 Poster: A snowHead
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I am new to this board and am hoping for some advice.
I want to go Ski ing in the February half term with my 12 year old daughter. I am travelling from Newcastle Airport, so thought I could get an EasyJet flight to Geneva Airport.
I had thought about a transfer by train from Geneva Airport to one of the ski resorts, but which one, and how much would this cost.
As this will be our second trip of the season (Vail at New Year) I want to keet the cost down. I also do not want too much aggravation with buses etc, as we will be on our own.
I would welcome any suggestions about which resort to go to mostly in terms of ease of access from Geneva Airport.
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brian
brian
Guest
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lynne123, http://www.sbb.ch/en/ is the Swiss railways site. They do a "Swiss transfer ticket" which gets you a return from any of the Swiss airports to any resort for about 50 quid.
A combination of train and post bus (all beautifully connected in Swiss fashion) will get you to the Swiss Portes du Soleil (Morgins, Champéry), Verbier and the quatre vallées, Zermatt, Saas Fee, Crans Montana, etc.
I don't think train works well towards France but there are scheduled buses, info here http://www.gva.ch/en/transport/tpublics2.asp
Mind you, I reckon you will find the squeeyjet prices way up for Feb half term by now.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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lynne123, I don't think you will get easy access from Geneva by train to any of the French ski resorts. I seem to remember looking at the timetable to get to Chamonix from there and it took over 3 hours and at least 2 changes. It was some years ago so maybe it is easier now. Bus/Coach is a more popular form of transfer medium for France.
However getting to some of the Swiss resorts should be a much easier proposition - trains often go right up into the ski areas and they are always on time.
Other consideration you should take into account is just how busy it is going to be at Half Term. You may struggle to find somewhere to stay after selecting the appropriate transport. I would do the former first, and I am not even doing that this Winter as I have had enough of paying over the odds for packed resorts.
Good luck and welcome to  's
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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brian, Well we managed to almost paint the same picture - I was waiting to be contradicted on the ease of getting to France by train. Swiss resorts may also be a bit quieter than the French at Half Term, depending on when the Swiss School holidays are.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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lynne123, welcome to snowHeads
Travelling by train from Geneva is easy....if you pick the right destination. There is a station in the airport complex, and the Swiss are great with trains!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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lynne123, have you booked your flights to Geneva? If not, they are now £315 return per person leaving on the 18th Feb. If you have any flexibility, it would be much cheaper to fly to Nice and go up to Isola or somewhere like that. That is a fairly easy transfer I think.
Alternatively, you could fly to Paris (again much cheaper) and get a train from there to Bourg St Maurice or Moutiers.
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lynne123, welcome to snowheads, you can travel by train from Geneva airport to France but it's not always very convenient. All trians from the airport go to Geneva city station, you change there to the French side of the station and go through French customs. From there you take atrain to Annecy or Chambery and change to a train going to Bourg St Maurice which will stop at Albertville, Moutiers, Aime, Landry etc where you have to take a bus to the various ski stations. It can take up to 5 hours, but so does the shuttle bus service, the upside is that it's cheap, about 20 Swiss francs and you get to see some nice scenary. The downside is it's slow and could have more than two transfers en-route.
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| Elizabeth B wrote: |
lynne123, welcome to snowHeads :sH:
Travelling by train from Geneva is easy....if you pick the right destination. There is a station in the airport complex, and the Swiss are great with trains! |
Just make sure you don't travel much after 6pm... aim to arrive by 4pm at the latest.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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First of all, I do not have a choice. I must go in Feb half term. I may travel on the Thursday, it is much cheaper.
Davidof.....what happens if the plane arrives at 10pm? Which it does. What problems would I have.
ElizabethB.......which are the best resorts?
Thanks
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lynne123, if you arrive at 10pm you will be unlikely to be out of the airport till 10.30pm at the earliest and possibly not till 11pm that means you are unlikely to be able to travel beyond Geneva that night, on the bright side by travelling the next morning you would be able to get to any resort by midday giving you a huge variety of destinations though you may find that some hotels won't be able to book you in on a Friday, likewise check on your return times as you will need to be able to get to the airport in plenty of time which could mean leaving the resort the night before.
As an alternative you might want to consider going from Newcastle to Southampton and from there to Berne using Flybe, Berne airport is just 2 hours by public transport from the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland with 215km of pistes available to you in the resorts of Wengen, Grindelwald and Murren
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
D G Orf,
As an alternative you might want to consider going from Newcastle to Southampton and from there to Berne using Flybe, Berne airport is just 2 hours by public transport from the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland with 215km of pistes available to you in the resorts of Wengen, Grindelwald and Murren
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Heh heh heh, are you sure you ain't on commission? 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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lynne123, What are your half term dates - they do vary, down here in soft southern Jessie land they are Monday 13th to Friday 17th February.
Good luck
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You know it makes sense.
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D G Orf, to be honest lynne123, would probably be better doing that, cos I couldn't imagine it being as mad as France at half term
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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D G Orf, they are good alternatives.
lynne123, Every major resort can be reached from Geneva airport.The trains are always on time and are so clean its stress free.If you have a few bags i suggest using the swiss baggage system.
Good luck
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Poster: A snowHead
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D G Orf, I've been pondering the idea of replacing your rank of "FreeRider" with "Mr Wengen", what do you think?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ian Hopkinson, I've suggested to admin that I ought to really be a WengenHead 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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omg...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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lynne123,
Welcome to Snowheads.
Besides the train, there are a number of buses that go from Geneva airport directly to many of the nearer French resorts. Probably easier than the train, as no changes. I have used it myself to go to Megeve, and it was so easy. Not sure where you'd find out exactly where they go though - maybe someone else could help out here!
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FAQ
just pointing out alternatives 
