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I will be travelling to Métabief, France.

My flight will arrive at Geneva Airport on 16 June (Sunday) around 7.30am.

I would like to know how to get from Geneva Airport to Metabief by public transport.

As mentioned in this post, it seems that there will be no bus from Vallorbe to Métabief on Sunday. So I cannot take train and alight at Vallorbe followed by a bus.

Also, taxi is not an option from Geneva airport to Metabief as it will be a 100 km-journey , which is not cheap.

EDIT(10/05/19): It seems that the safest option is to buy undiscountee ticket instead of supersaver ticker as the former does not have time constraint(meaning that I can take any train on 16 June as the ticker is valid for 1.5 days).

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  • You say "by public transport", but is renting a car an option? Or long-distance rideshare with Blablacar? If you're only one person with one piece of luggage, Blablacar is likely cheapest, and car rental is likely fastest. How quickly do you need to get there, and are these options? Is it ok to take 2hrs more to save CHF100? You can post your trip on Blablacar in advance, and you will get informed of nearby rides (time, destination, and price).
    – smci
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 2:02
  • @smci I just have to reach Metabief before 5pm. I am okay with taking 2hrs more to save money. Yes I am travelling alone. Renting a car is an option as long as it is cheaper than public transport.
    – Idonknow
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 2:12
  • @smci What is an option that will take 2hrs more but can save CHF100? By the way, I think I will not have access to internet when I reach Switzerland.
    – Idonknow
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 2:15
  • @Idonknow Can you get your accommodation to pick you up at Vallorbe? It's only 12.5 km, and is what I would be looking at in your situation. A taxi Vallorbe-Métabief, in any case, won't cost anywhere near CHF 100.
    – Crazydre
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 12:13
  • @Idonknow And by the way, I saw your question of visas. You don't need a visa for this trip
    – Crazydre
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 12:18

3 Answers 3

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  1. Catch a train from Geneva Airport to Lausanne (leaving at xx:02 every hour).
  2. Change to local train S2 to Vallorbe.
  3. Take a taxi for the last 12.5 km to Métabief, or arrange for your accommodation to organise transport.

You should pre-book the train trip Geneva Airport-Vallorbe here: SBB Supersaver tickets for the cheapest fare (CHF 24.60)

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  • The train from Geneva airport to Lausanne is a local swiss train or TGV?
    – Idonknow
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 1:47
  • I key in Geneva Airport to Vallorbe in the website you provided. All tickets are either CHF18.50 or CHF20.50 on 16 June. All trains depart around 8am, 9am or 10am. In total there are 2 trains for each hour. Am I booking the right ticket?
    – Idonknow
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 3:00
  • @Idonknow The Geneva-Lausanne train is a Swiss intercity train (called InterRegio). And no, you're NOT booking the right ticket. After clicking "Tickets from CHF XX" You have to click "Discount cards" and then "no discount". Then you need to press "Options for outward journey" and then "Supersaver ticket". After buying the ticket, it'll be sent as a PDF. Make sure to leave a bit of margin for flight delays when selecting a service
    – Crazydre
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 12:09
  • @Idonknow Double-checked - you apparently cannot book for June yet, only April or May. But it'll be CHF 24.60 in any case
    – Crazydre
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 12:09
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    @Crazydre: but it is what you said. Do you understand that the OP doesn't know what departure time they can manage to not miss? (They just posted above "11am", which seems overly pessimistic.) So if they buy an advance ticket for (say) the 08:30 train and miss it, that's a problem that costs them $$, right? SBB doesn't compensate. By contrast, I can confirm from personal experience that Trenitalia seems to have the world's most casual attitude: late passengers can catch the next train, no problem. So different countries' policies to specific-service tickets vary widely.
    – smci
    Commented Apr 3, 2019 at 14:19
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Google Maps don't find any connection between those points.

https://www.rome2rio.com/ suggests taking trains to Vallorbe and then a taxi from Vallorbe to Métabief.

(Actually rome2rio suggests a taxi from the station just before Vallorbe, but it's probably going to be easier to find a taxi at Vallorbe, which is a larger station).

As noted in the comment thread under your previous question, this taxi ride is not long, but since it does cross a border, you should agree on a price with the driver before getting in.

Alternatively, if you don't want the adventure of negotiating a cross-border taxi ride in Francophone Switzerland, you could take a train all the way to Frasne on the French side, and then the bus from Frasne to Métabief. (You've found the timetable for this bus already).

This will most likely be more expensive because you'll need the TGV from Lausanne to Frasne rather than a local Swiss train, and certainly slower. Note that the TGV requires reservation, but on the other hand you shouldn't need to worry about flight delays because the first connection you can get leaves Genève-Aéroport only at 11:32 anyway. Arriving in Frasne 13:14 you then have an hour and a half to kill before the bus towards Jougne departs at 14:49

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  • There are no taxis stationed at Vallorbe either - OP will have to pre-book
    – Crazydre
    Commented Mar 30, 2019 at 14:09
  • In last sentence, do you mean 'towards Metabief' instead of 'towards Jougne'?
    – Idonknow
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 1:46
  • @Idonknow: According to the timetable you posted, Jougne is the final destination for the 14:49 bus that stops in Métabief on the way.
    – hmakholm left over Monica
    Commented Mar 31, 2019 at 9:29
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Here are some options. What time can you actually depart? (possible arrival delays, disembark, immigration, customs, get kerbside). You only told us your plane arrives 07:30. So I priced departures for 08:30.

  1. Train to Vallorbe (CH) is one option and the most reliable for schedule, dependability. You still have to arrange to get from Vallorbe over to Metabief (ride, taxi, etc.). Be aware the CHF 24.60 price with SuperSaver discount is for a specific day & time; if you miss it (e.g. incoming flight late), your ticket is no good and you have to pay standard price.. The undiscounted price (1 adult, 2nd class) on sbb.ch for Geneva Airport-Vallorbe is CHF 41.

  2. Another option is Blablacar long-distance rideshare. Note: this may be cheaper but it is seriously less reliable: a rideshare service that matches prearranged passengers to drivers. Unless you will have functioning phone+internet service and basic French and you're prepared to post your trip request a month in advance and sift through trip proposals in advance, only use highly-rated drivers with good reviews, and you're ok with occasional driver no-shows, don't use this.

    • You register on Blablacar app/website and post your requested trip (from, to, date & time). Each driver posts their own ride offers with requested price, typically a few days or weeks out. Three months out is too far. The app sends you matching trips, you message individual drivers and figure out which offer to accept, look at their reliability. All payment is via the website. Drivers will typically aim to have 2/3 passengers per car, so a lot less room than train. You might be able to get them to change the destination by a few miles to suit you, I don't know if you can negotiate slight extra payment for that. You'll need to know a realistic departure time and they won't wait if you have a flight delay.
    • Looking at prices of current offers on Blablacar for a comparable trip this month: EU 8.50-9.50 for Le Grand Saconnex (= Geneva Airport) - Les Hôpitaux-Neufs, 25370, France (2 miles from Métabief).
    • Blablacar is not at all user-friendly if you don't know the geography, it justs lists trips by placename, no map view, no postal code, doesn't show you how close/far those placenames are to your requested destination.

  3. Train all the way to Métabief just doesn't seem to make sense. According to SBB.ch, Genève-Aéroport - Vallorbe is only 1 train change and 1h45-2h, but Genève-Aéroport - Métabief undiscounted is CHF99, with 2 train changes and takes 4hrs (or CHF69 with discount).

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  • @nohillside I corrected the answer
    – Crazydre
    Commented Apr 1, 2019 at 10:42
  • @Crazydre & nohillside: the prices I quoted came from sbb.ch for undiscounted fares. (Since you can't get prices for >2 months out, I used indicative dates on a Monday in May). sbb.ch told me CHF 99. When I rechecked today, it's lower. Strange. Note that the OP is not sure of their departure time, and the link crazydre gives is for Supersaver tickets, which are invalid if OP misses that exact train, and have to be rebooked at standard fare Posting useful research & only getting downvote is not cool
    – smci
    Commented Apr 3, 2019 at 12:53
  • @smci You must've accidentally looked wrong, perhaps for 1st class. It has never cost CHF 99 in 2nd class, simple as that
    – Crazydre
    Commented Apr 3, 2019 at 14:09
  • @Crazydre: no I didn't. SBB website showed exactly what I posted: undiscounted adult 2nd class. I didn't keep a screenshot for you. Their website may have glitched, but I didn't mistype what it showed me. I've bought tickets on SBB before btw, so give me some presumption of competence.
    – smci
    Commented Apr 3, 2019 at 14:22
  • @smci Really must've been a glitch. The undiscounted fares are fixed and identical to what you get at vending machines spontaneously
    – Crazydre
    Commented Apr 3, 2019 at 16:36

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