 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi everyone, you all seem like a great bunch of informative people, so I hope you can help me.
A group of 11 of us are going to be landing at Geneva Airport mid afternoon and trying to get to Nendaz by public transport. I've not done this transfer before, but I believe the easiest way is initially by train to Sion, right? So from the Airport train station there's a 2 hour direct train to Sion train station, and then I'm not sure what to do after that.
Is there a regular bus service from the train station to Nendaz, and if so where does it leave from and arrrive at?
Would a public taxi be a reasonable alternative?
Or should I book some kind of private transfer from Sion to Nendaz?
Many thanks in advance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Daughter came out to meet us when we were in Nendaz last March. As you say, there is a direct train from Geneva Airport to Sion, then there is a bus service to Nendaz, from outside the station. As far as I can remember though the last bus is something like 6pm, daughter claimed to have missed it so I had to drive down to collect her. It's not too far up the hill, so if the bus is no-go I would have thought shared tazis would OK.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanks RobinS, looks like it's quite a frequent service, and I'm impressed it runs so late. Perhaps your daughter just preferred a pick up from you - if my mum and dad were living in Nendaz, I'd probably ask for the same!
Do you know whether I need to book those tickets in advance, or just turn up and pay the bus driver?
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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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As others have mentioned, train to Sion from the airport is the easiest. From memory you want the one going to Brig. From the station in Sion turn left out of the main doors and head for the post bus station. It is about 100m.
http://www.postbus.ch/ has a searchable timetable. I am not sure whether or not reservation is possible, I just paid the bus driver (9chf or something like that.). You will be presented with the option of Haute Nendaz and Basse Nendaz. Don't get off in Basse Nendaz. If it is dark, there will be a red navigation light on the hill somewhere, when you are level with this, you are in roughly the right place.
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bum, Only visiting Nendaz unfortunately - daughter flew out a couple of days after we drove, as she had to work the weekend - after cadging a lift to Stansted, flying to Geneva, then train to Sion I am sure the idea of a free lift was more attractive than looking a bus  I think from what we saw the bus is just the standard local get on and pay thing.
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Don't know what the pricess are but the Swiss transfer ticket will include the bus on from the station. You can also buy a return ticket from the airport to the resort which will include the post bus.
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brian
brian
Guest
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The Swiss Railway timetable is fully bus/train/ferry/mountain goat aware. Just put Geneva airport and Nendaz in the boxes:
http://www.sbb.ch/en
and you can buy an integrated ticket for the journey. Or a Swiss transfer ticket would do it, but I think a standard return fare will be cheaper than the STT unless you're travelling with under 16s. If you are travelling with under 16s then they go free on the STT but you have to buy it before you travel to Switzerland, eg.
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/index.php?system=GB
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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bum, how long are you going for? If it's a short trip it may be cheaper (and will be quicker) hiring a VW "A-Team" van from Europcar than train. Although it's only for 9 so you might have to put a couple on the train anyway. That's what we did for a 3 day trip to Chamonix last year and it was great. Transport is very handy in Chamonix although perhaps less so in Nendaz which would reduce the benefit. It would be miles cheaper than private transfer/taxi which would be horrific from GVA to Nendaz.
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out of interest how much is the train to Sion from gva?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Whenever I've looked at this I've concluded that car hire is the cheapest (and quickest) option... However, if you want to take the train the cheapest way to do it was to buy the Swiss Transfer Ticket from the UK (£75 return) which included the postbus from Sion to Nendaz
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/produkttexte.php?passid=3
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brian
brian
Guest
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2nd class return GVA->Haute Nendaz is 116.40 CHF = £68 You can buy online from sbb.ch and print out your own ticket.
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so still cheaper than carhire if there's only two of you I guess. How long would the drive be, compared to the 2 hours on the train?
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You know it makes sense.
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davejsy, probably longer than 2 hours to get to resort, Overall it's probably similar to the train/bus combination.
I'd imagine with 11 (as in the OP) it would definitely be cheaper to hire a couple of cars but for 2 definitely better by public transport. Everyone who has stayed with us so far this season has used the train with no bother at all.
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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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davejsy, IMHO driving is at least 25% quicker then the train - takes us just over 1h45mins to get to resort from GVA. Train takes 2 hrs to Sion plus then there is (potential) wait for bus etc...
Over New Year we drove from GVA while our friends decided to take the train (arrived in GVA on the same flight etc) - as the bus to Nendaz left from Sion a few minutes before their train arrived they had to wait for the next one etc, etc. We were in our apartment at least an hour before they arrived.
Another point to consider is that if you are not staying immediately next to the tourist office/telecabin, then you still need to get to your accomodation once you arrive - obviously not an issue if you have a car...
If you do decide to drive, watch out for the speed cameras in the Canton of Vaud (nearer Geneva)  .
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Poster: A snowHead
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bum, Hope that you have booked an apartment close to the main gondola as the resort is quite spread out. In the village there is a local bus service free with the skipass which makes it easier if you have an apartment not so close to the main gondola. All in all Nendaz is a great resort for the Verbier area where one day you ski to Verbier or on next day travel over to Veysonnaz for a bash at the "Bear Run"
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks all for the great info all. I had thought about driving, but with 11 of us, I'd need 2 MPVs. And although driving is probably cheaper, it adds to the hassle of finding directions to an unfamiliar place in the dark, putting on snow chains etc. I figured train+bus would be a more stress-free start to the holiday.
I'm there for one week, staying in an apartment at the Chalet Anemone by Interhome, which looking at the village map, isn't too far from either the telecabine or the post office stop.
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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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Hi Bum I have had a look at the Interhome site and have found apts Anemone. If you are staying there it is very convenient for the Neige Aventure ski shop where you can rent skis and book ski lessons. Personally I reckon it is a better bet than the local ESF. It's about 10 mins uphill to the telecabine but you have a supermarket close by for shopping. So you should be fine. If you need any more come back to me as I have been going to Nendaz off and on for the last 20 years!!
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Thanks David for the info. Yes, I found the Neige Aventure nearby on the map too, good to know that I'm reading the map properly! And thanks for telling me it's an uphill walk to the telecabine, something the map doesn't show well. I guess I'll be hiring a locker at the telecabine station then!
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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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bum, There is a locker area that can book at the ski shop on the corner by the telecabine car park. The shop is Mariethoz Sports and most of the folks speak English there OK. Have a great time. Me I am off to Canada for 3 weeks on Wednesday but hopefully I'll back in Nendaz next year 
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Sorry to jump in on same post but we have the same kind of issue. There are six of us travelling out with two coming back on wednesday and four coming back on saturday. The two are using the train but the other four are undecided yet. We are right next to the telecabine so that is no issues. We are thinking a car might be better for us getting around the other resorts and would welcome some thought (david poss?)
Is it easy/possible to get to veysonnaz without the aid of a car?
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