Jeryl Tan
A night out in the outskirts of Wald City at Batchel Kulm
Switzerland, the most expensive country in the world, held many firsts for me, and she was definitely the highlight of my entire trip.
From my previous summarized post, you can see that Switzerland was Day 7 to 21 of my itinerary and I spent 12% of my entire budget in this country alone! In this post, I will let the photos tell you more on what I did, and where I visited during the period of 15 days.
Scroll all the way to the bottom if you want to know more about the accommodation and transport in Switzerland.
First up, these are the highlights of each city I’ve been to, I hope you enjoy the photos and the short descriptions below!
*WARNING: I am a nature fanatic, so there are a lot of photos of the Swiss nature but very little photos of the cities in Switzerland. This is also why Switzerland was the highlight of my trip!
Zermatt
The Matterhorn, which is also known as Toblerone Mountain
Fun Fact: This is how Toblerone got it’s logo!
One of the lakes’ noticeboard on the hiking trail
The Glacier
The MUST TRY Cheese Fondue!
The Ice Tunnel, Entrance of Glacier Paradise
Me on one of the exhibits
My first time touching snow and my first snow angel
I was in awe, literally.
Thun
Watching the sunset in a traditional steam boat on Lake Thun
My host, Corina, on First Mountain
The view at the top of Stockhorn
A traditional home cooked Swiss dish! It includes rice, chicken, watermelon, pineapple (I think?) and some pepper. IT’S REALLY YUMMY TOO!
Lucerne / Luzerne
Trekking inside the Gorge
The thunderous waterfall in the Gorge
The river during the hike up to the Gorge
The famous Lion monument in Lucerne
The Chapel Bridge
On the Chapel Bridge
Zurich
The river in Zurich
Campfire while watching the Milkyway pass at Bachtel Kulm
The Sunset at Bachtel Kulm
The Lone Barn with the lone owner
These photos are a fraction of what I’ve taken, you can find all the remaining high resolution photos in the Swiss Album on Flickr and detailed caption and photos on my Instagram.
Here are the cost breakdown for the passes required for each location!
Passes: $380
Zermatt – 3 day peak pass, $296 (VERY expensive but VERY worth it)
This pass includes entry to all attractions and train rides everywhere around the hiking trails and around Matterhorn. A TWO-WAY ticket can cost up to $100.
Thun – First Mountain Pass, $66.
This pass includes a two-way cable car ride up and down the mountain and entry to the hiking trails. I did not go to Jungfrau because a two-way ticket costs $306. You can compare the different mountain passes here.
Thun – Stockhorn Pass, FREE!
You get to go up to this mountain for free if it is on your actual birthday. Yup I went up this mountain for breakfast on my birthday. I heard from my host that if it is your birthday in Switzerland, you can get a free meal in some restaurants and you get to go up mountains for F R E E. Bet most of you didn’t know this!
Lucerne – Gorge Waterfall Pass, $18.
This pass includes entry to the gorge and allows you to experience what it feels like to be in the gorge before the huge waterfall is formed. Really loud really cold, but definitely an experience!
Zurich – No pass required.
I was with my host, and he brought me around the area by foot and it’s completely free. Yes, Milky Way, campfire and an awesome companion.
Accommodation: $97.50
Hostel – 3 nights in Zermatt, paid for 2 nights.
Couchsurfing – 11 nights in Thun, Lucerne and Zurich. No cost.
Hostels and hotels are REALLY expensive in Switzerland and I really do not recommend anyone who is on a really tight budget to visit Switzerland. You will not be able to fully experience Switzerland if you scrimp on everything.
You must also be wondering how did I manage to pay only two nights for the hostel in Zermatt? Here’s what happened, I arrived in Zermatt thinking I could stay at a campsite just one-train stop from the main city of Zermatt. However the campsite office was closed since I arrived at 10 in the evening, well I assumed that campsites have offices that opens 24 hours since it’s a campsite and people might need certain things through the night, right?
So I took a train towards Zermatt and found out that all the reception for hostels were closed and hotels cost up to $200 per night! BUT after about an hour desperately trying to find a place to stay, I found the Matterhorn Hostel and there was a vacant room that was opened, my friend and I went in stayed there for one night and checked in only in the next morning for the next two nights of our stay.
PS: I do not recommend breaking any rules during your travel but cheap thrills once in awhile is pretty fun actually.
Transport: $113
The main mode of transport for me was by the rail, and you can travel anywhere in Switzerland across cities by rail, too.
With the Eurail Global Pass, you can take most of the public transports for free. However certain train companies are not included in the Eurail Global Pass so you may want to check if you have to pay additional cost for taking that particular train.
Out of the $113 I paid for transport, $81 was for a two way train ticket from Visp to Zermatt and $32 was the reservation fee from Venice to Zermatt. That was where I realized that the train company that operates from Visp to Zermatt was a private railway company and with a Eurail Global Pass, you get a 25% discount. BUT! According to the train conductor, if you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you can get on any rail for free.
Most of the cities in Switzerland be covered by foot, however there are also public transport options (bus, trams and metro) for you if you are feeling lazy or prefer to go to the outskirts.
TOTAL COST BREAKDOWN:
PASSES: $380
ACCOMODATION: $97.50
TRANSPORT: $113
FOOD AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: $129.50 (yes food can get a little pricey in these parts!)
TOTAL: $720
In conclusion, Switzerland is an expensive country without a doubt. Transportation and food alone can burn a hole in your pocket, so plan your transport well and maximize whatever pass you’ve purchased. Eat wisely so you get to enjoy the wonderful Swiss experience
I hope you like this post, and do like and share if you think someone will benefit from this!
Contributed by smilewithjeryl.
