 Poster: A snowHead
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I've only rented once from Geneva and it was on the Swiss side, which was pretty easy to get to. I'm looking to book for a trip to 3V in April and I see some suppliers give a choice of Swiss or French side. Does it matter? If I get a car on the Swiss side it'll take me 5 minutes to drive to France. Is there any reason why I'd particularly want to get a car on the French side?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Much cheaper in Fr
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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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But probabley no viginette
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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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I think that it's variable. All I'd say is get estimates for both sides and make sure it's 100% like-for-like. Rates on the Swiss side are very variable in themselves. I go to the Geneva airport car hire landing page
http://www.gva.ch/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-72/
which mostly directs you to the ~.ch sites. These can sometimes be cheaper than going to the ~.com pages.
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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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If I get a car on the Swiss side it'll take me 5 minutes to drive to France.
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Only 5 minutes to drive round to Ferney Voltaire maybe but that's not where most people want to go. Takes rather longer to get out to the French border at Bernex, along the motorway.
In fact it takes a little longer to do that from the French side, but not many minutes - through the border post in Ferney Voltaire and round to the international side of the airport. And you save a little time because the cars are in the terminal - you don't need to get a bus or take a walk to the car rental places, as you do now on the Swiss side. Though the labyrinthine road works at the airport round the French side were a ball ache in the summer when I was last there.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I've booked on Swiss side because that came in much cheaper on the sites I checked. Next questions - do I need to be carrying snow chains in the French Alps on the 11th April? The website initially said chains and winterisation were included in the cost but when I got to the last page it said that was only up until the end of March.
Also - anyone know how easy it'll be to fit 177cm long skis into a VW Golf with two people in it?
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do I need to be carrying snow chains in the French Alps on the 11th April?
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who knows? Yes, if there's a big snowstorm, as you obviously hope there will be. Especially if the car doesn't have winter tyres - seems a bit odd to stop that early, though.
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Fitting the skis in is easy - if for some reason they won't go in the back with the seats down, just put the skis in the front passenger seat reclined a bit and the passenger goes in the back.
We regularly get 2-4 pairs skis and 4 people in a fiesta or golf sized rental.
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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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@Valkyrie, the Golf has the ski Shute so yes, relatively easy. We used to get a surf board in ours 
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sat 21-03-15 10:13; edited 1 time in total
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Not all Golfs have the ski hatch - IIRC it's an optional extra. Regardless, we often fit x4 pairs of skis (max 172cm) and x4 passengers in hire cars from Corsa-size upwards. The trick is to put them down the middle of the car, on their sides, with the tails of the first 2 pairs in the gap between the seats and the handbrake. The other 2 pairs (& 4 sets of poles!) then go on top - all secured by the middle seat belt on the back seat.
Have the car hire desks at Geneva moved then  Usually fly there quite regularly but have flown elsewhere on this winter's trips.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Have the car hire desks at Geneva moved then
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On the Swiss side you now have to go down to the car park a little way down towards Ikea and the motorway. There are shuttle busses but it's not far to walk if you don't have big baggage. On the French side the rental cars are just under the terminal.
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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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Is there any reason why I'd particularly want to get a car on the French side?
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Dependiing on how long you are going for, but for me £100 is pretty persuasive.
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Can we scotch this implied fact that renting from the French side is always cheaper? It simply isn't. It is certainly worth pricing out. Sometimes it's cheaper because it really is cheaper, for exactly the same vehicle, spec' and cover. But sometimes it's cheaper because it's an inferior vehicle, an inferior spec' or inferior cover. Hence the suggestion that you cost out from both sides, for exactly the same thing.
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You know it makes sense.
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Hence the suggestion that you cost out from both sides, for exactly the same thing.
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+1 and even when the French side is a bit cheaper it is sometimes worth paying a bit more, especially in winter for the advantages of winter tyres and a vignette.
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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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Is there any site which compares both sides at the same time? Any of the comparison sites I've found only do one or the other for Geneva
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Pending, I've not found one; am generally swip swapping back and forth. I normally only hire cars in summer, so the winter tyre business doesn't matter.
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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 always hired on the French side, drive on the motorways fully prepared to buy a vignette if I get stopped, but I haven't been yet! So if or when I do have to buy one it will still be a bargain considering all the trips I've made without. Then again, I've always been lucky with timing in terms of snow, never had trouble, never needed chains etc. But all the transfer chaos this year has made me think twice for next year
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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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@Pending, the main risk of driving on the motorway without a vignette is the big fine!
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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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| mountainaddict wrote: |
Not all Golfs have the ski hatch - IIRC it's an optional extra. Regardless, we often fit x4 pairs of skis (max 172cm) and x4 passengers in hire cars from Corsa-size upwards. The trick is to put them down the middle of the car, on their sides, with the tails of the first 2 pairs in the gap between the seats and the handbrake. The other 2 pairs (& 4 sets of poles!) then go on top - all secured by the middle seat belt on the back seat.
Have the car hire desks at Geneva moved then Usually fly there quite regularly but have flown elsewhere on this winter's trips. |
I've owned four Golf (mk 5 and Mk 6) and they all had a hatch. Didn't pay extra for them either. When we looked at the mk 7, the range all had it too.
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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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Mind you, we did have the Match edition, maybe the S didn't. Not sure.
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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, isn't that just on the way back though? If I don't get stopped on the way out and asked to buy one, and I come back via Ferney I should be ok, right?
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FAQ
