Transportation from Geneva Airport

All right, I'll ask up front:. Why on earth would you fly into Geneva if you wanted to go to the Cinque Terre? You have to cross the Alps, and takes just a little bit of time.
And going from Chamonix is an even worse idea.

Have you checked skyscanner.com to search for inexpensive flights?

When is your trip?

I'd fly from Geneva to Pisa then take the train to the desired village in CT.
I just checked skyscanner and easyJet can get you to Pisa for $78pp (end of May)

Traveling by bus or train will take many hours....

Good luck with this.

And what is your landing date? EasyJet flies to Pisa only 3 days a week.

Where are you looking for trains? I see trains departing Geneva airport to Milano Centrale at 9:50, 10:05, and 11:50, among others. Travel time varies fro 4.75 hours to 6+ hours.

But then you still have to travel onward. Not necessarily to La Spezia. Many of the IC trains from Milano stop at Monterosso, and you can change there for a regional trIn to your Cinque Terre village.

It is a long trip after a long-haul flight. If I were doing this, I would build in a stop overnight somewhere along the way.

I was wondering if I was missing some trains. I have been looking at Rail Europe mostly but have also looked at Trenitalia and Bahn. Where did you see these trains? Those times are exactly what I was looking for?

Just looked at the train schedule again and the earlier trains go through Zurich. The train that leaves Geneva at 1:30 is a direct train to Milan. Arrives at 5:30. It arrives an hour later than the others but is less time on the train.

Bahn is showing a train at 11:50 with connections at Brig, Milan, Genoa, and La Spezia getting you to Monterosso at 8:38 pm. Too bad you aren't landing at 6:30 or you might make the 8:05 that gets there at 7:05 pm.

Sam you're right! EasyJet only flies from Geneva to Pisa 3 times per week ( M, W, F).

I think the OP is determined to take the long trek via train though.

five,

I have the same question as Sam - flying into Milan would have been a much better idea.

Do not use Rail Europe for accurate information on train schedules, as they don't show all the possible departures. The Bahn.de website is the gold standard for rail trips across Europe. In Switzerland you'll be dealing with SBB.ch.

In order to accurately determine your travel time by train, it would help to know which of the five Cinque Terre towns you'll be staying in? Note that you don't have to go to La Spezia first, especially since you're going to be coming from the north.

You might be able to make it to the Cinque Terre in time for supper, but it's going to be a LONG trip and it will have to be a late supper. There's a departure from Geneva Airport at 08:05 arriving Monterosso at 19:05, but that's an 11 hour trip with two changes. There are numerous other trips shown.

Good luck!

Thank you all. We are flying into Geneva because we are flying on miles. The idea of squeezing CT in was added after we made the reservations. EasyJet won't work because we are arriving on a Thursday. :( I will check the bahn schedule tomorrow. Arriving at 8:30 is much better than midnight! I figure we will be catching up on sleep that day anyway. Thank you for the advice about Rail Europe We have other trains to schedule, so I will use it in the future. I really appreciate the help!

Suggest stopping in Stresa on Lake Maggiore for a day on the way to the CT.

Another option would be to spend that first night in Geneva then fly to Pisa the following day. Just a thought.