If you have been following us for the last few months, we’ve gone into detail regarding our trip back to Switzerland and the focus on how we were able to travel not only over to Europe affordably, but to one of the most famous ski resorts in the world during high ski season without breaking the bank. The goal has always been to show that costs aren’t as high as what you may think and to hopefully inspire those that want to travel, especially those with families, to get out and see the world. So, lets recap and focus on the 6 ways we were able to save on our return to Zermatt.
Airfare – The easiest way to save
Airfare always seems to give the most heart burn to travelers, but it really is the easiest way to cut costs. For us, traveling either out of Milwaukee or Chicago, and it being right in the midst of high ski season, we knew airfare could cost upwards of $800 out of Chicago and close to $1,000 out of Milwaukee. Since this trip was to show the traveling to high end European resort doesn’t have to break the bank, we persisted and found some true gems. The top one being TAP Air Portugal, $275 round trip per person out of Chicago. For a family of 4, instead of spending three to four thousand for flights, you’re able to keep cost under $1,100. Now these types of flights are not always going to be available, but we did find consistent options out of Chicago for around $450-$500. That alone will save you $1,000+ on airfare. A couple things to always pay attention to on price, if it’s upwards of $1,000, don’t buy. It’s too high. Next is to be patient. It’s the toughest part of purchasing airfare but settle in and wait. Sometimes the best deals for international flights may emerge 2-3 months before your trip. Lastly, use the endless digital tools. Google Flights is your best friend. It shows live pricing with endless flight options. You can set alerts for a destination or date range, and it will send you an email if price is increasing or decreased. Subscribe to Scotts Cheap Flights. We are not a paid promoter of Scott’s, but would love to be *hint* *hint*. We truly believe in their service. You pick your home airport, pay $40 for the year, and get all the cheap airfare alerts from all over the world that originate from the airport(s) you selected. One trip will pay for 10 years of their service.
Lodging – Hotels aren’t always your friend
Hotels are traditional ways to lodge, they’re comfortable, it’s what we know, but a lot of time can be the most expensive option. Including the budget options. Zermatt and destinations like Zermatt during peak tourism season will have regular hotel rooms start on the low end around $300-400. As you go up in tiers, you will quickly see that price near $1,000 a night. If you’re like us, that’s not even an option. We just couldn’t afford to travel. Fortunately lodging and rentals have come a long way. AirBnB, VRBO, Trip Advisor and so many others have provided ways to rent apartments, homes, even rooms for any style. I know it’s not the flashy tip or even unique and renting may be way outside your comfort zone, but the savings are noticeable. This trip, we found a perfect 1 BR apartment for our family. It had a kitchen, dining room, living room and a beautiful full-size patio that had a tremendous view for $110 a night, including all the service and cleaning fees. When you compare that to some of the cheaper local hotels, we are saving upwards of $600-1,200 depending on where you’re looking. Though it doesn’t have the amenities like a bar, spa, room service, etc., truthfully, we don’t utilize that anyways. Well, minus the bar, but the location of our rental was perfect that it didn’t matter that we didn’t have a bar or restaurant an elevator ride away. We were minutes from the main drag and perfectly in-between the two main lift areas, so the furthest we had to walk was 10 minutes. For us and those who are like us, these rental groups provide us exactly what we are looking for in a place to stay, but at the fraction of the cost without losing any sort of amenities we’d utilize. In the end, we don’t spend that much time in our lodging except for a place to sleep. Give it a shot. If you’re not comfortable or if you have had bad experiences, give it another chance. We’ve all had terrible hotel stays too.
Ditch the car, use the train
Great you saved a ton on your flights and lodging, but you still have to get to your final destination. Now what? Whether you’re flying into Zurich or Geneva, Zermatt is over 3 hours away by car or train. Train or car, train or car….in Switzerland, train. We understand the freedom of a car and knowing where your luggage is, and Swiss roads are modern, but Switzerland is built different. Their train system is 2nd to none and that’s not just me saying that, that’s coming from the European Union rating scale. With a variety of travel pass options for tourists that are family friendly where kids under 17 travel for free, it is a budget option that gets you to your destination. Unlike many of her European neighbors, Swiss trains are reliable, you don’t come across random strikes that plague other European systems and you’ll find that the Swiss train will get you to some of the most remote towns throughout the country. Depending on the Travel Pass you get, you’ll see those prices start around $120 per adult, but once you compare it to the $1,200-1,500 to rent a larger car or SUV, you’ll see savings immediately and with the efficiency and ability of the train to get you to your final destination, it starts to be a no brainer. In the end, ditch the car, ride the train and use that money for activities you’d like to do while you’re in Switzerland.
The simple ways to save on your food and drink costs.
On vacation, it’s natural to try to find a pit stop for a bite to eat, to grab a drink or even have a cup of coffee, but those things add up. If you’re bumming around the village, a beer or a glass of wine can start at $7 CHF for the cheap stuff and if you are looking for a bite to eat, a sandwich with fries might be $20-25. If you’re up on the slopes, it can be even more expensive than that. As you weight your options to feed your family of four, $100 per meal, 3x a day for a week adds up quickly. So, what do we suggest? Groceries! Yes, I know, boring. Booooo. But seriously, it’s a game changer. In Zermatt they have a very nice supermarket. For much of our time there, we just picked things up for lunch and dinner and would pack picnics for our days that we hiked and have dinner and a movie for the evenings. What would have cost us $100 on the low end, was on average $25. After a long day of skiing and hiking, we honestly didn’t feel like being out late with the little one, so it was a win win. We also discovered that the local beer that is normal $7 a bottle at a bar, was a 6 pack for $10. Really good and affordable wine that is local to Switzerland was about $8-10 a bottle. That way we were able to enjoy our nights without having a bar tab pushing $50. Now we didn’t do this every day, because we do love a really good meal from a top tier restaurant, but instead planned and budgeted for the really nice places that we wanted to visit. If we were hiking, we packed a sandwich, an apple and some chips, found a nice place to relax in the sun and had a lunch. It was perfect and saved a chunk of money while not having to hoof it to make our reservation. Other quick tips are to look for the local restaurant kiosks. There’s amazing soup, sausages and crepes all for as little as $6. If you’re looking to wet your whistle, there are outdoor bars that sell affordable drinks for cash or if you’re up in the mountains, look for the little hamlets that are more off the beaten path, as they are considerably cheaper than the main restaurants around the lift, plus you get to explore an area that isn’t nearly as crowded.
As we look back at our trip, we understand that we didn’t fly our entire family overseas, find an amazing deal on a 5-star hotel, eat, drink and ski for a week for $500. That’s just not happening. The goal was to show that just because you have a dream to go to an exotic destination, don’t shut it down because of cost. As we look back and combine the savings on airfare, lodging, transportation and food and beverage, it comes to about $4,700. That savings is a trip in itself and allowed us to enjoy a couple of really nice meals, rent equipment, go skiing, heck even get a babysitter (Shout out Rafaela and Alpine Nanny’s) for our daughter so we could enjoy skiing. We understand that it’s still going to cost a bit of money, but give yourself a chance to plan, save and enjoy life. You can do your dream trip, trust us.