Travel resources and companies for your trip to Switzerland

Travel resources...

This site contains a collection of useful resources and websites I believe will help you plan your trip to Switzerland. You’ll also find a handful of promo codes at the bottom of this page, which I update regularly. So stay tuned...

By the way: I have an affiliate partnership with some of the sites I recommend. Click here to find out what this means.

LITERATURE

TRANSPORT

WEBSITES

ACCOMMODATION

SPECIAL DEALS

Literature

I'm not a huge fan of buying multiple travel guides and reading every book there is about a country before heading out. Much to my mom's grief... But doing a little reading up front probably won't hurt, right? Here's my short and sweet list of literature to get you up and running.

Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet is my all-time favourite when it comes to travel guides. I love how their books come with helpful maps, inspiring photos, itinerary suggestions and of course their emphasis on budget travel.

Itinerary guides

To help you plan your trip to Switzerland, I've created eight guides with a total of 105 itineraries. Whether you have two days or two weeks to plan, I've got you covered.

Transport

SBB

When it comes to Swiss public transport, the SBB website is the place to go. They provide a timetable, a ticket booking system, details about the Swiss Travel Passes, tons of additional travel-related information and a super handy

Interrail

The easiest way to travel through Europe, including Switzerland of course, is with a rail pass. Interrail offers One-Country Passes and a Global Pass to European citizens for different periods of time. Pass holders profit from several discounts across the continent.

Eurail

Eurail is the equivalent to Interrail for non-Europeans. They sell the popular Global Pass as well as Select Passes, where you get to choose between two and four countries to travel in. With Eurail, you get the same benefits across Switzerland as with an Interrail Pass.

Schweizmobil

Whether you're hiking, cycling, rowing or rollerblading through Switzerland, the Schweizmobil website (or app) reliably guides you wherever your heart desires.

useful stuff on the web

Swissinfo

News site by the official Swiss news channel covering what's currently happening in Switzerland

MySwitzerland

Official Swiss tourism board

Meteoswiss

The (in my opinion) most accurate Swiss weather site

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Visa and entry requirements, information about Switzerland and other important stuff

local.ch

Looking for an address, restaurant, bar, store, cinema, pharmacy, gym, hospital, train station or literally anything else? Local.ch knows where it is.

Emergency numbers

Medical emergency? Fire? Assault? Here are all the numbers you need...

Accommodation

The universe of booking platforms is vast. And expanding. Which is why I've narrowed my resources down to eight to make things in Switzerland a little smoother for you...

booking.com

Whenever I travel, I use booking.com to reserve my bed. They have a seemingly endless selection of hotels, hostels and other types of accommodation. The booking process is very straightforward and reliable.

Hostelworld

Hostelworld are very popular with backpackers and provide tons of reviews from budget travellers. To compare hostels, I always head to Hostelworld first to check the reviews before booking with either platform.

HI Hostels

Hostelling International runs 51 high-standard hostels in Switzerland and more than 4000 across the world. As a HI member, you benefit from a discount on every stay with them as well as several additional discounts.

Swiss Hotelcard

The Swiss Hotelcard is a fantastic invention if you like staying in hotels. It gives you a 50% discount on over 650 participating hotels across Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The annual fee to obtain this card is 99 CHF.

Airbnb

On Airbnb, people rent out their apartments and rooms to travellers. By using Airbnb, you'll get the chance to escape the touristy parts of your destination and see how the locals live.

Couchsurfing

If you're looking for a free place to stay, Couchsurfing is your go-to place. They put you in touch with people letting you stay on their couch for free. It’s a great way to save money and make new local friends.

Swiss Campsites

At camping.ch, they list almost 400 campsites across Switzerland and provide lots of information about the infrastructure, points of interest in the vicinity, photos and a link to the corresponding websites.

Sleep on straw

The Agrotourism website shows you farm-related accommodation in the countryside. If you're looking for a budget place to stay out of the ordinary, sleeping on straw is quite an experience.