So how much did it cost?

The main costs were:

This, remember is for two. It could have been done more cheaply (see below)

Flights

We flew from Liverpool to Bergamo with Ryanair. The cost of £25.00 per person each way included all taxes (the flights themeselves were advertised as £0.01 and £0.05). It's difficult to see how these prices could have been bettered - the cheapest flights we could find to the other Swiss airports were in the region of £100 each way.

Transfers

Air conditioned coaches run from Bergamo to Milan Centrale station at a price of 14 Euros return per adult. At present exchange rates this is approximately £10.00 each. You can book in advance through Terravision (http://www.terravision.eu/milan_bergamo.html) but there are plenty of opportunities to buy tickets at the airport (competitors vie with each other to entice you aboard their coaches). We decided to spend the night in Bergamo when we arrived and hence we travelled by taxi (15 euros) and train (20 euros).

Hotels

We booked these online either through the RyanAir website or through Booking.com. We had no particular preference for these online booking agencies but when doing Google searches for hotels in particular areas these seemed to come up most frequently. We aimed for rooms around £60.00. Some were cheaper (eg the IBIS at Chur was £50) and some slightly more expensive (eg the San Carlo in Lugano was £68). It would be possible to stick within the £60 ceiling or even find rooms which are cheaper (eg in Lucerne, the local jail has been turned into cheap accommodation). As I went with my 26 year old daughter and we required twin bedded rooms and occasionally booked triple rooms when it was unclear whether twin beds were available. [My wife supplied her with ear plugs to combat my snoring]. As can be expected, triple bedded rooms are more expensive than twins or doubles.

At no time did we encounter any problems with the bookings, apart from one occasion when we were booked into a double room rather than the requested twin bedded room - but this was quickly remedied.

Tickets

We travelled first class throughout (except on some local trains where this was not an option). As indicated in the postings, this proved invaluable in having compartments and sometimes whole coaches to ourselves thus enabling us to leap around taking photos and video without annoying other passengers. Various types of Swiss Pass are available - we opted for the 8-day Swiss Rail Pass which entitled us to unlimited travel on all national railways, buses and steamers. Privately owned railways (eg the Jungfrau Bahn) provide a discount for Swiss Pass holders. Savings could be made by travelling 2nd class (£258 for two 8 day passes). See the Swiss Travel System website for more details.

Advance Bookings

The titled trains (eg Wilhelm Tell Express, Bernina Express, Glacier Express) require advanced booking for a modest fee (no more than £20 each). This must be done in advance by contacting the Swiss Travel Centre in London. It is possible to travel the same routes on scheduled trains using your Swiss Rail Pass and hence this cost would be eliminated. The pre-booked panorama coaches have the disadvantage of non-opening windows which is a nuisance for photography. The advantage is the additional comfort and a commentary.

Insurance

Personally, I would not travel abroad without insurance - but if you are prepared to take the risk, more savings could be made here.

Food

Before I started the holiday I was warned about the high cost of food in Switzerland. True, it's not as cheap as Greece or Spain, but we found it was not substantially different to prices in the UK (which are generally more expensive than US, I believe). On average, a meal for two with wine each evening cost us 100 Swiss Francs which is approximately £40.00. We could easily have eaten more cheaply - eg making our own sandwiches, going to cheaper cafes and restaurants - but we were on holiday!

Overall

Would I do it again? Most definitely! In fact, I am planning next year's visit - this time my wife has decided to come, even though she dislikes travelling and prefers lying on a beach. Having travelled many of the key routes, I intend to spend more time on some of the private railways (eg the Rigi). The Bernina is a must, though! This time I will travel on scheduled services so I can hop off en route and take a few more pictures!