Question on cash vs credit card & advance booking

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    16 March 2016 at 18:41:16 #808640

    Hello,

    can some one advise whether it is recommended to keep cash in the interlaken area? Do people prefer credit cards? are they accepted everywhere in Interlaken and Junghfroh region? Is there any processing fee to use the credit card?

    Another question I had was I am travelling to Switzerland next week, should I book the mountain railway Junghfroh ticket in advance or buy it over there since it is weather dependent? same thing with the sky diving, has anyone booked it in advance?

    please assist.

    Thanks

  • Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions.

    Arno
    Moderator
    15483 posts
    17 March 2016 at 7:16:48 #849492

    Hi dsavla,

    The information here applies to all of Switzerland: myswissalps.com/ swissfranc. You can best ask your bank about processing fees of credit cards.

    Tickets for mountain trips like Jungfraujoch (see here) should be open dated if you buy in advance as that allows you to be flexible. Fixed date tickets are less useful unless you only have one day and go up there regardless. I don’t know how popular sky diving is. You may want to check for availability here: http://www.viator.com/ tours/Interlaken/ Helicopter-Skydive-Interlaken-or-Lauterbrunnen.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    18 March 2016 at 2:11:18 #849493

    Hi Dslava-

    Please note the spelling of Jungfrau.

    Credit cards tend to be accepted widely in high priced tourist areas such as the Jungfrau Region. Thogh, not always. Especially if you expect a large hotel bill. check ahead of time..

    However, though credit cards are gradually becoming more popular than cash, in many parts of Switzerland, credit cards are not accepted at many smaller establishments.

    Slowpoke

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    18 March 2016 at 9:11:02 #849494

    Hi Arno,

    Though you mentioned you are not sure about Skydiving, but I already checked the Viator tours and they seem quite overpriced – partly maybe coz its such a popular tourist place. Are there not any local vendors who organize sky diving, skiing and paragliding atop the Jungfrau or Titlis ? Which might be cheaper and is it possible to book them on-the-spot ?

    Secondly, when I checked online for the ticket prices for mountain trains to Junfrau (from Grindelwald or Wengen) the discounted (25%) costs comes to CHF 138 / person, and trains upto Grindelwald or Wengen is free with the Swiss Travel Pass. Will I get the same price at the ticket station over there as well or are the online prices lesser ? The same question for Mt. Titlis cable car also I would ask – CHF 56.50 / person after a 50% discount online (includes 3 cable cars from Engelberg-Trubsee-Stand-Kleintitlis ; chairlift to the glacier top ; Titlis Glacier cave and everything inside and back to Engelberg)

    Arno
    Moderator
    15483 posts
    18 March 2016 at 15:38:55 #849495

    Hi sskundu,

    Well, Switzerland is pricey, especially when you book one on one services like taxi rides or skydiving, for that matter. Wages are quite high. Viator does not organize these trips themselves. They work with local operators and offer a low price guarantee: http://www.viator.com/about/ why-book-with-viator/guaranteed-low-prices. Of course you can check directly with the local companies, although it would be surprise to me if they are much cheaper that way. If so, Viator will refund the difference, so no risk there.

    Prices of cable cars etc. are fixed: same price locally and online. I have not seen exceptions yet.

  • The thread ‘Question on cash vs credit card & advance booking’ is closed to new replies.

About MySwissAlps

We’re passionate tourists and locals. We share tips about how to plan a trip to Switzerland. MySwissAlps was founded in 2002.

Get a free account for a worry-free trip

  • Join our 10980 members and ask us questions in the forum
  • Access to member-only promotions
  • Detailed maps and weather forecasts

Planning your first Switzerland adventure?

Get a jump-start with Annika’s 20-minute e-mail course, “Switzerland for beginners”. Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock the course.