SWITZERLAND CHEAP WAYS TO TRAVEL

HITCHHIKING, SBB SUPERSAVER TICKETS AND FLIXBUS

Introduction

Hey, fancy to visit Switzerland on your next journey? Sick to book again a group travel tour but too afraid that the costs of transport and accommodation will be much higher?

Well, cheap travelling in Switzerland sounds like a big fat lie! Sure, Switzerland has been among the most expensive countries in the world for years. However, there are definitely cheap ways to travel in terms of getting good value for money!

For sure the cheapest way of travelling is still hitchhiking. But due to other reason taking the Swiss train or Flixbus might be a better way to make some ground under your feet!

Hitchhiking

Of course hitchhiking is still the cheapest way to travel from A to B – not only in Switzerland but also in the whole Galaxy! While it had been quite popular in the 80’s and 90’s, travel by hitchhiking became rather rare. On the one hand, it’s not a reliable way of transport and can be quite time consuming. On the other hand, sometimes you meet quite weird human beings and it even can be dangerous especially for female travellers!

However, if you end up in an emergency like e.g. you missed the last bus out of a valley after a long hike, it’s usually no problem to ask people for a free ride to the next village or train station. And, different to China, people almost never will ask you for money for this short ride!

SBB Supersaver tickets – safe up to 70%

Probably the most common and convenient way of public transport in Switzerland to connect regions, cities and sometimes even valleys and villages! As well as to overcome (or should I say “undercome”) the impressive Swiss Alps with hundreds of short and long tunnels. Where even cars and big trucks do take the train sometimes!

Switzerland has one of the most dense, reliable and safe train track system in the world. From pretty fast intercity/-region trains to slower local and mountain trains. Often the train brings you directly from your origin to your final destination. And “for the last mile” there is almost everywhere a local bus or taxi waiting at the train station!

All that doesn’t come for free – but smart travellers pay less than all the others! So, read on …

Be smart, pay less

In general, the tickets for a certain train trip had a fixed price in the past. However, since a few years the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) have introduced dynamic prices. Therefore, price differences do occur due to several reasons:

1. 1st class or 2nd class travel: similar to business or economy class in a airplane, travellers can choose between travelling 1st class with more space, comfortable seats and more quiet for a higher price or 2nd class with the most travellers.
2. Swiss Half Fare Travelcard: for travellers who are planning to do some extensive travels in Switzerland or who are planning to stay several months (or even a year or more) it is worth to buy a Swiss Half Fare Travelcard and save up to 50% of the regular ticket price for all means of public transport in Switzerland (train, bus, boats and even some gondolas).
3. Dynamic prices based on time/date of travel: As a fact, prices do vary based on the time and date you’re planning to travel. E.g. travelling on a weekday during rush hour between 7-9am from Bern to Zurich might costs much more than starting your travel a bit later at 10am when most people are already at work. Or taking the quite early first or the quite late last train connection on a day might also be significantly cheaper than during the day. This SBB Supersaver tickets are flagged with a “%” label in the top right corner and can be even combined with the Swiss Half Fare Travelcard!
4. Check different routes/connections: Last but not least, for some journeys the dense network of the Swiss public transport system often leaves the traveller a few options of alternative routes to take. Based on the different routes the price for the ticket often differs quite significantly.

That is why, it is worth the trouble to check for cheaper ticket and SAFE UP TO 70%!

… where to buy?

This can be done either by

• going to the WEBSITE SBB Supersaver Tickets Information,
• checking the prices for a certain trip in your SBB MOBILE APP a few days before and check for different days/time for your travel (weekend<>weekdays, early<>late) or
• asking for the relevant information at the SBB TRAVEL CENTRES or SBB TICKET COUNTERS in all bigger train stations.

So, being time-wise flexible can save you a lot of money for transportation on your journey! And “Flexible” sounds a bit like “Flix” which brings us to the next chapter 🙂

FlixBus

In 2013, a new competitor entered the market of public transport for long distance journeys: FlixBus! Based in Germany FlixBus started it’s business in Germany by offering cheap long distance bus rides between the biggest German cities. Only a few years later it already offers many long distance bus rides to various European countries as well as to Switzerland! Built on a similar business model as UBER or Didi in the taxi business, FlixBus offers travels of distances for unbeatable prices and has become a serious competitor to the local and national train companies in Europe!

So, when it comes to plan your mean of transport to conquer long distances between cities, regions or even neighbouring countries to Switzerland, we advise you to check, besides flights and trains, as well the booking site of long distance bus companies such as Flixbus:

To FlixBus Bus Ticket Booking Page

If they do run services between your origin and destination, this might be by far the cheapest ticket for this journey!

Plan your travel in Switzerland

As a conclusion from the above, we recommend that you split your whole trip into LONG DISTANCES and SHORT DISTANCES and check availability, price & traveling time for different means of transport for your planning:

Last but not least, when it comes down to look for your best accommodation we recommend you as well to have a short look at our blog Best Hotel Booking Sites for Switzerland!

Enjoy the planning of your journey and have a safe, inspiring travel!

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step / 千里之行，始於足下.” – from Chapter 64 of the Dao De Jing ascribed to Lazi

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