Let me begin this post by saying that I love Switzerland. I love everything about it except the prices. Very unfortunately, the sickening drop in the value of the dollar vs. the franc has almost made the country off-limits to the average North American traveler. This was brought home by an RSS feed from Switzerland Tourism entitled Summer-Weekend in Lucerne. It outlined a two-night stay in Lucerne’s Hotel Cascada, a property I know well. Located near the Lucerne train station but without lake views, Cascada is a modern, businessperson’s headquarters (thus it has rooms to sell on weekends) that the Gemütlichkeit travel newsletter tabbed as an Editor’s Choice bargain in 2001 when one could get a double room there for $90. So I clicked the link and asked for a quote on a weekend in July—three nights.
The double room price offered was CH 299 ($285) per night. Though breakfast was included, $855 for a weekend at this rather pedestrian hotel is simply sad evidence of how expensive this beautiful country has become. If you’d like to move up one notch to the Hotel Montana and perhaps have a view of the lake, the cheapest double room is CH 415 ($396). The Montana is a pleasant place to stay but hardly five-star luxury. Its prices make the chic, designer hotel, The Hotel, positively a bargain at CH $430 ($410) for a stylish double room.
The countryside, of course, is cheaper but still far more expensive than comparable accommodations in Germany or Austria. In tiny Sachseln, a pretty little town in the Swiss heartland that attracts few tourists, a standard double room at the three-star Hotel Kreuz is CH 240 ($229).
Surely one of the best bargains in the country is in the bucolic Emmental region at the rustic Hotel Hirschen in Langnau. It’s long been a personal favorite and a double room with breakfast is CH 180 ($172).
The Switzerland visitor will also be stunned by prices on restaurant menus. A basic salad-main course-dessert dinner without wine in the aforementioned Hotel Montana’s Restaurant Scala (no Michelin stars or Karte designations) starts at CH 69 ($66). At the simple Bahnhof Giswil, near Sachseln, traditional main dishes such as pork medallions and filet of horsemeat range from CH 41 to 52 ($39-$50). This is not an upscale restaurant; perhaps a fair comparison would be if you walked into your local bar and grill to find that a burger with fries is now $30.
I’m not comfortable with such a negative post, but if you’re headed for Switzerland you need to know what you’re getting into, and even a trip involving budget hotels and restaurants will be expensive. I recommend renting an apartment or flat (www.drawbridgetoeurope.com) or one of the great Swiss self-catering packages offered by Untours.
Finally, I should point out that the Swiss Rail Pass is an excellent value. Besides giving access to the country’s vast system of trains, lake boats, and postal buses, the pass provides free entrance to most museums and is good for substantial discounts on many attractions and mountain railways, funiculars, and cable cars. The second-class, 15-consecutive days, Swiss Saver Pass (two or more people traveling together), is less than $22 per day, per person and allows travel throughout the country, all day, every day. If you plan to stay mostly in one area, making only a few shorts trips in that region, I suggest the Swiss Card which, for $159, grants roundtrip transportation from any entry point to any place in the country and also offers a 50% discount on all other rail, boat and bus travel.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Is Switzerland Too Expensive?
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7 comments:
I am an American living and working in Switzerland so reading your blog post about high prices in Switz hit home.
Yes, life is more expensive here and with the dollar as it is (it was 1.7chf to the $ when I first came here, good ole days) it can all seem outrageous and discouraging.
However, I would like to add a few positive notes.
There are abundant holiday apts. in Switzerland, as you pointed out with your link to Untours. by staying in an apt you dont have to eat out for every meal and groceries are apprx 10-15% more than in the US.
With the exception of meat which is often double the price but you will get good quality, ethically raised meat. Well worth the price in my book.
About the restaurants. Eating out at night with 2-3 course, wine, coffee and all the trimmings will set you back. BUT, eating out at lunch time, typically swiss, can be a bargain! Most restaurants offer lunch 'menus' with 2-3 courses, huge amounts of excellent food for 15-18chf. ca 14-17$. Keeping in mind tip is included I don't know many restaurants in California where I could get the same quality and amount for the same price.
You have to be prudent in Switzerland, but there are good value deals to be found if you're flexible and creative.
It is expensive!!
But there are bargains to be had:
Zurich: With a daypass from the Railway system one can use public transportation including ship and train to the close mountain range. Bratwurst, Doener Kebab etc. on street grills are inexpensive. Migros and COOP (Grocery chains) all in all are less expensive than our grocery stores.
Country side: Renting a car from the states and following the "unknown" trails is rewarding. Or if you are into "hiking". Hiking from "mountain hut" to mountain hut of the alpine club (SAC) is beautiful is on well marked trails and still a bargain.
It needs creativity to find bargains but the experience still can be very rewarding!
I just returned from Switzerland about 2 weeks ago, and, yes, it was definitely sticker shock. I travel to Switzerland at least once a year and had never before felt it was expensive. Because I go to the same places and remember the prices, I know the cost in Swiss francs for my favorites hasn't risen, but the dive in the dollar makes it so much pricier. (Of course my Swiss friends say, "now we can come visit you!")
On the plus side, if you do a little digging, you can find more affordable food and lodging, as well as other things. Some towns/regions offer "regional passes" to guests who stay more than a certain number of nights (usually 3). This includes FREE lift passes for cable cars, FREE regional bus transport, and more.
If you are used to staying in 4 or 5 star hotels, try a 2 or 3 star. Especially in small towns and out in the countryside, Gasthofs and Hotels are all still clean, which matters the most to me! Or, stay in a "Zimmer Frei" (room available in a private home)...accommodations may (or may not) be more sparse than you're used to, but you'll see more of how the locals live, and it's likely to be more interesting (and FAR less expensive) than a hotel.
I concur about eating lunch v. dinner out, plus, if you are staying in a hotel with a breakfast buffet, think about making breakfast your bigger meal of the day! Go to the COOP and MIgros for picnic fixings (most have a lovely selection of already made up salads, sandwiches, etc.), or (better still) shop the small markets, bakeries, etc. If you're looking for a hot meal, try the restaurants at many COOP and Migros markets(buffet, cafeteria style)...I've never had a bad meal at one and still remember very fondly one dessert of meringues, fresh blackberries, and real whipped cream!
For me, the choice between downscaling how I go to Switzerland v. NOT going to Switzerland is not a choice!
My mom and I will be staying with a Untours' host family in Sachseln in a couple of weeks. This will be my first trip there, and was hoping you could give me some advice: ATM or traveler's checks?
I don't know Sachseln, but most places that I do know (some of which are pretty small), I'd vote for ATMs. You certainly can use one of a bunch of ATM at the Airport.
I just did a bit of checking for you, and the Obwaldner Kantonalbank at Dorfstrasse 2 in Sachseln has an ATM (a.k.a. Bancomat). The only thing you should be aware of is that many European banks only have 4 digit pass codes, so if yours is a 5 digit code, you might want to go to your bank and reset it before you go.
Have fun! Sounds like a great experience! Your host family will, no doubt, be very helpful to you as well.
The link for the bank is http://www.sachseln.ch/de/gewerbe/firmenverzeichnis/?action=showunternehmen&unternehmen_id=9806
Thank you! I'd love to avoid traveler's checks. You are wonderful to check on a bank for me. I've made note of the bank's address. Thank you so much.
Our experience in Switzerland is -- the more rural, the better. Zimmer Frei often requires a low level of german (or french) fluency to communicate with the owners.
Don't be a rude American and assume they will speak english. Have at least 2 or 3 sentences in german for conversation and work with the first one very politely to get your pronunciation correct. Most often I cringe when the American tourist bus pulls up at the rural gem of a location we'd found -- to hear some idiot say "if you can't speak english then you don't deserve my money, hah". My advice is if one feels that way then they should vacation only in Ohio or New York -- there is only so much insolation a tour guide can provide. Sometimes the prior american experience for the local/national was so bad we wanted to say we were Canadian to avoid the stereotype. The reality is that our own stupidity, naivety, and greed has resulted in the devaluation of the US dollar -- that is the price we must pay.
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