Our cost post is slightly different this time. We have been trekking in the Alps over the last month and we thought it would be interesting to compare the costs in each of the countries.
So where is it cheaper place to go trekking; Italy, Switzerland or France?
We trekked 7 days in Italy, 10 days in Switzerland and 17 days in France and we spent: €35, €81 and €45 per day, respectively. It should be noted that our costs in Switzerland are slightly higher because we ate and slept in refuges when we climbed Monte Rosa and walked along the Aletschgletscher glacier.
The cost of climbing Monte Rosa amounted to €241 and walking along the Aletschgletscher glacier to €171. If we were to exclude these costs to make a like-for-like comparison with the other two countries, the cost per day decreases to €40, which is a bit more sensible. However, this does not prove that Switzerland is a cheap country to trek. We had also planned to do the same similar sort of thing in Italy and France although in the end, it didn’t happen; in Italy, due to the bad weather; in France, due to lack of rooms available in the refuge. Had things gone to plan, the average costs of accommodation (including food) in those countries would have been €70 (€100 in Switzerland), public transport €17 (€36 in Switzerland) and parking €15 (€39 in Switzerland).
Other prohibitive costs we came across in Switzerland were tolls and fuel. We paid up to €1.45 per litre compared to €1.08 we paid in France. Some of the walks and vie ferrate were only accessible via funicular. The Swiss made the most of this limitation by charging up to €55 per person. These costs have been accounted for under Public Transport.
We kept food costs to a minimum by going for deals and discounted meals at Lidl. We skipped our usual eating out treat, except at the Aletschgletscher refuge, however we took food with us to Monte Rosa.
If we now focused on the other two countries, France’s highest costs are associated with;
Fuel – €255. We stayed longer in this country and therefore, drove longer distance. Also, as the price per litre was such a good value, we filled Dora’s tank before we went to Germany. Technically speaking, those costs should have been allocated to that country.
Food – €324. Supermarket food was so much more affordable, that we bought lots of food and, sometimes, we treated ourselves with nice French cuisine in high quality supermarkets to compensate for the food austerity we went through in Switzerland. And of course, we had that lovely meal in Lyon to celebrate our 11th anniversary.
Laundry – €30. It wasn’t the cheapest laundry on this trip but we waited longer than usual to wash our clothes, we were wise enough not to do it in Switzerland.
The tables below show a cost comparison of each country compared to it’s budget. Italy and France have kept well under. Switzerland, however, has gone over by 15%. Although overspent, this is a very good result, considering its excessive costs.
The most notable expenditure in Italy was €50 on two pair of gloves we bought in Cortina to protect our hands when doing vie ferrate. However, on the positive side, we managed to keep fuel costs under control simply by filling up in cheap petrol stations, even if we didn’t need to. Being under budget on fuel costs is quite a remarkable achievement, considering that Italy’s fuel is one of the most expensive in Europe, mainly due to taxation. This was also helped by us filling up just before we entered the country and leaving with an empty tank! GDR
We have commented extensively on Swiss costs but we would like to add one more comment on communication costs. These costs came 78% over budget but this was partly our fault. We bought a prepaid data card from Lyncamobile, one of the cheapest network operators but it didn’t work in our mifi device, only on my phone. We would’ve probably done much better by spending a bit more money and going for one of the biggest operators, such as Swisscom. Trying to be over cautious with money does not always work. However, Switzerland is still the most expensive place for data costs and very few places have Wi-Fi and even a coffee in McDonalds costs €4-5, so even this is not a cheap option. Technologically speaking the country is pretty backwards! GDR
Finally, if we looked into France, it should be noted that even though we were a more relaxed when spending on fuel and food, we still came under budget by 36%.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the format of this cost post and that this information has been helpful in deciding where to go on a trekking holiday in the Alps.
Our advice, unless you want a second or third mortgage, avoid Switzerland! GDR
SM
