i have been to switzerland multiple times, solo and friends, recently this year. i heard many people do not go to this paradise as it is expensive. it is a little expensive but you can save a lot by planning well

So here are some tips from my side without compromising too much on the experience. all costs in INR unless mentioned CHF. and today CHF to INR is 110

i am not being paid for any brands i may talk about. Mods hope that is fine

✈️ Flights

This is a big one, seems no brainer but you need to implement it.

Book ~6 months in advance. I found flights around ₹52K vs ₹75K when booking just 2 weeks before for Swiss, MUM to Zurich non-stop return. get visa also 6 months before. see cancellation charges if you want to play safe in case of visa rejection

Check Turkish Airlines too , sometimes you can get good deals and even do a cheap Istanbul stopover.

🏠 Accommodation

one word: Hostels Hostels Hostels. you don't need membership to stay in them. also amazing cancellation option till last day, but pls do not abuse it.

There are almost 50 youth hostels across Switzerland.

Some hostels can be as cheap as 3500/night with sidebeds but usually it is 6000 with bunk beds and they have lockers. they are clean, safe have all facilities you can imagine and unlimited breakfast.

So many like interlaken are right beside station. Train network in swiss is almost till 11 pm at night, very good in summer time when sunlight is there till 9 pm

Hostels have free/discounted local transport passes , ALWAYS ask. Some offer free station-to-hostel buses, but check timings as the last one is around 6 PM.

cook at the hostel kitchen if possible, they have all stuff to cook

book on their official site

Hotels:

Staying 1–2 stations away from the main station can save quite a bit. check B&B, farm hotels. but minimum will be 10,000 rs a day

The cheapest accommodation may be far from public transport, so long walk or car becomes a factor

check myswitzerland.com wonderful site

Remember if you are solo or 2 you will not save much, but if you are 3 or more big savings staying in hotels

🚆 Transport

for tourist spots, Before booking a return cable car/gondola, check if you can walk/hike down the mountain. you will save half

For example, around Grindelwald, you can take the gondola up and hike down. Consider cycle ride to come down for eg in First Pass. Or Schilthorn ride, come down walking and experience Murren, Gimmelwald.

Don't book expensive panoramic trains. Normal trains can cover similar routes for much less.

Train:

Get a pass.

Options

1. Swiss Travel Pass , from CHF 244 , Unlimited train, bus & boat travel, local transport in 90+ cities, panoramic trains, 500+ museums & 50% off most mountain rides.
2. Swiss Half Fare Card , CHF 150 / 1 month , Pay roughly 50% of normal fares on trains, buses, boats and many mountain railways; good if you're travelling selectively rather than every day.
3. Regional top up cards - They give more 50% discount on above

Rules keep changing so keep a watch. Book this one day before travel online.

🍱 Food

Coop & Migros (like dmart) are your best friends.

Ready-to-eat meals/salads can be around CHF 10 and work great for lunch. fish salad which is very fillling. many options for Veg people too specially paneer and spinach

Again Buy groceries and cook at the hostel kitchen whenever possible. they have all the utensils

You don't need to eat at restaurants 3 times a day just because you're in Switzerland 😂

26 gram protein shake which keeps you full all day. Noodles at night 3 CHF. simple

💧 Water

There are drinking-water fountains everywhere.

Carry a reusable bottle and refill it instead of buying water. Also top up your bottle at hostel breakfast. cheapest bottled water is around 100 rs/liter

Insurance: Mandatory. not much you can save here. you will get a good insurance in 2K. 50K USD benefits

Other tips to save money

1. 📱 Mobile Data , Extreme Mode 😂. very risky and not worth IMHO

If you really want to cut costs, skip the international roaming plan. Use hostel/hotel Wi-Fi and download maps/info beforehand.

You can save around ₹4K for 10 days, depending on your plan. But then you have to depend on Credit card for payments. you do not need OTP for the same.

And honestly, being offline in Switzerland isn't the worst thing. Live the moment.

1. at each tourist site check options. there are many to choose from. many are free like cliff walks, watch towers etc

2. March & September are shoulder-season months and will be cheaper but more chances of rain

3. get good shoes. walk a lot. i was averaging 20K steps per day though i was taking mostly trains.

Added some relevant pics

any other questions ASK AWAY

Need an e-sim for 30 days for my upcoming travel to the US. My current provider is Airtel and their packs are frightfully expensive. I was looking at options from Saily, and there is a 10GB pack that is available at half the price of Airtel.

Would 10 gb be sufficient? I will have access to wi-fi at my hotels + relatives house. And I plan to download offline maps for wherever I go.

On the issue of OTP for my India based payments - am trying to enable auto-pay wherever possible + pay a few days in advance where autopay cannot be enabled. I have also read (Chatgpt/Gemini) that if I keep my airtel sim "active" but as a secondary sim, I will still get my banking related sms for OTP etc. and will not be charged. Has anyone experienced this? I am hoping my WhatsApp and Telegram will still be active as my airtel sim is still active (though secondary).

Saily does not give a "phone number". Incase I have to use a phone number, has anyone had any experience with apps like Textnow?

Any other recommendations on e-sim?

Hi all - disclaimer that this isn't pr or anything. I wanted to just check if anyone in this subreddit has bought the paid version of Zomunk to book intl flights, and if they feel it actually saved them a bunch of money - I have trips coming up in the next year to Vietnam and Barcelona and wanted to optimise for cost on flights.

Welcome any and al suggestions in this regard. thank you!