 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
Can anyone recommend me companies who run day trips from Geneva for skiing? I may have family moving to Geneva soon so would be keen to sneak in a day when I am over visiting.
Thanks in advance,
James
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Www.gare-routiere.ch
There's a drop down box in the bottom right corner that will give you the ski bus pdf, and you can check the timetable online too.
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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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Sorry, but why do you need a company? Would it not be easier to jump in a car and head to either the PDS, GM, Chamonix, Evasion etc. etc. All within an hour of Geneva... 
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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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JC - the French places mentioned above are great. But there are also tons of Swiss resorts that you can reach easily by rail - it's a fantastic journey along the banks of Lake Geneva and then up to Chateau D'Oeux, Leysin, Champery etc.
There's a free rail/ski resort map here http://rogerlascellesmaps.co.uk/SkiRail_Product_Information.aspx?area=SkiRail_Product_Information
Geneva's just off the end of the map on the left hand side (by the lake) but you can see all the Swiss resorts pretty clearly.
It's a great part of the Alps - make the most!
Neil Neige
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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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Even quicker would be to tootle off into the jura - for a one dayer, crosets is cool, roughly 30 mins from geneva airport.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks all for the advice, it's much appreciated. Will look into all of these.
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AlpineAddict, normally I'd agree about the premium cost, but looking at the www.gare-routiere.ch link above, it is 70 chf for the bus and lift pass, which considering the lift pass alone would be about 50 chf, it seems decent value. If you drive you'll also have to pay tolls of about 15 chf, plus petrol and sometimes parking, as well as car hire costs too of course.
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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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Neil Neige, sure, but none of them less than an hour away...
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Yep – I can sometimes harp on about the ski buses/gare routiere, but I do actually find it’s good value.
If you have a car, that is definitely quicker and more flexible for nearby French resorts - you can obviously choose any resort, and leave at any time. But you do have to pay for tolls, petrol etc.
However, if you’re reasonably close to the bus station, and you’d otherwise only have one or two people in the car, the cheap price of the ski bus is pretty compelling. They also drop off closer to the actual slopes sometimes than you can park, and if you get off at the final stop (or only stop on some!) you can leave your gear on the bus during the day.
Jura resorts are handy – but only worth doing if you have a car. They’re a bit of a nightmare by public transport, and although much closer to Gva, it’s often quicker to get to the bigger resorts by ski bus than Jura via the local public buses/trains!
The ski trains to swiss resorts are good too, but I haven’t found any that take less than 2 hours from GVA, and you need to find lockers at the other end to leave anything you’re not skiing with (e.g. normal footwear). And unless you have a half-price card, they can be a little expensive… (not sure how a non-swiss resident would get hold of one, and whether it would be worth the cost for the odd train trip).
Personally I’ve only used the ski bus once this season so far though, as I’ve got a few friends willing to get together and share someone’s car. But it was brilliant for us last year. And it’s nice that everyone can relax and have a drink or two on the way home, with someone else worrying about the driving 
Another option if you will be around regularly is to get in touch with one of the local ski clubs organising day trips. I can’t say how welcoming they would be to a non-resident though, as a lot of people get tired with making friends with people who aren’t sticking around – one of the perils of a major expat city.
https://sites.google.com/site/cernskiclub/
http://www.scig.ch/
P.s. sorry about the essay!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Grand Massif, 45 min from airport, les carroz is closest i think
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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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fixx, have you not seen the folks walking home from the bus station in their ski boots?
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fixx, don't apologise for the essay, it's really helpful. Thanks again everyone, looks like I will be spoiled for choice.
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You know it makes sense.
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The ski trains to swiss resorts are good too, but I haven’t found any that take less than 2 hours from GVA, and you need to find lockers at the other end to leave anything you’re not skiing with (e.g. normal footwear). And unless you have a half-price card, they can be a little expensive… (not sure how a non-swiss resident would get hold of one, and whether it would be worth the cost for the odd train trip).
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You could get to Leysin in about 90 minutes from Geneva - it took us an hour from Lausanne on a train then a cog train. Lovely resort big enough for a good day trip. There are lockers at the base station too.
Worth having a look at http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/day-trips/snownrail.html although as noted the half price railcard is what makes it good value.
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