Chamonix Transfer Options
Geneva Airport to Chamonix

About Transfers to Chamonix

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Alternatively, you can hire a car from the airport, take a Chamonix taxi, use a scheduled bus, take a private helicopter transfer or take the train. Don't forget it is worth checking with your accommodation provider to see if they make arrangements for your transportation or if they can arrange it as an 'optional extra'.

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Airport Transfers & Private Taxis from the Airport to Chamonix

There are a number of private companies that offer door-to-door minibus Chamonix transfers from most airports in the region. With all of them you have the option of booking either a private Chamonix transfer where the minibus is booked for your group only, or taking a more economical "shared" minibus, where up to 8 people arriving around the same time travel to resort together. All the drivers will speak English.

Booking in advance is definitely recommended as you cannot guarantee picking up a transfer at the airport and some companies strictly forbid their drivers from doing this. You can do this easily and quickly online from the transfer companies websites. Below are approximate transfer costs comparisons between the various airports and resort:

Prices are approximate and for one-way shared transfers
*Surcharges may apply for transfers to Val Thorens
Click here for a full list of Chamonix transfers

Private Taxis

It is also possible to pick up a private taxi in one of the ranks found immediately outside the airport.  Prices to resort should be negotiated before setting off.  For more than 4 people the cost will obviously be higher for a larger vehicle but probably cheaper per person.  Even though you agree a price beforehand, the driver is obliged to keep the meter running and may not charge more than the price shown (except for surcharges and motorway tolls etc).  Take a look at our taxis page and also enquire about "private" transfer prices from the Airport Shuttle Companies above.

Car Hire from the Airport

Chamonix car hire can be arranged from all the local airports and if there are a few of you travelling together, it is not necessarily an expensive option. It is however, worth checking in advance to see what parking facilities are available at your accommodation as it can be tricky to find a space in town at certain times of the season.

Pre-booking of car hire is highly recommended, and you should also detail any extra requests such as ski racks and baby seats etc, at the time of booking. Try our car hire page for some of the best deals and rental prices at the moment, or for more information on getting to resort by road, take a look at our Driving in France article.

When hiring a car from Geneva airport, you should be aware that you can do so from both the French AND Swiss sides. Renting a car from the French side tends to be cheaper, but it adds an extra 45 minutes on to your journey as the position of the exit means you need to use 'A' roads before you can join the motorway. If you have made a reservation in advance, make sure you know where you should be collecting your vehicle from. This is especially important when it comes to dropping it off at the end of your stay at the French sector is not as straightforward to find and you should allow a little more time for your journey. You can find directions to the French sector here.

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Inter-Resort Transfers

Unless you book a private transfer or have a car, travelling between French ski resorts is generally not very easy. There aren’t regular inter-resort public transport routes meaning that your journey is likely to be time consuming and involve at least one change. Even if it seems that Chamonix is just over the mountain from Val d'Isere, the road over the Col will be closed during the winter because of high snow levels.

In Switzerland, it’s a different story, as the whole country is linked by its impeccably timed rail network, making travelling around almost pleasurable!  You can find the latest train fares and timetables on the SBB Swiss train website. For journeys to or from Verbier, the nearest station to the resort is Le Chable, at the bottom of the valley, from where you must either take the Le Chable gondola to resort or the Post Bus (times also available on the SBB site above).

If you do wish to get from one side of the French Alps to another under your own steam, then there here are a few options to investigate further:

Go via the airport
Whilst this may take you a bit out of your way geographically, going from one resort to another via the airport is not as daft as it sounds.  Airport transfer companies and tour operators run regular transfers to and from the airport (especially at the weekend) and they sometimes have spare seats that you can purchase from them.  Once at the airport, the idea is to co-ordinate with an onward transfer to the resort of your choice – either with the same tour op or transfer company, or by one of the methods already explained above.  As the majority of people travel on Saturday or Sunday, the weekend is your best chance of bagging an inter-resort transfer; mid-week or out of season travel is likely to be complicated and potentially expensive.  You should enquire directly with the operators in resort about availability but they may not be able to confirm your place until the last minute as priority will go to their “package” clients.

Public Transport
You can potentially weave your way across the Alps by the buses and trains, but expect it to take you the best part of the day.  To help you plan your route, we’ve put together a list of the main feeder/connection points for the big resorts.  Use the Altibus (public bus) website or the SNCF Trains website to plan your connections to/from these towns.  From there, expect to take a taxi up to resort, or a public bus.

What its Like Travelling by Bus from Geneva to Chamonix

So you’re travelling on your own or independently of a tour operator and you've already booked your cheap flight from one of the low cost airline carriers but how do you get between your airport and resort?! There are numerous airport transfer options available to independent and single travellers, all of which can be found in the relevant travel/transport sections : Airport Transfer Companies, Rail or Coaches & Buses. An impromptu, last minute trip home in February by one of our intrepid Chamonet.com reporters prompted us to look at the different methods of transport to and from the airport for the single traveller, namely using the public bus, which runs on a regular basis. Not all airport transfer companies run shared shuttles every day, though it is worth checking who does, moreso in resorts a long way from the airports, where short breaks are less of an option.

Here's what our reporter had to say...:

'Being a poor old 'seasonnaire' [someone who works the ski season] and not wanting to spend a fortune on a private taxi from the airport, I was looking for a 'budget' option of getting from the airport to Chamonix. I had not been able to find a friend who was able to come pick me up from the airport and since it was too late to organise an airport transfer with a local private company, I thought I might kill two birds with one stone by doing a spot of research on transfer options whilst taking the public bus/coach service between Geneva and Chamonix. During high season there are regular transfers throughout the day between Geneva's International Airport and Chamonix. Chamonix is a 'proper alpine village' that operates all year round and so this service is available to match that demand, it just becomes less frequent during the inter-season break around May - June and October - November.

My coach was pleasantly spacious, clean and the driver courteous. It was a Saturday afternoon that I was travelling, (the busiest day for most holiday travel) yet I was still surprised at how popular the service seemed to be. There had to be at least some 50 passengers waiting to board the bus with full to bursting snowboard and ski bags similarly pack full with of excitment in anticiaption of the time they were about to spend in Chamonix. It seemed like this service appealed to a variety of people, both young and old; a group of students, single travellers and a few couples were all waiting to board and get involved in some serious skiing and mountain action. Being an experienced traveller on this route - having been a tour operator rep for many years and living in the Chamonix valley for the past couple of these, I knew the route between Geneva and Chamonix well. It's an easy, straight forward drive along the Autoroute Blanche and having ferried friends to and from the airport many a time I knew it took only an hour or so, even on a busy day. My coach transfer left the airport promptly on time but it's route back to Chamonix was by no means direct. It stopped in Geneva city centre for about 10 minutes, at Sallanches train station, Le Fayet train station, Les Houches and Chamonix Sud before finally arriving at the train station in Chamonix two hours later.

Each stop varied in duration but on average 5-10 minutes depending on the number of people (and bags boarding). Our coach was further delayed after being stopped at the Swiss/France border whilst some big burly customs officers and border police got on board asking to see everyone's passports. A few 'suspects' were taken off the coach and then allowed to reboard 5 minutes later so we set off again. There are a couple of payages (toll booths) along the route to Chamonix and I was surprised when we were again stopped by French customs police ('Douanes') at the first of these, near Bonneville, although they will stop any vehicle randomly so perhaps we were just selected this time. Nevertheless, we began to wonder if the Swiss border control phoned ahead?? This time it was more exciting, the sniffer dogs came on board, and sniffed below where the baggage was. It was then that I began to suspect I'd been rumbled....

Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the Alps all year round are; whenever we are heading home, sent back with a shopping list (which can actually be more approriately read as a 'list of demands') for Great British produce that are sadly not readily available in the 'section anglais' within the alpine supermarkets or if they are you find they are extortionally priced. I had stocked up on 'illegal contraband' goodies for mates (ok, mainly for myself!) - bit of finest Scottish mature cheddar, some proper bacon and Tesco's finest pork and apple sausages, to name just a few of the supplies I had picked up for myself and friends whilst at home! Fortunately to my relief, the dog was not interested in these, nor any of the bags and people on board so we were allowed to carry on our journey again. Phew ! We eventually arrived into Chamonix about two hours after our initial departure time from Geneva's International Airport where I was met by friends, delighted that their shopping orders had arrived safely!

I travelled one-way to Chamonix with the local Chamonix public bus company SAT Mont Blanc at a cost of €34.00 (€55.00 return). In fact Altibus is the parent and central reservations company for many of the local bus companies in Savoie and Haute Savoie regions who run regular time-tabled routes, such as Chamonix Bus and SAT Mont-Blanc who operate on the Chamonix Geneva sector.

Booking your transfer is quite straight forward, even easier if your French is up to scratch. There are three options available to you: directly at the airport (risky in case there are no places left), by telephone (how's your lingo?) or online via the web (easy enough but quirky at times, at least 7 days before travel) on the Altibus.com, SAT Mont-Blanc or the Chamonix Bus websites. For non-French speakers the Altibus website can be translated into English by clicking on the British flag at the bottom of the menu options.

You simply need to enter your departure point and arrival airport (or vice versa) then follow the online instructions, although if you think you will book a transfer don't bother with viewing the timetable option (French version only; English version there is only the book option anyway) - if you do find a suitable bus there is no way of booking it from there, you have to enter your details again via the booking link which then gives you the timetable well before you part with any cash anyway!

We have also found at times with the bus sites that sometimes prices and times are not available sufficiently far ahead when you are trying to plan the price of your trip. Unfortunately bus lines are limited by legislation as to their rates and service times which restricts when they can update their site. Their websites, nevertheless, could possibly handle these issues a bit better than they do...

Lastly the sites don't explain how your ticket arrives: essentially your options include ticket in the post to your home (assuming you book in time), a mobile-phone text with a book reference to show the driver on boarding, or a paper copy if you book at the counter. Payment for your transfer can be made by all the usual credit cards methods whichever way you book. If you're making a telephone or online booking, the company will send your tickets to your home within 48hrs.

When I travelled I chose to purchase my ticket at the airport ticket desk about half an hour before the coach was due to depart. As my bus was busy, I can imagine that there are times when the coaches are full and passengers are required to wait for the next available transfer which could be irritating for those in a rush to hit the slopes, so booking ahead is highly recommended.

Overall, the service was a pretty efficient, on time and reasonably cost effective option of getting between Geneva and Chamonix travelling on my own. Whilst there are airport transfer companies that offer a similar service being direct to resort, for less or the same price as the bus, some of these transfer companies have a minimum passenger requirements which can make it a more expensive option for individuals and couples. Nevertheless, shuttle services may also wait for slightly delayed passengers, whereas the bus leaves on time meaning whichever option you take it can end up being much of a muchness in the time to get to resort - you are always better off booking with established and reputable businesses. Car hire is always an option for larger groups, though not always advised for bad weather days and the grief of making your driving responsible for getting you to resort.

Lastly, we strongly advise anybody travelling on this route that it does take longer than you think it will, so always leave plenty of time if you are going in the opposite direction - back to the airport - to get there ahead of time.... (20:20 hindsight is a valuable but often expensive commodity!)'.