Our Real Switzerland Budget: 13 Days by Train in Winter, $9,025

Zurich, St. Moritz, Zermatt, Grindelwald and Montreux in January, moving only by train with the Swiss Travel Pass. Every hotel, every ticket and what we paid.

These figures are from January 2019. Flights, hotels, the Swiss Travel Pass and excursions are what we actually paid. Food is our estimate. Prices in Switzerland have gone up since then, so use this as a guide to the route and the proportions, and check current prices before booking.

The trip at a glance

We flew into Zurich and never rented a car. Every move was by train, including the Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Zermatt. Six bases in 12 nights: more changes than we usually make, but Swiss trains make it easy.

Kramgasse in Bern old town, with arcaded buildings and a painted fountain statue — Bern old town, a day trip from ZurichOur photo

The C.G. Jung House in Küsnacht, a yellow villa behind tall clipped hedges — C.G. Jung House, KüsnachtOur photo

A café table under a stone arcade in Bern, looking out at a painted fountain statue — Under the arcades of BernOur photo

Red-tiled roofs of the Matte quarter in Bern beside the turquoise Aare river — The Matte quarter and the Aare, BernOur photo

Day	Base	Plan
Mon 7	Zurich	Arrive in Zurich
Tue 8–Wed 9	Zurich	Zurich, plus day trips to Bern and Küsnacht
Thu 10	St. Moritz	Train to St. Moritz
Fri 11	Zermatt	Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Zermatt
Sat 12–Sun 13	Zermatt	Zermatt, including ski lessons
Mon 14	Grindelwald	Train to Grindelwald
Tue 15	Grindelwald	Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe
Wed 16–Thu 17	Montreux	Train to Montreux, walk along the lake to Chillon Castle, Vevey, day trip to Gruyères on the Belle Époque train, cheese dairy and Maison Cailler
Fri 18	Zurich	Train back to Zurich
Sat 19	In the air	Flight home

A departure board at Zurich station for the 8:37 train to Chur, with snow falling over the tracks — Snow in Zurich: the 8:37 to Chur, on the way to St. MoritzOur photo

A red Rhaetian Railway train in a snow-covered station — A Rhaetian Railway train in the snowOur photo

The full budget

Item	US$
Flights Montevideo to Zurich and back, two passengers	3,140
Hotels 12 nights, six hotels	2,829
Swiss Travel Pass Two adults	1,026
Jungfraujoch	285
Glacier Express seat reservations	50
Ski school, Zermatt	255
Food Estimate	1,440
Total trip	9,025

Where the money went

Whole trip, US$, 13 days. Food is an estimate.

Flights: $3,140, the biggest line

Flights from South America to Zurich were a third of the trip. We flew into and out of Zurich, which kept the train route simple: a loop that starts and ends in the same city.

Hotels: six bases, $236 a night on average

Hotel	Nights	Total	Per night
Hotel Scheuble Zurich	3	$692	$231
Hauser Hotel St. Moritz St. Moritz	1	$286	$286
Hotel Hemizeus & Iremia Spa Zermatt	3	$787	$262
Hotel Cabana Grindelwald	2	$448	$224
Hotel Mona Montreux	2	$401	$201
25hours Hotel Langstrasse Zurich	1	$215	$215

Our most expensive nights were in St. Moritz and Zermatt, the two big ski resorts. Montreux, on Lake Geneva, was the cheapest base of the trip.

The frozen lake of St. Moritz with an ice track, below snowy mountains and the town — St. Moritz and its frozen lakeOur photo

Grand hotels of St. Moritz with snow on the roofs and a forested mountain behind — The grand hotels of St. MoritzOur photo

Panorama of Montreux on Lake Geneva, with grand hotels with yellow awnings along the shore and mountains on the far side — Montreux and Lake Geneva from our hotel roomOur photo

The statue of Freddie Mercury with his fist raised, in silhouette against Lake Geneva and snowy mountains, with seagulls — Freddie Mercury's statue on the lakefront in MontreuxOur photo

Chillon Castle on the shore of Lake Geneva, with snowy mountains across the water — Chillon Castle: we walked there along the lake from MontreuxOur photo

A giant stainless-steel fork standing in Lake Geneva at Vevey, with the town and mountains behind — The giant fork in Lake Geneva at Vevey, next to MontreuxOur photo

Inside a Belle Époque carriage of the MOB railway: wood panelling, green upholstered seats and a view of Lake Geneva — We took the MOB Belle Époque train from Montreux to GruyèresOur photo

Rows of Gruyère cheese wheels ageing on wooden shelves — Gruyère wheels ageing at La Maison du GruyèreOur photo

Maison Cailler, the chocolate factory in Broc, near GruyèresOur photo

A wall of Cailler chocolate bars in purple, blue and red wrappers, with prices in Swiss francs — The shop at Maison Cailler: a 400 g bar cost 7.95 CHFOur photo

The Swiss Travel Pass: $1,026 for two

Zurich main station platforms 6 and 7 under the steel roof, with trains on both sides — Zurich main station, where our rail loop started and endedOur photo

With the pass, almost every train, bus and boat was covered, so we could hop on without buying tickets. For the Glacier Express, the pass covered the journey and we only paid $50 for seat reservations, which are compulsory on that train. The views from the Glacier Express, snowy villages and valleys most of the way, were one of the highlights of the trip. We recommend it.

A snow-covered village with pastel houses and a church bell tower, seen from the train — From the window of the Glacier ExpressOur photo

A winding road leading to a snowy village with a church spire, below cloud-capped mountains — Snowy valleys on the way to ZermattOur photo

Inside a Glacier Express panoramic carriage: blue seats, small tables and windows that curve up into the roof — Panoramic windows reach up into the roofOur photo

A bottle of red wine and glasses on a table by the train window, high above a snowy valley and village — A glass of wine on board, high above a snowy valleyOur photo

The red Glacier Express crossing a stone viaduct above a snowy forest and valley, seen from a window of the same train — The Glacier Express on a stone viaduct, seen from our carriageOur photo

Lunch is served at your seat. We had the set menu: a broth, then roast pork filled with prunes, with spätzli and spinach. In 2019, soups on the à la carte menu cost 12.50 CHF, an entrecôte 37 CHF and the children's menu 18 CHF.

Roast pork with spätzli and spinach, a cup of broth and a Calanda beer on a table on the train — Lunch at our seat: the set menuOur photo

The Glacier Express menu with the set menu, soups, grills, vegetarian dishes and a children's menu — The on-board menu, with prices in Swiss francsOur photo

A red Bern tram on a cobbled street with Christmas lights at dusk — Bern trams are also covered by the Swiss Travel PassOur photo

St. Moritz at dusk with a glowing sun-shaped Christmas light over the street and the Hauser hotel and café lit up — Dusk in St. Moritz. Our hotel, the Hauser, is on the rightOur photo

Glacier Express panoramic carriages at St. Moritz station in the snow, with a railway worker beside the train — The Glacier Express waiting at St. Moritz stationOur photo

Back in Zurich at the end of the trip, we also made a day trip by train to Lugano, in the Italian-speaking south. The pass covered it, so it added nothing to the budget.

Terracotta roofs of Lugano above the lake, with a steep wooded mountain on the far shore — Lugano, a day trip by train from ZurichOur photo

The Lugano lakefront promenade with red benches and pruned plane trees, below Monte San Salvatore — The lakefront promenade in LuganoOur photo

Is the pass worth it?It depends on how much you move. With six bases in 12 nights, the pass saved us from buying a long list of separate tickets. If you plan to stay in one or two places, compare it with single tickets first.

Excursions: $590

The lit sign of Hotel Garni Cabana on a dark wooden chalet at dusk, above the snowy lights of Grindelwald — Our hotel in Grindelwald, the Cabana, at duskOur photo

Snowy chalets of Grindelwald below a mountain wall hidden in cloud — Grindelwald under the cloudsOur photo

Jungfraujoch ($285): the train up to the highest railway station in Europe, from Grindelwald. The Swiss Travel Pass does not cover the full trip to the top, so we paid separately.
Glacier Express ($50): seat reservations for the panoramic train from St. Moritz to Zermatt.
Ski lessons in Zermatt ($255): with the Alpine Ski School.

Kleine Scheidegg seen from far above: the railway station, hotels and ski lifts in deep snow — Kleine Scheidegg from above, where you change trains for the JungfraujochOur photo

A wide valley with a town far below, seen from high on the Jungfrau, with snowy forests and clouds — Looking down to the valley from the JungfrauOur photo

The red Jungfraubahn train with orange seats waiting in the lit tunnel station inside the mountain — The Jungfraubahn: the last stretch runs inside the mountainOur photo

The Sphinx observatory at the Jungfraujoch, a stone building with a dome coated in ice, under a deep blue sky — The Sphinx observatory, at the topOur photo

The Aletsch Glacier, the longest in the Alps, from the Jungfrau Top of Europe plateau — The Aletsch Glacier from the plateau at the topOur photo

The Matterhorn rising above snowy chalets in Zermatt, with smoke from a chimney — The Matterhorn from the village of ZermattOur photo

The Matterhorn behind a chairlift on the Zermatt ski slopes — The Matterhorn from the ski slopesOur photo

Food: about $110 a day for two (estimate)

A bratwurst with onion sauce and creamy potatoes, with rösti and a beer behind — Swiss comfort food in ZurichOur photo

We estimated $1,440 for food over 13 days. Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe to eat out, so this is one line where it pays to plan ahead.

What happens next

We're working on separate guides to the Swiss Travel Pass, the Glacier Express and Jungfraujoch. Subscribe to The Weekly Go to get them first.