Geneva to Zermatt

A snowHead

Is the train , the best way to transfer from Geneva Airport to Zermatt? If so, any suggestions on whether to book with Swiss Rail or Trainline. Are there flexible options because of flight delays etc.?

A snowHead

Yes, its pretty good way of getting there

Book direct with Swiss rail, Trainline are shysters and will charge a booking fee.

There is a day saver ticket that can be used all day so no issue with late flights. When using the rail website be sure to untick the concession pass, it usually defaults to assuming you have one.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Eddy, As @ster, says it's easy to get a day saver ticket from SBB. The earlier you buy, the cheaper it is and they are on sale from 6 months in advance.

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I've done it a fair few times, if you can pick up a picnic in the Migros on the way to the train it's a spectacularly pleasant way to get there !

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

There is also an off license in the train station. When we used to do this journey, we picked up some baguettes and picnic stuff in the Migros and a couple of beers in the off-license which made the journey all the more pleasant.

We don't do it any more, instead now either get a private transfer or hire a big van. What killed it for us is when they killed the SBB air/train luggage system, which meant you did not have to collect luggage at Geneva and lug it on and off trains and buses. Instead it was delivered to your resort the following morning (sometimes even the same day). We always had at least 2 double SportTubes plus kit for 6 people, so managing all that with small kids would not have been fun. Also the transfer ticket has also been killed, it made 1st class travel easy and relatively affordable with plenty of flexibility. Shame really.

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@Eddy, I took this trip for the first time prior to Christmas, by myself with all my gear, and the train was a breeze and probably the highlight of my ski trip: train station is underneath the terminal so just a lift/escalator, stunning views of the Lake and Sion valley, short walk to change platform at Visp and a beautiful ride to Zermatt. Luggage space was a little tight on the Zermatt train but it all fit (possibly not so much a problem in quieter times of the season). Everything punctual, I used the SBB app and followed the advice above, particularly grabbing drinks and food prior to boarding. The trains had clear digital displays of the journey, as does the app, all announcements multi-lingual including English. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

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Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

After all it is free

Seconding all the advice above. Easy peasy trip. Use the SBB app to buy and show your tickets and do this as soon as the Saver Day Pass goes on sale. And definitely the hardest thing will be space for your luggage - I have no idea why Swiss trains have not enough luggage space.

To see a timetable:
On the SBB Journey Planner set ‘from’ as Genève-Aéroport and ‘to’ as Zermatt, Bahnhof and your travel times.

To see/buy the day pass:
Go to the Saver Day Pass web page. Note that many of the prices shown by default assume a Half Fare Travelcard.

If you open an account, then you can load the tickets onto your SBB app. I’d always download the SBB app anyway, even if you just use it for the timetable and live train schedules.

[Edit] As mentioned below, the CHF 190 annual Half Fare Travelcard isn’t usually worth buying if you’re only doing one outbound/return excursion. But it is worth checking for any pedestrians visiting Zermatt as it can be used on the trains up the mountain. Also if you plan to visit Switzerland multiple times, then it may work out cost-effective (the break-even point is around four-five longer journeys).

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What are you taking? The kitchen sink? Take soft bags that go under the seat or use gaps between seats.

Genius, dumping the kids in the guard's van!

You know it makes sense.

@shep, that ‘family carriage’ is hell on any train going to Bern. I’d pay to sit in the guards carriage Laughing

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Nadenoodlee, Laughing

A snowHead

I recently did Zurich to Zermatt by train. Would think my experience would be the same as the Geneva trip. We had a lot of luggage as we brought with us boots/helmets (but not skis). On the way back we "checked" our larger luggage pieces at the train station in Zermatt. But you have to do this the day before, and prior to 4 pm I believe. They charged 27 francs per piece. We had to get a very early train to make our flight home, and it was helpful to not have to deal with the big pieces in the morning as we left our condo to get to the train, and to not have to lug them around at the transfer at Visp. When we arrived in Zurich airport the office is right there and it took about 10 seconds to get our bags as they had arrived the night before and SBB knew, generally, when we were arriving. They even had them loaded already on carts for us which helped us quickly wheel up to the airline baggage check in. What I don't know is whether or not we could have done this when we arrived in Zurich at the beginning of the trip, because we would not have been able to deliver the bags ahead of time for obvious reasons.

The SBB app is great and it's all you need. For skiers, just buy a day saver pass for each of the two days of travel. As already said, they go on sale 6 months out, and will only get more expensive as you get closer to your trip. But for non-skiers in your party, buy for them first the half fare card. This will give them half price on the day saver pass and half price on all lifts/trains/trams etc up the mountain in Zermatt - the Gornegot, Sunegga, Glacier Paradise, the new one over to Italy, etc. The reason you don't buy the half fare card for skiers is that I don't think it pays for itself for just the train in and out of town. Once in town, skiers will be using only their lift tickets. But run the numbers. I booked all of this fairly close to my trip and it may price out differently for you.

The day saver pass gets you on any train that day. You don't want a ticket only for one particular run. Even if your plane is on time, you may get delayed at passport control or you might just need to get some food or whatever. Also, try to get on a train that has no transfers before Visp.

A snowHead

If you get the I think IR trains that are double decker, you can get skis along the stairs behind the handrail as you go up. Soft bags like those north face duffel rucksacks are much easier than massive plastic shell spinny suitcases as you can get them in the gap between the back to back seats. We tend to do a duffel each, a roller bag for 2 pairs of skis and a boot/helmet bag each and regularly to GVA or ZRH to Visp. It’s much easier than trying to get the same luggage on the UK public transport network.

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Geneva to Zermatt

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