We’re bringing you even more advice on how to save money on holiday. This time, we’re delving into specifics with an account of a week-long trip to Switzerland to show you how much money could be saved if you plan the trip beforehand and make the most of it while you’re there. Whilst every country is different, hopefully you’ll be able to use this information to get started on your holiday research.

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So, whether you’re going to Switzerland or Spain, let’s dive into the numbers. 

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First off, some background into Switzerland. Off the bat, if you’re planning a trip there then you should know that it is one of the most expensive countries in Europe. That covers everything from accommodation to food to activities, so be sure to create a realistic budget before you even think about booking flights. I recently went on a trip there myself and even though I knew a bit about the culture, I was not fully prepared for the cost of everything, so I want to give an open and honest review to help fellow travellers out there. 

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Food

Let’s look into arguably the most important part of any trip (for me at least!), the food! I don’t need to be ‘wowed’ when it comes to food but I am all for trying local cuisine and dishes that I wouldn’t usually be able to get from home. Saying that, you can imagine my slight shock when I realised a bottle of water averaged at around £5 per bottle. That meant, a regular meal at a restaurant was priced at around £22-£30 so we couldn’t eat out three times a day. 

We decided to go to the supermarket to get our breakfast food (cereal, pastries, fruit) for the week as well as ingredients for a few dinners that we could cook for four out of the seven nights and this worked really well for us both money and convenience-wise. There was an Aldi close by and the total worked out at about £50 per person for all breakfasts and four dinners. 

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Activities

For us, this trip was all about spending as much time outside as we could, walking and seeing the sights, but we also couldn’t say no to a few adrenaline rushes! We rode a fair amount of cable cars, conquered ziplines at the top of a mountain and even mountain biked through meadows, but again, they were not the cheapest. The lowest price was £20 and the most expensive (cable car) was £80 which luckily we had budgeted for beforehand.

The total for these activities came to around £180. 

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Transport

If you are staying in a certain town, you will often be given a pass for free travel in that area which can be really helpful when seeing all the sights. Travelling between cities is a bit different as again, trains are expensive - we travelled between three destinations and our total equaled £155. 

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Total Cost - all meals/food, activities and transport - £450