Navigate Geneva Airport Like a Pro

Not many people like spending time in airports, particularly Geneva Airport in the winter on a busy Saturday! High prices, a different currency and a surplus of people can make it pretty difficult to navigate. But not to worry, here are some ways to make your time in Geneva Airport a bit more bearable, both before and after your airport transfers.

Bring some Swiss Francs (if you have any)

You can pay in Euros at Geneva Airport but if you have some spare CHFs kicking around why not bring them with you? It’ll make buying things a lot easier, as you can pay in Euros but will be given CHFs as change, which isn’t that useful if you’re buying a €3 pastry with a €20 note and then going straight to France!

Where to Find Your Driver

If you’re arriving and you’ve booked an airport transfer, head left after leaving baggage claim and look for the bright green Tekoe tea shop. Keep going left and you’ll find a row of small desks, each one allocated to a different airport transfer company. If you’ve booked with us or Ski Lifts just look for the desk with our logos above and come and introduce yourself. Our airport reps will be manning the desk at the weekend and our drivers will be there holding a board with your name on it during the week – look out for the dark grey Getaway Vans beanies!

Our friendly airport reps will introduce you to your driver at the weekends.

If You Have lots of Luggage

Never underestimate the value of a trolley. It can be a bit of a walk to the transfer van so it’s always worth getting a trolley if you have lots of heavy bags. They cost 2CHF or €2 and you get it back when you return the trolley to a station so it’s a win, win.

Where to get Coffee

If you’re short on time and money, you can get a coffee from the machine at the Montreux Jazz Shop in arrivals for 2CHF, and it tastes pretty good too. Though watch out for the huge queue of transfer drivers milling around it on Saturdays! If you’re after something a bit fresher there’s a Starbucks in departures that’ll set you back a bit but the coffee is good and you can even get reusable cups that you can take away with you and deposit at drop off points around the airport when you’ve finished.

Turn left at the Tekoe tea shop to find our desk at the Geneva airport.

Where to get Food

If you have time it’s always worth taking a walk to Migros or le Snack. If you walk through arrivals and into the train station everything suddenly becomes a bit cheaper. You can choose from either supermarket Migros or café le Snack for some cheap eats, but le Snack is closer to the airport so a little better if you’re in a rush. If you really want to plan ahead you can choose to eat on the plane; Easyjet have some pretty good in flight meal deals!

Where to get Booze

If you’re flying to Geneva you’re travelling to somewhere outside the EU so you can get your holiday booze for even cheaper at duty free. There’s even a small duty free in Geneva Airport just before you get to baggage claim in case you forget on the way out.

Don’t forget Easyjet serve some pretty good in-flight meal deals! Image: Geneva Airport

Where to get Some Fresh Air

Outside the food court in departures there’s an outdoor terrace. It’s not the nicest outdoor space in the world but it’s definitely got better views than the parking and the taxi rank!

Where to Relieve Yourself

There are lots of bathrooms in Geneva Airport and they’re all pretty nice as far as bathrooms go. Our favourite is the one at the end of arrivals next to the train station entrance because it’s nicely decorated, but it does tend to get pretty busy at the weekend. If you’re looking for guaranteed no queues, head up to departures then go up the escalator to the security gates. Turn right (away from security and the food court) and you’ll find some very quiet bathrooms at the end of the corridor.

There are lots of great shops before you even get through security!  Image: Geneva Airport

Other Useful Stuff

Did you know you can get cheap camera gear at Interdiscount, the shop opposite the security gates? From the UK airports you can also get really good duty free prices on laptops and tablets, so if you’re in the market for an electronics upgrade, airports are the place to go! There’s also a pharmacy next to Interdiscount (and one in the train station) so if the airport is giving you a headache there are at least a few places to buy some painkillers. And did you know there’s also a post office in arrivals? If you have any last minute postcards to send, Geneva Airport is the place to do it.

And that’s our list of airport hacks! We hope you enjoyed it and that you now have a good idea of how to spend your time at the Geneva Airport. Don’t forget if you need to book your airport transfers between Geneva Airport and Morzine, Avoriaz or Les Gets, you can book with us online HERE. And if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to call or email our office. Happy travelling!