How to have an inexpensive vacation in Switzerland

Sorry, I see now that you want to stay in a hotel.

Saas Fee remains the best choice (in my opinion) but will be more expensive than Saas Grund or Saas Fee.

I mean Saas Almagell instead of Saas Fee (last sentence)

Thank you so so much.. If it weren't for you guys i wouldn't have been able to make this progress! I'm so proud that i finally planned a vacation in a beautiful town (Saas-fee) in a beautiful, reasonably priced apartment (through booking.com) and everything seems wonderful!

i will let you know how it goes :)

<<"I'm so proud that i finally planned a vacation in a beautiful town (Saas-fee) in a beautiful, reasonably priced apartment (through booking.com) and everything seems wonderful!">>

Good to hear. And, the nice thing about staying for 10 days is that you are unlikely to have bad weather all of those days. Hopefully, very few. ;-)

Great, sounds like you're ready for it now! Have a wonderful time! A trip report about your experiences would be very nice.

Hi everyone!

since you've all been so very helpful in my previous questions, I thought I would ask your opinions on the following:

I made a reservation in saas-fee for an INEXPENSIVE HOTEL and I thought I got a real good bargain as my budget is tight. but then I found that they are not partners in the saaspass, so seems like they won't be providing free transportation for us. so I need to know the price of the pass (one adult and 2 minors:ages 12 &15) for ten days? I read online that I can get a cheaper pass for the whole stay but I couldn't find the pricing. I'm trying to figure whether its better to stick with this hotel and pay the pass or to find another hotel that will provide it for a more expensive price. Again, thanks so much for all your help :)Maryam

Hi Maryam,

I'm sorry to hear that! The pass you're after is now called the "Citizens' Pass". As far as I know it's free for anyone who books an accommodation in the Saas valley and pays the obligatory tourist tax of CHF 4 per adult per night (they call it "experience tax"). I don't think this pass is for sale separately; it's just included in your stay. A link to details can be found on myswissalps.com/ saasfee/hotels, under 'More on other websites'.

Which hotel did you book?

Thanks for your reply

the hotel is called (Haus Aristella) and they told me that they aren't part of the citizen passport project.

Maryam

Hi Maryam,

i would surprised if guests of Haus Aristella wouldn't be able to profit from this pass. It's located in Saas-Fee and to my understanding any guest paying tourist tax (which is everyone) receives the pass. They may not have joined the Saaspass previously, but that was another pass. I recommend to contact Saas-Fee Tourism (info@saas-fee.ch) and ask them. Please let us know what they say!

Hi Arno

I wrote to the address you gave me and this was their reply:

"Yes, everyone has to pay the visitor’s tax but that do not mean that you receive the Citizen’s pass. Every owner of an apartment or hotel has the chance to sign a contract with us to give them guests the Citizen’s pass. If your owner is not member of the project, you unfortunately do not have a possibility to get the Citizen’s pass."the hotel told me that they would have to increase the price in order to join the saas-pass project.

so now I will investigate about its price and where to buy it.

one more question (if you dont mind), is the Swiss transfer ticket really the cheapest way if all I need is to travel from the airport to Saas-Fee and back? It does seem a bit pricy for that purpose (115€ per person) :/

Thanks so much for your time and trouble

Maryam

Hi Maryam,

Well, this is interesting. I could not find such a limitation on their website, but apparently you have to ask the hotel or holiday home whether they provide it or not. Thanks for sharing this. The tourist agency should also be able to tell you whether the pass can be purchased separately and what the price is.

The Swiss Transfer Ticket is quite cheap in this case. A normal return ticket from Zurich Airport to Saas-Fee costs CHF 214.40 for adults and CHF 30 for children under 16 (Junior travelcard). The standard Swiss Transfer Ticket price is CHF 141 for adults and children under 16 travel along for free. Online, you can purchase the Swiss Transfer Ticket for only € 115 (about CHF 120) through www.raileurope-world.com/ pass/swiss-transfer-ticket. So it's really cheap for Swiss standards. The only possible alternative is the Supersaver ticket, but I doubt it will beat this price. This ticket is for one specific train only, so less flexible. If you miss that train you can't use it on the next one, and children do not travel along for free.

<<"."the hotel told me that they would have to increase the price in order to join the saas-pass project.">>

Maryam-

I believe that you understand the difference between the older "Saas-Pass" and the newer "Citizen's Pass."

But, this comment puzzles me. Is it possible that the hotel is still thinking of the older Saas Pass" ?

Is there another hotel that is similar in price which participates in Citizen's Pass?

Hello

thanks again, and sorry to be asking this question here as I don't know where else to ask to get a good reply.. Can i just purchase my ticket to saas fee from the airport? Or do I have to buy it online?

And I think I have another problem, my flight arrives late at zurich, around 8:30pm, do you think I can find a train (around 10pm) to Saas-fee?

Seems to me that trains don't run late. so what can i do?

thank you

Hi Maryam,

Your questions are welcome! The Swiss Transfer Ticket is only available online. I gave you the link in my previous post.

10 PM is too late to travel to Saas-Fee. You can best book an airport hotel. There are very affordable ones. Please see here for a list: www.myswissalps.com/ zurichairporthotels.

Did you sort it out with the Citizen's Pass?

Thank you!

yes, it turns out that not all hotels provide the citizens pass. so when booking a hotel I need to make sure that they provide it. I learnt that from getting in touch with the Saas-fee city management (or whatever its called) and they also told me that the pass is not for sale separately. therefore I changed to another hotel. there is an extra tax for it on top of the basic tax.

and thanks for the tip on the train. I was going insane trying to find a late train ;)

<<"yes, it turns out that notall hotels provide the citizens pass. so when booking a hotel I need tomake sure that they provide it. I learnt that from getting in touch withthe Saas-fee city management (or whatever its called) and they alsotold me that the pass is not for sale separately. therefore I changed toanother hotel. there is an extra tax for it on top of the basic tax.">>

Maryam-

I've learned a lot from this thread. Thanks for your posts. You do a good job of helping a forum to work. ;-)

Slowpoke

Hello again!

I've been trying to find a link to where I can get the family card, but I couldn't find anything that really works. can you please direct me to where I can purchase it?

Thanks :)

Hi Maryam,

You can simply order it along with your pass. Go to www.raileurope-world.com/pass/swiss-transfer-ticket and enter a number for "Child in Family Card", and a number for "Adult".