Cheap flights to
Switzerland

Over the years, we’ve come up with a few tips and tricks for finding cheap flights. One of them is determining when is best to book. While there’s no set day of the week when airfare is cheaper, there is a time period. We call this period––not too soon before a flight but not too late––the Goldilocks Window. It’s about 1–3 months before a domestic flight and 2–8 months before an international flight.

For anyone booking during peak travel season, or for specific dates with little flexibility, we recommend planning even further in advance. If you’re hoping to visit Switzerland in July, for example, it’s best to start looking for flights in December.

Last-minute deals are few and far between during busy travel seasons, with fare jumps happening 21, 14, and 7 days before departure dates. So, don’t procrastinate, and book before those points if at all possible.

Sometimes, especially during peak seasons, airfare just doesn’t get any cheaper. Before you give up on a Swiss Alps hiking trip this summer, try our Greek Islands Trick.

The idea is to get as close as you can to your final destination, then find a budget airline flight, train, or other form of travel for your last leg. It works well for the expensive Greek islands, but it can be used all over Europe to save money.

If you hope to fly from Boston to Zürich for a summer hiking holiday, you could be looking at a price tag of $1,100 or more. Instead, check out fares to London or Paris, which can be found for under $700. Pair that with a low-cost airline ticket (sometimes under $200), and you’ve saved yourself a bit of money you can now spend on hotels. Play around with looking for cheap flights to airports around Europe, and if you see an amazing deal, look for cheap flights or train tickets from there to Switzerland. It’s more work, but it could save you hundreds of dollars.

Similarly, you can save money by flying out of an airport other than your typical home airport. Again, let’s say you want to fly from Boston to Zürich in July but flights are outrageously expensive. Check out flights from New York or DC. If they’re significantly cheaper, it could be worth the drive or train ride to one of those cities.

We see flight deals from airports big and small all the time, so it’s often a good idea to check out flights from nearby airports, even if getting there requires a bit more work.

Our favorite times to travel are during shoulder seasons, when prices are cheaper than during busy seasons, yet you still usually get good weather. In Switzerland, that’s April, May, and October. These are beautiful seasons with wildflowers and fall leaves that also have fewer crowds and lower flight and hotel prices than you’ll find in the summer. Off season, from November–March, is an even better time to save money if you’re okay with snowy, cold weather. Thanksgiving week, when most US travelers fly domestically, is usually a great time to save on international travel.

The more flexible you can be with your travel dates the better. Even if you are traveling during summer, you can save by flying on certain days. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays are generally the cheapest days to fly, while Fridays and Sundays are consistently the most expensive.

One of the easiest ways to find cheap flights? Let technology take the wheel. You can set up fare alerts for your travel dates and cities, and you’ll get an email when prices drop into your price range or by a noteworthy amount. If you’re thinking about using the Greek Islands Trick or have flexible departure airports or dates, make sure to set multiple alerts to cover all your bases.

Switzerland is well-served by European airlines, and there are about a dozen US cities offering direct flights to Zürich. Most US visitors can reach Zürich on a nonstop or one-stop flight. From there, you can easily reach smaller cities and towns throughout Switzerland as well, by plane or train.