Arrive ZRH 1945 Thurs 9 March, need to be back at ZRH 1930 Sun 12 March. Accommodation in St Jakob, Party of four blokes. (Yes, I know we should try and fly in/out of Innsbruck, but no suitable flights were available!).
What is best advice on transfer to St Jakob/St Anton for those times please?
Car hire looks cheapest at c£150 (plus the round trip petrol and tolls) but then the "vignette" purchase is putting me off. The scheduled Arlberg Epxress times do not work. Train on arrival not ideal (does not reach St anton until 2343), but train back to the airport on Sunday evening might work as long as the 1657 out of St Anton really does arrive at ZRH by 1942 (am counting on Swiss railway efficiency here). Round trip transfers coming in c.EUR750-800 (a round trip on the train his notch cheaper).
Am i overthinking the car hire/vignette issue? Look forward to hearing your advice
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Jesnoid, Can't say what is best but don't let Vignette purchase put you off, dead easy and cheap.
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?
@Jesnoid, you can buy an Austrian 10 day vignette online, tolltickets.com. You just book the dates you need in advance and the ticket is sent to you. I frequently fly to Zurich and car hire to St Anton/Lech. Just make sure your satnav does not take you via the Warth/Lech route as the pass is closed usually all winter.
Seeing as you are arriving late (19.45pm) you could be out of the airport by 20.30 if one of your party goes to the car hire straight away while another picks up the baggage. It's just over a 2 hour drive to St Anton in good conditions so you have time for a beer or two before bedtime!
Just back from doing Zurich to st anton. The drive itself was no problem. Only problem was we booked sarrent car hire through a price comparison for zurich airport. The car depot was 15km away and was a pick up drop off shuttle that was a shambles. We also had to pay extra as we where driving out of Switzerland. I would drive again but pay more attention to the small print.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Thanks @WASHOUT, useful to know
After all it is free
After all it is free
@Jesnoid, train best from Zurich, car ok but train very easy
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@Jesnoid, I paid 200€ one-way for a cab to ZCH a couple of years ago... 800€ round trip is having a giggle unless you're all going in separate cabs or Holly Willoughby is driving.
Try taxi Harry, although that may have been mates rates as we were staying in Haus Harry...
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Thanks @red 27, ... therein lies a great business idea!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Jesnoid wrote:
The scheduled Arlberg Epxress times do not work. Train on arrival not ideal (does not reach St anton until 2343)
If you land at 1945, I doubt you'll be there that much before 2343 by car. I know ZRH is really quick to get through, but by the time you've picked up the car and driven there I would expect it pretty close to 2300 (2hrs is a bit optimistic, 2hr 15 to 2hr 30 is more like it).
And you can all start the beers on the train.
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.
Turns out EU law states that you can't take a car out of Switzerland into an EU country unless you are an EU national living in that country and you are leaving the car there ... how jolly helpful. Looks like it is the train then
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@Jesnoid, there was a lot of talk about that on here a few months back but it turned out to be a non-issue (I can't find the thread now but it was fairly long). I took a car from the Swiss side of Geneva airport into France last week and it wasn't a problem at all. Who is saying it's a problem now? It's an easy drive from Zurich to the Arlberg and I'd happily do it again.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Thanks @Valkyrie, it is he car rental company telling me it's a problem - I guess they have to fulfill their obligations by saying that!
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
If anyone can find the thread that @Valkyrie refers to or has any other recent info, most grateful. Can't believe a well-trodden two-hour road trip could cause so much aggro!
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
The car rental company charged me more to take the car out of Switzerland (zurich to st anton). It wasn't much but just another hidden charges from them😠
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I have done the trip a few times, and I used the train. No drama.
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?
I've done the train. Very easy. We left on a day after 6 foot of snow, the weekend of the galtur avalanche and got an apology for the train being 10 mins late. My friends driving had an epic.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
You could take Stanton's advice and stay at, say, the Easyhotel in Zurich that's walking distance from the station. The 640 train arrives in St. Anton at 0900 and rather than going to St. Jakob, you could put your luggage in lockers at the station (3.50-4.00 Euros each) and then take the free ski bus to St. Jakob after skiing.
After all it is free
After all it is free
I just got back from a long w/e in Stuben. We were on the EZY 0650hrs out of Gatwick to Zurich. Picked up a Hertz rental car and did the journey in c2hrs probably a bit less, St Anton a bit further on through the tunnel. Buying a vignette was p*ss easy at one of the service stations on the Swiss side, cost about €9 from memory. Annoyingly Satnav took us through the Liechtenstein route on the way back, rather than the St Gallen route which is a quicker and easier drive. We did not spot it until too late. No hidden rental charges for cross border journey.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
FYI.
The Austrian Police do like stopping Swiss registered cars..therefore do not be surprised.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Jesnoid wrote:
Turns out EU law states that you can't take a car out of Switzerland into an EU country unless you are an EU national living in that country and you are leaving the car there ... how jolly helpful. Looks like it is the train then
Just for the record - your nationality is irrelevant, whatever the car hire company say. What matters is your place of residence (EU or not).
I'm still amazed there are hire companies that still haven't found a solution to this yet, as many obviously have (I'm guessing some sort of simple declaration on the car papers that they permit driving abroad and that it is the renter's responsibility to return the car to Switzerland)
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
GENERAL ADVICE on Getting to St Anton.
Avoid Car travel.
There are to many cars in St Anton. Weekends (changeover days) are a nightmare in & out of Austria.
There is a highly reliable train service (plenty of room for bags) from Innsbruck, Zurich & Germany.
St. Anton am Arlberg station is 3 minutes from the skilifts (It used to be 30 seconds until they moved the railway in 2000) !!
Car are not needed once here. There are Free Skibusses to get you around & down valley.
Tiredness: Late night early morning driving is dangerous.
Especially after either driving 8-10hrs in the car or arriving late in the evening by Air.
There could be snow & for sure black ice on the roads during the night hours. This is when your at your at the end of your journey and the most tired == Dangerous.
Austrain RailJet Service Zurich - St Anton am Arlberg - Innsbruck - Vienna - Budapest
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
