How to Avoid the "tourist tax" (Expensive Accom.) in Switzerland?

[p--and--t]

We are spending a week in Switzerland "riding the rails" in 2025.

I see that accommodation in the towns/cities at the end of the popular tourist trains are eye-wateringly expensive.

Any tips on more budget friendly but clean convenient places to stay in/near places like Zermatt, St Moritz, Chur, Lugano, Zurich, Lucerne.

 

[Captain Halliday]

We had a few days in Zurich last year and didn’t realise when planning that our trip coincided with a huge bi-annual festival that attracts >500k people over three days.

Our strategy there was to stay at one of the airport hotels. It was about 55% cheaper than staying in the city.

While we spent a bit more on ground transport, it was significantly cheaper overall.

For Lucerne we stayed two nights. As we were out sightseeing most of the time all we needed was a bed. That led us to stay at the ibis. Expensive by Australian Ibis standards, but acceptable for Switzerland.

 

[jase05]

We have travelled Switzerland a bit over the years and yes the accomodation is quite expensive but in places like Zermatt, Wengen, St Moritz etc we just grin and bear it and know that is the price we will pay.
For Zurich the airport can often have decent rates and it’s well connected by train, we stayed at the Radisson Blu before our Bernina Express trip this year and the rates were pretty decent and it’s connected to the airport via a covered area and has direct connection to the Zurich airport Train station. At the end of the trip we stayed at the Chur West Mercure which is a short taxi ride from the train station and whilst expensive by Mercure standards elsewhere it was pretty decent for Switzerland.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I’d recommend looking at Accor they’re a major chain in Europe and often have good deals on hotels in Switzerland (yours truly stayed at the ibis Lucerne Kreins last year for under 100 CHF IIRC). The other site to look at is HRS which is like Expedia for hotels in Europe. They tend to have a lot of chains and smaller boutique hotels you won’t necessarily find on American booking sites like Expedia. In terms of location obviously if you book close to the CBD you’ll pay more. What is less obvious is that hotels which may be a few kilometres from the CBD can often be considerably cheaper and because you’re in Switzerland there will be tons of trains, trams and buses to get you into the city. For instance with the ibis I stayed at it was 13 minutes by S-Bahn train. Oh and public transport can be cheap in Switzerland if you plan ahead.

One final point and I tell this to everyone I know thinking of visiting Switzerland: if you travel like an American don’t be surprised at the prices. Yes fast food is super expensive in Switzerland along with high end hotels. But if you travel like a European, grabbing snacks at grocery stores like Migros or Co-Op and staying at sensible hotels it can be affordable.

 

[I love to travel]

HIlton Garden Inn in Zurich is very good value, and with reasonable transport links to city and airport

 

[VPS]

I stayed here in Chur - it's nothing fancy but spotless and cosy it's very close to the railway station.

The staff were lovely and the breakfast was excellent

Hotel ABC Chur

Das sehr zentral gelegene 4-Stern-Hotel ABC in Chur ist mit schlichten, aber edlen Materialien und stilvoller Kunst eingerichtet.

www.hotelabc.ch

I refused to stay in Zermatt and caught the train there and then back to Visp

Welcome! This was incredibly basic and I didn't really enjoy it but again very close to the station

Zurich

Hotel in Zurich near train station | Hotel St. Gotthard OK clean and I think this was the most expensive I stayed

I stayed here in Austria and they have one in Zurich that you check it out Again quite basic but it was brand new the one I stayed in.

Motel One | Make a reservation at affordable design hotels in Berlin, Munich, Vienna or Manchester

Affordable Design Hotels by Motel One in central locations in Germany and throughout Europe. Your hotel with guaranteed best prices, free WiFi, and no cancellation fee up to 6.00 pm.

www.motel-one.com

As always check if they are part of a chain eg motel one I joined and got 10% off and one free breakfast

 

[jkbaus]

I stayed in Motel One Zurich back in 2019.
Had a balcony room.
Very happy with it

 

[p--and--t]

Zurich

Hotel in Zurich near train station | Hotel St. Gotthard OK clean and I think this was the most expensive I stayed

Jeeeez that one is AUD700pn for the time I need to stay in ZUR.

I stayed in Motel One Zurich back in 2019.
Had a balcony room.
Very happy with it

This one looks more in my price range AUD300pn

Our strategy there was to stay at one of the airport hotels. It was about 55% cheaper than staying in the city.

I’ll check this option out as well


Thanks all for your suggestions

 

[DCFF1961]

Stayed here for one night after doing the Glacier Express..can’t remember the price, but they did a good evening meal…Had a twin room…

Jugendherberge St. Moritz · St Moritz

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[VPS]

Jeeeez that one is AUD700pn for the time I need to stay in ZUR.

Well I can guarantee I wouldn't pay that much for it

 

[jase05]

We have stayed at Hotel Soldanella in St Moritz 3 times now and dependent on seasons it fluctuates between about $300-600pn for a lake view room and it’s a lovely place. For Zermatt we love the Hotel Metropol band that’s our usual go to but many hotels in Zermatt have a minimum nights stay required for certain times of the year. When we were there last it had a 4n minimum stay and was around $400pn for a base room but we pay a little bit more for the unobstructed Matterhorn views.
Also in Zermatt as it is a vehicle free town and only access is via rail the accomodation close to the train station are booked out fast and often have a premium price.

 

[VPS]

Have you looked at Airbnb or just hotels. Laundromats in Switzerland are exorbitantly expensive as well

 

[p--and--t]

Have you looked at Airbnb or just hotels. Laundromats in Switzerland are exorbitantly expensive as well

Only constructed the bones so far. Flights. Tour of France, Med cruise. So I have some fixed milestones here and there.

Now at the stage to start to flesh out the day by day itinerary and accommodation for Switzerland.

Hence this thread.

Flexible on places(towns) and accommodation styles and sources etc. Will need one laundromat or access to wash facilities before leaving Switzerland.

Part of the jigsaw puzzle it to pick which train trips we will participate and in which order with accommodation partially dictating origin and destination of each

As usual we don’t have time to do everything I’d like to do.

 

[jase05]

Only constructed the bones so far. Flights. Tour of France, Med cruise. So I have some fixed milestones here and there.

Now at the stage to start to flesh out the day by day itinerary and accommodation for Switzerland.

Hence this thread.

Flexible on places(towns) and accommodation styles and sources etc. Will need one laundromat or access to wash facilities before leaving Switzerland.

Part of the jigsaw puzzle it to pick which train trips we will participate and in which order with accommodation partially dictating origin and destination of each

As usual we don’t have time to do everything I’d like to do.

The scenic train rides all obviously have great rail links to other towns so there is often cheaper accomodation at the next town for instance and that might only be a few minutes away. Instead of Zermatt you could stay at Brig or Visp which are probably far cheaper.

 

[VPS]

The scenic train rides all obviously have great rail links to other towns so there is often cheaper accomodation at the next town for instance and that might only be a few minutes away. Instead of Zermatt you could stay at Brig or Visp which are probably far cheaper.

That's what I did

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Jeeeez that one is AUD700pn for the time I need to stay in ZUR.

Could we get a sense of roughly when you are travelling? That way we could provide suggestions based on the rates during that time.

Have you looked at Airbnb or just hotels. Laundromats in Switzerland are exorbitantly expensive as well

I always advise against Airbnbs for a whole host of reasons including the hassle of having to deal with another person and their arbitrary rules. Look I’m on vacation I’m not here to work. If you want me to do chores then you should be paying me!

-RooFlyer88

 

[VPS]

Could we get a sense of roughly when you are travelling? That way we could provide suggestions based on the rates during that time.

I always advise against Airbnbs for a whole host of reasons including the hassle of having to deal with another person and their arbitrary rules. Look I’m on vacation I’m not here to work. If you want me to do chores then you should be paying me!

-RooFlyer88

I’ve had some fantastic airbnb and will continue to use them

 

[p--and--t]

I’ve had some fantastic airbnb and will continue to use them

Not stayed in Switzerland yet but had fabulous AirBnBs in Lisbon, Sophia, Prague. SoSo in TYO.

 

[p--and--t]

Could we get a sense of roughly when you are travelling?

Ok. Basically late Sep/early Oct.

We land in ZUR early morning 28Sep25 and leave Switzerland for Paris after breakfast 4Oct25.

Then return to ZUR for one night 25Oct25 ready for a flight late evening 26Oct.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Ok. Basically late Sep/early Oct.

We land in ZUR early morning 28Sep25 and leave Switzerland for Paris after breakfast 4Oct25.

Plenty of options are available. I should also point out that this is by no means a peak travel period for Switzerland which I would argue is more around the months of mid April to mid September. In any event, there are quite a few options in the $160-$200 AUD/night range. Whilst that is not as cheap as Australia (I can often stay at Sydney hotels for well under $100/night) it's not bad considering where you are staying. These are all Accor properties (my preferred choice whilst staying in Europe):

Budget

• ibis Styles St Margrethen Bodense - $991.07 for 6 nights ( $165/night). Located in the north of Switzerland (near St. Gallen), it's about an hour by train into Zurich Hb.
• ibis Winterthur City - $1053 for 6 nights ($175.50/night). About 30 minutes by train from the hotel to Zurich main station.
• ibis Luzern Kreins - $1165 for 6 nights ($194/night) - I've stayed here personally last year. Ensure you select a view of the Pilatus mountains, it's quite nice (see my review).

Midscale/Luxury

• Movenpick Zurich Regensdorf - $1523.90 ($253/night) - I've stayed here personally back in 2012. It's a nice upscale hotel that's about 30 minutes from Zurich Hb by train.
• Novotel Suites Geneve Aeroport - $1495.90 for 6 nights ($249/night). Located near Geneva airport but a 20 minute tram ride into Geneva. One of the benefits I could see of staying here is the proximity to France. And from Geneva it's quite easy to get around Switzerland by rail too!
• Résidence Studio Genève Centre - $1569 for 6 nights ( $261/night). Located in the heart of Geneva, this is a apartment hotel which means you'll have many of the amenities of staying in an Airbnb like a kitchenette.

If you do go with Accor, you'll want to look at one of their membership programs like ALL Plus ibis (99 Euros annually) that gives 15% discount on ibis stays globally or All Plus Voyageur (200 Euros annually) that will give you a 20% off luxury brands, and 15% discount on economy (i.e. ibis) and midscale brands (i.e. Mercure). So those will be discounts on top of whatever I already quoted.

Then return to ZUR for one night 25Oct25 ready for a flight late evening 26Oct.

Quite a few options here. From Accor, there is the Movenpick Zurich Airport (I stayed there last year it's about a 5 minute walk to the tram station which goes directly to the airport) for $215 AUD/night. The nearest hotel is the Hyatt Place Circle and comes recommended from a colleague who travels frequently to Zurich and whose opinion I trust, and that costs 165 CHF/night ($293 AUD/night).

-RooFlyer88