Switzerland In Rs. 75,000 - 10 Days 10 Cities - A Budget Trip from India - All You Need to Know

I am Traveling Desi and this is a series of my journey in which I explored 9 cities in Switzerland in 75,000 rupees in 10 days, and yeah, that's not all, this includes a rented Audi and its petrol as well. Pretty awesome isn't it. Switzerland is arguably the most beautiful country in the world but this also the second most expensive country in the world after Bermuda ! But what's a budget traveller, who without compromising on all the trip essentials cant explore the the most expensive countries

in a pocket friendly way ! And in this series I will show you how to explore entire Switzerland in an efficient way including its major cities and village towns in the least amount of money . And lastly, as DDLJ made Switzerland so popular among Indians Interlaken city has a statue of Yash Chopra considering him as their brand ambassador . So this trip would be incomplete without visiting DDLJ locations and we will get around those as well. And behind me is Zweisimmen railway station and this i

s the platform where they missed the train and this is the kiosk shop where Shah Rukh Khan made Kajol miss the train . And in this vlog series on Switzerland I will take you to Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, Gstaad, Gimmelwald, Murren, Lauterbrunnen, Geneva and the Cern laboratory museum as well. And this is an old particle accelerator behind me which was shut down and is a part of the museum now Before starting the journey lets talk about some basic things that is common in all Swiss cities. The

biggest misconception is that, flights to Switzerland can cost around 50,000 to 60,000 rupees. But that's not true. During my 60 day overall journey I reached Zurich in Switzerland through a 7000 rupees Swiss Air flight from the Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. Return tickets from Delhi to Zurich start from around 35,000 rupees and is generally the cheapest option from Finnair . And KLM have flight in the same range from Mumbai. And the colourful currency here is Swiss Frank which costs ar

ound same as US Dollar and during my visit, one Swiss Frank was for 65 rupees. A chocolate for 70 rupees. Lets talk about expenses now, and there is no easy way to say it, but Switzerland is very expensive. And the three things that demand the most money are , Accommodation, Food and Recreation. After the stairs, you reach the roof of the castle from where you can see Interlaken city on the other side of the river. And managing these well, can help you save a lot of money ! And lets talk about i

t now, so I don't get to repeat it in the further episodes. And just in case you wanna cook yourself, grocery can be a little expensive as well. The first thing is accommodation of which the expense depends on various factors. Most people from India either visit this place for a Honeymoon or with their family . or people like me can come alone . So lets discuss all three options . If you're a honeymoon couple, the best option is to get a holiday home or airbnb Alright, so I am outside this beaut

iful BNB and behind me is the owner and I asked him what he usually charges, what were the prices once again sir ? Interlaken, which I will show you in the upcoming episodes, is the best place for couples because it is surrounded with unbelievably beautiful small towns, villages and lots of entertainment activities But they are not cheap ! and are not budget accommodation like regular BNBs because people prefer to stay here as compared to hotels. And so they are considered as premium accommodat

ion and can range from 8000 to 12,000 rupees a night. But if you're ready to compromise a little on view, location and comfort you can easily get a BNB for around 4000 to 7000 rupees. Whether its 3 star hotels in commercial cities like Bern, Geneva or Zurich or holiday homes in touristy holiday cities like Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen or Mürren the price range is quite similar . If you're a family of 4 or 6, you can go for 4 or 6 bed dorms in hostels which will cost less then half compared to 2 or

3 individual hotel rooms. And if you're a solo traveller like me, the best option is Youth Hostel. There is company here by the name of Swiss Youth Hostels and they have around 50 hostels all around Switzerland. And they are the best option for budget solo travellers I mostly stayed in them . And a youth hostel doesn't mean that only young people can stay over here, or they don't have private rooms. If there is a dorm bed available for 2000 rupees which I used for myself you can get a private

room for around 4000 to 7000 rupees and the benefit that hostel rooms have compared to hotels is their kitchen ! So if you use your hostel kitchen you can save money on food while saving money on accommodation . And as we go ahead in this series, I will share accommodation options city by city . And now lets talk about the second most expensive thing "Inter City Transport" I had 10 days in this trip in which I intended to see 10 cities or village towns. So I had two options, first was the Swiss

Rail Pass which was very expensive, or to get a rented car in the same price. Where is the start button in this !! Now you might think, what type of budget trip is this, where the person is roaming around in an Audi as public transport is more cheaper right ? Wrong !! I will share full details about the prices, benefits, and complexities of the Swiss Rail pass in the next episode. In which I'll tell you if a rented car is more suitable for you or a Swiss Rail pass . And I am at the Interlaken Ra

ilway Station and behind me us the train But just to give you an idea, If I want to buy a 3 day unlimited Swiss Rail Pass that will cost me around 15,000 rupees per person !! Thats right !! For 3 days ! But then I rented a car for 13,000 rupees for one week and believe it or not, I explored all the cities with one full tank of fuel ! Now think, If you are 2 people, and buy the cheapest Swiss Rail Pass, it'll cost you around 30,000 rupees But this is a very detailed topic which we will discuss in

the upcoming episodes. And a bonus tip as well, if you're planning to only drive in Switzerland, our Indian license is valid here. You don't need to acquire any special International Permit. Switzerland, as we all know, is known for its scenic beauty and not for parties and nightlife. And nightlife is limited to major cities like Zurich, Bern and Geneva. And maximum in parties are locals, for whom the scenic beauty of Switzerland is not a new thing ! And maximum visitors can be seen enjoying o

utdoor activities over here. And so like any sane visitor, I spent my maximum time and energy exploring the unbeatable natural beauty of Switzerland. But if you still wish to party, stag entry in clubs can cost between 10 to 30 Franks and can get a beer for 7 Franks or a cocktail for 10 Franks . And the thing without which survival is difficult, Sim Card. Lyca mobile is the cheapest option throughout Europe, and that applies to Switzerland as well. For 10 Swiss Franks that is around 700 rupees

you can get a sim with unlimited calls for 30 days and 4 gb of high speed data . And as you have to get these from supermarkets like Coop or small shops next to the railway stations. they can charge 5 to 10 Franks extra for the sim card as well ! Their network can go down for quite some time usually so if you're on a road trip like me or if data is everything for you, the safest option is Salt mobile. Salt is one of the largest mobile operators in Switzerland and you can spot their stores everyw

here in major cities So in a nutshell, for 10 Franks I got 4 gb data per day for 10 days, Phone calls and SMS were extra on this but, as I required only data I replaced my previous Lyca Sim from Belgium with this Salt Sim. And the third expenditure is on FOOD !! Trust me guys, I've seen a lot of expensive countries but Switzerland was on another level . I'll just give you a small idea about it, and tell you how can you save money on food. As you would know by now, I avoid fancy Indian restaurant

or expensive eateries, and mostly buy food and groceries from supermarkets . And the two largest supermarkets in Switzerland are "Coop also know as Co-op" and "Migro". For budget travellers, basic things like 6 eggs cost 5 Franks a small bread loaf for 4 Franks and one litre of fresh milk, again, 4 Franks. Veggies here are 3 to 4 times expensive compared to India and the reason behind that is the supreme quality and finest organic produce and we should always mix some fresh veggies with frozen

or packed food . And same goes for fruits, and you should cut them yourself wherever you stay, as pre cut fruits cost 3.50 Franks for a small pack. And you can also find a 50% tag on a lot of food items as people here, take the word "fresh" very seriously . And a few days before the best before date of any food items they reduce their price by 50% . I always buy a few Swiss Chocolates, and most food items from the 50% off section. And you can get a to go coffee from Coop for around 3 Franks. You

can also get a few westernised frozen curries from the supermarkets And if you want to have some fresh food, Indian restaurants here usually have a lunch buffet in which you can get a veg or non veg option for around 15 Franks, that is around 1100 rupees. During dinner time, the menu is a la'carte and there are a lot of Indian restaurants over here. Specially in Interlaken, but one roti here can cost around 250 rupees. As a budget option, you can carry ready to eat meals from Haldirams or MTR w

ith you from home and can eat it in hostels or airbnbs with some bread or packed rice or noodles available here . But guys, everything is not so expensive !! From a Jack Daniels for 41 Franks to 38 Franks for a Black Label, Scotch to Single Malts, alcohol is cheaper than India ! Same goes for beer, and both of these are available in supermarkets over here. Oh and coming to drinking water A 1.5 litre Swiss Alps bottle for 1 Frank But you don't need to spend money on this . All of Switzerland has

thousands of fountains from which you can refill you water bottles and drink clean water coming straight from the Swiss Alps. Pretty cold ! Tryst me guys, I had this water, in most of the cities. And before closing this episode, I request you guys to share this video on your social media and support my small effort, because from shooting to editing, it is all a one man show. That too with a basic idea For you guys to save some money if someone is planning to visit Switzerland and if you're not p

lanning, I can show you while you sit at home . So this was, pretty much all the practical information about Switzerland and from the next episode, I will take you with me through the most beautiful road trip I have been on From Zurich to Geneva ! So don't forget to hit the subscribe button and the bell icon for upcoming episodes ! And don't forget to hit the like button as well ! Pretty Cool . And thanks a lot for watching Loads of love from your Traveling Desi .