Best Transportation Option for Geneva airport to Chamonix

There are many bus/van transport companies from GVA to Chamonix.

Chamonix to Luzern train route maximizing scenery would be Chamomix-Vallorcine-Martigny-Montreux-Zweisimmen-Interlaken Ost-Luzern. It will take 8 1/2 hours and at least 4 train changes.

To see this using the SBB route planner: https://www.sbb.ch/en/buying/pages/fahrplan/fahrplan.xhtml
you will need to click on the "advanced search" button and put via "Montreux", "Zweisimmen", and "Interlaken Ost".

I cannot answer for summer transportation from Geneva Airport to Chamonix. In winter, there are several shuttle companies, so I would start looking there, but I am sure someone will come with specific info.

For the train from Chamonix to Lucerne, I would combine:

• Mont Blanc Express to Martigny (Quick change of trains in Vallorcine, across a platform)
• Martigny to Montreux
• Golden Pass railway to Interlaken (some direct, some with change in Zweisimmen)
• direct Interlaken-Luzern train

It will take most of the day, but it will be very scenic.
If the total travel time is too long for you: instead of Montreux, continue to Lausanne, then to Bern, then to Luzern via Langnau through the Emmental (not via Olten). It's a less mountainous route but still quite scenic.

My daughter and I took the Chamexpress shuttle from Geneva Airport to Chamonix.
This was the best option for us and also very convenient door to door service.
This was back in May 2016 but it looks like Chamexpress is still available.

Enjoy your time in beautiful Chamonix!

Edited to add…
Forgot to add that our Chamexpress shuttle driver recommended these places and we enjoyed our meals there very much.

• MBC Brasserie for a good burger & fries.
• Restaurant Le Caveau - a unique restaurant built in a cave (down some stairs) serving good pizza and local cuisine.
• There’s also a great bakery, Le Fournil Chamoniard, near the Aiguille du Midi tram station (204 Av. de l'Aiguille du Midi) where you’ll find delicious pastries, quiches and sandwiches. Enjoy!

My family (4 adults) opted for a private transfer from Chamonix to Geneva in December 2021. There were enough of us that the cost difference was negligible compared to dealing with an inconvenient train route with full bags at the end of the trip. We used Chamonix Valley Transfers, paid 185 euros and it was refundable up to a short time before the transfer. Easy peasy.

AlpyBus is an option for Geneva Airport - Chamonix (and other spots in the Alps), year round. As far as I could tell, all their employees are English.

You can take the train from GVA to Chamonix, there will be multiple changes of trains
enroute as the track gets narrower and you move into the mountains. It's slower but
more scenic and potentially less expensive. There are a few train stations in Chamonix
that you can get off at depending on your final destination.

There are private coach services that will go from GVA to Chamonix. Advantage is low
cost, reasonable time, and no connections enroute. But you will get dropped off at the
Chamonix Sud bus station and have to make your way from there on your own.

Chamonix bus shuttles

As noted, there are many private shuttle companies. It will be very pricey if you want a
shuttle all to yourself, but a shared shuttle may be less so. Advantage is that it will drop
you off at your hotel/lodging. Use findtransfers.com and input your parameters.

Note that winter season has just started and none of these options will actually be bookable
until springtime.

I'm not 100% certain, but my guess is that the efficient way to get from Chamonix to Lucerne
is to go back to Geneva and from there train it to Lucerne. Another option would be to go
to Annecy (train or bus from Chamonix), which is worth a couple of days, then train up to
Thonon-les-Bains, ferry across the lake to Lausanne, and train from Lausanne to Lucerne.

I'm not 100% certain, but my guess is that the efficient way to get from Chamonix to Lucerne
is to go back to Geneva and from there train it to Lucerne

Nope, the route balso and I described will get you to Luzern by the most scenic route. Since the OP stated "prioritize scenery vs time", we discounted the "efficient way", which would be to go from Martigny to Visp, then Bern, then Luzern. That way uses the Loetschberg Base Tunnel (not scenic) and the Bahnstrecke 2000 highspeed rail line toward Zurich before cutting south to Luzern, also not that scenic.