BlaakLane.com provides chauffeur service in Bern for transfers from Zurich (ZRH), Geneva (GVA) and Bern-Belp (BRN) airports, meetings at the Federal Palace and federal offices, embassy visits, Bernexpo fairs and day trips into the Bernese Oberland. You see one fixed fare for the address, date, time and vehicle before you confirm. Driving is done by a vetted affiliate based in the region, whose company and chauffeur appear on your confirmation.
How to book a chauffeur in Bern
Type the flight number or pickup address, the destination and the time into the booking engine on this page or at /book/. Choose a vehicle and the fare appears in full before you commit: chauffeur, fuel, motorway costs and the included waiting are inside it. Nobody runs a meter. Our reservations desk in Toronto works 24/7 and hands the trip to a vetted Bern operator contracted to the BlaakLane.com written standard. Official delegations, multi-car embassy programmes and armoured vehicles (supplied by a partner after a risk assessment) are planned by a coordinator and confirmed in writing.
Which airport should you fly into for Bern?
Most international travellers land at Zurich, because it has the long-haul network. Geneva is the better choice for arrivals from France, Spain or the western Mediterranean, and for anyone combining Bern with Lausanne or Montreux. Bern-Belp is a small regional field about 9 km south of the centre, with a short seasonal schedule of leisure flights and a steady flow of business aviation.
| Airport | Distance to central Bern | Typical drive |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich (ZRH) | about 125 km on the A1 | 1 h 15 to 1 h 45 |
| Geneva (GVA) | about 160 km on the A1 and A12 | 1 h 45 to 2 h 15 |
| Bern-Belp (BRN) | about 9 km | 15 to 20 min |
| Basel-Mulhouse (BSL) | about 105 km on the A2 and A1 | 1 h 15 to 1 h 30 |
At Zurich Airport and Geneva Airport the standard pickup is at the designated area for pre-booked cars. Your chauffeur messages the vehicle details and the exact spot once your flight is down. A name-board welcome inside the arrivals hall costs extra as an add-on; add-ons are only available in selected locations. Private jets usually use the FBOs at Zurich or Geneva, or the general aviation apron at Belp; our private aviation team arranges planeside access where the handler permits it.
Flight tracking and waiting time
Every airport pickup is tracked against live flight data, so a delayed landing moves the chauffeur's arrival automatically. Waiting included from the actual landing: 60 minutes on international flights, 30 minutes on domestic ones, 15 minutes at hotels and addresses. Beyond those allowances, extra time is billed in blocks of 15 minutes.
Getting around the Swiss capital
Bern's arcaded Old Town sits on a loop of the Aare river and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Much of it is limited to trams, buses and delivery traffic, so a chauffeur drops you on the nearest permitted street, often by the Casino or the Bärenplatz edge, rather than at a door on Kramgasse. The Federal Palace (Bundeshaus) overlooks the river at the western end, with the Bellevue Palace hotel beside it and the Hotel Schweizerhof opposite the main station. Across the Kirchenfeld Bridge lie the museum quarter and many of the embassies, with more residences further out in Elfenau. Federal administration buildings are spread through the Länggasse, Monbijou and Wankdorf areas, which is why a day of ministry meetings suits an hourly chauffeur hire with the car waiting between stops.
Parliament sessions, embassies and diplomatic travel
The Swiss Federal Assembly meets in four ordinary sessions a year, each about three weeks long, in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Those weeks bring lobbyists, delegations and press to the Bundesplatz, and hotels near the palace fill early. Embassy and ministry visitors often need discreet cars, fixed timings and a named chauffeur on repeat days. Our government and diplomatic page explains how protocol programmes are planned.
Bernexpo, Wankdorf and the event calendar
Bernexpo, next to the Wankdorf stadium in the north-east of the city, hosts trade fairs and the BEA consumer fair, usually in late April or May. Stadion Wankdorf is home to BSC Young Boys, and the PostFinance Arena nearby hosts SC Bern ice hockey. Dates to know:
- May: the Grand Prix von Bern, a ten-mile road race through the Old Town, closes central streets for a Saturday.
- July: the Gurtenfestival takes over Bern's local hill, the Gurten, for four days.
- Fourth Monday of November: the Zibelemärit onion market fills the Old Town from before dawn, and cars cannot get near.
- December: Christmas markets on the Waisenhausplatz and Münsterplatz.
Bern Welcome keeps the current calendar.
Rail links from Bern station
Bern's main station is one of the busiest in Switzerland. SBB trains reach Zurich in under an hour and Geneva in about 1 h 45, with fast services to Basel, Lucerne and Interlaken; timetables are on SBB. Many visitors ride the train in and use a chauffeur for the parts rail does not reach: a chalet in Gstaad, a factory in the Emmental, or a group with heavy luggage. We collect at the station's pre-arranged pickup point; see the Zurich HB and Geneva Cornavin pages if your journey starts there.
Day trips and one-way transfers from Bern
- Interlaken and the Jungfrau region: about 60 km, 45 to 60 minutes.
- Gstaad: about 85 km, 1 h 15 to 1 h 30.
- Lucerne: about 110 km, 1 h 15 to 1 h 30.
- Montreux and Lausanne: about 100 km, 1 h 10 to 1 h 30.
- Basel and Zurich: about 1 h 10 to 1 h 30 each.
- Zermatt: the car goes to Täsch, about 2 h 15 via the Lötschberg car train.
Long one-way runs are explained on intercity transfers.
Choosing a vehicle in Bern
A Standard Sedan covers one or two passengers. An executive SUV is the sensible default from November to March, when snow reaches the Mittelland and the Oberland roads. A Standard Black SUV or Sprinter Van moves a delegation together, and minicoaches carry larger groups to Bernexpo. All classes are on the fleet; nothing on the road for us in Bern is older than four model years.
Swiss driving rules that affect your trip
Driving is on the right. Swiss motorways need the annual vignette (CHF 40, sold as a sticker or an e-vignette), which Swiss-registered cars already carry. Speed limits are enforced hard by camera, typically 120 km/h on motorways and 50 km/h in town, so drive times here are honest ones. Rush hour on the A1 and A6 around Bern runs roughly 7:00 to 8:30 and 16:30 to 18:30.
Entry rules for travellers arriving in Switzerland
Switzerland is in the Schengen area but not the EU. Since 10 April 2026 the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is fully running at external Schengen borders, including Swiss airports: non-EU visitors on short stays register a face scan and fingerprints on first entry instead of a passport stamp. The ETIAS travel authorisation has not launched yet; check the EU's official travel site before you fly.
Changing or cancelling a Bern booking
Cancel free of charge until 72 hours before pickup. Inside 72 hours a 10% charge applies, inside 48 hours 50%, and inside 24 hours, or if nobody shows, the full fare. The rates page lists everything a Bern fare contains.
