Holiday on a Budget

This summer we were not supposed to go on holiday. Being a newly self-employed we thought it best to save the expense and stay at home, BUT things tend not to work out the way you plan them… In spring we got the great news that Dear Husbands sister was finally getting married to her very very great boyfriend.

This is something we have been anticipating for years and looking forward to, so even though this was not great money wise, we felt that we have to go. The wedding of two people that we love and a trip to Switzerland! So now that the trip was a reality, we made it a goal to make it as budget friendly as possible.

Plane tickets

This was a bit tricky as the wedding was to be in August which is high season. We had to surf around internet a bit to find the best deal and in the end we settled on flights with EasyJet – they were the cheapest, had quite convenient departure times and was direct, which is very nice when flying with kids (or without!). The price we got was fairly ok and I think that if we had been more flexible concerning the dates of travel we have been able to find even cheaper tickets.

Place to stay

We had heard about airbnb but never tried it. First we wanted to find a location in Switzerland that was convenient both for the wedding, for spending time with family and was centrally placed for trips. We settled on the Canton of Emmenthal in a small village called Seeberg where we stayed in the very nice guest house belonging to Stephanie and Andrew.

The house is old and big, located in the middle of nowhere with a fantastic view of green hills on one side and the woods on the other. And if you ask our kids, it was the coolest place on earth as they had a zipline/ omega in the barn! And we enjoyed it a lot too…

Places to go

We rented a car for the week, renting it beforehand after an internet search and used it to get around. Public transportation is fairly expensive in Switzerland so we found it to be cheaper that way. Plus, we really lived in the middle of nowhere (although with a bus stop right outside the front door…)

Entrances to museums and different tourist attractions are quite pricy so we focused mostly on going places that where for free, towns, forests, etc. and really, it is just so beautiful everywhere that what we got without a cost was more than enough for us. The one thing we did pay for was a trip to Kiental in the Swiss Alps where we went up with a chairlift – lots of free activities for kids and a great experience for all!

Food

At least for me, food is a very important part of a holiday and when it comes to food, Switzerland is one of the tastiest places to be. What is not to like about cheese? Restaurants are expensive though, so we settled on a few things regarding eating. Because we stayed at a private home, we had the privilege of being able to use the kitchen. We decided, though, that we didn’t want to cook while away but being able to use the fridge and other facilities was great. So what we did was grocery shop for breakfast and dinner and eat those meals at the house. I am in love with Swiss supermarkets so for me it was no real compromise to do it that way. For lunch, we were normally out so that meal we would eat at a restaurant somewhere. All in all, it was a good solution for us and gave us the possibility to keep food expenses on a minimum and not much higher than what they are when at home.

So all in all, we had a great holiday, full of family quality time, on a budget, but without the feeling of having to compromise that was completed with a beautiful wedding!

I am sure that we will do this again 🙂