How To See The Matterhorn In Switzerland If You’re On A Budget

UPDATED MAR 2020. I don’t usually do budget guides, because I wouldn’t say that I’m a budget traveler. I’m more of a budget live-er and then I like to put more money into my travels. My visit to see the Matterhorn though was a very spontaneous one, booked only a couple of days beforehand, and as such needed to be a little more budget-friendly. It’s a pretty expensive area so keeping the spending low can be a little tricky, but it is possible. Here’s my guide on how to see the Matterhorn if you’re on a bit of a budget.

How To See The Matterhorn In Switzerland If You’re On A Budget

Disclaimer

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Accommodation

When you’re going to see the Matterhorn, you’re going to start from Zermatt but… it can be a bit more expensive to base yourself from there and a bit more crowded.

Here’s the thing

Zermatt is car-free. If you’re driving, you’re going to need to leave your car elsewhere.

Most people leave their cars at the garage in Täsch and take the train to Zermatt.

Täsch is the last station before Zermatt. Instead of paying for a car garage, the train, and higher accommodation prices – here’s what I did.

So this is where I stayed

Since Täsch was the last train stop, I chose to stay there and found a cozy studio across from the train station. I did this on a hunch slash whim because I wanted to be away from the crowds and save a little money. It ended up being a great choice!

I think you probably couldn’t go wrong with accommodation there, but I chose Haus Aruna.

It is a small studio with everything you need – a kitchen, bathroom, comfy pillows, free parking space, and even a TV (like I said, I live poor and don’t own a TV, anytime I stay somewhere with one it’s a luxury!)

The Wi-Fi was a little slow at times but as long as you’re not streaming Netflix, you should be ok.

View from the studio

Since this was a bit of a spontaneous trip, I was more budget conscious and having the kitchen really helped in this area. I brought some snacks from home and got some extra supplies from the supermarket across the road from the studio for meals.

It was just a short walk to the train station and I took the train to Zermatt each day to look around before coming back to cozy up in the quiet village.

If you want to save a little money and stay in a quiet village, Täsch is a great choice.

How to see the Matterhorn

Most of the guides I read suggested getting the train to Gornergrat but that was a $100 train ride in the off-season! Definitely a little more than what I wanted to spend, so here’s what I did.

Day one

I hiked the Matterhorn Trail.

It took about 6 hours (with a lot of stops to take photos).

You are going to have views of the Matterhorn at most stages of the hike, so you can really go as far as you want and turn around when you feel like it. I went for ages because it was fun and a nice active day.

There were a couple of steep sections that were easy to walk up as far as footing goes but they were just tiring at altitude. Skill-wise, it was easy. Endurance wise, a bit of a workout.

It was a cloudy day the day I hiked, so the Matterhorn was hidden from me on this day but here are a few photos from the hike.

After the hike, I picked up a snack and went back to the studio to rest the old legs.

Day two

Took the train to Zermatt and a cable car to get higher up the mountain. Cable cars are cheaper than taking the train.

I got a return trip to Trockener Steg for $50. Since I hiked around the day before and didn’t spend any money aside from a snack, this was my biggest expense.

This stop was mostly set up for skiers and snowboarders but it was a good spot to be able to get up close to the Matterhorn, walk around the top to see the mountain views, take a cool photo, and stop for a hot chocolate after.

I stopped at Furi on the way back down and walked around there for a little bit before going back down to Zermatt.

I was originally planning to go to a different (and cheaper) spot but a couple of the lines were closed that day because of strong winds.

There are cheaper stations and you can check the weather conditions to see which are open here.

Here are some photos from the day.

After the mountains, I walked around Zermatt to look at some of the shops and then went back to the studio.

There was also this hike which I considered doing but really didn’t want to pay the 5 bucks to hike since there’s so much free hiking around Zermatt so I didn’t go.

Other guides to help you plan adventures in Switzerland

• Things To Do In Lauterbrunnen And How To Plan A Weekend Visit

• The Descent Of The Alpine Cows Festival – A Weekend In Blatten

• Solo Female Travel In Lucerne And How To Spend A Weekend There

I hope this helps provide some tips on how to see the Matterhorn without spending a fortune. It’s definitely possible to go there, enjoy a full weekend and not blow your budget out of the water.

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