Transport to St Bernard Pass hospice

[cathyke50]

I'm planning to walk a week of the Via Francigena in late June/early July this year and would like to start from the St Bernard Pass hospice. What's the best way to get to the hospice? I'm flying from London and could fly into either Geneva or Aosta. Advice on buses/trains/taxis greatly appreciated!

 

[timr]

Hello @cathyke50

Simple answer is that the connection from Aosta by bus is cheap and quick. I took it on a Sunday morning in July 2018 and it left about 10am

The bus station in Aosta is near the main street and you can just buy your ticket at the station.

I haven't done it from Geneva, but it is a much longer distance. And a small point perhaps, but inevitably more expensive to travel in Switzerland than Italy, but you may have other considerations as well. I have no experience of Aosta airport. There are good bus connections and train too I think between both Milan and Torino airports and Aosta.

Late June the road to GSB is guaranteed(!) to be open. You might find some useful information and further discussion here https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-to-crossing-the-great-st-bernard-pass.59812/

The Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome is also a useful source of information. https://pilgrimstorome.org.uk/

You might consider joining and you will get your credencial as part of the package!
Disclaimer: I am a trustee of this entirely voluntary organisation.

Best of luck with your plans. Let's hope things will open up fully this summer.

Oh and you will see my suggestion (with which not everyone agrees) that you could consider getting the bus from Aosta back to Bourg St Bernard and walking up to the hospice as well - you could even leave your bags at the hospice as you pass through. You have to change buses in the summer anyway if you wished to continue 'backwards' into Switzerland. It is a bit of a climb, but at that stage really a recreational one. Then stay at night at the hospice and start down the next day. In busy times, it is worth booking ahead at the hospice. They can get full with groups of children in the summer. There is a very expensive hotel on the Swiss side as well - which belongs to the hospice. And a much cheaper hotel on the Italian side, just 500m around the lake. But the hospice is an iconic place to stay if you can.

Buon Cammino.

Tim

 

[roving_rufus]

Worth looking at a previous thread - it has links to the Swiss public transport timetables

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/col-du-grand-saint-bernard-details.68232/

I kind of thought Aosta airport was a private airport and didn't have scheduled flights. But flying into Milan it is possible to reach Aosta by train but requires changes, while Turin (Torino) is a direct train to Aosta. And combined with Tim's info above about buses from Aosta up to the pass, Italy is probably the better option. Worth looking at something like this website to consider how transport might work out - https://www.rome2rio.com/

 

[pasiño a pasiño]

hey, if Aosta is an option for you to fly (public airport?) then i would rather do that. like timr said it's way closer than Geneva and much nicer (in my opinion), also less expensive probably.

enjoy this fantastic nature there!

 

[John Gilliland]

Last summer, my wife and I flew to Geneva and took a Flix bus to Aosta than a taxi to Rhemy en Bosses. Switzerland is incredibly expensive but flying into Geneva may be cheaper that the other airports. The bus from Aosta sounds like a great option.

 

[NavyBlue]

Hi,

Or get to Martigny (Switzerland) by whatever mean you prefer (train...). Then to the pass by train + bus.

 

[jdpiguet]

As you can see on this timetable there is a bus from "Orsières" to "Le Grand-St-Bernard, Hospice".
It is running only in the good season (25 June till 25 September).
You'll need around 3.5 hours from Geneva Airport to the Hospice.
You can check the schedule and buy tickets here.
Simply the fill the From ("Genève-Aéroport") and To ("Le Grand-St-Bernard, Hospice") fields and select a date in the range mentionned above...

Buen camino,
Jacques-D.

 

[cathyke50]

As you can see on this timetable there is a bus from "Orsières" to "Le Grand-St-Bernard, Hospice".
It is running only in the good season (25 June till 25 September).
You'll need around 3.5 hours from Geneva Airport to the Hospice.
You can check the schedule and buy tickets here.
Simply the fill the From ("Genève-Aéroport") and To ("Le Grand-St-Bernard, Hospice") fields and select a date in the range mentionned above...

Buen camino,
Jacques-D.

Thank you! Have you ever done this trip - just wondering if the connections work ok? For instance, with the 11.0 train there’s only 7 minutes to get from platform 2 to platform 50 in Martigny

 

[cathyke50]

Hello @cathyke50

Simple answer is that the connection from Aosta by bus is cheap and quick. I took it on a Sunday morning in July 2018 and it left about 10am

The bus station in Aosta is near the main street and you can just buy your ticket at the station.

I haven't done it from Geneva, but it is a much longer distance. And a small point perhaps, but inevitably more expensive to travel in Switzerland than Italy, but you may have other considerations as well. I have no experience of Aosta airport. There are good bus connections and train too I think between both Milan and Torino airports and Aosta.

Late June the road to GSB is guaranteed(!) to be open. You might find some useful information and further discussion here https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-to-crossing-the-great-st-bernard-pass.59812/

The Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome is also a useful source of information. https://pilgrimstorome.org.uk/

You might consider joining and you will get your credencial as part of the package!
Disclaimer: I am a trustee of this entirely voluntary organisation.

Best of luck with your plans. Let's hope things will open up fully this summer.

Oh and you will see my suggestion (with which not everyone agrees) that you could consider getting the bus from Aosta back to Bourg St Bernard and walking up to the hospice as well - you could even leave your bags at the hospice as you pass through. You have to change buses in the summer anyway if you wished to continue 'backwards' into Switzerland. It is a bit of a climb, but at that stage really a recreational one. Then stay at night at the hospice and start down the next day. In busy times, it is worth booking ahead at the hospice. They can get full with groups of children in the summer. There is a very expensive hotel on the Swiss side as well - which belongs to the hospice. And a much cheaper hotel on the Italian side, just 500m around the lake. But the hospice is an iconic place to stay if you can.

Buon Cammino.

Tim

Thank you, very helpful!

 

[cathyke50]

Worth looking at a previous thread - it has links to the Swiss public transport timetables

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/col-du-grand-saint-bernard-details.68232/

I kind of thought Aosta airport was a private airport and didn't have scheduled flights. But flying into Milan it is possible to reach Aosta by train but requires changes, while Turin (Torino) is a direct train to Aosta. And combined with Tim's info above about buses from Aosta up to the pass, Italy is probably the better option. Worth looking at something like this website to consider how transport might work out - https://www.rome2rio.com/

Thank you!

 

[cathyke50]

hey, if Aosta is an option for you to fly (public airport?) then i would rather do that. like timr said it's way closer than Geneva and much nicer (in my opinion), also less expensive probably.

enjoy this fantastic nature there!

Thanks!

 

[cathyke50]

Hi,

Or get to Martigny (Switzerland) by whatever mean you prefer (train...). Then to the pass by train + bus.

Thanks!

 

[Marbe2]

Trains in Switzerland are punctual! Be ready to get off the train and transfer in Martigny. If the train is late they should honor your ticket on the next available train. There are only five tracks…I have transfered there…simple!

 

[cathyke50]

Tha

Trains in Switzerland are punctual! Be ready to get off the train and transfer in Martigny. If the train is late they should honor your ticket on the next available train. There are only five tracks…I have transfered there…simple!

Thank you!

 

[Corned Beef]

If you pop into the Tourism office in Martigny (opposite McDonalds) they can arrange a taxi for you as they did for me. It will be eye wateringly expensive (CHF150) but cheaper than staying overnight in Switzerland.

 

[NavyBlue]

There are only five tracks…I have transfered there…simple!

Hi,

Yes, definitely.

From Martigny, a nice little train, then a bus driven by a master of his art, to the door of the Hospice.

 

[Aguapura]

I'm planning to walk a week of the Via Francigena in late June/early July this year and would like to start from the St Bernard Pass hospice. What's the best way to get to the hospice? I'm flying from London and could fly into either Geneva or Aosta. Advice on buses/trains/taxis greatly appreciated!

Hi Cathy
I have the same question, I am hoping to walk from Gran St. Bernard to Ivrea September 2022, and planning to travel from Turin or Milan. I have distilled the info below from Rome2Rio website, and I'd be very interested in what you have found out or what your experiences are.

The Aosta to Bourg St. Pierre connection could be a little tricky, it looks like it is timed for the Tues, Fri bus, but it would be nice if there were daily buses, and perhaps there are

Milan to Turin train hourly, about 1 hr Turin to Ivrea train hourly, about 1 hour
Ivrea to Aosta train hourly, about 1 hour drop luggage in Ivrea?
Aosta to Bourg St. Piere Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 and 4 Sundays at 4 pm Bourg St Pierre bus daily? at 12.05 8 miles could do taxi

Thanks!

 

[timr]

Hi Cathy
I have the same question, I am hoping to walk from Gran St. Bernard to Ivrea September 2022, and planning to travel from Turin or Milan. I have distilled the info below from Rome2Rio website, and I'd be very interested in what you have found out or what your experiences are.

The Aosta to Bourg St. Pierre connection could be a little tricky, it looks like it is timed for the Tues, Fri bus, but it would be nice if there were daily buses, and perhaps there are

Milan to Turin train hourly, about 1 hr Turin to Ivrea train hourly, about 1 hour
Ivrea to Aosta train hourly, about 1 hour drop luggage in Ivrea?
Aosta to Bourg St. Piere Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 and 4 Sundays at 4 pm Bourg St Pierre bus daily? at 12.05 8 miles could do taxi

Thanks!

Hello @Aguapura I am not sure I can help you but I will try. It is coming up to four years since I was there and information goes out of date.

Looking up buses is often not very easy.... and you are looking for a bus which crosses a national boundary. That may not make it worse, but it won't make it easier.

During the winter (ie when the pass is closed) the bus is from Martigny through Bourg St Pierre, then Bourg St Bernard then on to Aosta. And it is three times a week I think.

When the pass is open, my understanding is that there are two buses. A Swiss bus from Martigny which goes up to the hospice and back/ And an Italian bus that goes from Aosta to the hospice and back. And plenty of time to connect at the pass. If you look at my account in my original reply you will see that is what I did in the summer. The earlier day I attempted to walk in the winter was not a bus day. I ended up hitching through the tunnel. That is another story!

Looking at Rome 2 Rio (which I often use) I see https://www.tmrsa.ch/en/timetables/ listing buses in the summer three times daily from Bourg St Pierre to the pass. Bourg St Bernard is not really a place. It is the entrance to the tunnel but you could get off and walk from there.

But it doesn't make full sense as it has a bus from Aosta to Bourg St Bernard only three times a week.
My feeling is that R2R is not giving you the full picture.

Look here for the Swiss bus service which appears to be several times a day to the hospice during the summer from Orsieres.

The person who may be able to advise is Gaetan Tornay https://twitter.com/gaetantornay?lang=en He is vice president of the EAVF and more importantly he lives up there. And see this

Location and getting there

By car or public transports, our region is easily accessible.

www.saint-bernard.ch

I would say don't give up on the idea just yet. The tourist office in Aosta region is here. The tourist office in Aosta itself was very helpful as I passed through - they are always worth a try and often overlooked I think, all along the way.

Address: Piazza Porta Pretoria, 11100 Aosta AO, Italy
Hours:
Open ⋅ Closes 7PM

Phone: +39 0165 236627

I do hope I am not giving you false hope!! Let us know if you get any useful information. Tim

 

[Rex]

Thank you! Have you ever done this trip - just wondering if the connections work ok? For instance, with the 11.0 train there’s only 7 minutes to get from platform 2 to platform 50 in Martigny

That should not be a problem. Martigny is not a big town and not a big station. If your train to Martigny is on time you shouldn’t have any trouble connecting.