 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
Hopefully going to Val Thorens towards the end of the season and flying to GVA. Has anyone got any advice regarding hiring a car at Geneva airport? Is it better to hire on the 'French side'? Is the 'French side' easy to find? Sorry. but am totally clueless on this.
Cheers, J
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Swiss side means you get winter tyres and chains as standard (French side you don't and sometimes they run out of chains) and the route is a bit easier. Tends to be a bit cheaper on French side.
Having driven a Renault Clio from the French side on summer tyres in a blizzard once I have always hired from the Swiss side since.
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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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Having just hired a car from Basel (same in principle as GVA) chains are far from standard in CHF but the car hire is way more expensive. I got same vehicle on French side for 1/3 of the price. Go figure?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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You don't always get chains automatically on the Swiss side - always essential to check (both that you have them, and that they are the right size).
It isn't always far cheaper on the French side. The differences vary a great deal, depending on the firm, the class of vehicle, the time of year, etc etc.
Once you know how, getting in and out of the French side of the airport isn't difficult, and it has the advantage that the cars are in a garage just under the terminal - no need to hike or bus, as there is on the Swiss side.
Winter tyres are a very big advantage, though. And it can be worth the cost of a vignette to avoid getting stuck in traffic in Geneva.
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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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Plus some Swiss side companies consider that if their car breaks down in France it is charged out as international recovery rates ....
which are considerably higher than Swiss breakdown rates. You hired a Swiss car and took it to a foreign country - pay up!
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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 have only hired from the Swiss side twice and though the shuttle to the pick up point is only a minor hassle the cost advantage of the French side can be staggering (roughly £100 versus £150 for last weekend). But of course you will look up the prices before booking. The price difference on my hires has been so significant that for the last 6 years I have hired entirely from the French side.
The French side is easy to find but it depends to some extent on where you are starting from and remember that if you are returning via Switzerland you have to follow signs to Ferney not to the airport.
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I'd never hire from the French side. Yes, the CH side is more expensive but what's £50 on the price of a ski holiday if it means guaranteed vignette, winter tyres and snow chains. Of course, the CH side is a cartel but with judicious searching, you can get a reasonable hire price.
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@LaForet, 3 weekend rents a year for 6 years comes to a total saving of £900. The price of an extra ski holiday. I have never needed the vignette (20 minutes onto a journey for £50 is to me a good saving), winter tyres or snow chains.
Incidently when I looked into hiring a car from Switzerland there was an extra charge of 26SF for chains, and 9.62SF per day for winter tyres after March 15. There was no mention of the extra recovery charge for going into France as some respondents have reported. Do not assume that these items are automatically included.
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