We are having a mixed trip to France and Switzerland that includes attending a wedding in Eastern France and then hiking etc in Switzerland. We are flying in and out of Geneva. We will stay the first night in Geneva, train to the wedding and then return by train to Geneva for one night before we go on to Berner Oberland and then back to Lake Geneva but not planning stay overnight again in Geneva again before our flight out at 10 am. Trying to figure out best plan to store or ship the luggage with the wedding clothes. A few ideas are store at Geneva train station, store at Geneva hotel (although we were planning to stay in Montreux or another town and don't really want to break up our travel plans to stay just one night in Geneva again before flying home), ship home to Chicago from Geneva or something else we haven't considered. Just don't want to drag them around with us. Would be one extra medium suitcase (check in size, not carry on size). Appreciate all thoughts.
Posted by
Green Bay
23336 posts
You can store at Geneva Cornavin station in a locker for up to 96 hours, so that probably will not work for you if your going to the Berner Oberland for any length of time. However, you can leave your luggage at the Travel Center in the station at the same rates as lockers for up to 1 month with a maximum rate of 120 CHF.
https://www.sbb.ch/en/travel-information/stations/services-station/store-luggage/at-sbb-travel-centre.html
It could be a bit of a pain, but I have traveled all over Germany by train with a medium suitcase of formal clothes along with two carry-on size for regular clothes, and we managed just fine. One day we even had 7 train changes.
Posted by
Chicago
4242 posts
I think the Swiss Post still isn’t shipping packages to the U.S., so your best bet would be DHL or FedEx. I recently ordered something from Switzerland, and it shipped via FedEx with no problem.
Posted by
OP
Chicago, IL, USA
679 posts
I found in the meanwhile that SBB offers luggage shipping services within Switzerland, even shipping to the airport Geneva or Zurich to be directly checked into the flight home. Has anyone had experience with such service? Reliable? Any tips to using it? I see there are reservations necessary and some advance time to take into account, for example from Adelboden to Geneva you would have to ship two days in advance, but that might still work for us. Partly we don't want the hassle to carry it through train changes and partly we don't want to be "those people" who have too much stuff and annoy everyone else.
Posted by
Green Bay
23336 posts
If you are heading to Adelboden, you will be riding the Postbus for the last leg. The bus station lists "Check in times for luggage dispatch to Zurich airport", no mention of Geneva airport, but they list a phone number, so you can call and ask.
https://www.sbb.ch/en/travel-information/stations/find-station/station.7851.adelboden-post.html
As far as annoying other people with stuff, it will either you be annoying other people or other people with stuff annoying you. People travel and they have stuff, some more than others. I ride trains and buses in Switzerland when I go skiing and I have stuff in a medium size suitcase. Skiers need stuff. Post buses have luggage storage underneath, and suitcases fit in the luggage racks in the carriage vestibule on trains.