Off and Away! How to Avoid Unecessary Costs on Holidays

Your bookings have been made and you are counting the days until your holiday begins. If you are like many people in Switzerland, you spend a lot of time and energy on holiday planning. You book flights, rental cars, shuttles, and accommodations, and inform yourself about travel requirements, sights, restaurants, and events.

With all the travel preparations and packing, financial questions tend to take a back seat. But travel comes with a number of cost pitfalls, from mobile roaming fees to hidden costs for payments and unexpected medical costs.

The following tips can help you avoid unpleasant financial surprises when going on holiday.

When making travel bookings

When and how you book travel has a huge impact on the costs. Timing is particularly important. As a general rule, the earlier you make your bookings, the less you pay. Prices vary broadly depending on the time of booking, the time when you will travel, the place you are traveling to, and which service providers you use. Allowing for some flexibility can often help you find better deals. You can find detailed information in the saving tips for online travel bookings.

You can get informed about costs in the guide to transportation and accommodations.

The guides to savings on flights, hotel bookings, rental cars, and camping provide more information about how to save on various travel bookings.

When insuring your trip

Travel booking platforms and airlines offer travel insurance. But is this single-trip travel insurance worth the cost? The guide to saving with long-term travel insurance shows you when using single-trip insurance makes sense, and when you can save by getting long-term travel insurance.

Travel insurance typically bundles two main kinds of insurance. Trip cancellation insurance covers your unused travel bookings when you are forced to cancel a trip altogether. Trip interruption insurance covers losses and expenses when hazards occur during your trip, such as an accident or illness.

The costs and cover vary between travel insurance offers. The guide to the costs of travel insurance explains the various fees and charges to help you choose the right travel insurance.

Many travel insurance offers also cover concerts, theaters, musicals, and festivals.

When you travel

Certain costs occur while you are traveling to and from your holiday destination.

Extra expenses often start in the airport. Parking fees, food and drinks, luggage fees, and other costs can quickly drive up your holiday costs. You can find tips for minimizing expenses in the guide to saving at airports.

Driving to your holiday destination also presents an opportunity for unexpected holiday costs. Fees and fines associated with your car are two examples. You can learn what to pay attention to in the guide to driving to foreign countries.

When at your destination

Common tourist scams can cost a lot of money and nerves. You can learn how to arm yourself against common pitfalls in the guide to avoiding tourist cons.

As a resident of Switzerland, you can reclaim the value-added tax you pay for certain purchases in foreign countries. Detailed information is available in the guide to tax refunds for travelers.

If you decide to spend your holiday in Switzerland, you can find useful saving tips in the financial guides for hiking, cycling, and music festivals.

When using your phone

Getting informed about mobile roaming solutions before you travel is important. Simply using your Swiss SIM to get online or make calls in foreign countries can quickly create a big expense. Fees can be as high as several hundred francs for just a few minutes online or on calls. You can learn how to avoid roaming pitfalls in the guides to data roaming and call roaming.

Before leaving Switzerland, you should always check whether or not your mobile plan includes roaming allowances for the countries you are travelling to. If necessary, buy a suitable roaming bundle from your Swiss carrier.

Getting a travel eSIM or buying a local prepaid SIM card at your destination can be a good alternative to roaming. Many locations offer complimentary Wi-Fi, which can be worth taking advantage of. Using a VPN is recommended when using Wi-Fi hotspots.

When making payments

Making payments in foreign countries can generate a lot of hidden costs. There are huge differences between the fees and currency exchange rates used by different Swiss banks and neobanks. You can find useful advice for minimizing the cost in the guide to making payments and cash withdrawals while traveling.

Take time to check the fees and charges that apply to your debit cards or credit cards before your holiday. Consider opening a travel account with low fees and charges for paying in other currencies.

There are some typical travel payment pitfalls that are easy to avoid. When making card-based payments or cash withdrawals, always choose to pay in the local currency and not in Swiss francs. Using ATMs from banks is often cheaper than using ATMs from service providers like Travelex and Euronet. Use your debit card for cash withdrawals, and not a credit card.

When you get sick or have an accident

Mandatory Swiss health insurance covers some of the costs of emergency medical care in foreign countries. The exact cover varies depending on the country. Certain costs are not covered by mandatory insurance, so there is a risk that you may have to pay large amounts out of your own pocket.

You can get an overview in the guide to medical expenses in foreign countries that are covered by mandatory health insurance.

If you have supplemental outpatient insurance, it is worth checking if it covers medical emergencies outside of Switzerland.

Many travel insurance offers include cover for medical emergencies abroad that can extend the cover you get from mandatory health insurance. Additionally, the trip interruption insurance included in most travel insurance offers also covers unexpected expenses and losses when you become ill or have an accident during your trip. What is more, most offers also include a support line that can organize medical care in your travel country, and cover the costs of repatriation to a hospital in Switzerland if necessary. You can find more information in the guide to trip interruption insurance.