Airport Transfer

Zurich airport has a railway station directly under the terminal, and the train to the main station takes ten to thirteen minutes. Trains run several times an hour from early morning until after midnight, and the platform is a lift ride from arrivals rather than a walk outside.

That train is why a taxi from Zurich airport is rarely worth it for one or two people going to the centre: it costs many times more and, in traffic, is slower.

A taxi or a booked transfer earns its price in other situations — a very early departure, heavy luggage, small children, or an address that is not near a station.

Geneva airport is closer to its city than almost any other in Europe: the train to Cornavin station takes six to eight minutes. There is also a machine in the baggage hall that dispenses a free public transport ticket valid for eighty minutes, which covers that journey and the tram at the other end.

The machine is easy to miss and nobody points at it, which is how thousands of arrivals a year pay for a ticket they could have had for nothing.

Geneva sits on the French border, and the airport has a French sector with its own exit. Leaving through it puts you in France without crossing a checkpoint, which is useful if you are heading to Annecy or Chamonix and inconvenient if you are not.

Basel's airport stands on French soil, is run jointly with France, and serves Switzerland, France and Germany. It has no railway station. Bus 50 runs to Basel SBB station in about twenty minutes and is the normal way into the city.

The building has a Swiss exit and a French exit, and they lead to different bus stops, different taxi ranks and different countries. Leaving by the wrong one is a genuinely awkward mistake with luggage.

Because the terminal is French territory, a taxi ordered on the Swiss side may not be allowed to collect from the French side, and prices differ between them.

For one or two people travelling to a city centre, the train wins on price and usually on time. Swiss taxis are among the most expensive in Europe, and metered fares from an airport add up quickly.

A booked transfer sits between the two. The price is agreed before you travel rather than watched on a meter, the driver waits at arrivals with your name, and the cost per person falls as the group grows — for four people with luggage it can undercut four train tickets.

It is also the answer for ski resorts. Many are a train plus a bus plus a funicular from the airport, which is charming at nine in the morning and miserable at eleven at night with skis.

The Swiss Travel Pass covers trains, buses and boats across the country for a set number of days, and includes the airport trains. For a visitor moving between cities it is usually cheaper than buying journeys separately.

For anyone staying longer, the Half Fare Card halves the price of nearly every journey for a year and pays for itself within a few longer trips. Residents mostly hold one.

Saver Day Passes and supersaver tickets are sold for specific trains at a discount, but they are tied to that departure. They suit a planned airport run and not a flight that might be late.

Swiss public transport is dependable but it does stop. On weeknights the last useful connections from the airports run somewhere between midnight and one, and rural branch lines finish earlier than the trunk routes.

Sundays and public holidays run reduced timetables, and shops at the airport keep different hours from the rest of the country, where Sunday closing is close to absolute.

If your flight lands late or is delayed into the small hours, a pre-booked transfer removes a problem that is otherwise solved by an expensive taxi or a wait.

Swiss stations are built for luggage — lifts, level platforms and space on the trains — but the last stretch to a chalet or an old building without a lift is where it becomes work.

SBB will forward luggage between stations, and to and from the airports, so bags travel separately and are waiting when you arrive. It takes a day or two and is inexpensive against the alternative.

Ski and snowboard carriage on trains is free as normal luggage, but the racks fill on Saturday mornings in season.