11 Helpful Things To Know Before Visiting Switzerland For The First Time
Planning a trip to Switzerland can feel very overwhelming for a lot of people. But no need to worry, I’m here to break down a few things I wish I had known right from the beginning when I was planning our recent trip to Switzerland.
We visited Switzerland with kids (ages 6, 3, and 1) for five days and had an amazing time. We focused our time in the Bernese Oberland area, seeing stunning mountains and gorgeous lakes and waking up to the sound of waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen (see where we stayed here).
We had an adventurous (yet relaxing) time as a family, and I hope this guide with my 11 Switzerland travel tips will help you experience the same.
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🇨🇭 IN A RUSH? HERE ARE OUR SWITZERLAND FAVORITES🇨🇭
WHERE WE STAYED:
😍 Bungalows at Camping Jungfrau:We LOVED staying in these 2-bedroom bungalows located RIGHT at the base of Staubbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen. They are super cute, have an amazing view, a full kitchen, and they are AFFORDABLE.
ACTIVITIES WE BOOKED:
🛖 Ballenberg Open-Air Museum: This open-air museum was an unexpected surprise and we really enjoyed getting a glimpse into the past. We even got to see how they used to make cheese and have a cheese tasting!
🚲 Lauterbrunnen Valley Bike Rentals: The best way to explore the gorgeous Lauterbrunnen Valley is on bike (in my humble opinion). It's so much more fun than walking and you get to see so much more. They have e-bikes along with kid bikes and trailers!
🧗 Murren Via Ferrata: My husband took this beginner-friendly vai Ferrata tour (while we played at an alpine playground) and it was his favorite experience of the entire trip.
HOW WE SAVED MONEY ON OUR RENTAL CAR:
🚘 Economy Bookings Car Rental: Any money you can save in Switzerland is worth it because it's PRICEY. Our go-to for car rental savings is Economy Bookings.
TRAVEL PASSES IN SWITZERLAND:
🚆 🚌 ⛴️ Swiss Travel Pass: Take the headache away from booking public transit with FREE train, bus and boat rides in Switzerland + FREE entry to over 500 museums + 50% discount on select mountain excursions and mountain rail travel.
🚆 🚌 ⛴️ Swiss Half-Fare Card:Enjoy 50% discount on all public transportation (trains, boats, and buses) in Switzerland INCLUDING most mountain railways and cable cars.
🚆 🚌 ⛴️ Jungfrau Travel Pass: Enjoy unlimited bus, boat, train, and cable car rides for between 3 and 8 days in the Jungfrau Region.
OUR OTHER TRAVEL FAVORITES:
📸 Tours/Excursions: Viator & Get Your Guide
🚕 Airport Transfers with Car Seats: Welcome Pickups
👉 Travel Strollers: Zoe Traveler & Zoe Double
🍼 Baby Carriers: Tula Carriers, Wildride Hip Carriers
📱 International Data Phone eSIM: Airalo
🚗 Cheap Rental Cars: Economy Bookings
🏠 Accomodations: Booking, Expedia, VRBO, Airbnb
🌎 Travel Insurance: World Nomads
We receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using the above link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.
11 Switzerland Travel Tips
1. German and French are the Most COmmon Languages Spoken in Switzerland
Although there are four official languages in Switzerland (German, French, Italian, and Romansh) German and French are overwhelmingly the most common.
German is the main language across Northern, Eastern, and Central Switzerland. We spent all of our time in the Bernese Oberland region, which is pretty central in Switzerland, so German was spoken there.
However, if you plan to spend much time in Western Switzerland near Lausanne and Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) the main language is French.
Because we spent all of our time in such popular tourist areas, everyone we encountered also spoke amazing English.
2. Yes, Switzerland Can Be AS Expensive as They Say
You’ve probably heard it a million times already, but yes, Switzerland can be pricey.
I recommend booking your accommodations many months in advance to find the best price (6 months or more if possible).
We lucked out and found a totally amazing but affordable place to stay in Lauterbrunnen that I highly recommend.
The place is called Camping Jungfrau, which at first put me off because we weren’t planning to go camping (obviously).
However, Camping Jungfrau also has multiple bungalows and cabins of different types that are super cute, fully outfitted with a kitchen and living room, and to top it all off, it’s located basically at the base of the famous waterfall in Lauterbrunnen- how amazing is that?
Waking up to waterfall views in a picturesque Swiss village is pretty dreamy.
🛏️✨ CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE BUNGALOWS AT CAMPING JUNGFRAU ✨🛏️
As far as food goes, yes, eating out can just be SO expensive.
I recommend swinging by a local grocery store (even the small pedestrian-only villages have good options) and picking up food to pack for lunches and even to cook for dinner.
We only ate out once or twice while we were in Switzerland.
Cable car prices can range from $25-$60 roundtrip (or more), and entrance fees to some places are just shockingly expensive (for example, to go up to Trummelbach Falls near Lauterbrunnen it costs about $21 each).
Just be sure to budget accordingly, and you’ll have a great time.
3. The Time of year You Visit Switzerland is Important
If you’re looking to visit Switzerland in the summer, most cable cars are open from June through mid-October.
July and August are the busiest months in Switzerland, and I hear there can be long lines for cable cars and overall just a crowded feel.
If you’re wildflower hunting, your best months for that will be June to mid-July.
We visited Switzerland in September (you can read that post here) and overall were happy with our experience.
But it’s worth knowing that the weather in September (especially late September) is more volatile than in June, July, or August.
In September, you can have both hot sunny days perfect for adventuring in the mountains and also cloudy, rainy days (which means mountain peaks disappear).
But the plus side of visiting in September is that it hardly felt crowded, and accommodations were a little less expensive.
I wouldn’t risk visiting in October as you’ll have higher chances of snow at higher elevations (which we ran into on some days even in September…thankfully it melted).
If you’re looking for a ski trip to Switzerland, ski resorts are usually open from the end of November through early April.
4. There are like a million different Public Transit travel pass options
I felt like I was going crazy when I was trying to decide what transit pass (if any) we were going to need in Switzerland.
There are so many options with some including some things while others don’t, some encompass all of Switzerland while others are just small areas etc.
Plus, the pricing varies and is dependent on the length of stay etc.
I’ve narrowed the travel passes down to what seem to be three of the best options, and I’ll briefly describe each one below.
Since we ended up renting a car, we didn’t purchase any travel pass; however, the most popular (and most likely the best option for you too) is the all-inclusive Swiss Travel Pass.
🚆 🚌 ⛴️ Swiss Travel Pass: ALL OF SWITZERLAND. Take the headache away from booking public transit with FREE train, bus, and boat rides in Switzerland + FREE entry to over 500 museums + 50% discount on select mountain excursions and mountain rail travel.
🚆 🚌 ⛴️ Swiss Half-Fare Card: ALL OF SWITZERLAND. Enjoy 50% discount on all public transportation (trains, boats, and buses) in Switzerland INCLUDING most mountain railways and cable cars.
🚆 🚌 ⛴️ Jungfrau Travel Pass: ONLY JUNGFRAU REGION. Enjoy unlimited bus, boat, train, and cable car rides for between 3 and 8 days in the Jungfrau Region.
5. Booking A Rental Car in Switzerland can Be a good option for Some People
Switzerland has an extensive public transit system, which makes getting around via trains, busses and boats easy and simple (hence why there are so many public transit passes available that I talked about above).
If I were visiting without young kids, I’d definitely rely on public transit.
However, we’re at the time of life with three young kids that we need to save as much of their energy and zen as possible to put towards walking, hiking, and exploring, so (for us) that means that having a rental car is oftentimes a better option.
So, in Switzerland, we rented a car at the airport and were very happy with our decision.
However, when needed, we also used cable cars (obviously) and even took a short mountain train from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen.
It was so nice to not have to juggle kids, luggage, and a stroller on a train going to and from the airport (I’ve done that one too many times and swear never again).
And we all very much appreciated our car on our drives from Lauterbrunnen to Lake Oeschinen and from Lauterbrunnen to Ballenberg Open Air Museum.
By driving, we were able to save the kids from long, tiring walks to and from the train station, and we were able to get where we wanted to go much faster while the kids napped or relaxed on the way.
We never had any issues finding parking, the driving was straight-forward and overall it worked out great for us.
Again, a rental car in Switzerland isn’t for everyone; however, under certain circumstances, it can be the right choice.
If you plan to visit Switzerland in the winter, I only recommend renting a car if you are familiar with driving in the snow.
If you’ve never heard of Economy Bookings, I recommend checking it out. It’s my go-to site for finding an inexpensive car rental. It’s oftentimes the least expensive option I can find.
🚗✨ CLICK HERE TO CHECK CAR RENTAL PRICES ON ECONOMYBOOKINGS.COM 🚗✨
6. Pack Layers for Changing Weather
Even in peak summer, you’ll want to pack some extra layers in case of unexpected weather. In the mountains, having a light sweater and rain jacket/shell is always a good idea in case of a summer rainstorm rolling through.
In September, we were frequently putting on and taking off layers depending on the weather of the hour.
7. Switzerland is an amazing family-friendly destination
Switzerland is an amazing destination for traveling with kids.
We’ve travelled extensively as a family, and Switzerland is definitely up there as one of our favorites.
We visited with our three kids (ages 6, 3, and 1) and had such a relaxing, smooth trip while also feeling adventurous and connecting with nature at the same time.
Our kids talk often of the cable car rides, the alpine coaster, the row boats at Lake Oeschinen, renting bikes in Lauterbrunnen, the epic Allmendhubel playground in Mürren, the ball runs in Wengen and the activities at the Ballenberg Open-Air Swiss Museum.
There are so many easy hikes (even themed hikes for families like the Lieselotte Trail from Mannlichen).
And you’ve never seen such amazing playgrounds with such STUNNING views. We spent HOURS at the Allmendhubel Playground in Mürren and honestly could have spent more.
If all of those things weren’t enough, we haven’t even gotten to eating as much Swiss chocolate as possible! A sampling of new kinds every day was definitely a highlight for all of us.
We are determined to visit Switzerland again and see even more of the beautiful places it has to offer.
🇨🇭 CLICK HERE TO READ: Switzerland with Kids: 5 Day Bernese Oberland Itinerary 🇨🇭
8. Visiting the Swiss Alps will most likely be the highlight of your trip
I’m pretty confident that visiting the Swiss Alps will be the highlight of your time in Switzerland.
However, I’m a little biased saying this because we actually didn’t do ANY city travel while we were in Switzerland. But can you blame us? The Swiss Alps are absolutely gorgeous, and I wanted to spend every moment possible in them.
One of the most popular mountain areas to visit for first-timers in Switzerland (including us) is the Jungfrau Region, which is located within the greater Bernese Oberland Region. It’s gorgeous.
This area includes Lauterbrunnen, Mürren, Wengen, Grindelwald, and Interlaken to name a few.
Feel free to use our 5 Day Bernese Oberland itinerary with Kids if you’re looking for an adventurous but also relaxing time in one of the most beautiful spots of Switzerland.
9. There Are So Many Fun & Different Types of activities to do in Switzerland
One of the things I loved about visiting Switzerland was the variety of activities we were able to do.
We hiked, strolled through villages, took a rowboat out on one of the most gorgeous Alpine lakes I’ve ever seen (I’m talking about you Lake Oeschinen), played at playgrounds with epic views, rented bikes, rode an alpine coaster (multiple times), and my husband even completed his first-ever via ferrata!
And we did all of that just in 5 days in such a small area of Switzerland.
I definitely encourage you to see what fun and unique activities are available where you plan to visit in Switzerland, because there is so much more than just walking around large cities.
If you want to steal our itinerary, get it here: 5 Day Bernese Oberland Itinerary with Kids.
10. Download the Meteo Swiss App for The Most Accurate Weather Reports
The MeteoSwiss App will be your best friend when it comes to accurate, up-to-date weather reports in Switzerland.
I recommend downloading the app before your trip and checking the weather often.
We visited Switzerland in September and had multiple mornings of rain and clouds accompanied by days of beautiful, sunny skies, and even unexpectedly had snow up at the top of some cable cars we planned to take.
Because the weather varied so much from day to day, we checked the MeteoSwiss app frequently and changed up our itinerary to take advantage of the weather the best way we could.
For example, one day we planned to visit Mürren (specifically the Allmendhubel Playground) but we checked the app and live webcams (more on that below) and realized it was covered in snow!
So, instead, we visited Ballenberg Open-Air Swiss Museum and visited Mürren later in the week once the snow had melted.
I’m so grateful we checked the weather because it would have been a bummer to get up there to find it covered in snow and have lost so much time in our day.
11. You Can Check Live Webcams to See Current Weather Conditions
Sometimes I just don’t feel like I get all the information I want from a weather app, and I just want to see what it looks like where I’m heading.
The great news is that Switzerland is dotted with live webcams, which makes it pretty easy to get that information!
If you just Google ‘(insert your destination) webcam’, it will bring up what you need! For example, this is the Mürren webcam page.
You might just realize there’s snow where you’re heading!
And those are my top travel tips for visiting Switzerland! Please let me know in the comments below if you have any questions, and I’ll be sure to get back to you.
🇨🇭 LOOKING FOR MORE ABOUT VISITING SWITZERLAND?🇨🇭
CHECK OUT MY OTHER SWITZERLAND GUIDES:
🏞️ One Perfect Day at Lake Oeschinensee in Switzerland
🇨🇭 Switzerland With Kids: 5 Day Bernese Oberland Itinerary
🌤️ What It’s Like Visiting Switzerland in September
💰 Switzerland Trip Cost Breakdown: Is It As Expensive as They Say?
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