Special Lake Geneva boat cruises depart on Easter weekend in April 2021 from Geneva, Nyon, Rolle, Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, and Chateau de Chillon. Wearing masks is obligatory.
See Spring Pleasure Cruises on Lac Léman for updates for May and June 2021
On Easter weekend and most Sundays in April 2021, if the weather is good, pleasure cruise boat excursions on Lake Geneva’s CGN boats will be possible in four parts of the lake: Geneva, Lavaux (Lausanne & Vevey), Riviera (Montreux, Chillon, Vevey), and La Côte (Nyon and Rolle). These round-trip excursion cruises are from an hour to just over two hours. Wearing masks is obligatory and no restaurant services are available onboard. More cruises and services might be available from mid-April. Ferries from Lausanne to Evian and Thonon operate as normal in 2021 but note any special entry rules for France or on the return to Switzerland. For the rest of the first half of April 2021, cruises are mostly available only on Sundays.
The CGN timetable for spring and autumn is usually operational from mid-April to mid-June and from mid-September to mid-October — however, a return to the normal full timetables with dinner and lunch cruises is unlikely for much of 2021. The summer timetable is much busier with many daily departures even from smaller ports.
Cruises are often included in day-trip excursions from Geneva, Lausanne, and Montreux.
Lake Geneva Boat Cruises from Genève in April 2021
Geneva is a good departure point for pleasure cruises on Lake Geneva. Over the Easter weekend in 2021, up to four round-trip cruises are available daily from Genève but for most of the rest of April, cruises depart only on Sunday.
The Geneva Tour is an hour-long circular cruise from Geneva — a free audio guide is available for download with commentary on the sights on the shores of the lake. (Free wifi at the terminal but not onboard.)
The cruises are most likely on the MS Vevey that has the look of the famous grand paddle steamers — although the MS Vevey is from 1907, its paddles are driven with a modern diesel-electric engine rather than steam.
No food and drink will be sold onboard — a resumption of the popular lunch and dinner cruises has not been confirmed yet for the end of April 2021.
The Geneva Tour cruises depart from the CGN boat landing Genève-Mt Blanc (MB – near the train station) and do not call at Genève-Jardin Anglais (JA – near the old town).
Lake Geneva Boat Cruises from Lausanne and Vevey in April 2021
Even in 2021, Lausanne-Ouchy is a busy port for CGN lake boats. Passenger ferries from Lausanne to Evian and Thonon-les-Bains in France operate year-round and continue to maintain the regular schedule in spring 2021 but lunch, dinner, fondue, and pleasure cruises are mostly canceled.
In April 2021, only three pleasure cruises are available on Sunday from Lausanne to the Lavaux region but daily departures are likely over the Easter weekend. (More cruises might be available from late April 2021.)
The Lavaux Tour is a round-trip cruise available up to three times on Sundays depending on the departure port. Although the boats call at several ports, the tours are sold as round-trip excursions with a duration of around two hours for departures from Lausanne-Ouchy or Vevey (Marché or La Tour) and only an hour from Cully. It passes by the beautiful UNESCO Cultural Heritage-listed Lavaux vineyards between Lausanne and Vevey with spectacular Alpine scenery on the south of Lac Léman — it is arguably the best and most beautiful cruise route on Lake Geneva.
Passenger ferries from Lausanne to Evian (Route N1) and Lausanne to Thonon-les-Bains (Route N2) in France continue on the regular schedule. Up to 13 ferry rides per day are available on each route in each direction. The crossings take around 30 minutes. Buy tickets before boarding these ferry boats or risk heavy fines! Ferry services are more limited on Sundays.
Lake Geneva Boat Cruises from Montreux and Vevey in April 2021
The most spectacular scenery along the shores of Lake Geneva is at the far eastern end of the lake near Montreux where the Rhone flows into Lac Léman. In this area, Alpine peaks tower over the water to form a spectacular backdrop not available to pleasure cruises closer to Genève.
On Sundays in April 2021 and daily during Easter long weekend, up to three Riviera Tour cruises are available with departures from Montreux, Chateau de Chillon (that re-opened for visits on 1 April 2021 — buy tickets online in advance), Vevey, and several further small towns in the region. These cruises are sold as round-trip circular tours taking up to two hours.
Ports of call include Le Bouveret, St Gingolph, Vevey-Marché, Vevey-La Tour, Clarens, Montreux, Territet, Château de Chillon, and Villeneuve.
Lake Geneva Boat Cruises from Nyon and Rolle in April 2021
Nyon in the La Côte area is also a good departure port for Lake Geneva cruises. Nyon has excellent transportation links to Genève and Lausanne allowing travelers to use trains to cover part of the journey from either of these Lac Léman cities.
On Sundays in April 2021, and every day during the Easter weekend, up to three round trip cruises are available from Nyon or Rolle — this part of the lake is the best for views of Mont Blanc.
Further cruise options from Nyon include the regular passenger ferry services, which operate year-round to Yvoire (up to 10 sailings on spring weekends).
- See also Savings Tickets for CGN Lake Geneva Boat Cruises for details on how to save on excursion fares when sailing on Lac Léman.
More on Lake Geneva Pleasure Boats and Cruises:
- Pleasure Boats and Ferries on Lake Geneva
- Lake Geneva Boat Cruises in Spring
- Passenger Ferries on Lake Geneva
- Book Cruises at GYG or at CGN
- Passenger Ferries and Cruises from Lausanne to Evian and Thonon
- Savings Tickets for CGN Lake Geneva Boat Cruises
- Summer Lake Geneva Boat Excursions and Day Cruises
- Spring & Autumn Cruises on Lake Geneva
- Winter and Christmas Cruises on Lake Geneva
- Pleasure Boat Excursions to Yvoire
- Boat Cruises from Genéve to Lausanne
- See the Historic Paddle Steamers at the Parade Navale
- New Year’s Eve Dinner Cruises on Lake Geneva