Here's the breakdown: breakfast from a supermarket for around $10, train trip for $90, hotel room in Bern for $171, lunch for $22 and dinner for $57 adds up to $350 for the day. And keep in mind that was one of the cheapest rooms available, no extra expenses such as tours or attractions and no drinks. You can of course spend less on accommodation by staying in hostels, but even those aren't cheap, probably around $50-$100 per night. Any way you try to do it then traveling in Switzerland is going to be crazy expensive.
You ain't lying about how bloody pricely it is to live over there! The teeny, tiniest apartments rent for 3-4 K per month. Gabe, have you been to Singapore yet? That place is more expensive than Switzerland, I think. Ha, loved seeing all the American names in Zermatt from Yosemite to Panera to ... "The Shoe Shop" and "Swiss Ski and Snowboard School"! But of course Skischule is the same thing.
Guessing that what with all of the traveling you do, where you stay & other expenses, I am hazarding a guess that you easily clear about SIX figures per year. You'd have to, after all to finance all that you do, and then have a cushion, too. I get it. It's not our business, but, that never stops me from being curious.
@@SuiGenerisAbbie I wish! But no, I'm not making that kind of income. I couldn't afford to travel somewhere like Switzerland for long. I balance things out by also going to cheaper countries. Yes I've been to Singapore a bunch of times and it's nowhere near as expensive as Switzerland: ua-cam.com/video/7YIXvEA6Ij0/v-deo.html
@@GabrielTravelerVideos Interesting to know. Thank you so much for sharing this more personal information. You burrito looks good. I hate crema (sour cream). I love guac! I always ask for mine "sin queso" no cheese too. I love your Grecian screen saver on the ole lappie, Gabriel. Really beaut! One of the sides that came with your beef dinner at the end, was ... bone marrow, which is DELISH! Beef is really pink though. I like mine shoe leather-y ... bon cuit, well done.
I'm glad that the channel is doing well enough that you can enjoy an expensive place like Switzerland, which has been that way for a long time. I prefer places where the prices are the same or lower than the U.S. It's fun to remember the old days when u traveled on much more of a shoestring :)
One of the most expensive countries, if not the most! Food's expensive too. Switzerland is so beautiful, and thank you, Gabriel for bringing us along on your travels - though very costly!
With proper planning the Swiss Rail Pass is well worth it. The Glacier Express from Zermatt to St Moritz & Bernina Express on over to Italy are 2 of the most amazing mountain rail journeys in the world as examples included, plus connecting with journeys over to the Chamonix area etc.
A very well put together vlog on beautiful Switzerland. I have been many times to Switzerland with family connections and can strongly suggest for your future railway trips, buying an Apex ticket for CHF 52 for a Saver Day pass. Obviously it must be bought in advance from SBB but well worth it. You can travel anywhere in the country for that price. Booking in advance is essential. Safe travels.
dear Gabriel, I am Swiss and left for good in 2012 to Brasil, currently I am in Greece. every time I visited my Family I was shocked about the prices, absolutly crazy. I am retired in 2019 and cannot afford Switzerland with my pension money. loVe your videos Gabriel thank you and much LoVe
Looks delicious the burger and fries 5:43 . 🍔🍟 For 27 dollars. The same burger and fries is $18 in upstate New York. A minimum of one dollar tip is expected. So $19 . 🍔🍟
another great video my friend . amazing breath taking scenery yes i would agree switzerland is an expensive country . I loved the small vehicles/buses they had in first place when you went for the train very quirky . safe travels
I agree with you, Gabriel - Switzerland is expensive. But have you noticed? Everything works everywhere. And it's clean, too. And what do you think it costs to maintain all those railways through the country and into the mountains? The expense for this country in this quality is certainly not cheap either - although our taxes are quite favourable compared to our neighbouring countries. That's why everything is relatively expensive - especially for people from outside with lower wages than we have in Switzerland. And I would like to give you a tip: relatively cheap food of good quality in Switzerland can be found at Migros and Coop - both also have restaurants in larger towns. I wish you lots of fun and joy in our beautiful country.
The best way to save money is always to prepare and plan ahead. Now Gabe is a content creator and needs to stay flexible, but that unfortunately means he will always pay the most. Europe and Switzerland too offer many types of travel passes, potentially saving you a lot of money, like the Eurail pass. Looking in to that and spending time getting something that fits your needs will save you a lot. Mountain resorts typically also offer multi-day passes, so forth and so on. And as always, booking hotels well in advance can save you a lot. Of course, get your food and drinks at the supermarket. European supermarkets are always reasonably priced because even people who earn minimum wages have a right to have access to healthy, affordable food. So if you are on a budget, always buy your food and drinks there. Im talking about the large big brand supermarkets, not the weird and small tourist oriented ones. Getting a beer and a sandwich for 1/3 of the price and drink and eat it in a nice park is just as good, if not better than some expensive bar. Convenience stores, places at railway stations etc usually are also a lot more expensive, so always leave space in your bagpack for cheap supermarket items to consume on the go. Supermarkets also offer a wide variety of local products: When you are in Spain and want some quality Iberico ham, when you are in The Netherlands and want some nice Dutch cheese, some German specialty beers.... whatever... guess what, people over there like that stuff too and they dont get it in a restaurant or that luxury specialty shop in the old town area, they get it in the supermarket. So it doenst mean you are getting lesser quality products or something, usually quite the opposite really. Visiting a big local supermarket and getting all sorts of weird local stuff is actually one of my favorite travel experiences. Gabe unfortunately doenst show any of this while Switzerland has some amazing local stuff like cold cuts, wines, and of course cheeses which you can get for much less than all these super expensive mediocre restaurants that just offer a bit of convenience but not much else. Im not criticizing, I understand he cant do or show everything, but still, for the price of that burrito he could have gotten a big baguette, some Swiss cheese, some dried ham, a big old orange and a bottle of wine or a couple of beers and just pick a spot under a nice tree in a park and have himself a gourmet picnic. If you consider all this, even Switzerland is very doable.
The exchange rate of Swiss franc to other currencies is the principal reason it is so expensive there. For Zermatt one way to avoid this is to stay on the Italian side of the border in Cervinia, taking the cableway up and over into Zermatt. The hostel behind the Zermatt 😢railway station is clean and cheap. The cog railway to Gornergrat is less than half the cost of rail/cableway pass, and walking back to Zermatt from Gornergrat is one of the most beautiful in the area. Cheers.
@peterhadley1654 Well currency yes of course, the Franc is crazy strong. But that also reflects wages. Convenience is especially expensive in Switzerland because you have people work for you. Its not America where people work for next to nothing with no benefits or healthcare or anything. That guy who makes that burrito in Bern is very expensive, just like the person who serves you your beer. They might very well be more expensive than the actual product you are buying. From what I read in some places minimum wage is like 24 Francs an hour... that's like $30.... You cant just order people around like in Greece where the minimum wage is like $5 an hour or the US where its around $10. So a supermarket is just one of many good ways to cut out a lot of labour costs.
Could not have said it better myself. Yes, Switzerland is always going to be expensive, but with a bit of planning you can make it much less painful. Same goes for every country really.
Hiya..great video..i was in Zermatt 6 weeks ago from Oz, yup its expensive:)..i ate at mcdonalds in Zermatt and then bought sandwiches etc from supermarkets.also beer from the supermarket.but yeah i was great to see the Matterhorn
Good morning Gabriel ! I watch this video and I cry ... cause I see these beautiful landscapes with the trees and forests while here in Greece, we suffer 3 days now with wildfires .... we lost our forests 😓 every year we have this huge problem .... the situation here is so heartbreaking and devastating ... we have nothing now .... Anyway , great video once again 🏔🏞⛰ !!
Thanks so much Gabriel for going to Zermatt! This really touched my heart when you walked through the train station, recorded the scenery, through Visp and to Bern, Switzerland! That must've been quite the time you had going down those stairs to end up in a locker room 😅 I most likely would've done the same! Epic video 🥲 And... I would love to go there for Christmas one day. I've wanted to since 2014!
I have been to Switzerland a few times in the past and as long as you book hotels and travel in advance its very do-able. Gabe likes to book things at the last minute but you really do get fleeced everywhere when you do that.
Switzerland is literally one of those countries that is virtually impossible to travel on a budget. Unlike other places in Europe or around the world in general, there is pretty much no way to travel cheaply in Switzerland
Yeah, you know you're gonna take it in the chin when you go to Switzerland. Still worth visiting though for the scenery. You're hard pressed to find a more beautiful country.
Yeah, Switzerland is crazy expensive. As an example, a simple cup of coffee costs about CHF 4.50 or roughly Euro 4.67, while that same cup would cost about Euro 1.40 in Spain or Portugal. A 35 minute train ride from Geneva airport to Morges costs about the same as a train ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (about 680 km). The scenery in Switzerland is certainly stunning, but then so is Glacier National Park or Grand Teton in the US, if you don't mind the bears and moose.
You should have bought a half fare card. It would’ve cut the cost of every Gondola trip, train etc to half. It’s the best way to travel in Switzerland.
Really enjoyed your journeys to the Matterhorn. Nerves of steel. I don't like heights and watching you swaying in a car way above land filled me with delight and horror. It creates a virtual living on the edge experience for me as I'm a wuss. Switzerland is a dream 👍⭐✨😌 love the currency conversions. Although expensive the food looks tasty 👍
The famous Bic Mac index.... you don't hear about it often these days but it certainly used to work very well as a measure of comparative purchasing power
It was the dearest country in the world when I was there and I was 19, it was 2pounds for just one plate of chips and we cdnt believe it, I'm now 66, but I loved it we went all over to so many beautiful places iv still got all those memories it was wonderful ❤
Some tips concerning food and drinks: Bring a water bottle. You can fill it up almost anywhere (e.g. fountains). Swiss tap water is amazing. Cheapest food options: 1. supermarkets (Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Migros and Coop, in that order). The latter two have a good selection of take away food. 2. Fast Food like McD, Döner etc. 3. Migros, Coop or Manor Restaurants. They are self service restaurants with good quality food for
I just came back from 2 weeks in Switzerland. I was there last year also. I have both times in Lauterbrunnen. I don't know why I prefer Lauterbrunnen though Grindelwald looks really hip. The thing to do is to ask ourselves how to afford Switzerland. Take up a second job and pr third. Eat Ramen, save save save. Switzerland is so worth it. I arrived back yesterday and ate some Ramen with an egg. It never tasted so good. Eat Ramen, Spam or Chef Boyardee and save up for Switzerland.I've been to Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, great countries but Switzerland beat them all.
Thanks for the great videos. I’ve been to Bern once to visit our friends that work and live there. It was okay and in my humble opinion not worth the prices. We were lucky to tag along with our friends who knew where to eat and drink thankfully. I’m still enjoying the Greek islands and we are viewing them again. Frank
Gabriel, I know you use to work in Jasper, Alberta, you should check the prices of the Hotels now, minimum price for the day in the hotel is 350$ Canadian dollars and up and Banff is 450$ and up. You are lucky to spend 300$ US dollars including food and train ride in that price in Switzerland All the best for you from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The cheapest option of Switzerland is probably to stay in a tent on a camp ground, but in the end it will still be crazy expensive compared to everywhere in Europe.
It amazes me that you can go from Greece to Switzerland and have about everything you need in your backpack. I’m the one hauling a backpack and a roller bag in and out of ferries and that’s just for Greece! I did take a tip from you this summer though, I grabbed a yogurt and fruit for my beach lunches. It saved a lot of hassle. I’m gluten free and Greece is not, especially the small islands!
I'd like to see what 's all in his bag. His backpack contains a warm jacket & hat as well as the warm climate stuff. The man has only sandals for shoes. What country are you from? Thanks.
Yeah , accommodation costs is the killer and of course the style of travel and the season you’re in. Would be inclined to travel out of season . Went to Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen etc in the winter and it was fabulous and affordable. Food costs can be dealt with - I didn’t go near a restaurant except for cheese fondue in Lauterbrunnen which was worth it!
High prices - true - but quality in switzerland is unsurpassed, I was in Interlaken in winter and summer and must say that their infrastructure to reach places so unbelievably gorgeous and hard to reach is out of this world - literally
I agree Gabe, Iceland is expensive but I think Switzerland is even more pricey 😮 Are you going to Iceland next to see the volcano ? Once in a lifetime experience to see an erupting volcano !! Would make a great vlog !
I was in Lausanne a couple of years ago, and I was able to find dinner for way cheaper than $57. One Thai place I remember in particular was only about $20, and I ate there three night in a row! But in general, no more expensive than where I live in Silicon Valley.
I did travel to Switzerland in the spring of 2023. Depending on how long you stay and how often/far you travel, it's better to have "half-fare card" or swiss travel pass. It will save fair amount of money on travel. The swiss travel pass doe not give you 100% discount on gondola/cable car rides in Jungfraujoch region, but rather you would get 50% discount. Eating out will cost you lot, minimum average meal person would be around 25-30$. Super market foods are pretty cheap compare to restaurant and they are really good too.
Maybe after that big lottery win comes in - then maybe I could make it to near the Matterhorn. It does kinda hurt my head to pay so much for a big Mac. That view at 18:22 of the safety tape feature just might get me sleeping outside somewhere else. 😊 Thanks
I totally agree. Been to Austria twice. I won't go to Switzerland. While it looks amazing. I think you can get the Alps experience in Austria ans save $$.
I never eat out in restaurants anymore in Switzerland and I don't pay for hotels as I have my own accommodation but you can go to ALDI and buy a loaf of bread and tin of sardines not much more expensive than the UK
It’s so expensive there because of where you are, any tourist “ hot spot” is going to be dear. If you went to a less touristy area it would have been a lot cheaper. But Switzerland as a whole has never been a cheap destination, Austria was always the cheaper mountain option but I haven’t visited in years so I expect that’s not quite such a bargain, but Austria is equally beautiful.
I think Switzerland is the most expensive country we’ve been to but it’s so beautiful and worth a visit if you can afford it. Stop in Lucerne instead of Zurich!
He has been in Lucerne and Zürich some years ago, so he decided to visit Bern and Basel surroundings (Augusta Raurica) this time, it looks like. Zürich will be only because airport with good connections (so he can decide more freely, where to go next), I believe. Although there is also an option to go to French Alsace after Basel as Alsace is a fairytale land (especially Colmar, Strasbourg, Eguisheim, Riquewihr). Surely one of my favourite parts of Europe and I have been to 400 European sites, 31 countries.
I can barely afford to put petrol in my car or buy lunch where I live these days , so Switzerland is certainly off the list with those prices and the insane airfare costs..
Similar process to London. Go out to the Cotswold you see show nice architecture but it is all spread out a bit. Have a day in Cheltenham and Gloucester for a bit for you self.
Funny fact : Swiss actually doesn't have an official capital but because the federal government is settled in Bern they decided to made Bern the (on)official capital of Swiss.
Can the local people who live and work in Switzerland afford to live well? No doubt it is a high income country, although with the crazy prices such as $50 for a meal in a restaurant it still must be difficult.
$50 meal in Switzerland would be a $40.-- + 20% tips meal in the US and I doubt if it's the same quality ;). Here in Switzerland as well as many other countries, most people , rich or poor make their food at home and they don't go out to eat in restaurants or order home deliveries all the time😄
You don't pay such prices everywhere in Switzerland. Those are Tourist Hotspot prices. And some things are even cheaper in Switzerland than in Germany.
For reference: Wages start around (USD) $70K/y, mostly in hospitality, as a bus/tram driver you get around $100K and free public transportation for your whole family, construction worker $80K-120K+, teacher $130K-230K, kindergarten teacher, first year, starts at $120K, including 13 weeks of paid holidays/year...etc.
yes, they can, because their salaries are proportional to all these costs. You look at the minimun wage in countries like italy or spain, for example, it's around 1200-1300 euro.. then you look at switzerland, it's around 3500-4000 CHF.
Switzerland has always had a particular situation in the world, controversial. But someone please explain why a simple hotel room in 'royal' usd/euro countries went up so much. In 2014 you could find a private room for 50 usd/eur ( basically a room is nothing more than 4 walls, a bed , a shower and a wifi connection , and you are outside most of the day) Try to book a room for the day after tomorrow in Milan or Madrid, not in the summer, 150 to 200 eur, or absurdly 60 or 80 euros for a hostel bed in a 6-bunk bed room, where did it all go wrong? Too much profit or taxes ? front face of other bizs? Funds and banks bought out all the hotels too? It's so hard to travel now , blame accomodation mainly!
I was in Zermatt with my gf after completing the Haute Route trek mid September, and it was depressing how expensive everything was... (its also discouraged to do any sort of camping around there. The "campsite" was at the end of the town and looked to be an abandoned school yard... so we ended up just booking a room and spending our remaining 2-3 nights there) I recall trying to get any sort of information on certain treks, and they refused to give us helpful info and they quickly referred us to their paid gondola rides or overly expensive mountaineering expeditions. On the bright side, i think the best part of Zermatt was the little British pub named Grizzlies (i think you went to for a burger) that is run by a friendly gentleman and his wife . It had a really nice vibe! The trek from Zermatt to Gornergrat was also awesome, but its ruined when you get to the top and are met with thousands of people drinking wine and flying drones everywhere.
😢 I wish we in the United States of America can develop public transportation like the one you are privileged to travel in . thanks so much for transporting us there. ❤ saludos ❤
Jumping Places were in Greece around the same time you were, and they summarized costs after a month doing the islands: much lower food and lodging per diems than yours, it seemed. Should you compare notes on methods perhaps?
Although they were posting videos at the same time I was, their videos were delayed so they were actually there a month or two before me when it was low season, so they probably got cheaper hotel rooms as a result. I went to some very small islands with limited accommodation options, the places I stayed were the cheapest rooms available for the time that I was there. It depends a lot on the month you're traveling and the island.
I usually look for canteens where local people go to eat (inside mall or inside universities etc.). I think it was about 5 euros, but McDonalds was more expensive. Restaurants on the curbside will be expensive.
I'm from Switzerland and I don't feel that way. I feel like a traveler spends much more than a local. Personally I tend to spend way more than a local every time everywhere...
When I was in Switzerland last summer I was somewhat able to keep prices down by buying ready made food from Coop markets. Dinner would be a deli sandwich, chips, drink and a snack. Even that might have been over $20, but at least it wasn't the $50 for a small meal in a restaurant. Imagine a family of 4 going to Switzerland for a week. $200 for dinner for 4. And then imagine if you also go out for breakfast and lunch. That would be $600 a day just in food! Yikes.
I spent my vacation in Lucerne, Switzerland during last week of September and bought some dark chocolates at Coop market, 3 pcs 100g each for 3.75 Euros which I find them inexpensive.
It does seem impossible to save while there. I was lucky enough to get an apartment for a few hundred for a whole month, but that was only because I had a friend there and rented a room. I think it’s all scouting looking for the seasons which are cheapest, & if you get a hostel or thru that website that offers cheaper hostels for backpackers (forgot the name) you can definitely save a lot if you exclusively cook at the hostel, in sas fee where I was, food was half the price of a lot of places so I don’t really understand the food prices there. Many local people would just not pay on the busses and that was a way they managed to survive despite their big salaries even for them transportation etc was too much
Hi Gabriel, the one thing you have going for now is you can do this on what UA-cam is paying you or you would be doing hostels which is not a terrible thing many people travel that way still. If that picture of the Mexican restaurant was in the States people may say that it's racist and right next to it was a Cuba cafe. This is what traveling has done, opening the doors for others to experience different things from various parts of the world. Gabriel, you open my eyes to many things around the world without even knowing it. Our personal guide through this labyrinth.
300 usd per day expenses is like 1,350 malaysian ringgit per day. Scary indeed but I think accommodation and food is expensive there. Unless I eat Co op food daily. And stay in hostel.
It is very expensive, even with a cheaper room that provides breakfast and eating only a second meal a day. Train rides even with a half price discount card, then the gondola rides are expensive! But it is so worth it! I prefer the half price discount card! In the St Moritz if you stay 3 nights or more your hotel will loan you a travel card which entitles you to ride trains, buses and gondolas free!
Really have been enjoying these vlogs of beautiful Switzerland! But $22 for a burrito! 😭 I'll be going back to Mexico! Still, as you say, you get what you pay for... but in Mexico, it seems you get even more 🙂.
@@chestermosburger3113 😅 you can get a four cheese fondue for 2 people at Fondue Haus Bistro in Mexico City for a little over $16 dollars US (from a one year old menu found online)
Here's the breakdown: breakfast from a supermarket for around $10, train trip for $90, hotel room in Bern for $171, lunch for $22 and dinner for $57 adds up to $350 for the day. And keep in mind that was one of the cheapest rooms available, no extra expenses such as tours or attractions and no drinks. You can of course spend less on accommodation by staying in hostels, but even those aren't cheap, probably around $50-$100 per night. Any way you try to do it then traveling in Switzerland is going to be crazy expensive.
You ain't lying about how bloody pricely it is to live over there! The teeny, tiniest apartments rent for 3-4 K per month.
Gabe, have you been to Singapore yet? That place is more expensive than Switzerland, I think.
Ha, loved seeing all the American names in Zermatt from Yosemite to Panera to ... "The Shoe Shop" and "Swiss Ski and Snowboard School"! But of course Skischule is the same thing.
Guessing that what with all of the traveling you do, where you stay & other expenses, I am hazarding a guess that you easily clear about SIX figures per year. You'd have to, after all to finance all that you do, and then have a cushion, too. I get it. It's not our business, but, that never stops me from being curious.
My sister recommended a Eur-Rail Pass. Not sure if those are still available.
@@SuiGenerisAbbie I wish! But no, I'm not making that kind of income. I couldn't afford to travel somewhere like Switzerland for long. I balance things out by also going to cheaper countries. Yes I've been to Singapore a bunch of times and it's nowhere near as expensive as Switzerland: ua-cam.com/video/7YIXvEA6Ij0/v-deo.html
@@GabrielTravelerVideos Interesting to know. Thank you so much for sharing this more personal information.
You burrito looks good. I hate crema (sour cream). I love guac! I always ask for mine "sin queso" no cheese too.
I love your Grecian screen saver on the ole lappie, Gabriel. Really beaut!
One of the sides that came with your beef dinner at the end, was ... bone marrow, which is DELISH!
Beef is really pink though. I like mine shoe leather-y ... bon cuit, well done.
I'm glad that the channel is doing well enough that you can enjoy an expensive place like Switzerland, which has been that way for a long time. I prefer places where the prices are the same or lower than the U.S. It's fun to remember the old days when u traveled on much more of a shoestring :)
Dont be jealous, schmuck.
I always love the shirts you wear Gabriel . Anyway, the scenery in the Zermatt area was breathtaking. That clock tower in Bern was impressive.
One of the most expensive countries, if not the most! Food's expensive too. Switzerland is so beautiful, and thank you, Gabriel for bringing us along on your travels - though very costly!
With proper planning the Swiss Rail Pass is well worth it. The Glacier Express from Zermatt to St Moritz & Bernina Express on over to Italy are 2 of the most amazing mountain rail journeys in the world as examples included, plus connecting with journeys over to the Chamonix area etc.
I love that Greece is on your desktop!
Really love that song at 12:30
A very well put together vlog on beautiful Switzerland. I have been many times to Switzerland with family connections and can strongly suggest for your future railway trips, buying an Apex ticket for CHF 52 for a Saver Day pass. Obviously it must be bought in advance from SBB but well worth it. You can travel anywhere in the country for that price. Booking in advance is essential. Safe travels.
dear Gabriel, I am Swiss and left for good in 2012 to Brasil, currently I am in Greece. every time I visited my Family I was shocked about the prices, absolutly crazy. I am retired in 2019 and cannot afford Switzerland with my pension money. loVe your videos Gabriel thank you and much LoVe
At those prices, I am happy to be a Swiss armchair traveller. Thanks for the great and informative videos.
Central Asia (the Stans) have mountains too and the prices could help you recoup from this Swiss trip.
Looks delicious the burger and fries 5:43 . 🍔🍟 For 27 dollars. The same burger and fries is $18 in upstate New York. A minimum of one dollar tip is expected. So $19 . 🍔🍟
another great video my friend . amazing breath taking scenery yes i would agree switzerland is an expensive country . I loved the small vehicles/buses they had in first place when you went for the train very quirky
. safe travels
I agree with you, Gabriel - Switzerland is expensive. But have you noticed? Everything works everywhere. And it's clean, too. And what do you think it costs to maintain all those railways through the country and into the mountains? The expense for this country in this quality is certainly not cheap either - although our taxes are quite favourable compared to our neighbouring countries. That's why everything is relatively expensive - especially for people from outside with lower wages than we have in Switzerland. And I would like to give you a tip: relatively cheap food of good quality in Switzerland can be found at Migros and Coop - both also have restaurants in larger towns. I wish you lots of fun and joy in our beautiful country.
The best way to save money is always to prepare and plan ahead. Now Gabe is a content creator and needs to stay flexible, but that unfortunately means he will always pay the most. Europe and Switzerland too offer many types of travel passes, potentially saving you a lot of money, like the Eurail pass. Looking in to that and spending time getting something that fits your needs will save you a lot. Mountain resorts typically also offer multi-day passes, so forth and so on. And as always, booking hotels well in advance can save you a lot.
Of course, get your food and drinks at the supermarket. European supermarkets are always reasonably priced because even people who earn minimum wages have a right to have access to healthy, affordable food. So if you are on a budget, always buy your food and drinks there. Im talking about the large big brand supermarkets, not the weird and small tourist oriented ones. Getting a beer and a sandwich for 1/3 of the price and drink and eat it in a nice park is just as good, if not better than some expensive bar. Convenience stores, places at railway stations etc usually are also a lot more expensive, so always leave space in your bagpack for cheap supermarket items to consume on the go.
Supermarkets also offer a wide variety of local products: When you are in Spain and want some quality Iberico ham, when you are in The Netherlands and want some nice Dutch cheese, some German specialty beers.... whatever... guess what, people over there like that stuff too and they dont get it in a restaurant or that luxury specialty shop in the old town area, they get it in the supermarket. So it doenst mean you are getting lesser quality products or something, usually quite the opposite really.
Visiting a big local supermarket and getting all sorts of weird local stuff is actually one of my favorite travel experiences. Gabe unfortunately doenst show any of this while Switzerland has some amazing local stuff like cold cuts, wines, and of course cheeses which you can get for much less than all these super expensive mediocre restaurants that just offer a bit of convenience but not much else. Im not criticizing, I understand he cant do or show everything, but still, for the price of that burrito he could have gotten a big baguette, some Swiss cheese, some dried ham, a big old orange and a bottle of wine or a couple of beers and just pick a spot under a nice tree in a park and have himself a gourmet picnic. If you consider all this, even Switzerland is very doable.
The exchange rate of Swiss franc to other currencies is the principal reason it is so expensive there. For Zermatt one way to avoid this is to stay on the Italian side of the border in Cervinia, taking the cableway up and over into Zermatt.
The hostel behind the Zermatt 😢railway station is clean and cheap. The cog railway to Gornergrat is less than half the cost of rail/cableway pass, and walking back to Zermatt from Gornergrat is one of the most beautiful in the area. Cheers.
@peterhadley1654 Well currency yes of course, the Franc is crazy strong. But that also reflects wages. Convenience is especially expensive in Switzerland because you have people work for you. Its not America where people work for next to nothing with no benefits or healthcare or anything. That guy who makes that burrito in Bern is very expensive, just like the person who serves you your beer. They might very well be more expensive than the actual product you are buying. From what I read in some places minimum wage is like 24 Francs an hour... that's like $30.... You cant just order people around like in Greece where the minimum wage is like $5 an hour or the US where its around $10. So a supermarket is just one of many good ways to cut out a lot of labour costs.
Could not have said it better myself. Yes, Switzerland is always going to be expensive, but with a bit of planning you can make it much less painful. Same goes for every country really.
The half fare card would've probably been a better deal.. I've found the travel passes to be not great unless you're doing a ton of expensive rides.
Exactly.
Hiya..great video..i was in Zermatt 6 weeks ago from Oz, yup its expensive:)..i ate at mcdonalds in Zermatt and then bought sandwiches etc from supermarkets.also beer from the supermarket.but yeah i was great to see the Matterhorn
Excellent job on the camera & music on the train ride.. and thank you for "Watch It Glow" Gabriel. Cheers
Yes, this brings back good memories, especially seeing and walking under that big clock.
Good morning Gabriel ! I watch this video and I cry ... cause I see these beautiful landscapes with the trees and forests while here in Greece, we suffer 3 days now with wildfires .... we lost our forests 😓 every year we have this huge problem .... the situation here is so heartbreaking and devastating ... we have nothing now .... Anyway , great video once again 🏔🏞⛰ !!
Thanks so much Gabriel for going to Zermatt! This really touched my heart when you walked through the train station, recorded the scenery, through Visp and to Bern, Switzerland!
That must've been quite the time you had going down those stairs to end up in a locker room 😅 I most likely would've done the same!
Epic video 🥲
And... I would love to go there for Christmas one day. I've wanted to since 2014!
Just been to northern spain/basque country. So beautiful and really cheap...and there are mountains and coast/beaches.
Hi Gabe, thank you for shearing and shew us beautiful town. We were with you every step. We are waiting next video. Chaos
I have been to Switzerland a few times in the past and as long as you book hotels and travel in advance its very do-able. Gabe likes to book things at the last minute but you really do get fleeced everywhere when you do that.
Same in a lot of places you’ve got to plan your life out a year in advance
Switzerland is literally one of those countries that is virtually impossible to travel on a budget. Unlike other places in Europe or around the world in general, there is pretty much no way to travel cheaply in Switzerland
Yeah, you know you're gonna take it in the chin when you go to Switzerland. Still worth visiting though for the scenery. You're hard pressed to find a more beautiful country.
Hello Gabriel, u have right, we have crazy prices here... especially during/after covid and now during Ukraine war the prices are nuts.
Switzerland is definitely expensive, but the views you get are awesome definitely worth it!
❤ keeping up with Gabe!
Yeah, Switzerland is crazy expensive. As an example, a simple cup of coffee costs about CHF 4.50 or roughly Euro 4.67, while that same cup would cost about Euro 1.40 in Spain or Portugal. A 35 minute train ride from Geneva airport to Morges costs about the same as a train ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (about 680 km). The scenery in Switzerland is certainly stunning, but then so is Glacier National Park or Grand Teton in the US, if you don't mind the bears and moose.
You should have bought a half fare card. It would’ve cut the cost of every Gondola trip, train etc to half. It’s the best way to travel in Switzerland.
Really enjoyed your journeys to the Matterhorn. Nerves of steel. I don't like heights and watching you swaying in a car way above land filled me with delight and horror. It creates a virtual living on the edge experience for me as I'm a wuss. Switzerland is a dream 👍⭐✨😌 love the currency conversions. Although expensive the food looks tasty 👍
The famous Bic Mac index.... you don't hear about it often these days but it certainly used to work very well as a measure of comparative purchasing power
Great video ... last November, the exchange rates for usd were about the same.... so great prices.
That burrito looks so delicious. Yum. 😋
It was the dearest country in the world when I was there and I was 19, it was 2pounds for just one plate of chips and we cdnt believe it, I'm now 66, but I loved it we went all over to so many beautiful places iv still got all those memories it was wonderful ❤
Some tips concerning food and drinks: Bring a water bottle. You can fill it up almost anywhere (e.g. fountains). Swiss tap water is amazing.
Cheapest food options: 1. supermarkets (Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Migros and Coop, in that order). The latter two have a good selection of take away food. 2. Fast Food like McD, Döner etc. 3. Migros, Coop or Manor Restaurants. They are self service restaurants with good quality food for
I just came back from 2 weeks in Switzerland. I was there last year also. I have both times in Lauterbrunnen. I don't know why I prefer Lauterbrunnen though Grindelwald looks really hip. The thing to do is to ask ourselves how to afford Switzerland. Take up a second job and pr third. Eat Ramen, save save save. Switzerland is so worth it. I arrived back yesterday and ate some Ramen with an egg. It never tasted so good. Eat Ramen, Spam or Chef Boyardee and save up for Switzerland.I've been to Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, great countries but Switzerland beat them all.
Thanks for the great videos. I’ve been to Bern once to visit our friends that work and live there. It was okay and in my humble opinion not worth the prices. We were lucky to tag along with our friends who knew where to eat and drink thankfully. I’m still enjoying the Greek islands and we are viewing them again. Frank
Those rolling grassy Swiss fields make me think of Steve Mcqueen jumping a border fence with his dirt bike.
Gabriel, I know you use to work in Jasper, Alberta, you should check the prices of the Hotels now, minimum price for the day in the hotel is 350$ Canadian dollars and up and Banff is 450$ and up. You are lucky to spend 300$ US dollars including food and train ride in that price in Switzerland
All the best for you from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The cheapest option of Switzerland is probably to stay in a tent on a camp ground, but in the end it will still be crazy expensive compared to everywhere in Europe.
Yeah like Beno did
*Harald was right, you really are Gabriel "HIGH ROLLER" Traveler!*
Loved the clickety clack of the track
❤ great cinematography thanks for sharing this with us saludos ❤
It amazes me that you can go from Greece to Switzerland and have about everything you need in your backpack. I’m the one hauling a backpack and a roller bag in and out of ferries and that’s just for Greece! I did take a tip from you this summer though, I grabbed a yogurt and fruit for my beach lunches. It saved a lot of hassle. I’m gluten free and Greece is not, especially the small islands!
I'd like to see what 's all in his bag. His backpack contains a warm jacket & hat as well as the warm climate stuff. The man has only sandals for shoes. What country are you from? Thanks.
This was before my Japan trip so different stuff, but you get the idea: ua-cam.com/video/4WugSFKM_xc/v-deo.html
Yeah , accommodation costs is the killer and of course the style of travel and the season you’re in. Would be inclined to travel out of season . Went to Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen etc in the winter and it was fabulous and affordable. Food costs can be dealt with - I didn’t go near a restaurant except for cheese fondue in Lauterbrunnen which was worth it!
High prices - true - but quality in switzerland is unsurpassed, I was in Interlaken in winter and summer and must say that their infrastructure to reach places so unbelievably gorgeous and hard to reach is out of this world - literally
Agreed, as expensive as Switzerland is, you get what you pay for. Safe, beautiful, very clean country with amazing infrastructure.
I agree Gabe, Iceland is expensive but I think Switzerland is even more pricey 😮 Are you going to Iceland next to see the volcano ? Once in a lifetime experience to see an erupting volcano !! Would make a great vlog !
You are in Zermatt, it is a tourist destination. They are usually expensive
Nice vídeo Gabriel, ty for inspiring me.
I was in Lausanne a couple of years ago, and I was able to find dinner for way cheaper than $57. One Thai place I remember in particular was only about $20, and I ate there three night in a row! But in general, no more expensive than where I live in Silicon Valley.
@ropersix- and you don't have to pay absolutely everybody a 20% tip which really raises the prices in the USA
thai and asian food is the only type of food that is not expensive in switzerland.. but try going to a restaurant and eating anything else
I did travel to Switzerland in the spring of 2023. Depending on how long you stay and how often/far you travel, it's better to have "half-fare card" or swiss travel pass. It will save fair amount of money on travel.
The swiss travel pass doe not give you 100% discount on gondola/cable car rides in Jungfraujoch region, but rather you would get 50% discount.
Eating out will cost you lot, minimum average meal person would be around 25-30$. Super market foods are pretty cheap compare to restaurant and they are really good too.
Maybe after that big lottery win comes in - then maybe I could make it to near the Matterhorn. It does kinda hurt my head to pay so much for a big Mac. That view at 18:22 of the safety tape feature just might get me sleeping outside somewhere else. 😊 Thanks
If you want the same stunning mountain views and less expensive travelling, I suggest you go to Austria.
I totally agree. Been to Austria twice. I won't go to Switzerland. While it looks amazing. I think you can get the Alps experience in Austria ans save $$.
I never eat out in restaurants anymore in Switzerland and I don't pay for hotels as I have my own accommodation but you can go to ALDI and buy a loaf of bread and tin of sardines not much more expensive than the UK
But you don’t go on holiday to eat at Aldi
@@s125ish I dont go ON holiday full stop, I travel. There is a difference!
@@s125ish I do.
It’s so expensive there because of where you are, any tourist “ hot spot” is going to be dear. If you went to a less touristy area it would have been a lot cheaper. But Switzerland as a whole has never been a cheap destination, Austria was always the cheaper mountain option but I haven’t visited in years so I expect that’s not quite such a bargain, but Austria is equally beautiful.
Very nice !!! Looks like the prices are keeping all the rift raft out. Enjoy !!!!
You mean poor people.
Thanks so much for price breakdown, i still will consider Switzerland for travel but probably stay shorter.....bucketlist destination 🙂
I think Switzerland is the most expensive country we’ve been to but it’s so beautiful and worth a visit if you can afford it. Stop in Lucerne instead of Zurich!
He has been in Lucerne and Zürich some years ago, so he decided to visit Bern and Basel surroundings (Augusta Raurica) this time, it looks like. Zürich will be only because airport with good connections (so he can decide more freely, where to go next), I believe. Although there is also an option to go to French Alsace after Basel as Alsace is a fairytale land (especially Colmar, Strasbourg, Eguisheim, Riquewihr). Surely one of my favourite parts of Europe and I have been to 400 European sites, 31 countries.
great video
I hear some new music! thats the way to go Gabriel!
I can barely afford to put petrol in my car or buy lunch where I live these days , so Switzerland is certainly off the list with those prices and the insane airfare costs..
Gabriel you are an Angel a Gift of God's creation, thank you for taking me along your trip to beautiful Switzerland.🌞
Grape juice drink at Coop was he best tasting grape juice I had in Zurich
This is Greece in the laptop, last photograph,Santorini from Santa Irene, Σαντορίνη
Yes, photo I took in 2009.
Expensive but worth the money spent, thx for the info 💚
Similar process to London. Go out to the Cotswold you see show nice architecture but it is all spread out a bit. Have a day in Cheltenham and Gloucester for a bit for you self.
trains can be done cheaper with travel passes or supersaver tickets
Funny fact : Swiss actually doesn't have an official capital but because the federal government is settled in Bern they decided to made Bern the (on)official capital of Swiss.
Wow I’m not going there anytime soon lol
Looks like there are Subways in Bern, and it looks like the cheapest could find in Bern as far as E-Bikes is 95 Euros for two days.
I forgot to ask you how expensive is it on your last video. Thanks for this 😊
Can the local people who live and work in Switzerland afford to live well? No doubt it is a high income country, although with the crazy prices such as $50 for a meal in a restaurant it still must be difficult.
$50 meal in Switzerland would be a $40.-- + 20% tips meal in the US and I doubt if it's the same quality ;). Here in Switzerland as well as many other countries, most people , rich or poor make their food at home and they don't go out to eat in restaurants or order home deliveries all the time😄
You don't pay such prices everywhere in Switzerland. Those are Tourist Hotspot prices. And some things are even cheaper in Switzerland than in Germany.
For reference: Wages start around (USD) $70K/y, mostly in hospitality, as a bus/tram driver you get around $100K and free public transportation for your whole family, construction worker $80K-120K+, teacher $130K-230K, kindergarten teacher, first year, starts at $120K, including 13 weeks of paid holidays/year...etc.
@@Mary-zp8uw I disagree, meals in restaurants are on average considerably cheaper in the US.
yes, they can, because their salaries are proportional to all these costs. You look at the minimun wage in countries like italy or spain, for example, it's around 1200-1300 euro.. then you look at switzerland, it's around 3500-4000 CHF.
Hmmm. If you aren't using the Swiss pass to go up into the mountains I wouldn't think it would be cost-effective...
And people say Sweden is expensive. In Stockholm you can still get a pizza for 8-10ish euros
In Switzerland, you get an empty pizza box for that!
Switzerland has always had a particular situation in the world, controversial. But someone please explain why a simple hotel room in 'royal' usd/euro countries went up so much. In 2014 you could find a private room for 50 usd/eur ( basically a room is nothing more than 4 walls, a bed , a shower and a wifi connection , and you are outside most of the day) Try to book a room for the day after tomorrow in Milan or Madrid, not in the summer, 150 to 200 eur, or absurdly 60 or 80 euros for a hostel bed in a 6-bunk bed room, where did it all go wrong? Too much profit or taxes ? front face of other bizs? Funds and banks bought out all the hotels too? It's so hard to travel now , blame accomodation mainly!
Inflation caused by incompetent Joe Biden. He destroyed the US economy and world economy.
I was in Zermatt with my gf after completing the Haute Route trek mid September, and it was depressing how expensive everything was... (its also discouraged to do any sort of camping around there. The "campsite" was at the end of the town and looked to be an abandoned school yard... so we ended up just booking a room and spending our remaining 2-3 nights there) I recall trying to get any sort of information on certain treks, and they refused to give us helpful info and they quickly referred us to their paid gondola rides or overly expensive mountaineering expeditions. On the bright side, i think the best part of Zermatt was the little British pub named Grizzlies (i think you went to for a burger) that is run by a friendly gentleman and his wife . It had a really nice vibe! The trek from Zermatt to Gornergrat was also awesome, but its ruined when you get to the top and are met with thousands of people drinking wine and flying drones everywhere.
😢 I wish we in the United States of America can develop public transportation like the one you are privileged to travel in . thanks so much for transporting us there. ❤ saludos ❤
Well if the US didn’t have an incompetent president with dementia, positive things could get done.
Jumping Places were in Greece around the same time you were, and they summarized costs after a month doing the islands: much lower food and lodging per diems than yours, it seemed. Should you compare notes on methods perhaps?
Although they were posting videos at the same time I was, their videos were delayed so they were actually there a month or two before me when it was low season, so they probably got cheaper hotel rooms as a result. I went to some very small islands with limited accommodation options, the places I stayed were the cheapest rooms available for the time that I was there. It depends a lot on the month you're traveling and the island.
Burger and fries is similar in Norway. Investment banker prices.
I usually look for canteens where local people go to eat (inside mall or inside universities etc.). I think it was about 5 euros, but McDonalds was more expensive. Restaurants on the curbside will be expensive.
One can imagine the price of fresh fruit and veggies
Crazy!! Would NOT be worth it to me...but I live in beautiful NC so.....
You need to find the hood of Switzerland. Those prices are crazy
Did you use your pass for gondolas?
I'm from Switzerland and I don't feel that way. I feel like a traveler spends much more than a local. Personally I tend to spend way more than a local every time everywhere...
When I was in Switzerland last summer I was somewhat able to keep prices down by buying ready made food from Coop markets. Dinner would be a deli sandwich, chips, drink and a snack. Even that might have been over $20, but at least it wasn't the $50 for a small meal in a restaurant. Imagine a family of 4 going to Switzerland for a week. $200 for dinner for 4. And then imagine if you also go out for breakfast and lunch. That would be $600 a day just in food! Yikes.
I spent my vacation in Lucerne, Switzerland during last week of September and bought some dark chocolates at Coop market, 3 pcs 100g each for 3.75 Euros which I find them inexpensive.
@@6861Charley but chocolate isn't expensive there indeed, they produce plenty of it
Cheapest Airbnb in Bern that I could find is about $99, get your own room.
It does seem impossible to save while there. I was lucky enough to get an apartment for a few hundred for a whole month, but that was only because I had a friend there and rented a room. I think it’s all scouting looking for the seasons which are cheapest, & if you get a hostel or thru that website that offers cheaper hostels for backpackers (forgot the name) you can definitely save a lot if you exclusively cook at the hostel, in sas fee where I was, food was half the price of a lot of places so I don’t really understand the food prices there. Many local people would just not pay on the busses and that was a way they managed to survive despite their big salaries even for them transportation etc was too much
Hi Gabriel, the one thing you have going for now is you can do this on what UA-cam is paying you or you would be doing hostels which is not a terrible thing many people travel that way still. If that picture of the Mexican restaurant was in the States people may say that it's racist and right next to it was a Cuba cafe. This is what traveling has done, opening the doors for others to experience different things from various parts of the world. Gabriel, you open my eyes to many things around the world without even knowing it. Our personal guide through this labyrinth.
Yeah, Vaya con Dios Switzerland! Ill see you in the next life. 👍💵💵💵💵
300 usd per day expenses is like 1,350 malaysian ringgit per day. Scary indeed but I think accommodation and food is expensive there. Unless I eat Co op food daily. And stay in hostel.
Oh dang you got the guacamole that blows the budget even in the states. Green gold
Fortunately, Krishnamurti's speeches in Saanen used to be free of charge.
😊 👍
It's very steep but completely worth it! :)
Go to south america next and travel like a king!
Not a bad plan.
Hella expensive. Can you imagine a family of 4 vacationing?!
With a half fare card, kids till 16 travel for free etc.
McDonald’s in Zurich and Lucern cost me and my mom $60cad one combo and one cheeseburger … crazy expensive!!!
It is very expensive, even with a cheaper room that provides breakfast and eating only a second meal a day. Train rides even with a half price discount card, then the gondola rides are expensive! But it is so worth it! I prefer the half price discount card! In the St Moritz if you stay 3 nights or more your hotel will loan you a travel card which entitles you to ride trains, buses and gondolas free!
Really have been enjoying these vlogs of beautiful Switzerland! But $22 for a burrito! 😭 I'll be going back to Mexico! Still, as you say, you get what you pay for... but in Mexico, it seems you get even more 🙂.
Less money, more food. Viva Mexico!
@francoisbouchard9488 How much is the traditional Swiss food in Mexico?
@@chestermosburger3113 😅 you can get a four cheese fondue for 2 people at Fondue Haus Bistro in Mexico City for a little over $16 dollars US (from a one year old menu found online)