Planning Travel

Switzerland is located in the heart of Europe, and serves as a perfect "home base" for travel across the European continent.  Students can venture throughout Switzerland, into neighboring countries throughout Europe, and beyond. Because we believe that experience enhances classroom learning, our academic schedule has been intentionally designed to allow students the ability to regularly explore cultural richness and history of the European continent through university-sponsored educational field trips and independent travel. 

Rail Travel

NIGHt ga travelcard (From may 1st 2023)

This special pass is offered by SBB (Swiss national railway) only for persons twenty-five and under. It is valid for one year and provides free travel on Swiss trains for free between 7pm and 5am in 2nd class coaches. It is valid across the entire Swiss train network map as well as with numerous private transport companies. You must complete your travels by 5am for the Night GA to apply. The Night GA Travelcard, like the Half Pass (see below), is stored on a single card known as the SwissPass.

Cost 99CHF per year

Half Fare travelcard 

Cut your travel costs in half with the Half Fare travelcard. You can travel for half price on all SBB routes and most other railways as well as on boats, buses and trams. The best part: The low price means that your Half Fare travelcard will pay for itself in just a few journeys. 

Cost for students under 25: 120 CHF

Cost for students over 25: 185 CHF

Student Suggestion: ALL students should get this pass as the savings likely accrued will more than justify the purchase. Swiss rail travel is very expensive without it. 

Eurail
 

The Eurail Pass allows for virtually free train travel throughout all of Europe (occasionally with a few exceptions, which are declared on their website).  Eurail offers several different packages, including:

·       Global (All participating European nations)

·       Four Country Select (Select four bordering countries.  Most students select Germany, Italy, France, Austria, and/or the Czech Republic.)

You may also choose the number of “travel days” you’d like to purchase for a pass. Travel days are counted as 24-hour blocks, but exceptions are made for overnight trains.  Past students recommend the 10-day, 2-month pass for one semester, which allows you to travel on ten days within two months.  Other options include five, six, or eight days in two months.  We recommend you only purchase a Eurail for one for one semester, and use the discount airlines listed below for the remaining semester.  Please note you still must have reservations (such as the TGV to Paris) for high-speed trains at an additional fee.  You must activate pass at a Eurail train station within 6 months of issue date, and must bring your Passport with you for activation.  Like the SBB passes, Eurail affords you second-class seats only.  If you intend to purchase your Eurail pass in Europe, past student advise not to disclose that you are residing semi-permanently in Switzerland, as they will force you to purchase a Interail pass, geared for locals, rather than the tourist option.  The Interail is significantly more costly. 

Student Suggestions: Purchase in ADVANCE. If you purchase locally, you will be forced to buy the Select 1st class pass and it can be very expensive. Allow at least 1 week to receive your pass. 

Night Trains: Make use of night trains. Pay the extra money and get a bed, sleep well and that will save you on time in cities and accommodation costs as well. 

Global: Can be used as an alternative to flying. However, when possible, get the 2 or 4 country pass as you often do not have the time (or want to waste the time) on a train for very long times.

Select pass (4 countries) this can be very useful as this is often all the further away from Switzerland that you can reasonably train to and is much more economic than the Global. 
One country: This pass can be beneficial when city hopping through a country. Many students have done this over long breaks in Italy. While you must make reservations in Italy it saves a lot of money on multi destination trips. 

Air Travel

Easyjet
 

Easyjet is regarded as the most affordable and most convenient airline to travel from Geneva.  It is considered to be among Europe’s leading airlines, with over six hundred routes in over thirty countries.  Easyjet’s website allows you to search flights to specific places.  Use the Inspire Me tab to find cheap flights for a specific weekend, choose “flying from Geneva (GVA)”, and either add your specific dates or choose “weekend” to see the cheapest flights around Europe for that time/season.

Alternatively, use the Low Fare Finder to see which months it is cheapest to fly to a particular place.  Easyjet flies as far as Iceland, Israel, Morocco, Portugal and Scandinavia from Geneva.

Swiss
 

SWISS is the official airline of Switzerland.  For those students planning their travel far in advance, SWISS prices are often comparable or better than Easyjet.  Their flights are drastically higher quality than Easyjet; they provide inflight meals & drinks, comfortable seating, friendly staff, and even free Swiss chocolate!  Geneva is a central hub airport for this airline.  On the SWISS website, use the Explore tab to see curated city guides for different major cities.

Ryanair

Offers comparable (at times even cheaper) prices to Easyjet. The closest airport with Ryanair service is Milan, so you must take a bus between airport & train station and then train back home.  Ryanair is considered to provide the lowest level of customer care of airlines reviewed, and is very strict on their bag restrictions. 

Skyscanner.com/Kayak.com

Skyscanner and Kayak can be used to find the cheapest flights from multiple airlines, and find the best deal to certain locations.  If your departure dates are not set in stone, Skyscanner provides a “flexible” view to look at flights across a range of dates and see when it would be cheapest to fly.