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Cost comparison b/w Paris and Switzerland(wengen)

Cost comparison b/w Paris and Switzerland(wengen)

Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 12:21 AM
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Cost comparison b/w Paris and Switzerland(wengen)

Could anyone compare the cost (accommodation, tours, food) if a family of 3 is traveling on a BUDGET for a week to PARIS OR SWITZERLAND (enjoy the apls, maybe wengen)

Travelling time : July 2016
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 12:33 AM
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CHF used to be stable. Then it exploded last year and gained 20% against Euro. It is a little bit less bad now but still a good 10% above EUR.

So, for the moment, every European will tell you to avoid Switzerland. Last time I went was in 2005, so can't help anymore, but even then I foudn Switerland expensive.

http://www.x-rates.com/graph/?from=C...UR&amount=1000
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 12:54 AM
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Exchange rate is a definite factor, but still 10% is manageable

But how about ACCOMODATION, TOURS, FOOD etc
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 01:03 AM
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You might want to explore booking.com, just to see what the low-end options are for accommodation.

For most purposes, tours aren't necessary unless YOU want them -- for these locations, you can do most things on your own and for far less money.

BTW, I stayed low-end in Wengen and regret it -- I only stayed in Wengen one night, and spent an amount that seemed, to me, like I was splurging, but did not actually give me a very good view. If I ever return to the area, I hope to pay whatever it costs for at least one night with a truly awesome view. In contrast, I spent 3 nights at the Hotel Staubbach in Lauterbrunnen, which was much more affordable and offered a stunning view down the valley and over the falls, including an awesome view of the Staubbach falls. Given that you are on a budget, you might want to consider that option, at least for part of your stay in the area. JMO.
http://www.staubbach.com
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 01:11 AM
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By tours i didnt mean guided tours, rather i meant that going by myself to JUNGRAU and others like some boat excursion or another train ride

Could you share the hotel name in STAUBBACH and what is it per night

how about food cost
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 01:14 AM
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asimm

perhaps you need to do a little of your own homework. We do not know what it is you want to see or do, what you consider reasonable to spend every night on accommodation or food, what your family likes to do for sightseeing.

for example - if you want to take private guided tours of the sights of Paris, that is going to be a lot more expensive than going for a walk in the swiss Alps with a packed lunch.

if you are comparing Paris v Switzerland then why not go to a hotel booking site like booking.com and do some comparisons. for example - for the dates you are contemplating, how much will a three-bedded room in, say, the 5th arrondissement of Paris [pretty central, probably not too expensive] cost against the same in Wengen? [where everything is central, more or less]

then think about food - you can look at menus on line, but breakfast in Paris is probably going to cost between €15 -€20 for 3. [may be included in a swiss hotel, unlikely in a Parisian one] lunch twice that, and dinner between €50 - 100 + depending on your tastes. then there are drinks [say another €20per day ] travel [a couple of Carnets will be about €25 for the week plus getting to and from the airport] and entrances to museums and galleries - at least another €100, possibly more depending on what you want to do.

Adding all that up, you are looking at between €700 -1000 for the week excluding your hotel [though you might keep your costs down by renting an apartment and doing some of your own cooking/catering].

however, the biggest single cost is probably going to be the airfares - have you compared them? THere's no point in going to Paris instead of Wengen to save money, but spending twice as much on the airfare.

The other factor to consider is why you are going and what you are hoping to see - the Swiss Alps and Paris could hardly be more different!
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 01:27 AM
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"Could you share the hotel name in STAUBBACH and what is it per night"

I did -- Hotel Staubbach, link already supplied.

I agree with annhig -- you will benefit tremendously from doing some of your own research. Most of the information you are seeking about comparative pricing is READILY available in good guidebooks and online, as is information about the unique costs you might encounter depending on your interest in these areas (e.g., the cost of a visit to the Jungfrau, the costs of visiting other tourist destinations.). Consult some guidebooks. And give some thought to annhig's excellent advice.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 01:37 AM
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Thanks ANNHIG

We are very much interested in NATURAL BEAUTY and least interested in HISTORY/MUSEUMS

Our initial journey was MADRID/ROME/VENICE/PARIS/BEACH, but since we are NOT much into history or museums therefore i thought that maybe we could travel from VENICE TO SWITZERLAND through the famour BERNINA EXPRESS to explore the beauty on the way.

We would be staying and eating economical and mostly the street food, though will not be cooking ourselves.

We would not be drinking any Wine.

We wont be taking any PRIVATE TOURS and are very much capable of doing the sightseeing ourselves.

BUT have always heard that finding a hotel in WENGEN OR STAUBBACH OR INTERLAKEN for around Euro100-130/- is not possible, whereas in PARIS OR ROME OR MADRID we can find hotels in our budget

Also, the food cost is quite high in whole of SWITZERLAND

I really dont want to CRASH MY BUDGET in switzerland BUT since we are not much into history and museums therefore i thought about SWITZERLAND

Airfares are almost same either we travel to swiss of paris
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 04:34 AM
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If you look at booking.com it shows only one hotel in Wengen near your budget. About $125 per night for a triple room. However this includes one single room and a set of bunk beds - no double bed. Also breakfast is listed at 12 francs - so an additional 36 euros per day.

All of the other hotels list prices of from 275 euros per night and up. these hotels have rooms with a real double bed plus a single bed in the family room and breakfast is included.

So - it appears that your response is that hotel rtes in Wengen are Much higher - probably double or more - than you might be able to find in Paris.

From my experience (but in Basel or Zurich) meals in Switz are much higher than in Paris. (A muffin and OJ in the Zurich airport was about $12.)

I would assume that the same is true of Wengen.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 04:34 AM
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Sorry - the hotel has one single bed and one set of bunk beds.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 08:28 AM
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asimm,

the only way to do this without relying on anecdote is to put your dates into a hotel booking site like booking.com or hotel.de and search for Paris and Switzerland for the dates that you want. BTW, Lauterbach may be cheaper as it's down in the valley, and you might find B&Bs which are cheaper than hotels, but just as good for your needs.

And you can't judge everyday prices by what is charged at airports!

BTW, I just searched Wengen for a week [2 days] with a triple room for the week beg. 9.7.16 and come up with one place for £575 for the week - the Hotel Bernerhof - with breakfast and extra £8 per night. Search for the Jungfrau region, and it came up with an apartment in Grindelwald for £422 for the week.
[Grindelwald does seem quite a lot cheaper; I have friends who just came back from there who being Cornish are not renowned for throwing their money around and they had no complaints at all!]

you really do need to do your own homework and see what's out there!
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 08:34 AM
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Who told you it is easy to find a triple room in a hotel in Paris for only 100-130 euro? It's not. Now you will be able to find one somewhere for 130, but not many, and it's not going to be very nice, and won't have AC at that budget and in July you might want it. If that child is older, then it's really like another adult in room terms and not so easy to find and will cost more.

But is it possible in Paris? yes, it's possible, as long as you don't expect much. It wold be easier if you go end of July after july 14th, National Day, as many hotels discount their rates after that and in August.

I haven't been to that part of Switzerland, but when I went in 2011 the franc was about the same as now against the euro also, as I recall. Which isn't really the relevant point, it depends what things are priced at, of course, not the exchange rate. And the franc isn't higher than the euro right now, it is less (.91 francs to 1 euro).
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 08:46 AM
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asimm: You have started 15 threads about this trip (well, one was about your passport so not really about the trip details)

I think you are getting scattered/confused. How long is your trip in total? From your other threads it seems you are going a lot of places -- do you have long enough for that?

No one can 'compare' and give you the exact info you seem to want. You can do Paris cheaply - or expensively. You can visit Switzerland for probably only a little more than than what Paris would cost you -- but in 'general' Switzerland will cost more.

You talk about 'tours', 'private tours' and doing things on your own - do you mean taking actual private tours, or do you mean walking around 'privately'. It may be a language issue, but a private tour usually means hiring a guide just for your family. That is often VERY expensive.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 09:00 AM
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Christina - it was I who picked July for comparison as the OP hasn't [so far as i can see here] but looking at the OP's other threads, it seems that it was a lucky guess.

obviously seasonal demand is going to make a difference to either or both venues.

JJ - I didn't realise that asimm had posted multiple threads - S/he'd better watch out that the system doesn't lock her out like it did me!
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 09:08 AM
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Oh -- they've been spread out over a month so not to worry.

. . . and aren't about Rugby
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 09:30 AM
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ahem, JJ - don't rub it in.

[crunch match for England this evening!]
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 09:53 AM
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The rates I quoted were for July 2016 in Wengen on booking.com - but obviously the specific rates were just a guess. And the by far cheapest hotel was the one you named - perhaps you didn't see that it was bunk beds - or perhaps they offered something else on the dates you used.

But the key point is that the OP does need to research on several discount sights - or look at renting if they will be there long enough.

For Paris they might even consider a private triple room in a hostel.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 10:36 AM
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nyt - I'm not sure that it matters that they are bunk beds - but if it does matter to the OP there were more conventional rooms for less in Grindelwald.

I thoroughly agree that the OP needs to do his/her own research - there's a limit to what even we can do!
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 11:00 AM
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To help you do your basic research, Asimm, I might refer you to the Economist's Big Mac Index http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index This gives a rough estimate of costs based on the price of a Big Mac sandwich in the United States. You give no information about yourself or your country, so it is impossible to give you meaningful cost comparisons, but the index shows that the raw cost index in the Euro Zone is less than that in the U.S. by about 15%, while the cost in Switzerland is overvalued by 42.4%. YOu may be in for serious sticker shock!

Now that I have helped you a bit, I hope, could you please help me and stop capitalizing words and phrases in your post? Such highlighting is taken as shouting, and is considered rude behaviour on line.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 11:58 AM
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Such highlighting is taken as shouting, and is considered rude behaviour on line.>>

NOT TO MENTION that it makes it VERY DIFFICULT to read.

See?
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