Geneva to Les Gets

Les Gets is ten minutes short of Morzine on the same road, shares the same lift pass, and is consistently cheaper to reach — and yet a surprising number of people book a transfer to it as though it were a separate destination, and pay a separate price. It is not. Almost every vehicle running from Geneva to Morzine passes through Les Gets first, which is the single most useful thing to know before you book.

A Geneva to Les Gets transfer takes about 1h10 to 1h20 and costs roughly €40–55 per person each way on a shared shuttle, or €200–310 per vehicle privately. Because Les Gets sits on the Morzine road, combining the two in one booking is usually cheaper than two separate ones, and Les Gets is the first drop — which makes it, in practice, the quickest major resort transfer from the airport.

This guide covers every way of making the journey and how it interacts with the Morzine and Avoriaz routes it shares. For the wider picture, see our Geneva ski transfers guide.

01 — The route, and why it is cheap.

Les Gets is about 75 kilometres from Geneva Airport. The route runs the A40 towards Cluses, then up through Taninges and over the short climb to the village, which sits on a col between two valleys at around 1,170 metres.

Option	Cost	Realistic door to door	Verdict
Shared shuttle	€40–55 pp each way	1h40–2h20	The default, and good value
Combined with Morzine	Often the same price as one resort	As above	Ask for it if your group is split
Private transfer	€200–310 per vehicle	1h10–1h20	Cheaper per head from four people
Weekend coach	€30–45 pp each way	2h00–2h40	Cheapest, weekends only
Hire car	€250–400 per week plus fuel and tolls	1h10	Worth considering on this route
Public bus	€10–25 pp	3h00–4h00	Possible, slow, and involves changes

The economics are simple. Operators run this corridor constantly all winter, vehicles turn round three or four times a day, and the volume keeps per-seat prices at the bottom of the Geneva range. There is no long climb, no high pass, and no equivalent of the Moûtiers bottleneck that ruins Saturdays in the Tarentaise.

02 — The Morzine connection, and how to use it.

Les Gets and Morzine are ten minutes apart and function as a single transfer market. Vehicles almost always serve both, usually Les Gets first because of the road order, then Morzine, then Les Prodains and Avoriaz.

Three practical consequences:

• You are usually the first drop, which makes Les Gets the fastest of the Portes du Soleil transfers in practice, even though Morzine is nominally on a similar timing.
• A combined booking often costs the same as a single one. If half your group is in Les Gets and half in Morzine, ask the operator for one quote covering both rather than booking two transfers. The vehicle is going past both anyway.
• Prices track Morzine’s, so quotes that are much higher for Les Gets than for Morzine are worth questioning.

03 — Shared shuttles.

A shared minibus at €40–55 per person each way is the sensible default for one to three people. You are collected from Geneva Airport arrivals, grouped with other parties landing in the same window, and driven up the valley.

Waits are shorter here than on the long routes — typically twenty to forty minutes rather than the hour that Val Thorens passengers routinely face — because the vehicles run so frequently. Allow around two hours from touchdown to your accommodation and you will usually beat it.

Ask the operator two questions when booking: whether the vehicle serves Avoriaz as well (which extends the run, though not your leg if you are dropped first), and whether they deliver to your accommodation or to a central point in the village.

04 — Private transfers.

A private vehicle costs €200–310 each way regardless of how many people travel in it. Because the journey is short, the absolute price is low compared with the Tarentaise, which brings the crossover point down to about four passengers.

Party size	Shared (return, indicative)	Private (return, indicative)	Cheaper
2 people	€160–220	€400–620	Shared
3 people	€240–330	€400–620	Shared
4 people	€320–440	€400–620	Close — private on convenience
6 people	€480–660	€450–680	Private
8 people	€640–880	€500–780	Private, comfortably

A private car is worth more than the arithmetic suggests if you are travelling with young children or arriving late, and Les Gets attracts a lot of family bookings. Confirm the vehicle takes both the passengers and the ski bags, and give the chalet address rather than the village name.

05 — Weekend coaches and public transport.

Scheduled coaches serve the Portes du Soleil from Geneva Airport on winter Saturdays and Sundays, at roughly €30–45 per person each way. That makes them the cheapest booked option, at the cost of fixed departure times and a longer, multi-stop journey of two to two and three-quarter hours.

There is also a genuine public option, which most transfer guides omit because it earns them nothing. Regional coaches operated as part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes network reach the valley, and combined with a bus or train from the airport you can get to Les Gets for something in the region of €10–25. It takes three to four hours and involves at least one change, usually at Cluses or Thonon, with no guarantee of luggage space in peak weeks.

It is a reasonable choice for a solo traveller with light luggage and time to spare, and a poor one for a family with skis. Check the current timetables before relying on it, because winter services differ from the year-round pattern.

06 — Driving yourself.

Like Morzine, this is one of the Geneva ski routes where a hire car genuinely earns its place. The drive is a little over an hour on good roads, the final climb from Taninges is short, and the Portes du Soleil spreads across a dozen linked villages with separate road access points.

• Winter tyres or chains are legally required in designated mountain areas from 1 November to 31 March. Specify winter tyres when booking rather than assuming the depot fits them.
• Les Gets has decent parking by Alpine standards, both public and at accommodation, and it is cheaper than Morzine.
• Hire on the Swiss side of Geneva Airport unless you specifically want a French-registered vehicle.
• Châtel, Morzine and Chamonix are all within about an hour, which is the real argument for having the car.

07 — Les Gets as a resort.

It is worth being straight about what you are travelling to, because Les Gets is often described as “Morzine’s quieter neighbour” in a way that undersells it.

It is a traditional Savoyard village that grew into a ski resort rather than a resort built from nothing, with a working centre and a year-round population. It has two ski sectors on opposite sides of the village — Chavannes, which links onwards into the main Portes du Soleil circuit, and Mont Chéry across the road, which is quieter and often has the better snow late in the day.

Where it is strong

• Families. The nursery slopes are in the village, the ski school is well regarded, and the whole place is compact enough to manage with small children.
• Value. Accommodation and eating out are cheaper than Morzine and considerably cheaper than the Tarentaise.
• The transfer. Just over an hour each way is one of the shorter transfers from Geneva, which makes short breaks viable.

Where it is weaker

• Altitude. At around 1,170 metres the village is low, and early and late season snow at village level is unreliable. Mont Chéry holds better than Chavannes.
• Nightlife. Quieter than Morzine. That is the point for some people and a drawback for others.

For the neighbouring village and the car-free resort above it, see our Geneva to Morzine and Avoriaz guide.

08 — Arriving with children, and other practical details.

Les Gets attracts a disproportionate number of family bookings, and a few details are worth sorting out before you fly rather than in the arrivals hall.

• Child seats are free from most operators, but only if you ask when booking. Give ages and weights rather than “two children”, because French regulations are specific and a driver who has brought the wrong seat cannot legally take you.
• Ski and boot hire can be delivered. Several shops in the village will fit equipment at your accommodation, which removes an errand from a travel day when everyone is tired.
• Supermarkets close early and on Sunday afternoons. If you land late on a Saturday, ask your accommodation about a welcome pack rather than assuming you can shop on arrival.
• Confirm the drop-off point. Les Gets is compact, but “the village centre” and a chalet a kilometre up towards Mont Chéry are different propositions with a pushchair and four bags.

If your flight is delayed

Private operators track flight numbers and wait, usually within a stated free window — get the length of that window in writing when you book. Shared operators will normally move you to a later departure if there is space, and on this corridor there usually is, because vehicles run so frequently. That frequency is a real advantage of the short routes and is worth weighing against the Tarentaise, where a missed shared transfer on a Saturday can mean a long wait.

09 — Timing and the Saturday question.

Changeover-day traffic exists here but is mild. There is no single choke point, and the journey is short enough that a bad Saturday adds perhaps thirty minutes rather than two hours. The pinch points are the A40 around Cluses and the approach through Taninges, both in the early afternoon.

• Landing before 11:00 or after 16:00 avoids most of it.
• Arriving on a Saturday is genuinely fine here, which is not something worth saying about Val Thorens.
• For the return, three hours before your flight is comfortable, even at the weekend.

The short journey also means you can ski a full morning and still make an evening flight, which effectively adds a day to a week’s holiday. Leave your bags at your accommodation or the lift station, take a last run, and book a late pickup.

10 — How the route compares.

Resort	Road distance	Typical transfer	Shared, one way
Les Gets	75 km	1h10–1h20	€40–55
Morzine	80 km	1h15	€40–55
Chamonix	88 km	1h05–1h20	€35–50
Avoriaz	90 km	1h30 plus cable car	€45–60
Verbier	160 km	2h00	CHF 60–90
Courchevel	185 km	2h30–3h00	€60–85

If you are weighing the closer resorts against the Tarentaise, our guides to Geneva to Courchevel and Geneva to Val Thorens set out what the extra ninety minutes buys. Our guide to skiing near Geneva compares the terrain rather than the roads.

11 — The verdict.

Book a shared shuttle for one to three people; it is cheap, frequent, and you are usually the first drop. Book a private car from four, particularly with children. If your party is split between Les Gets and Morzine, ask for a single combined booking rather than two, because the vehicle is making both stops regardless.

Consider a hire car more seriously here than on the long routes, and if you are on a tight budget with light luggage, the public network is a real option most guides will not mention. Whatever you book, this is the easiest ski transfer from Geneva, and it is worth choosing your resort partly on that basis.

Frequently asked questions.

12 — Related Geneva guides.

• Geneva ski transfers: the complete guide
• Geneva to Morzine & Avoriaz
• Skiing near Geneva: every resort compared
• Geneva to Chamonix: getting there
• Where to stay near Geneva for skiing
• Geneva transportation guide
• Geneva in winter