Geneva to Chamonix

We rented a car from Sixt, picked up in Geneva, went to Chamonix and other places, and dropped the car off in Zurich. We had a very good experience, both with Sixt and driving in general. We had a lot of flexibility by having a car.

hugh,

This is probably the easiest way to travel from the airport in Geneva to Chamonix.....

http://www.chamonix-valley-transfers.co.uk/

It is possible to travel by rail, but that will likely take longer. I will also be making that trip later this year, and prefer the transfer option as it's the easiest and cheapest. While a rental car is also possible, that involves dealing with parking costs, fuel, CDW and other "annoyances". A car would be as useful as a boat anchor for me, and not the most cost effective for a solo traveller. It would sit in the lot attracting dust and parking charges while I'm touring.

Thanks so much for information on the transfer from Geneva to Chamonix. Is there a way to transfer from Chamonix to Lausanne or would you have to transfer back to Geneva from Chamonix and then take the train to Lausanne?

Thanks.

Hugh

Hugh.

We are in Chamonix now. It is definitely worth it! You can even take the lift over to Italy in a 360 degree view. If you can make the logistics work, I think that you will be very happy that you made the trip.

Chamonix to Lausanne can be done by taking the train to Martigny, then changing to a train to Lausanne.

As Sam says , you can take the train to Lausanne via Martigny . That is the Mont Blanc Express and travels high above the Trient Gorge with jaw-dropping views , one of the world's great rail trips . look here - http://www.mont-blanc-express.com/cms

Hugh,

I was planning to use the train that Sam mentioned. I believe there are two changes at Vallorcine and Martigny on the trip to Lausanne, and travel time is 2H:46M.

AFAIK, although it's possible to take the rotating cable cars on the Panoramic Mont Blanc to Hellbronner, the link from there down to Italy is out of service for renovations this year.

From Geneva Aeroport to Chamonix, the public bus runs 3-4x/day and is only slightly cheaper than other shared shuttles: http://www.sat-montblanc.com/img/os_document/173_chamonix_le_fayet_sallanches_geneve_centreaeroport_27062015_30082015.pdf.

For departing Chamonix and getting schedules on DB or SBB web site, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc is the name of the main train station.

The chapter in Rick's France book devotes about 30 pages to Chamonix. It's also the starting point of our recently popular My Way Alpine tour.

" Chamonix-Mont-Blanc is the name of the train station, versus Chamonix Aiguille Midi is at the top of the mountain lift system. " Sorry , not so . The Aiguille du Midi station is the stop on the line of the Mont Blanc Express about 600 meters west of the main station , one block north of the river , just off the Avenue de L'Aiguille du Midi . This stop is convenient to the hotels west of the center .

Thanks, Steven, for correcting my earlier statement.

Laura , glad to be of help !

I really enjoyed my visit to Chamonix. I did the balcony walk and it nearly did me in as I wasn't fit enough, but it was the highlight of my trip! I am so happy that I did it before I hurt my knee. The day after I took the train to Martigny. I did this because I wasn't up to walking and it was a scenic train ride. I had lunch in Martigny and then came back to Chamonix. I had some great meals there as well.

Pam

AFAIK, although it's possible to take the rotating cable cars on the Panoramic Mont Blanc to Hellbronner, the link from there down to Italy is out of service for renovations this year.

It opened a few weeks ago. The small cable cars over the glacier from Aguille du Midi don't rotate; the bigger cars from Hellbronner down to Courmayeur do so.

The Italian PM caused a bit of controversy at the grand opening by reiterating Italy's stance that Punta Hellbronner and Mont Blanc are on the Italian/French border; France considers them to be both solely inside France.