Switzerland Backpacking Tour Package

Three reasons, and none of them is a hidden cut. Hotels are central 3-star rather than 4-star. Only two things are ticketed - Mt Titlis and Grindelwald First - and the other four days run on sights that are free to walk into. And the extras that used to be bundled in, like Harder Kulm and a lake cruise, are now on a list with their prices so you only pay for the ones you want. You get the cheapest way we sell a 3,020m glacier summit, plus a rail card that halves the price of anything you add.

Four things, and we would rather tell you than let you compare two versions of this page. The one dinner in Interlaken, the Harder Kulm funicular, the Lake Lucerne cruise and Truemmelbach Falls were all included before. They are now on the Activities tab with their prices, and your Half Fare Card halves each of them. Hotels also moved from 4-star to 3-star. Nothing was taken out of the rail, the two summits or the number of nights.

Yes, and it is what makes this price possible. Swiss 3-star properties are clean, well-run, and centrally placed, and the star rating there reflects facilities like room service and a restaurant rather than standards of cleanliness. What you give up is space, a bar, and sometimes a lift. What you keep is a central location in all three towns, which on this itinerary matters more - every day starts on foot. If you want 4-star, we will quote it, and it adds roughly forty thousand to the package.

Breakfast is, every morning. Lunches and dinners are not, and that is deliberate on a budget package. Switzerland is expensive to eat in - CHF 30 to 60 per person for a sit-down dinner - but supermarkets are excellent, all three towns have lakeside parks, and Interlaken has a Coop right by the station. Buying dinner and eating it by the water is completely normal here, not a sign of economising. If you would rather have dinners arranged, they are priced per evening on the Activities tab.

Because with two paid lifts over six nights a pass does not earn its price back. The card costs CHF 150 and takes half off everything; the pass costs more than the card plus all the tickets on this route. The card also keeps working for a month, so every add-on is half price too. We check this comparison on each itinerary rather than defaulting to one product - on a package with Jungfraujoch in it the answer can be different again.

Yes, and it is on the add-on list at about nineteen thousand per person with your card discount applied. It needs a full day out of Interlaken, so it would replace the Lauterbrunnen day rather than sit alongside it. Being straight with you: it is the most expensive single ticket in Switzerland, and adding it raises this package by roughly fifteen per cent. If Jungfraujoch is the main thing you want, our Jungfrau Adventure or Family Discovery packages are built around it and work out better than bolting it onto this one.

The price shown is per person on two sharing, so a solo traveller pays a single occupancy supplement on the rooms - that is the only real difference, and we quote it on request. Everything else works the same: nothing here is a booked group departure, all the rail is flexible, and both summit days run on whatever schedule you choose. We also have a Budget Solo package built around single rooms from the start, which comes out lower if you are travelling alone.

May to September. Both summit lifts are on their full schedule, the Bachalpsee path is clear of snow, Staubbach Falls is running hard, and hotel rates are at their lowest in May, June and September. July and August work but cost noticeably more, and the Chapel Bridge and Titlis are both at their busiest. Mt Titlis runs year-round, so a winter version of this trip is possible - but the Grindelwald First walk and the Lauterbrunnen Valley walk are both snow-dependent, and we would tell you what changes before you pay.

Yes. Switzerland is in the Schengen area, so Indian passport holders need a Schengen visa before travelling. We help with the documentation, the hotel confirmations, the itinerary letter and the appointment, but the visa fee and the VFS Global service charges are not included in the package price, and the decision is the consulate's alone. Appointment waiting times vary throughout the year, so apply early and reconfirm the current requirements for your travel dates rather than relying on this page.

No. This is a land package. International and domestic flights are quoted separately, so you can use your own airline, miles or a cheaper routing if you have one. The price on this page covers the six nights, the rail card and every ticket on the itinerary, both summits, the tourist tax and GST - everything from arriving at Zurich Airport to leaving from it.