Switzerland jungfrau region

Don’t know how you would feel about a mobile home, but whilst touring Switzerland a few years ago, we visited friends who were staying in one at Manor Farm, Interlaken. Excellent location, on the edge of the lake. My kids still talk about the location. Eurocamp etc were there plus smaller companies. If you Google Manor Farm, you’ll find list of current companies there.

The one thing on which you should be clear is that you have chosen an exceptionally expensive destination. Fabulous – but expensive.

If you want the Alps with charming villages, stunning scenery, a well-developed tourist infrastructure and great opportunities for walking or outdoor pursuits, look at Austria. It’s generally much cheaper.

At the risk of stereotyping, many of the French resorts are purpose-built villages with ugly, low-grade, bijpu 1960s apartment blocks. You can find charm in France, but it’s far from guaranteed.

Expensive, but breathtakingly beautiful. The hike along the glacier from Jungfraujoch to the Mönchsjochhütte is something I will never forget.

Or look at the Aosta valley in Italy, as it’s quite close to Geneva and Italy is much, much cheaper than Switzerland but has mountains that are just as majestic and food that’s better. In disclosure, I haven’t been to that part of Italy before, but I’ve been to the Dolomites further east in both summer and winter and love the Italian Alps.

My OH and I booked a last minute ski trip for 4 nights in the Jungfrau at Christmas, but only as I had seat spy alerts set up for all the European ski airports and the only avios flights that came up for our very specific dates of outbound 28th Dec and inbound 1st Jan were LCY-ZRH! We got 2 return CE seats for 29,248 avios + £100 using the 25% avios saving from the Black Friday deal, but that was where the “bargain” aspect of the trip started and ended…

We caught the train from Zurich to Lauterbrunnen via Bern and Interlaken.The trains were about £160 per person return. We stayed at Hotel Steinbock in Lauterbrunnen, which is a typical basic traditional ski hotel. Our accommodation costs for 4 nights in a standard ensuite double room were £730 via booking.com plus a city tax of £25, with a decent continental breakfast included. The room was ample for our needs as we were up early every day skiing but luxury it was not. When we booked it on 24th November it was one of only two hotel rooms left in Lauterbrunnen, there were a few in Wengen but much more expensive (and having stayed in Lauterbrunnen on a previous ski trip I knew it would suit better as it has equal access to skiing in both Wengen and Murren).

When we factored in what we had spent on our travel, accomm, lift passes, food and drink etc over the course of 4 days we concluded that we could have had a 7 night package ski holiday in France/Italy/Austria for the same price! But with restricted dates and a last minute getaway you’re never going to get a bargain. As others on this thread have said, if you haven’t already booked your summer flights I would look elsewhere for better value for money. We are thinking of going to Slovenia this summer for similarly beautiful scenery to Switzerland but at a friendlier price. As lovely as the Jungfrau is, if the thought of the prices is already putting you off, best go elsewhere and enjoy yourself.