Practical

Switzerland is easy to travel in and expensive to travel in, and most of what goes wrong for visitors comes from a handful of specific things rather than from general unfamiliarity.

The short list, before the detail:

• You almost certainly do not need a car. The railway reaches everywhere worth going, runs to the minute, and includes buses and boats on the same ticket.
• Work out the pass arithmetic before you arrive. The right pass saves a great deal; the wrong one costs more than paying as you go.
• Ticket inspection is real. Nobody checks as you board, which misleads people constantly, and the fine is heavy.
• Cards work everywhere except parking meters. Carry a little cash for those and for tips.
• The duty-free allowance at the border is low — 300 francs a head — and it is enforced, particularly on the road crossings.
• Tap water is drinkable everywhere, including from the street fountains, and it is the easiest money you will save.

Everything below goes into these in turn. Prices move every year, so where a figure matters this site points at the official source rather than repeating a number that will be wrong by next season.