Can anyone give me an idea of how expensive hotels, food, etc., are in Switzerland compared to countries like Austria or Germany?

I haven't been to Germany for a few years, but I just booked a trip to Switzerland. I was surprised to learn that the hotel rates haven't gone up much since my last visit in 2004, but the exchange rate hasn't improved much either, so Switzerland is still expensive (to me anyway).

Here are a few examples -

3* Hotel with breakfast for two - 180-230 CHF
Half board supplement (dinner) - between 30 and 45 CHF per person depending on hotel

Half Fare Card (train) - 99 CHF

Hotel costs vary quite a bit from city to city and from season to season. For instance, hotels in Zermatt are very expensive during ski season, but some good deals can be had in the off season. It's also possible to book apartments in the off season for stays of less than one week whereas during the season most require a week long stay and run from Sat-Sat.

To give you an example - during the high winter season in Zermatt, my favorite apartment rents for about 230 CHF per night and includes breakfast and daily maid service. But in the off season, the same apartment rents for 100 CHF per night with no breakfast and no service.

I looked at my trip report from 2004 and here's what we paid: (Zermatt, Murren, Wengen):

Shared pizza and drinks - 30 CHF
Lunch serving of racelette, pizza and beer - 38 CHF
Soup and salad for two with beer and wine - 56 CHF
Tageteller (set three course lunch) - 15 CHF each (w/o drinks)
Electric taxi - 10 CHF
Two winter hats and two pair of fleece gloves - US $100! (our luggage was misplaced)
Three small loads of laundry in coin operated laundromat (wash and dry) - 24 CHF

Switzerland certainly isn't cheap, but there are ways to cut down on costs.

In my experience, Switzerland has always been the most expensive European destination I've encountered. That was true in the early 70's when I first visited, and in 2002 when I last visited. If you compare current prices in Switzerland with those in other EU countries, you will find this holds true today. It's a wonderful and beautiful country, but very pricey.

Of course it varies by season--everywhere does. But, CH is far more expensive than the adjacent countries--I would guess by 20% for food and lodging.

I was in Switzerland last summer and was amazed at the expense! But the alps were worth every penny, even if the hot chocolate did cost $5.00! (And it was powder!)

The good news is that it actually is possible to visit Switzerland inexpensively, if you stay out of the cities. Also, if you are traveling alone, a single room is often about half the price of a double room (different from the US where you pay the same).

We spend 2 weeks at a time amid beautiful alpine scenery in the Berner Oberland and the Valais region without spending a fortune. Our 2005 trip averaged $75 pp per day (excluding airfare and train passes). Prices have gone up some since then, but not double. (I didn't actually calculate our average expenses for the 2007 trip because it was my birthday and I didn't scrimp!)

I am careful about $$$ but we do like to sleep and eat well. Most of our daytime is spent hiking.

I checked on the summer 2009 prices for lodging we have used. Here is what I found, for single rooms:

In Wengen, a room in a 2-star hotel with great food for CHF 65 to 90, including breakfast. Add dinner (half-board) for CHF 20.

In Mürren, a single room in a friendly and pleasant B&B for CHF 50 to 55, including breakfast. Or bring a friend and share the apartment for not too much more, and save on meals by cooking your own dinner.

Near Kandersteg, a single room in a rustic mountain in on a gorgeous lake (Oeschinensee) for CHF 90 to 100 (no ensuite bathrooms here). Or choose a bed in the Matratzenlager (dormitory) for CHF 38 to 43, again including breakfast.

On Rigi, the lovely green mountain that rises from the lake near Luzern, a single room for CHF 70. This is halfway up th emountain at Rigi Kaltbad, with lovely views. (Just to tempt you, here is the view from the "common room" at this place:

http://www.alpina-rigi.ch/html/hotel.html

Put 3 or 4 of those places together and you'd have a nice budget trip.

Meals: for lunch, we enjoy a plate of Rosti for CHF 9 to 12; soup for around CHF 7 to 8, or hearty mixed salad for CHF 7.50 to 10. We skip the extra drinks at lunch so we can order wine for dinner. Entrees at dinner are around CHF 22 to 30, depending on what you order, but you can pay less by ordering pasta, pizza, etc. or dining at more casual places. (There's a great little Asian restaurant in Mürren that serves fresh and tasty vegetables and Chinese dishes at very reasonable prices).

Some places, like Zermatt, are notoriously expensive. (But as Melnq8 noted, you can find apartments in the off-season for much better prices---we paid CHF 240 for a lovely, 4-star 2 bdr. apartment) The major cities are all expensive---we've never spent less than CHF 300 for a triple room in Zürich. And the trains and cablecars can add up fast if you try to do everything. (You may save something by using a pass that meets your needs.)

But, as you can see from the prices I listed above, it doesn't have to be terribly expensive to visit Switzerland. I can't, however, compare to Germany or Austria as I haven't spent any time in either one recently.

Switzerland definitely wasn't cheap when I visited, but we got stretched our money pretty far by going with Untours (www.untours.com) and having some meals at home. We stayed in, and loved, the town of Reuti in the Hasliberg region. Untours is a lovely company to work with, and their staff both in the US and in the country visited have always been quite helpful.

ttt in case Peg is having trouble finding this thread!

I didn't think Switzerland was any more expensive than most other countries' major cities. I was just there summer of 2007, I think (or maybe 2006, I forget). It wasn't more expensive than Vienna in Austria IMO, nor Dresden, Germany (the only city I stayed at in Germany). So I don't know what kind of places you'd be comparing it to in those countries, but I didn't notice anything that different in terms of what I spent.

I just got back from Zurich yesterday. Food was insanely expensive. My first lunch, I had a hot dog and small bottle of water from a kiosk near a park. Price was 9CHF which is just a little under USD 9.00. Crazy. Very average restaurant meals would set you back about 50 to 80 USD, from the prices I saw on the menus I looked at as I wandered around town. I was in Venice last year when the USD was very weak and I thought the cost of meals there was outrageous. Well, the cost of meals in Zurich is insane. The value for money in Switzerland is pretty much nil.

First qualify expensive, yes you can pay top prices in five star restautants, you can eat in self sevice cafeteria's in stores like Migros and the Coop, where the locals eat just as well, well ok not cordon bleu, but a good filling meal, for much less. i would suggest looking on the various restauant web sites at the menus and prices. Hot drinks are what I would call reasonable, bearing in mind Americans tend to think the UK is expensive,(I'm a Brit). It's like everywhere else, you look at the menu outside the establishment before you go in, or buy a picnic and eat outside in a park on while hiking.

I find Zurich to be one of the most expensive cities for hotels in Switzerland BUT that has depended on the type of hotel and some of the locations along LacLeman can be JUST as expensive.

As to the "insane" hot dog prices...I agree, not cheap but have you bought one from a street vendor in some US cities lately??????

As a very rough rule of thumb, add 30% to the cost in Germany and 20% to Austrian prices. Just about the only thing cheaper in Switzerland is the cost of gas/petrol (20% less than Germany, 10% less than Austria), but diesel is about the same.

We did find the food in Switzerland much more expensive than in Bavaria. However, the advantage we have is that our family in Switzerland always insists on paying for all our meals while we're there! That includes all our stops for coffee and pastries. I have bought some clothing and souvenirs there but try to keep that to a minimum. And since we have the family there, no need for us to get a hotel.

Peg -

Assuming you're still following this thread, I just posted a very detailed trip report on Switzerland that lists lots of prices, including meals, drinks, hotels and transportation.

Just look for April in the Alps; A Swiss Walkabout

"As a very rough rule of thumb, add 30% to the cost in Germany and 20% to Austrian prices. Just about the only thing cheaper in Switzerland is the cost of gas/petrol (20% less than Germany, 10% less than Austria), but diesel is about the same."

Excellent advice. Ask a Swiss and they'll say, because of the Euro, Switzerland isn't more expensive than Italy. I found restaurant Barcelona prices to be as high if not higher than Switzerland's. The UK isn't cheaper either. I'll tell you about France next month.