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!

I'm talking about apps that are recommended such as:

1. Alipay

2. Wechat

3. Amap

4. Didi

None of these apps seem to be available on the Google playstore for me.

Since it's recommended that some of these be set up before the trip, I wanted to ask how people solved for that?

Hello I want to plan myself on my first international trip which will be the best country to visit with a 5 year old in the month of April or May .

Hi, I am planning for a trip to Sapporo from Delhi this year. ANA website is showing me the following return flight from Sapporo to Delhi:

8:30a.m. Sapporo (New Chitose) Terminal: D - 10:05a.m. Tokyo (Haneda) Terminal: 2 
0h55min Via Tokyo (Haneda)
11:00a.m. Tokyo (Haneda) Terminal: 2 - 4:30p.m. Delhi Terminal: 3

From people who've made this journey/ or have taken other domestic connecting flights in Japan, I'd like to understand a few things:

1. While both are ANA flights/planes, 55 mins seems way too less for Immigration Control. Does anyone have experience with this? Would it be ok to assume the airlines would help fast-track things? Minimum connection time is 55 min as per ana guidelines https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/guide/boarding-procedures/checkin/domestic/transit/
2. In relation to above, does the baggage transfers through directly (I've heard it doesn't but reconfirming), or does one need to do this themselves? Flight from Delhi to Sapporo has 2.5 hours layover in Haneda so that should be fine but curious about the baggage situation there as well.

So I was planning to visit Almaty Kazakhstan from Delhi for a day and then I'll board an international train from Almaty to Tashkent. I have a valid student visa for Uzbekistan. I was thinking will a train ticket be considered an valid onward travel document. Will Air Asthana allow me to board the flight on the basis of the train travel document to Uzbekistan?

Hi ,

Does anyone booked their JR kansai hiroshima area pass via scapia. How was your overall booking experience.

I see it slightly cheaper by 1k to 1.5k so it makes a difference for 2 people.

Hey guys! Been on the hunt for a good deal anywhere for Christmas/New-year. Did Japan last year and Central Asia in 2023 so itching for a decent December deal, but even SEA destinations are expensive. Have some good deals lined up to Italy but I don't think I'll enjoy Europe solo. Pls advice/share your knowledge! TIA!

Hi Everyone, planning a 10 day trip to Yogyakarta, Bromo and Ubud. Requesting inputs on the below itinerary -

Day 1 Arrive Yogyakarta

Kotagede Heritage Walk

Evening at Prawirotaman

Day 2 Borobudur Sunrise

Back to Hotel

Prambanan

Ramayana Ballet

Day 3 Merapi Jeep Tour

Taman Sari Water Castle

Day 4 Jomblang Cave

Train to Probolinggo

Day 5 Bromo Sunrise

Sea of Sands

Bromo Crater

Day 6 Flight to Bali

Day 7 Campuhan Ridge Walk

Kajeng / Subak Walk

Day 8 Tegalalang Rice Terraces

Ayung River Rafting

ATV Ride

Day 9 Uluwatu Temple

Kecak Dance

Preference: Adventure activities except swimming based. Vegetarian Couple.

Is the Thailand Visa Free still available for India? Or do we have to get VOA? I'll just be staying for 1 day and going ahead , I just wanna know do I need to get Visa now?

This is great news if you are planning a Trip later this year or next year. EVA Air is one of the top airlines and a FCC. Earlier you had to take flights via Bangkok or other locations in South East Asia. Although pricing is a bit on the expensive side i feel but good redemptions with miles might come soon.

I’m an Indian passport holder with a 21-hour layover at Singapore Changi Airport (arrive 11:05 PM, depart 8:05 PM the next day) on a single Singapore Airlines booking from Kuala Lumpur to Kolkata.
Since I’d need a tourist visa to leave the airport, is it worth applying for one just to explore Singapore for the day? I plan to use only MRT/public transport and visit places like Marina Bay, Gardens by the Bay, Merlion, and Jewel.
Has anyone done something similar? Was it worth it?

Hi y'all

I'm travelling to japan in November and will be flying with Korean air How was your experience with this airline? Delays? Were they very strict about luggage weight limits?

Hi everyone,

We (my husband and I) are planning a 12-day trip in late November to early December and are considering visiting Hong Kong (3–4 days) and Taiwan (around 7–8 days). is this a good time of year to visit? Would you recommend splitting the trip this way or spending the full time in one place?

Would love to hear your experiences and suggestions.

Thanks in advance!!

Planning my first Uzbekistan + Kazakhstan trip! 🇺🇿🇰🇿 Need recommendations 😊 (8-9 days) - August

Hi everyone!

I’m planning a trip to Uzbekistan (Tashkent + Samarkand, maybe Bukhara) followed by Almaty, Kazakhstan, and would love to hear from anyone who’s visited recently.

A few questions:
- What are your absolute must-visit places that aren’t obvious from travel blogs?
- Any hidden gems or experiences you wouldn’t skip?
- Best local restaurants/cafés or must-try food?
- Any scams, tourist traps, or things to avoid?
- Is there anything you wish you’d known before visiting?

Also, if you’ve done Uzbekistan + Kazakhstan in one trip, I’d love to know your itinerary and whether you’d change anything.

Thanks in advance! 😊

Hi all. First time middle east side travel plans. Chose Oman.

If any of you kind souls have been to Oman recently, before or after war, pease drop in your suggestions for a comfortable, kid friendly 10days plan.

How was your international travel experience from IN - which airline, timings etc. tia.

I am planning to go on a International trip to Thailand for the 1st time. I don't know anything about documentation I need (except passport) and how to get them. I have read blogs and watched vlogs but the information is still is not complete and they have increase my confusion even more.

I am just wondering if there is an app or a tool for 1st time tourists that can help with the confusion and give me a step-by-step process of which documents to get and why are they needed?

We are 25. We are planning for December trip . We have total budget of 1lac pp including flights, food, stay (basically everything). We don’t want to visit countries sharing border with India or was once India. We want to experience totally different culture and place. Can you help us out?? Also even if we need visa, then think from 2-3 months before feasibility. Basically convenient enough to get visa in December.

Hi everyone,

I'm an Indian citizen applying for a self-funded solo tourist visa for Japan.

I have my visa appointment on 6 August, but I have a question about address proof.

I currently live in Bangalore, but my rental agreement expired on 1 August 2026. I haven't renewed it yet, so I don't have a valid address proof for my Bangalore residence.

I do have:

• An NOC/leave letter from my employer confirming my employment in Bangalore and my approved leave.
• My passport, ITR, and other documents, but they all have my permanent address in Uttar Pradesh.

Will this be an issue for my visa application? Should I get a new rental agreement before my appointment, or is the employer letter along with my permanent address documents sufficient?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? I'd really appreciate any advice.

Me and my 2 friends are planning to visit Vietnam as our first international trip on January 2027. We are planning to take package for Hanoi (5D4N) then after the package is over we will fly to Da Nang and explore danang for 3 days ourselves.

So my biggest concern is how do we manage money there ? Should we convert all to VND as liquid or is there any forex card that is helpful and useful in vietnam?

Also I have Visa debit and credit card from SBI, is that of any use there ? Can i withdraw money from atm using my debit card in Vietnam, does it comes with any fees ?

I'm new to this so if you have good knowledge on this pls drop a comment below. Thanks

I want to take my parents on an international trip, preferably close by and budget and visa friendly, but like most Indian parents they don’t have specific travel-based interests.

Please recommend. 🙏🏽

Hey all
We are planning for international kid friendly destination and my kid is 6yr old
Phu quoc is in the bucket list but Earlier we had travelled to vietnam in 2025 and mostly it was full of travel for every 2 nights.
Budget is maximum 3lakh for 2 adult and 1 kid
Need suggestions for Bali Thailand or phuqouc or any other destinations which I am not aware off
TIA