Prologue to a Swiss Solo Trip | Is it really that expensive? A 12-day journey from a sudden flight cancellation to fulfilling a dream list

Switzerland is one of the dream destinations on almost every travel lover's bucket list. Everyone has the same impression of it— Beautiful, but also expensive. And I originally thought this would be a trip I'd have to wait a long time before I could finally go on. Until last year, when I saw a group tour post on Facebook. The start of a "semi-independent trip" This Switzerland trip wasn't actually something I planned entirely on my own. The plan I saw at the time was: 👉 110,000 (NTD), including flights, accommodation, transportation, and admission tickets For me, this style is exactly a balance point between: Joining a group tour (too restrictive) And Fully independent travel (too time-consuming). The group leader plans out the overall framework first: Hotel bookings Swiss Travel Pass GoldenPass and Glacier Express reservations And then, based on that foundation, I fine-tune the daily itinerary myself. Since I'm departing from Vietnam, I didn't buy the flight ticket as part of the group package, and after deducting the group flight ticket fee of 26,600—— 👉 What I actually paid: 83,400 NTD This trip to Switzerland was also officially confirmed at the end of last year. A variable before departure: flight cancellation, cost skyrocketed by 30,000 I originally thought the rest would go smoothly, but the real test came afterward. In March, I had just returned to Vietnam from the Middle East. The group leader was especially concerned about whether my Etihad Airways flight would be affected. At the time, I was actually quite optimistic — I felt the situation wouldn't drag on for that long. I even compared: Original ticket: 27,000 Switching to Cathay Pacific: already went up to 45,000 So I decided to wait and see. But things didn't go so smoothly. 👉 10 days before departure, the flight was restored 👉 I thought I could finally set off with peace of mind But then on the night of 3/25, I got a notice: Originally departing the morning of 4/2 Changed to departing the night of 4/4 Not arriving in Switzerland until 4/5 👉 A full 2 days late For a trip that's already scheduled, it's basically thrown into complete disarray. After contacting customer service, there was no alternative offered, so in the end I had no choice but to bite the bullet: 👉 Cancel the original ticket and buy a new flight (57,000) 👉 Costs go up by about 30,000 right before departure

一直到起飛前，才真正放心 最後我改搭： 越南航空 瑞士國際航空 並在 4/2 晚上順利抵達瑞士。 但老實說，前面的變數讓我有點陰影。 甚至到當天早上抵達轉機點時，才開始訂瑞士第一晚的住宿。

April in Switzerland was more stunning than I imagined. Luckily, all the mishaps stayed behind before the trip even began. Once we entered Switzerland, everything started going really smoothly. April happens to be right at the turn of the seasons, and I was lucky enough to— see the Jungfrau and also see the Matterhorn and have good weather almost every single day. Except for a bit of mist and fog on the first morning up First mountain, the following days could truly be described as "clouds parting to reveal the sun." 👉 Every day looked like a postcard-worthy scene And that made this trip—the most expensive one so far—feel absolutely worth it.

The key to itinerary planning: save time for "places affected by weather" I think the most successful part of this trip was the organizer's planning strategy. For a trip to Switzerland, it's not really about how many attractions you visit, but about concentrating your time on "the places most dependent on weather." This time the core goals were clear: The Jungfrau region The Matterhorn So the schedule was arranged as: Grindelwald: 3 days Zermatt: 2 days 👉 This greatly reduces the risk of "coming all this way and not being able to see it." Looking back now, this arrangement was absolutely crucial.

12-Day Itinerary Overview Here is the general outline of this trip: Day 1: Depart from Taiwan Day 2: Arrive in Switzerland → Zurich → Lucerne → Golden Pass Train → Interlaken → Grindelwald Day 3–5: Grindelwald (First Mountain, Jungfrau) Day 6: Grindelwald → Zermatt Day 7–8: Zermatt (Gornergrat) Day 9: Zermatt → Glacier Express → Zurich (plus a bonus visit to Liechtenstein) Day10: Zurich Day11: Journey back Day12: Arrival in Taiwan Is Switzerland really that expensive? Here's the actual breakdown of what we spent. Lastly, let's talk about the thing everyone's most curious about — the cost. Fixed costs Tour package (accommodation + transportation + admission tickets): 83,400 👉 Based on my own research, this could actually be brought down to around 60,000 Local expenses Actual spending: about 26,000 But this includes: Restaurant meals for three meals a day Bars Buying red wine, white wine, and rosé every day If we subtract these "indulgence-type expenses": 👉 Basic expenses: about NT$16,000 Flights Original: NT$27,000 Actual: NT$57,000 (due to a flight change) Summary 👉 With good budget control, a self-guided trip to Switzerland can be done for around NT$100,000 Actually, it's not as out of reach as it might seem. What will this series cover? Next, I'll organize this trip into a series of articles, including: The complete guide to independent travel in Switzerland Detailed guides for each region (Grindelwald, Zermatt, etc.) Daily itinerary records from the actual trip If you're also planning a trip to Switzerland, this series should help you avoid quite a few detours.