Swiss Currency.

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Odea

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I like to travel with local currency. I am planning a trip to Switzerland for next year. I am sure that I can pick up some Swiss Francs from my local bank. Not sure that I want to trust a local ATM machine in Switzerland in case my card gets swallowed up. Will the cost of buying Swiss Francs from my local bank be much more expensive compared to other means?

How is Switzerland regards accepting cash?

Thanks
 
No idea about Switzerland but make sure you order in advance with the bank, they are very unlikely to just have them in stock, most only stock US & stg if even these days. CU if you are a member is a handy place to get FX too, you order online from Fexco basically and it's delivered next day to your CU
 
Personally I would use a fintech via app with wallets in different currencies on your card.

You’ll save a lot in FX fees and it’s all round a lot more convenient.

I’ve never been to CH but I’ve read that you can use card pretty much everywhere.

Bring physical cards as back-up. If you really need to buy Swiss francs probably easier do it in Switzerland as most tourists are from the euro area.
 
Yeah, use the card, but if you need to use public toilets out and about it is often a 1CH coin so handy to have a few!
 
Switzerland, lucky you. :)
CHF cash is universally accepted across Switzerland. Euro payments are not normal.

You can try to pay in Euro but it may not be well received & you'll likely get a crummy fx rate or a refusal. It is not normal in areas of Switzerland distand from Eurozone border.

CHF's are a little expensive right now after a bit of a dive vs. Euro over the last week or so.

You could set up an account with WISE and get a card in a couple of days. This enables you to freely change Euro to CHF & any other currency & also spend directly off the card just like a credit card. FX rates on wWISE are also very competitive. They'll proably beat the socks of your local bank's rates.
wise.com

Wise: the international account | Money without borders

160+ countries, 40 currencies, one account. Save when you send, spend and manage your money internationally.
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Tip: If you're staying in accomadation in most major cities ask them if they are participating in local schemes that grant free travel on public transport in the city zone. This is not uncommon & can save you quite a bit over a week or longer.
 
Everywhere in Switzerland accepts card, even public toilets in train stations. If you insist on cash, Swiss ATMs definitely won't swallow your card, the Swiss are very into maintenance & reliability and everything works impeccably.
 
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The default on ATMs is to return your card if you make a mistake.
Get a Revolut , N 26 and Curve card. Keep to the basic accounts for each and there are no fees. You can withdraw a couple of hundred euro equivalent from ATMs, free of charge, in CHF using these cards.

The Curve card is particularly useful as it can act as a cover card for Revolut and N26.
You can carry the Curve card in your pocket and keep the other cards in a hotel safe, or somewhere more secure on your person.
 
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About 14 years ago I was frequently in Zurich (when you could get 1.5 CHF to the EUR - now the CHF is worth more than the Euro !!!). Back then I used to change my Euro to Francs at the main train station. The currency exchange there had the best rates.
 
We were in Switzerland in May with kids for most part of a week; used only cards the whole time. Cash not heeded at all. Lovely country; very expensive mind! Enjoy it
 
argentina said:
We were in Switzerland in May with kids for most part of a week; used only cards the whole time. Cash not heeded at all. Lovely country; very expensive mind! Enjoy it
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hi argentina, we are planning to go in a few weeks. Do you mind me asking where you went and where you stayed. I'm looking for ideas.

Thank you
 
phoenix53 said:
hi argentina, we are planning to go in a few weeks. Do you mind me asking where you went and where you stayed. I'm looking for ideas.
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This is a response I posted previously to a similar question:

Exploring Switzerland by train with the Swiss travel pass I think is a very nice way to see the country. I would suggest that you base yourselves in Zürich or better still Luzern. You could do some nice boat trips on Lake Luzern and some very nice train trips, for example the Golden Pass Express from Luzern to Montreux. The journey takes 5.5 hours so might be better to spend the night in Montreux.

Another nice journey is the Gotthard Panorama Express from Luzern to Lugano (part boat, part train), perhaps with a night in Lugano

Then there is the Glacier Express, an 8 hour journey from Zermatt to St Moritz and the Bernina Express from St Moritz to Lugano, traveling through Italy but covered by the Swiss Pass.

There is also a Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, covers almost 1300 Km by rail, more or less all of the above combined.

You can check each of those scenic trains/routes online, a few links for you:

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch...n/tickets-public-transport/swiss-travel-pass/
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https://journey.mob.ch/en/stories/panoramic
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https://tickets.rhb.ch/en/pages/bernina-express
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https://www.glacierexpress.ch/en/su...AAAADFxFEvCDf5bIrNtCjyBoRSjicWiU#gad_source=1
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https://www.gotthard-panorama-express.ch/en/stories/schifffahrtsgesellschaft-vierwaldstaettersee-sgv
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Plus one for Zurich - can do a daytrip by train to Luzern (well worth a visit) and Bern (also beautiful) - lots of outdoor walks as well as benefits of a buzzing city
 
Thank you for that information. Trying to figure out the best train ticket to buy is taking a bit of work. Do you have any idea what would be best for 5 - 7 days? It seems like you need to know where and when you are going as opposed to be able to hop on hop off as you please.

Appreciate the help.
 
phoenix53 said:
Thank you for that information. Trying to figure out the best train ticket to buy is taking a bit of work. Do you have any idea what would be best for 5 - 7 days? It seems like you need to know where and when you are going as opposed to be able to hop on hop off as you please.

Appreciate the help.
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If you like the idea of those various boat/train trips, without question the best ticket to buy is the Swiss Pass, you can choose how many days you wish to have it for. You can then travel on the entire public transport system throughout the entire country (bus, trams, trains, boats) on a hop-on hop-off basis. You can decide on the spot which trips you will take and if you really enjoy it even repeat it the following day. The public transport system is really impressive, very comfortable, efficient and reliable.

If you plan on doing those boat/train trips above and if your budget allows for it I would recommend that you buy a first class pass. For city travelling on trams and buses there is no first class.
 
planck said:
If you like the idea of those various boat/train trips, without question the best ticket to buy is the Swiss Pass, you can choose how many days you wish to have it for. You can then travel on the entire public transport system throughout the entire country (bus, trams, trains, boats) on a hop-on hop-off basis. You can decide on the spot which trips you will take and if you really enjoy it even repeat it the following day. The public transport system is really impressive, very comfortable, efficient and reliable.

If you plan on doing those boat/train trips above and if your budget allows for it I would recommend that you buy a first class pass. For city travelling on trams and buses there is no first class.
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Thank you. I'll have a look.
 
Odea said:
I like to travel with local currency. I am planning a trip to Switzerland for next year. I am sure that I can pick up some Swiss Francs from my local bank. Not sure that I want to trust a local ATM machine in Switzerland in case my card gets swallowed up. Will the cost of buying Swiss Francs from my local bank be much more expensive compared to other means?

How is Switzerland regards accepting cash?

Thanks
Click to expand...
That's a very odd thing to say about your card getting swallowed up by the bank machine. The Swiss take banking very seriously, never seen a place with so many banks. Bank cards and credit cards are accepted everywhere. It's a very expensive place so bear that in mind. We got a train out of Zurich to go to Austria, it was jam packed, I was surprised nobody checked our tickets which I reckon was deliberate as they didn't want to hear the arguments over pre booked seats on a crowded train. One of my adult children went into and out of Switzerland with no passport last year on a train. I had to use DHL to get the passport to them.
 
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