Geneva Airport

If you have bad memories of Geneva you were probably travelling on a Saturday. On winter Sundays it is much quieter. It can still be busy at times, being the gateway to so many of the world’s top ski resorts, but never horribly so. The Swiss frontier police have to do the work of the French though by checking and stamping their passports, because there are no checks on the French border. This can be tedious. Once through passport control you go through the obligatory Swiss chocolate shops (Toblerone £8 here, £5 at Gatwick!) into the baggage hall. Trolleys require 2 franc or 2 euro coins, but a 50p piece seems to work.

Once you have your luggage, John Yates-Smith and his team will either be visible outside the sliding door exits from the baggage hall, unmissable in YSE’s tasteful daffodil yellow, or they will have set up camp in the Martel Tea Room, 120m to the left when you’ve come through those sliding doors.

Please don’t walk past them: they need to know that you have arrived so that they don’t delay the coach searching for you. Once they have seen you they will tell you where and when your coach will start loading – almost invariably in the coach park outside Arrivals, through the doors by the Hvgge restaurant, 15 minutes before the 14.00 or 16.00 departures. Coaches are not allowed in before that. You can’t drop bags anywhere, except down in the railway station if you have arrived very early, but you can take bags with you to the several places to eat on this ground floor and lifts and escalators to the upper floors. The clever Swiss trolleys fit on escalators, though for coming down we recommend going backwards! Just outside the first floor is an Italian trattoria, and on the second floor is the food court with tables both inside and outside and food of every sort from McDonald’s upwards. Some guests swear by the pizzas. And on the top floor, if you’ve won the lottery, is the renowned Le Chef. Most importantly they will give you your coach’s estimated time of departure. If you have any problems before flying or after landing, John is always available on +33 609 406 741 or +33 616 480 406.

For transfer details, please see YSE Transfers.