Prologue to My Switzerland Independent Trip | Is It Really That Expensive? 12 Days From a Sudden Flight Cancellation to Fulfilling My Dream List

Switzerland is on almost every travel lover's dream bucket list. Everyone has the same impression of it — Beautiful, but also expensive. And I had always assumed this would be a trip I'd "wait forever to finally take." Until last year, when I saw a group tour posted on Facebook. The start of a "semi-independent travel" journey This Switzerland trip actually wasn't entirely self-planned. The package I saw at the time was: 👉 NT$110,000, including flights, accommodation, transportation, and admission tickets For me, this model strikes the perfect balance between: Group tours (too restrictive) Completely independent travel (too time-consuming) It's the sweet spot in between. The tour organizer first plans the overall framework: Hotel bookings Swiss Travel Pass Golden Train and Glacier Express reservations And then I refine the daily itineraries based on this foundation. Since I'm departing from Vietnam, the flight tickets weren't purchased as part of the group package. After deducting the group flight ticket cost of 26,600 yuan—— I actually paid: 83,400 yuan This Switzerland trip was also officially confirmed in late last year. Pre-departure challenges: flight cancellations, costs jumped by 30,000 I originally thought everything would proceed smoothly, but little did I know the real challenges were still to come. In March, I had just returned to Vietnam from the Middle East. The tour organizer was especially concerned about whether my Etihad Airways flight would be affected. At that time, I was actually quite optimistic— I believed the situation wouldn't drag on for that long. I even made some comparisons: Original flight ticket: 27,000 Switching to Cathay Pacific: it had already risen to 45,000 So I decided to wait and see. But things didn't go so smoothly. 👉 10 days before departure, the flight was briefly restored 👉 I thought I could finally set off with peace of mind Then, on the night of March 25, I received a notice: Originally departing the morning of April 2 Changed to departing the night of April 4 Not arriving in Switzerland until April 5 👉 A full 2 days late For a trip that's already fully planned, this is basically a total disruption. Even after contacting customer service, there was no alternative offered, so in the end I had no choice but to grit my teeth and: 👉 Cancel the original ticket and buy a new flight (57,000) 👉 The cost went up by about 30,000 right before departure

It wasn't until right before takeoff that I finally felt at ease. In the end, I switched to flying with: Vietnam Airlines Swiss International Air Lines And arrived safely in Switzerland on the night of April 2nd. But to be honest, all the changes beforehand left me a bit shaken. I didn't even start booking accommodation for my first night in Switzerland until I arrived at the transfer point that morning.

Switzerland in April was more breathtaking than I imagined. Luckily, all the hiccups stayed behind before departure. Once I entered Switzerland, everything started going really smoothly. April happens to be the time when the seasons change, and I was so lucky—— I got to see the Jungfrau, and I also got to see the Matterhorn, and almost every day had great weather. Except for some clouds and mist on the first morning up First mountain, the following days could really be described as "clouds parting to reveal the sun." 👉 Every day looked like a postcard-worthy view And that made this trip, the most expensive one so far, feel completely worth it.

Key to Travel Planning: Save Time for 'Weather-Dependent Destinations' What I found most successful about this trip was the organizer's planning strategy. Swiss travel isn't actually about having more attractions, it's about concentrating time on 'places most affected by weather'. The core objectives for this trip were crystal clear: Jungfrau region Matterhorn So the schedule was: Grindelwald: 3 days Zermatt: 2 days 👉 This way you can dramatically reduce the risk of 'making the trip but not seeing the sights' Looking back now, this arrangement was absolutely critical.

12-Day Itinerary Overview Here's roughly how the trip will go: 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 stop in Liechtenstein) Day10: Zurich Day11: Return flight Day12: Arrival in Taiwan Is Switzerland really that expensive? Actual expenses revealed Finally, let's talk about the costs everyone cares most about. Fixed costs Tour fee (accommodation + transportation + admission tickets): 83,400 👉 Based on my actual research, this could probably be brought down to around 60,000 Local expenses Actual spending: about 26,000 But this includes: Meals at restaurants for all three meals 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 flight changes) Summary 👉 With good budgeting, an independent trip to Switzerland can be done for about 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 a lot of unnecessary detours.