Hello!

I am traveling to Geneva, Switzerland in a couple weeks and would love to get out of the city for a day trip or two. I might even land in Geneva and go to Lausanne and/or Montreaux instead of stay every night in Geneva. Is there public transportation between these cities? I am on VERY tight budget, I'm only going to site-see, hike, and take photos.


Thanks!!!!

Hi jm5916,

Yes, public transportation is excellent in the Swiss cities and towns around the lake. If you stay in Montreux or Vevey, your hosts will give you a Riviera Card, making the town busses free and giving you half off the trains and cable cars into the mountains.

If you find that you'll be using a lot of trains, you may want to invest in a Half Fare Card for a month. It costs 120 chf and gives you half off practically everything that moves.

You can use the Swiss rail site to look at the base fares and schedules:

www.sbb.ch

Have fun as you plan!

s

Hotels in Lausanne will also give you a card which allows free transportation on the local Metro. Rail service along the shore of Lac Leman is frequent and many of the trains start out at the Geneva airport station.

However Switzerland is a very expensive country. It may not be the best place to keep to your budget.

I think if you plan wisely and pick the right hotels you can still "do" Switzerland "on a tight budget." In the past we used www.rooms.ch to find excellent budget accommodations. There are always hostels.

Wow! Thanks
I will be staying in hostels, and I will only be there a total of three nights (two full days). Is it feasible to take a bus to Lausanne from Geneva or is rail the only option? I would love to do some hiking, and I'm flying into Geneva: should I take a bus/train directly from the airport to Lausanne? Tough to make reservations at hostels when I'm not sure if I want to be in Geneva for all three nights. One night in Geneva, two in Lausanne if it's not too expensive to get there?
Thank you!

I just posted on your other thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...und-geneva.cfm

For transportation options, look at sbb -- the advanced search option lets you select type of transportation.

Hi again,

I don't think there is a bus between Geneva & Lausanne. The Swiss are very practical, and where there is a rail link, there is no redundant bus link as well.

Sorry, I don't like big cities, so I'm not one to discuss the merits of Lausanne or Geneva. I personally would head for a smaller town like Nyon, Lutry, Vevey, or Montreux. There is an incredible hostel just outside Montreux in Territet right at the lake's edge:

http://www.youthhostel.ch/en/hostels/montreux

From Montreux, you can walk to Vevey and further to the vineyards of the Lavaux, or, of course, you can bike it. There is hiking in the hills above the lake -- some examples are:

http://www.montreux-vevey.com/en/cul...F/Randos/Sport

or through the vineyards:

http://www.montreux-vevey.com/en/cul...ignoble_UNESCO

Be sure to spend a few hours in Vevey, getting lost in the winding, tangled streets of its old town, right next to the lake. You may also want to visit the castle of Chillon, which is pretty famous.

Have fun!

s

Once again, I just posted on your other thread.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...und-geneva.cfm

You guys are awesome!!! Thank you!

<3