My hubby and our two kids will be traveling from Chamonix France to Rome Italy. I am wondering if it would be best to travel by train or a cheaper airline out of Geneva. I am having a difficult time figuring out what trains to take out of Chamonix to get to Rome. Any advise would be great!!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
This is a tough one. I've looked at the Swiss website (www.rail.ch), the French website (www.tgv-europe.com) and the German website (www.bahn.de) and it looks like its about 4.0hrs by bus, train, tram to the Geneva airport from Chamonix-Mt. Blanc. Then, you have 2hrs at the airport and then a 90-minute flight to Rome-FCO. I see some really cheap fares on www.easyjet.com in lat September. That's about 7.5hrs to get to Rome. The fastest runs I see by train will take about 9.5hrs with 6 transportation changes along the way. No easy answers.
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
12 posts
In 2007, my daughter and I were in Chamonix and traveled from the to Venice. We took a bus from Chamonix to Aosta, Italy, which was a fun experience going through the tunnel under the Alps. Then we caught a train that went through to Venice. Bet you could get a train transfer either from Aosta through Milan or? And on to Rome or transfer after Aosta.... I haven't looked at it recently though. Caution about the Italian regional trains though... the one we had to Venice was the train from hell... but my daughter traveled many oths that we fine.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1223 posts
Hi Jill. The info given is good; let me add a little more. 1. For the Geneva option, there is a shuttle services from Chamonix directly to the Geneva airport that will be much simpler & faster than train to Geneva plus transfer to airport. Don't know name; probably you can find it via google? 2. For the Italy train option, as mentioned, the bus to Aosta is a way to start. From there, you can train to Milan in 3-4 hours, then train directly to cental Rome in 3 hours. For these trains, see info on trenitalia.com.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Bob's info above is great stuff. The shuttle is easy to find in an internet search. Here is a LINK to the site for the shuttle between Chamonix-Mt. Blanc and the Geneva airport.
Posted by
OP
California
5 posts
Thanks for the info. I think we will take the bus to Geneva and then fly to Rome. I figure we will get to see a little but of Switzerland and we won't have to transfer trains over and over. The idea of the tunnel really creeps me out. I know that seems silly but vacations are suppose to be enjoyed. We can always take a train to Florence for the day. Thanks everyone for the info!!