would you recommend doing first?
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Permalink Reply by Bill Kover on
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For meals, we usually had breakfast in our Chalet or brought it on the train if we had an early start. Lunch was either a picnic from our backpack or a restaurant. Coop or Migros buffet type restaurants are also a cheap alternative. You pick what food you want and at the check out, it is weighed and charged accordingly. At many restaurants the meals on the plate are were so big, we finally started buying one dish of food and one dessert and splitting it between us. The evening meal was back at our chalet out on the patio with a gorgeous view (with dessert purchased at the bakery in town). Check out my triplog on the Untours Unpoints site. On most days I went into detail regarding our meals and exact cost (in Swiss CHF and dollar equivalent) as well as our opinion of how good the food was. That should give you an idea what to expect and help you make a cost-cutting plan for meals.
Pastries (gipfeln, or Black Forest cake) were a daily purchase at the Cafe zum Stein bakery. Ice cream sundaes were expensive but adsolutely delicious. Despite all the treats, we only gained one pound during the one month trip, probably because we averaged over 4 miles walking a day.
The Swiss Heartland puts you in range of a lot of sights that are a day trip away (Zermatt, Locarno, Montreux, Bern, etc.). Doing an overnight in Locarno or Zermatt would allow more time to explore. But the Heartland itself has a diverse selection of places to choose from. We spent a month in the Heartland in 2004 and did three long range trips out of the Heartland (overnight in Zermatt, Overnight in Locarno and Montreux day trip). Other than two days for laundry, we were out every day.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Schaffner on
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either the oberland or heartland would be fab. The heartland is more classic rural swiss, whereas the oberland has a little more cosmopolitan feel. Both areas are great & you will not be unhappy with either.
The heartland has more flies. When my son was little (5-7), he would set up "fly free zones" in the chalet where he would arrange the curtains/windows/doors to exclude the flies from a certain room. It was pretty funny. You just have to ignore them.
I would suggest either Meiringen, Kandersteg, or Reuti. That is pure personal preference tho. You really can't go wrong in CH. Be sure to reserve an apartment about a year in advance as the very best apts go fast.
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Permalink Reply by jerrysandy on
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If you mean you are trying to get plain water with your meals, ask for Wasser aus dem Hahn. That means tap water. Although I admit we favor a "3 deci" beer at lunch, we've never had a problem getting tap water with above phrase. In order to compensate for the weak dollar drinking water instead of beer might not be a bad idea. We can also save a few cents splitting a 5 deci beer. Jerry Nolan
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Permalink Reply by Joan and Bruce on
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If possible, ignore the exchange rate. It isn't going to get any better anytime soon. Do a little tinkering. Calculate the difference between what you consider a good vs. todays exchange rate as a travel line item. Does this line item cost difference really mean you don't want to travel? Bet not.
Bill Kover provides excellent advice in his trip reports. As for restaurants, we find it no different than dining out in the San Francisco bay area (and Scottsdale, AZ). There are some items that give you sticker shock--avoid them. Beer and wine is less expensive than small soft drinks (with no refills). Tagesteller (plate of the day), salad and veggie buffets at department stores are an excellent value--and that is where you see the Swiss. Roti-chickens at Migros, Coop make a wonderful supper, accompanied by the Swiss "butter" lettuce and fresh veggies. Shop the specials like you do at home. The markets have weekly sales that change every Tuesday. The markets post these specials as you enter. Bring water and snacks for your train rides. Make sure you use the WC's on the trains--don't be giving away your hard-earned money to pay toilettens! Travel, enjoy, and when you return, share some of your cost-savings tidbits.
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Permalink Reply by Jean and Fred Agneta on
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Packing a lunch everyday does save money and time, as you want to be on the go!! the soft drink we enjoy was Rivella, sold at the Coop and Migros, the blue label is diet, and the taste is delicious. As mentioned Beer is cheaper than soft drinks. The frozen Lasagna at the Coop, it came in a 3 package,, just pop in the oven, make a salad and again an easy meal-- don't give up the Ice Cream!!! Have fun planning your trip
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Permalink Reply by Pete and Maggie Haggart on
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Everything is relative. No - it is not cheap and I don't think the dollar is doing any better against the Swiss money than the Euro. However, that said, we have been to Switzerland three times with Untours and enjoyed each one. We found it no more expensive than any of our other trips. All eating places post their menus outside so you can pick and choose the economical places. We tended to eat our lunches out and our dinners in our apartment - but we found lots of inexpensive eating places in the small villages. You can also pick up good things at the super market - like roasted chicken. Go for it ....................you will return time and again to this magical country!
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