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Train from Geneva Airport to Basel

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Going to Switzerland In late August, and got a deal on a direct flight to Geneva, but need to get from there to Basel. Looking at the SBB website, there are no direct trains from Geneva Airport to Basel. I did find 2 routes with only 1 change (most involve 2 changes). One route involves a transfer at Runens VD station and the other route involves a transfer at Bern station. The time between arrival and departure is incredibly short on both routes, and looking at the station map provided by SBB it looks like a hike to get to the departure platform in both cases. Has anyone had experience with this? Is it doable for someone older? If so, which station would be better to make a transfer at? Would it be feasible / advisable to book the Geneva Airport to Runens leg and the Runens to Basel leg separately and take a little break at Runens station?

Also what’s it like getting to the Geneva Airport Train Station after you arrive on a flight from the US? How much time should I allow to get through customs, take a bathroom break and get to the train? Unfortunately, we don’t have any choice but to check one bag on our flight - not the way I like to travel ordinarily, so we will also need time to collect our bag (ugh).

Posted by
12173 posts

There are trains twice per hour from GVA to Basel via Bern. No need to buy a ticket in advance. You buy a ticket for a route, not necessarily a specific time, so wait until you are on the ground take your break and get your luggage, then buy your ticket either at a ticket window, on the SBB app, or at a machine. If the 7 or 8 minute time to change trains is too short, take a break at Bern and wait for the following train. While it may be tempting to commit to a specific train in advance and even get reserved seats, stay flexible and travel as most of the Swiss do, as I have described above.

Posted by
3641 posts

The transfers are not "incredibly short". They are marvellously efficient. You need to embrace the Swiss way, and see these short transfers as a good thing. In fact. Swiss will complain if they need to wait more than 10 minutes for their next train. Recently on the SBB community forum there was a request that SBB would allow people to set even shorter minimum transfer times, as some 3 minutes transfers in Zurich HB are normally not shown by the planner.

Normal train tickets are fully flexible, and allow you to make one trip from origin to destaintion via any route shown on your ticket, by any trains serving those routes. SBB also sells discounted tickets, but these are not flexible, and thus not a good idea when arriving by air.

The best solution for you is to buy a "Saver Day Pass". That gives you unlimited travel in all of Switzerland. The further in advance you buy this, the cheaper it will be. They go on sale 6 months before travel, so make a date 6 months before your flight on your calendar and on that day go to https://www.sbb.ch/en/offers/saver-day-pass

Do create an account on the site first though.

Posted by
9 posts

Thanks for the info on the Saver Pass. I was happy to find out from a previous reply that we would have the flexibility to purchase tickets on the go and to take a later train in Bern if we miss the connection there. We have a member of our party who is recovering from a badly shattered kneecap and surgery to put it back together with hardware after a fall down ice-covered steps over the holidays. It will take her every bit of the time between now and our trip in August to recover fully-she is normally very fit and a trooper, but I wouldn’t want her to possibly ruin her trip right at the start by making her rush for a train with luggage

Posted by
4006 posts

I was happy to find out from a previous reply that we would have the
flexibility to purchase tickets on the go and to take a later train in
Bern if we miss the connection there.

I wasn’t sure if you were clear that you just need to buy one ticket. There is no need to buy multiple tickets. You would just buy a ticket from Geneva airport to Basel. That ticket will allow you to travel on any train along that route.

I wouldn’t want her to possibly ruin her trip right at the start by
making her rush for a train with luggage

No need to worry about this in Switzerland. The regular train tickets are not time specific. So, if you miss a connection, you just take the next train.

Posted by
3641 posts

Regular tickets are indeed flexible. But when booked months in advance on a trip of this distance a saver day pass will be cheaper. So that is the ticket to get here.
And this gives you total flexibility as well. It even allows you to use local public transit, and make scenic detours if you want.

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