Late night transfer from GVA

A snowHead

Hello.. me again.

I’m scoping a trip with my eldest now for a few weeks time.

I can get a flight to Gva but it lands at 22.00 on Wednesday. This would be a very short ski trip - 3 days fly back on a late flight Saturday.

What are my chances of getting to somewhere chamonix valley/megeve/Morzine at that time of night by a transfer? A quick google wasn’t encouraging.

I suppose I could wait until the morning and try one then but that’s going to eat into my day of skiing which I’d rather not.

Is the only other option to hire a car? I’m a bit apprehensive about doing that. I have no knowledge of chains /winter tyres any of that stuff. Sad

I’m familiar with the road to chamonix which I don’t think is that much of a big deal to drive up (is it? Laughing

) it’s more the winter prep bit I guess - perhaps my few times up that way I’ve been (un)lucky with no snow on the road.

Any other suggestions?

A snowHead

How about a cheap hotel near the airport and then the first train out to somewhere like Verbier?

05:11 Departs GVA and arrives in central Verbier at 07:57 (2h48m) with regular trains subsequently. Change at Martigny for the shuttle train to Le Chable, and then the gondola up to the Médran station in the centre of the town. There is a hostel in the Le Chable train station / gondola building, so in theory you could drop your bags off there, it’s the Mt.Fort Swiss Lodge. If you fancy something a bit more comfortable, then you actually have time before the lifts open to get to a hotel, drop off your bags and change.

Taxis should be available for your arrival time but they’re going to be very pricey.

See the SBB website for trains from ‘Genève-Aéroport’ here.

There is a last train to Martigny at 22:40 but I’d say 40 minutes from landing, deplaning, get through immigration, baggage pickup and down to the GVA railway station is very tight. I have actually done it that fast with 10 mins to spare, but it’s also taken me well over an hour and a half.

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@v1cky24, if it's "in a few weeks time" it'll be in the middle of the French school holidays - not ideal, and apart from the crowds will limit your accommodation options. Arriving very late, maybe after midnight, will increase the problems too.

However - transport should be the least of your problems. You could rent a car (Swiss side of Geneva airport it will have winter tyres). And book a hotel in Sallanches (there are several right by the main road, including an IBIS budget) then drive up to Chamonix, or Megeve (for example) first thing on Thursday, with accommodation booked from Thursday night.

It would be rare to need chains for either Cham or Megeve if you have winter tyres. In the event heavy snow is forecast get your eldest to watch some you tube videos on mounting snow chains. It's not rocket science.

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@v1cky24, Chamonix is motorway/dual carriageway to the entrance of resort. Then what @Origen, types, or indeed, @LaForet.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Origen, 5th march I'm looking at.

Hopefully miss most of busy school holiday weeks? There appears to be an abundance of accommodations available in those places mentioned so i wasn’t too worried about that side of it. I was worried about the ‘access’ part of accommodations mind you. Everywhere I’ve been the places typically have a very narrow window of time where the reception is open to check in Shocked

how does arriving at midnight work? Will it not work at all??

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@LaForet, thanks for this. Hadn’t considered verbier as an option - I return 9pm on Saturday so I’d want Saturday skiing also.

I’m not familiar with over that side so I’ll go and have a look now see if I can make that one work!

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@v1cky24,
Coach/shared private road tranfsfer? Or train transfer?
If a private road transfer had a late drop off at Geneva they may be OK to hang around & take you, rather than return empty?
Last of French schools back on Monday 10th.
Late check in - you can only ask the provider of the accommodation.

After all it is free

Also a vote for Verbier/4Vs. Could even go cheaper and stay in Nendaz or Veysonnaz which benefits from a direct train from GVA to Sion with linked up postbuses. Lad 2 and I did this in December 21 (see sig). We were eating dinner at the hotel 4 hours after wheels down and got a solid half day of skiing in on our departure day (our flight left GVA at ~1930).

@Dyrlac, @LaForet, if I head up this way, and stay somewhere close to where I can get off the train (any suggestion? Nendaz?) how accessible is the skiing? Will this likely be a series of bus journey like chamonix/long gondola up mountain etc

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Is there an abundance of accommodation for your specific time slot? Few will accommodate very late check in. might do early next morning though not to be relied upon without checking). Easier than skiing from the car.

If you check out early Saturday without having your own wheels you'll need somewhere to leave your bags, and change. Many reasons for having a rental car.

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@v1cky24, As @Dyrlac, has indicated, Nendaz works quite well.

Village is at 1350 mtrs altitude with skiing directly back into centre and gondola up from there. If staying in village it's not a schlepping trip from valley floor.

Whether you'd get to there on public transit late, not sure.

But, it's Sion train station and scheduled post bus up from there. Quite a bit of commercial infrastructure in Sion and possibly a business type hotel room for late arrival there, to travel up next morning as it's not far to Nendaz. With accommodation there for your stay.

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The upside of Verbier is that public transport connections are excellent, so you don’t have to worry too much about flight times synchronising with your arrival/departure. Indeed, I’d say it’s actually easier to do Verbier on the train as opposed hiring a car, as parking is limited and expensive. Unless you’re carrying a tonne of equipment, perhaps. The lift up from Le Chable runs ‘till 11pm and starts 7am.

But the downside is Verbier is it’s relatively expensive compared to its satellites like La Tzoumaz and Nendaz. Although some SnowHeads have stayed down in Le Chable, which is also cheaper. I’m typing this from an apartment in La Tzoumaz, but outbound, I was hanging around in Martigny for a couple of hours because of a gap in the connections and didn’t get here ‘till 5pm after an 08:10 flight out of Gatwick. If I’d been going to Verbier, I’d have saved that time plus a bit.

So the downside of La Tzoumaz and Nendaz is that you have to plan public transport transfers more carefully. There are fewer bus connections and often a gap in the middle of the day. So you may find that hiring a car is logistically better for these locations. But then if you are fixed with an out-of-hours arrival/departure at GVA, so to speak, car rental desks may not be open.

The SBB journey planner is very good and the timetable fully integrates trains, télépheriques and PostBuses. So you sort of have to play around with that to see if various options work for you.

You’d probably go for a Saver Day Pass train ticket. This is cheaper the further in advance you book it and allows you to use Public transport at any time, anywhere on the day of the ticket. It starts at CHF 52 adult and gets more expensive the nearer you book to the day of travel.

You know it makes sense.

I’ve managed before on a short trip. But the check in bit was in the afternoon. What happens if you arrive late? I suppose I’ll have to work out which one I’m choosing Laughing

The car would be the most convenient as you say @Origen,

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

What Bob said ^^^

As I implied, I’d always prefer to get a Swiss train than the car rental thing then drive, if I could. It isn’t Southern Rail.

There are a load of budget hotels by the railway station in Martigny. Worst case scenario is that you arrive so delayed into GVA that you opt to stay in an airport hotel, then continue first thing the next morning from Geneva.

A snowHead

A snowHead

@BobinCH, well this appeals.. late night wine and cheese on a train Laughing

You wonderful people helping me with such detailed advice! I really appreciate it. This will be a mother daughter trip and daughter is only 12 so minimal walking carrying stuff is needed (we overlook this when we are with 6’5 daddy who carries everything )

So if I did that last train out thing to martigny we could be in somewhere able to ski and drop bags in the morning for close to the lifts opening time?

Let me guess the lift pass and rental skis are reet expensive here ? Laughing

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@v1cky24, you can probably pick up some nice snacks and wine in duty free on arrival. The Swiss like 500ml bottles which is handy if it’s your own personal bottle wink

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

With a 12yo and if your preference is for the lowest risk option, I’d probably go for an airport hotel on arrival at GVA, then the train around Lake Geneva in the morning, when you can see more. You’ll pass right by the iconic Château Chillon and be able to see all the Alpine peaks (given the weather allows, of course). I’m just thinking that by 10:30 at night the young one will be pretty tired, plus it’s a shame to miss the views out the train window. But you’ll know best how your companion will cope.

The risk with the GVA then straight to Martigny option is if your ‘plane is delayed, which to me seems a possibility at the end of the day. If it is and you miss the connection, then you’ll have to find a hotel around GVA at the last minute. And if you have bought a Saver Day Pass, then you have lost the use of the ticket, which is date-specific, and have to get a standard rail ticket the next morning.

Conversely, the risk with the overnight at GVA option is that you could have made the connection, and the next morning you’re 2-1/2 to three hours behind where you’d have been if you had stayed over in Martigny the previous night.

It’s finely-balanced, but perhaps if you do go for the land-then-train-to-Martigny option then you might research some airport hotels so in the event you have to, you know which to contact for a room. You might also check with the GVA website to see if any of the accommodation bureaux at the airport would be open then - if so, then it’d be fairly easy to find somewhere.

In either event, it’s usually possible by arrangement with the hotel to turn up before checkin time and use the facilities to change, and then leave your bags. Then check in properly when you return from skiing. Similarly, most hotels will let you checkout in the morning, but you leave your luggage, and then collect it later in the day after skiing, and change and be in your way.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@LaForet makes a good point. The train journey around the lake is absolutely stunning.

When I was last in the 4Vs, lift passes and rentals were a little more expensive than, say, the 3Vs, but not outrageously so. Looking on line, equivalent adult day lift passes are €79 or CHF79 and I think the 4Vs have a much bigger child discount.

To toot my own horn, there is a tonne of info in my 4Vs TR in my sig, including views on specific pistes etc. and helpful contributions from others (several of whom have weighed in here).

After all it is free

I have used ski-lifts to get a shared transfer to Avoriaz for a flight landing at 22:05…. They would drop off in les gets and Morzine too. Another option for you.

@AvoAndi, thanks! Helpful to know.

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Balls to it. I’ve booked the flights.. will sort out rest of details later! YOLO Twisted Evil

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@v1cky24,
Checking in late shouldnt be an issue anywhere, its part and parcel of renting out accommodation. If you let them know in advance arrangements will be made, usually a key in an envelope with your name on it taped somewhere

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@v1cky24,
Always the best trips Very Happy

You know it makes sense.

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

Thanks all. I’m quite excited - I had thought we’d end up somewhere we’ve been before tbh. Always up for trying new places. It will be a backpacking ski trip undoubtedly!

I spent most of yesterday looking. I think le chable looks like the most reasonably priced option.. I don’t want to be bankrupting myself on this one.

And I do love a train!

I’ll probably have more questions…

A snowHead

@BobinCH, @LaForet, these lockers I can hire on the lift pass site - do you know anything about them?
Laughing

A snowHead

The Medran lockers are great, quite big - i can get a full pack x 2 and helmets etc in one locker. You can also leave skis and boots there as well if you book that. If you stay down in Le Chable it makes most sense. Once you've booked you get a barcode, when you get to Medran go to the little shop bit beside the cafe inside where the ski storage is and they will sort it for you, you put one sticker on your skis and one on your boots and your lft pass opens the locker so get your lift pass ebforehand although if you've come up then you probably already have it.

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@v1cky24, not sure that anyone has mentioned this, as it's not specifically about transfers, but if you choose to stay in Le Chable, the lift up to Verbier is classed like public transport, so it runs until late in the evening. I think around midnight but @BobinCH can confirm.

This means you can stay down in Le Chable but still spend the evening in Verbier for food/drinks. As you'll be with your 12 year old, you won't need the Verbier late nightlift, so it's definitely worth thinking about staying down in Le Chable.

The gondola up to Verbier is just a 10/15min ride, and if your hotel is near to the gondola station, then it's not going to take you much longer to get up to the Medran lift than it would walking from some parts of Verbier.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@ski3, when you say severe? We can ski... I like to stick to pistes. Ski all reds, most blacks, unless particularly poor conditions.

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Re the Téléverbier lockers - If you’re able to go to the office when they’re open, then it’s not going to be an issue. But I’ve had a load of trouble with these in the La Tzoumaz station when we’ve wanted to drop off our equipment 5-6pm as we drove past on arrival. We could only get the locker number and code in person, from the ticket office, which closes at 16:00. Back in 2023 I got this information emailed back to me when I did the online booking, but the last two years they seem to have dropped this and it’s all oddly manual. Whether this is true for the Médran equivalents I don’t know, but I’d only book online if they confirmed in advance that I received the locker location, number and code as a text/email, straight away.

Checking on the SBB site, the Le Chable > Médran link runs from 06:58 and the last lift down is at 00:45 - but check on SBB for the dates you plan to be there, just to be sure. It’s thus entirely feasible to go back down to Le Chable late afternoon, shower and change, and go back up for an evening in Verbier. Or just clomp around after skiing and go down later in the evening.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Time for The Map!

This is topographically accurate but explicitly NOT meant as a substitute for the official piste map. But it does show accurately the actual layout of the 4 Valleys ski area. The exception is the Bruson zone which is accessed via the Le Chable station and is on the opposite side of the valley. All the pistes and runs shown are properly located but again, only indicative - there’s nothing on the map showing the severity or ease of any particular run or slope. You have to look to the piste map for that sort of detail.

For anyone who is comfortable on reds and perhaps does blacks only if necessary, and stays on piste, then the main run I’d warn about in the Verbier Zone is the Chassoure mogul field (from above Lac des Vaux down towards Tortin) and perhaps the initial part of the run from the Col des Gentianes to the Cabin du Mt.Fort, which is a pretty steep red (albeit it does have small ‘bypass’ segments on the way down). I’d always suggest traversing Chassoure in the gondola to take a look first, because once you enter it there’s no alternative and the moguls go on and on forever.

Edit: and yes, the Mt.Fort glacier is challenging, but you will get to see it and can make a judgement as you traverse it on the gondola up from the Col des Gentianes. Trouble with Chassoure is you might embark on it without having first seen it.

We generally don’t go any further away from Verbier than Combatzeline above Siviez and Plan du Feu ditto (i.e. within Sector 2). The Savoleyres Sector is a nice intermediate and capable blue zone, north-facing in the main, and can be quieter than Verbier if the latter is busy.

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So just to check before I book - le chable is the easiest bit to access here for 4V fromGVA? I think this is probably the most important bit of the trip. I want to maximise ski time. The suggestions above with the overnight in martigny is winning favour at the moment. JUst the logistics with bags ski hire on the thursday morning to consider.

Help!!

Late night transfer from GVA

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