 Poster: A snowHead
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Every time I search for car hire in Geneva airport from different 'cheap' search engines, for 7 days, I get something around 500 gbp, is it normal prise? for esate car type? When I search on Herz it retuns golf class cars for 1000 per week  It looks very expencive to me, espetially after spanish car rent prises. Is ti worth get to France by train from the airport, hire car there and retun in Geneva (if possible). Some ideas are welcome. Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I ve got it, need to select 'French Sector' Thx
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@ed48, French sector means no Swiss Vignette (well, probably not) and not winter tyres. Both of these could be a pain.
Also, at least back when I was renting frequently, the French sector desks aren't open such long hours.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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yes, Gva is quite expensive for car hire, and if you hire on the French side, be aware that you won't get snow tyres as standard, and you would need to pay extra for the Swiss motorway vignette if you want to use the motorway to get to the French border (the quickest and easiest way to get to the French ski resorts).
Where, and when, are you travelling? There are alternatives to some places, including a big network of busses.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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In having Swiss Vignette already (used to drive to Switzerland, but this time Im traveling alone, so, cheaper get a plane)
The ultimate plan is to get a car in Gva, visit friends in Switzerland for few days, then travel to the place where the most snow/pow is. This means last minute room booking. Date are 21 Feb -28 Feb, not sure how busy it will be, but I prefer small not well known resorts.
Thanks, will check winter tyres checkbox
Regards
Ed
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We've used Argus for the past couple of years. Last year we were farmed out to Sixt and a little fiat 4x4 for about £250 / week. This year it's Avis and£320 inc snow tyres and chains. Both from the Swiss side of GVA.
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| Quote: |
Date are 21 Feb -28 Feb, not sure how busy it will be,
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Paris holidays so French resorts will be busy. Switzerland probably better.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
Can anyone see a flaw in my plan??
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not really, though that's a mighty cheap car hire. It has 4 wheels? You'll need to keep an eye on weather reports and get chains if necessary.
It's not always a "scoot" across Geneva. Last time I did it (avoiding a vignette in the summer) it took well over an hour to get across - loads and loads of traffic. But usually it's not so bad.
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Dunno where you have been looking ed48....Try Travelsupermarket. Just had a look for a random week in March and cars come up from £162 (mini) to £220 (estate) on the Swiss side.
Winter tyres will be extra - though Autoeurope often includes them in the price and Holiday Autos usually offers a 'Winterisation' option at more reasonable price than doing it at the airport hire desk.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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[quote="snowfraise"]We've used Argus for the past couple of years. Last year we were farmed out to Sixt and a little fiat 4x4 for about £250 / week. This year it's Avis and£320 inc snow tyres and chains. Both from the Swiss side of GVA.[/quote
Picked up an audi A3 for a week with Europcar via HA for £230 quid for the week. 4 blokes, 1x skis, 3 big bags, 1x board bag (with clothes),
worked out as 60 quid each which I though was pretty decent. Swiss side, with vignette and winter boots, chains included, relatively painless
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
Winter tyres will be extra -
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Thought they were included on Swiss side hires? Always seemed to be when I've booked a hire car. Chains extra but winter tyres not.
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Thought they were included on Swiss side hires?
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it's a bit murky. It seems that whilst they are always on the car (though somebody the other day said not) you are sometimes charged an extra winterisation fee. I once whiled away an hour at Geneva, waiting for friends on a late flight, picking up leaflets from all the companies (they were in the main airport then) and most listed an additional "winterisation fee". When I asked one, he said that the fee was usually included in the charges for people coming in from abroad, at the airport. But some SHs have reported being charged on arrival, arguing about it, but getting nowhere and having to pay up.
Always something to check on booking, I'd say.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
it's not a huge problem to scoot 5 miles across Geneva
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Depends when. Depends if an additional hour on your journey is material or not.
2nd week March I'd still be expecting reasonable chances that precip would be solid down beyond 1,000m so those last few kilometres might be really rather slow.
Mind you, getting through Bardonnex on an early Monday morning isn't a lot of fun either.
oh and I think you need to be somewhat careful about how you get back to the car hire return as a non-obvious part of the obvious route is Swiss motorway...
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| under a new name wrote: |
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it's not a huge problem to scoot 5 miles across Geneva
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Depends when. Depends if an additional hour on your journey is material or not.
2nd week March I'd still be expecting reasonable chances that precip would be solid down beyond 1,000m so those last few kilometres might be really rather slow.
Mind you, getting through Bardonnex on an early Monday morning isn't a lot of fun either.
oh and I think you need to be somewhat careful about how you get back to the car hire return as a non-obvious part of the obvious route is Swiss motorway... |
It will be Saturday afternoon/evening on pick-up & return, so I don't anticipate rush hour traffic. I did the same in 2003 and got through on a Saturday with minimal delay, so was just wondering if anything big had changed. Last time they ran out of Renault Meganes and gave me a Toyota RAV, that would be handy if there was snow below 1000m. Last time it did snow at altitude, but didn't settle on the road and I drove up to Samoens 1600 on black tarmac.
Is the dual-carriageway spur off the A40 near Thonex as you enter Geneva city from Annemasse side classified as motorway?? I certainly don't want to buy a vignette for less than 1km.
I'm not planning on going anywhere near Bardonnex. I'll exit the airport on the Route Douaniere to the airport perimeter on the edge of Ferney, then hang a right into Switzerland, down to the lake on the Route de Ferney, along the lakeside, across the bridge (Pont du Mt-Blanc) over the Rhone, then quickly pick up the Route de Malagnou which soon turns to Dual Carriageway and into France. Didn't take more than 15-20 mins last time. Is this still possible?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just to add...the discount link I posted, the important part of the link gets nobbled by those upright bars, you'll need to copy and paste the whole lot into the address bar to get the significant discount...and not just click on the hyperlink...
http://www.holidayautos.com/en/?c=gb||EN&clientId=472585
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 29-01-15 10:51; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
oh and I think you need to be somewhat careful about how you get back to the car hire return as a non-obvious part of the obvious route is Swiss motorway...
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Hmm, yes. I did it in the summer - fortunately we had plenty of time and I fiddled through in the end but probably a non-optimal route which included some took at least two wrong turnings and ended up going through some obscure bits of Grand-Sacconex. And then there's the bizarre maze of tracks into the airport - I was very glad I was in a tiny car. Though maybe that has been sorted out now.
For most people on a week's holiday, with time and temper at a premium, the Swiss side is really quite a lot easier. It's not self evident even how to get through to the Swiss side once you've dumped your car. There used to be a kind of walk-through but in the summer I was directed through the arrivals hall where all the baggage is. I felt confused and I've spent quite a bit of time in Geneva airport and rented on the French side several times.
On an expensive holiday, though, why not just pay up for the vignette, gain time, have a more relaxed trip. And if it's snowy, and you don't like doing chains, go for those Swiss winter tyres.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Yes, you have to walk through a passport control which I believe is only on one level to switch between the French & Swiss sectors, I remember using a lift. The French sector is at the northern end of the airport and has a small multi-storey car park building just outside the terminal where the rental cars are kept.
Last time, the guys from Europcar gave us a helpful map detailing the route out of the airport (there's only one way and it's a secure fenced customs route) and across Geneva twd the Autoroute Blanche, I found it very straightforward across Geneva, wide avenues & boulevards with a few traffic light junctions.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Yes, you have to walk through a passport control which I believe is only on one level to switch between the French & Swiss sectors
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that was the case for some years but it seems to have changed, at any rate walking French to Swiss.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
Yes, you have to walk through a passport control which I believe is only on one level to switch between the French & Swiss sectors
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that was the case for some years but it seems to have changed, at any rate walking French to Swiss. |
Thanks, I'll look out for that.
According to this it is signposted 'destination France', but looks like you might need to change levels...
http://www.gva.ch/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-60/
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Hmm...the pink route to the French sector is a long way round avoiding Swiss territory completely...are they saying that you can't cut across Geneva City? Or are they just discouraging it?
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@luigi, people without entry papers for Switzerland have to stick to French territory. It does happen (happened to some of my visitors, who had Zimbabwean passports, but we used the motorway and hoped for the best. No checks normally at Bardonnex but I had a map in case we'd been turned back.)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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In my experience, car hire like flights is very sensitive to peak pricing and if you book late for half-term you get screwed.
I have found the French side to be false economy - not funny when you get caught out without snow tyres and chains.
Swiss hire cars MUST have winter tyres and chains by law. As Pam says, you may get charged extra for winterisation but it should appear in your web searches.
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BTW - all that said the prices the OP quoted seemed very steep
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Another way to get to France avoiding the vignette/motorways is to drive from GVA out towards Bernex and then St Julien -- better than driving into the centre of the city. Probably doable with a SAT NAV set to avoid motorways if you don't know the backroads.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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the prices the OP quoted seemed very steep
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yes, they did.
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You know it makes sense.
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| CharlieL wrote: |
| Another way to get to France avoiding the vignette/motorways is to drive from GVA out towards Bernex and then St Julien -- better than driving into the centre of the city. Probably doable with a SAT NAV set to avoid motorways if you don't know the backroads. |
Might suit someone travelling south to Annecy and the resorts of Savoie...I'm heading east to Morillon, so the quickest route looks to be through the centre using the wide lakeside avenues...as long as they let me!
Would there be an issue if I'm in a French-plated car with normal tyres?? Has anyone done this lately??
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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What time of day will you be passing through Geneva?
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Poster: A snowHead
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| altis wrote: |
| What time of day will you be passing through Geneva? |
Saturday afternoon/early evening.
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