 Poster: A snowHead
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Advice please folks... bus transfers for our family of 4 (Geneva-La Plagne) appear to be more expensive (and likely slower?) than renting a car from the airport for the week.
It’ll be our first family ski venture so keen to get your views. The apartment we’re renting has an underground parking space, and we could stock up at a hyper market en-route. Fuel & tolls reduce the benefit, and 3 hours of driving on each Saturday to consider.
Would be advisable to hire snow chains?
Travelling for Christmas week 2020 so plenty of time to plan and get an early booking deal.
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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| Quote: |
Would be advisable to hire snow chains?
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yes
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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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| Halitosis wrote: |
| Would be advisable to hire snow chains? |
Yes advisable and a legal requirement!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I've always found it cheaper and quicker to hire a car. From GVA to La Plagne is unlikely to take 3 hours unless you are unlucky with traffic/weather. It's more like 2h30 I'd say. As long as you are hiring your car from the Swiss side (which is the default) the car will be winter prepped anyway so it will have winter tyres which means you are very unlikely to need chains - I personally wouldn't bother but others will doubtless disagree.
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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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@Halitosis, I would suggest car hire, particularly as there are four of you. The fact that you have underground parking is also a bonus. Even with fuel and tolls I think it should be a cost saving compared to a transfer.
If you hire from the Swiss side of the airport (more expensive) then winter tyres will be fitted as standard, which will cope with most scenarios. Most companies will also provide free snow chains on top of this - check the small print before booking. We paid £198 for 8 days and the second smallest class of car in late January (with Dollar), just to give you a ballpark figure for prices. You might need a bigger car, and you'll be renting in high season, but I think I'd be aiming for under £300.
(Disclaimer: I'm not so sure about this part:) If you hire from the French side (cheaper) then you probably won't get winter tyres, but probably will get snow chains (check the small print). Snow chains will generally get you where you need to go, but obviously a lot more hassle than with winter tyres. In heavy snowfall, roads may be closed except to vehicles with chains, hence ideally you want to have both winter tyres and chains.
One other thing - I strongly recommending buying a standalone annual or single-trip insurance excess policy before your trip. That basically means you can take the most basic excess from the car hire company itself, without forking out lots more to reduce the excess.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Thu 20-02-20 18:39; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
In heavy snowfall, roads may be closed except to vehicles with winter tyres and chains,
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Edit
In heavy snowfall, roads may be closed except to vehicles with chains,
[/quote]
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I often rent a car when dealing with just me given availability and timing of transfers . For a family seems like pretty much a no brainer if you are going to do the week shop as well and have free parking provided you are happy driving in alpine conditions.
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You absolutely must have chains. The police will sometimes insist you put them on, even if you have winter tyres. It doesn't happen often but you HOPE to arrive on a snowy day, don't you.
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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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Forget the French side at GVA, no winter tyres and when we stopped at Fue Vert to pick some chains up, we found out it was 'unchainable'- not worth the small saving. If you're picking up a big family car, book the chains direct.
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For that kind of distance and at Xmas I would do the car hire. You never know when you might need another supermarket run to stock up on goodies and being under your own steam is preferred for more than a few days + if it is a complete disaster snow wise (unlikely I know) then you have options for days out.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@johnE, thanks (edited!).
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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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I was about to suggest driving the whole way from the uk, but then I saw you live in West Lothian. ..I’ll get my coat. 
Echo the view that hiring a car is the better option...
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Hiring a car is preferable UNLESS you want to take your own skis/snowboards.
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You know it makes sense.
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Car hire is definitely preferable to bus - and if you get split rear seat you can drive to slopes with skis, boots etc. and if you are self-catering its a godsend. We also have a "portable" roofrack which if we skimp on car size we take so that we can transport the skis.
Book the car hire through someone like Rentalcars and you get free cancellation - then every month or so check out the prices - normally the longer in advance you book the cheaper, but occasionally you can pick up a bargain closer to the time, so just rebook and cancel the original booking - I saved £150 at New Year compared to the original price when I booked it in October - same with SkiHire - sometimes you can get a really good deal booking months in advance. Don't forget that luggage on ski holidays tends to be "bigger" than summer hols so you might need more boot space. We usually go for "compact" size when we are 4 - but we are skinflints so we only take 2 big bags, and 3 carry ons between 4 of us. We don't normally have space for the luggage and a supermarket shop.
As someone says definitely take out a seperate excess policy - but it doesn't need to start until the first day of your car hire - so no point getting that early - if you also hire cars in summer then you can get several trips for about £10 extra by buying an annual policy.
We don't bother with chains when we hire from GVA, but if its your first time you might feel "safer" with them. If you are expecting to use chains then pack gloves (you don't want to ruin your ski gloves) and a waterproof sheet/bin bags or waterproof trousers cos if you need to fit them it will be cold and damp and you'll need to kneel to do it, and if its your first time fitting them it can take a while. A torch is also useful if it will be dark when you are travelling. We also take a small folding shovel and window scraper.
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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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Great advice all - many thanks and I’ll definitely go with the car hire option.
We’ll be hiring skis & boots in resort but still plan on a largish car as our teens are taller than us
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Poster: A snowHead
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We don't bother with chains when we hire from GVA, but if its your first time you might feel "safer" with them.
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This is poor advice. I have had to use snow chains on my own car (with good winter tyres) and have had visitors with hire cars required by the gendarmes to put snow chains on Geneva-hired cars with winter tyres. Whether it's your first, or your fifteenth, trip, it's unlikely that you'll need chains with winter tyres but possible that you will. Most cars out of the Swiss side of Geneva will have chains - and all should, so check when you get there. We met two families of Snowheads who had hired cars from Geneva and only discovered when BIG snow fall was forecast on the night before their departure that one of their cars had no chains. They bought them in resort and we gave them a swift seminar on how to fit them. They fitted them the night before, on bare tarmac, which made their departure a lot easier, albeit they had to shovel a great deal of snow out of the way. The car hire firm refunded the cost of the chains when they got back to the airport, after a battle of a journey, including inching their way round the idiots on the road who thought they could get away without chains or who had only thought to try to fit them when they ground to a halt, blocking the carriageway.
We also had family members borrowing our apartment one time, who had rented from the French side of Geneva and tried but failed to get chains. Big snow was forecast the night before they left and we urged them to buy chains in resort the afternoon before. They failed to do so, had a hell of a faff trying even to get to the shop to buy chains, the following morning and missed their flight. Anyone who has driven a lot in the Alps will have experienced those couple of days a year (and it always seems to be a Saturday) when the snow has come down and chaos ensues.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| skimummk wrote: |
Book the car hire through someone like Rentalcars and you get free cancellation - then every month or so check out the prices - normally the longer in advance you book the cheaper, but occasionally you can pick up a bargain closer to the time, so just rebook and cancel the original booking - I saved £150 at New Year compared to the original price when I booked it in October - same with SkiHire - sometimes you can get a really good deal booking months in advance. |
Yes to this, keep re-checking but usually earlier is best.
A few things to note
- read the agregator if used AND the rental company t&cs VERY carefully, some can be different and you need to know what you are paying for and getting or not.
- when we rented from Rentalcars at Xmas , we rented on Geneva side to get "winterisation" which now seems to mean winter tyres OR chains OR socks (previously winter tyres and chains came with the price) . We were lucky and got tyres on ours, I wanted chains as well and this was at a cost of CHF40 with Alamo. Even ring the rental desk to check what they do.
- with rentalcars you can part-pay a small amount until a month ahead of the rental date on some, but be careful as although it may say this on the particular car it is not defaulted to when you come to book and pay, make sure you select it. Then if you do chop and change you don't have too much tied up waiting to be refunded if you cancel and re-book.
- also some have said if you check the swiss website of the rental car cos rather than .uk or .com you can see different vehicles/deals.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Fri 21-02-20 0:10; edited 1 time in total
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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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we rented on Geneva side to get "winterisation" which now seems to mean winter tyres OR chains OR socks (prevaoisul wianter tyres and chains came with the price)
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That's the first I've seen of this - my understanding is that all cars on the Swiss side of Geneva airport will have winter tyres as they're compulsory in Switzerland. On the French side of Geneva it's all very different. The price difference between the two is inconsistent.
If you opt to go without chains you'll need to keep a close eye on weather forecasts and be prepared to buy them if necessary.
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
we rented on Geneva side to get "winterisation" which now seems to mean winter tyres OR chains OR socks (prevaoisul wianter tyres and chains came with the price)
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That's the first I've seen of this - my understanding is that all cars on the Swiss side of Geneva airport will have winter tyres as they're compulsory in Switzerland. On the French side of Geneva it's all very different. The price difference between the two is inconsistent |
And it did come with winter tyres so legal, just pointing out the t&cs and now chains may nor be included in the price as well as winters. If you want those too (which I did) you may have to pay extra to the price quoted which is different to a rental we did a few years ago.
Plus sorted some appalling spelling in my post.
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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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Yup - in the past the GVA swiss side always included snow chains, but not always winter tyres - now it seems to be the other way round. We just assumed that with winter tyres it would be legal - but i think in France on some roads you may need to have snow chains.
When we drive we have winter tyres and take snow chains as well.
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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 had two lots of car hire booked for March with free cancellation.. AutoEurope refunded within 48hrs, Rentalcars.com they have point blank refused a refund and I'm still waiting.
They were both "cancel up to 48hrs before for any reason"
Buyer beware!
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@Halitosis, With 4 of you I would reccomend hiring a car especially if you have free underground car parking. Snow chains are essential. You can hire them or buy a set on route, which is not a bad idea if you are planning to stop in the hypermarket in Aime before heading up the hill.
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AutoEurope are Rentalcars.com 
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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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With your own underground parking, a hire car has various advantages. A shared transfer coach won't wait indefinitely if some of the passengers' flights are severely delayed, leaving you stranded with no option other than hire then and there, if you can. Conversely, if you're early, you can get going.
My running average for needing chains is 1 year in 7, other people report never needing them, others 1 in 3. Personally, my view is that given you're explicitly hoping there will be lots of snow, it seems perverse to take a bet that it won't be snowing heavily when you transfer.
Hiring from the Swiss side gets you winter tyres, chains and a vignette for the Swiss autoroute. Might be worth going to the GVA Car Hire pages https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Passagers/Acces-Transports/Location-voitures/Suisse which take to the Swiss landing pages of the car hire companies - sometimes these ~.ch pages have offers and rates you don't see if you link via the ~.com or ~.uk pages. Bear in mind some big SUVs/4x4s have wheels which can't actually take chains, so you might be better off hiring an estate or mini-SUV that can.
If you work for a multinational/corporate, you may find that your business travel agency is very happy to arrange private car hire (as long as you tell them) and can get better rates than an individual. And if you're a member of an association etc. they often get you a discount (e.g. I get 20% off Hertz via the Institute of Directors). And if Hertz looks competitive, then you can join their Gold Club for free and (as of the last time I booked), get an upgrade/2nd driver free, pus use of the fast-track Gold lane at the rental desks.
This thread discusses how to walk from the car hire desk to the P51 car hire parking at GVA and photos and description of the return process: https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=3367061&highlight=p51#3367061. You might opt to walk if you've just missed the transfer bus. Even if you've got luggage, if you're in a group, it might be worth one of you going ahead to check the car at leisure.
You can't generally add a 2nd driver remotely: they have to see the driver's license at the desk. If you plan on one driver consider what happens if they're injured and can't drive. The 2nd driver will have to go to a Car Rental office and get themselves authorised etc. which could be difficult.
The only other thing I'd mention is the usual advice to check the car thoroughly for damage before driving off and something I was told recently by a car hire rep - that they're just as worried about alloy wheel damage as bodywork scratches, so don't forget to check and record curb rash on the alloys as well.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Tue 14-07-20 9:43; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'd agree with most of the above.
ALWAYS hire from the Swiss side. Winter tyres as standard and chains probably included too. Hire from the French side and the "saving" is gobbled up almost immediately by needing a Vignette for 20 mins in Switzerland.
Depends who you're flying with, but I have found when flying in with BA, the cost of adding a week's rental to return flights is really competitive. Never had any issues with Avis/Budget who BA partner with. Essentially, if you don't ding the car anywhere, you won't be charged.
Consider the terrain. Are you comfortable driving up/down a mountain in a snowstorm? Not everyone is, so it's a personal decision. My personal decision would always be a hire car over coach transfer if the costs are similar. The convenience of having your own vehicle is great. Don't do it to save money though...
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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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| froomie wrote: |
Depends who you're flying with, but I have found when flying in with BA, the cost of adding a week's rental to return flights is really competitive. Never had any issues with Avis/Budget who BA partner with. Essentially, if you don't ding the car anywhere, you won't be charged.
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Concur, but worth noting 2 things:
1) Renting with BA generally gets you an extra free driver, which in my experience with Avis @ GVA means they allow multiple additional drivers and don't need to see the licences.
2) re dings - they used to be pretty forgiving - as of the season just gone (2019/20), they started inspecting the cars closely with a torch and finding any tiny scratch. Mine was almost invisible - even tho' I check cars rigorously on collection I either missed it, or it was put on in a car park. Cost E900 (fortunately, insurance4carhire paid up with no issues).
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You can't generally add a 2nd driver remotely: they have to see the driver's license at the desk. If you plan on one driver consider what happens if they're injured and can't drive. The 2nd driver will have to go to a Car Rental office and get themselves authorised etc. which could be difficult.
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Reading the very small print of one hire agreement (I was really bored) I saw that a second driver is permitted to drive in an emergency - whatever that is.
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ALWAYS hire from the Swiss side.
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I almost AWAYS rent from the French side - the price difference can be very large, but then again it is sometimes cheeper from the Swiss side. Do your homework and check. Don't take anything as an ALWAYS do this.
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You know it makes sense.
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| snowdave wrote: |
2) re dings - they used to be pretty forgiving - as of the season just gone (2019/20), they started inspecting the cars closely with a torch and finding any tiny scratch. Mine was almost invisible - even tho' I check cars rigorously on collection I either missed it, or it was put on in a car park. Cost E900 (fortunately, insurance4carhire paid up with no issues). |
Funny how different experiences can be with the same company. I hired from them via BA twice last season, first return took 20 seconds and no close-up inspection. Second one was out of hours and nothing charged at all.
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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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@froomie, could well be staff or manager-dependent, but I hired from them 5 times last season, and in the last 4 of those (post 1/1/20) they were consistently fastidious.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| snowdave wrote: |
| froomie wrote: |
Depends who you're flying with, but I have found when flying in with BA, the cost of adding a week's rental to return flights is really competitive. Never had any issues with Avis/Budget who BA partner with. Essentially, if you don't ding the car anywhere, you won't be charged.
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Concur, but worth noting 2 things:
1) Renting with BA generally gets you an extra free driver, which in my experience with Avis @ GVA means they allow multiple additional drivers and don't need to see the licences.
2) re dings - they used to be pretty forgiving - as of the season just gone (2019/20), they started inspecting the cars closely with a torch and finding any tiny scratch. Mine was almost invisible - even tho' I check cars rigorously on collection I either missed it, or it was put on in a car park. Cost E900 (fortunately, insurance4carhire paid up with no issues). |
Currently got my CC company fighting an unnotified $250 charge lobbed on me by Avis 4 months after a rental completed. Avis have completely lost my respect as one of the more blue chip operators in car hire (and thinking of taking it up with BA as it was a fly-drive rate with them). I do wonder if the troubles in the industry (e.g. Hertz) have led to a cash grab culture no matter the ethics.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Dave of the Marmottes, Likewise not happy with Avis. They cancelled my car hire just as I was about to leave to go to Andora. Then charged me for the return which I thought they had cancelled.
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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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I have to say that it's almost got to the stage where I get an assistant to check the car over every time. It certainly paid off last time: the car park assistant identified a couple of scratches I'd missed, two major pieces of trim protection that hadn't been removed, and a couple of alloy scrapes that she said would most likely have meant a charge. To my mind, if they're going to get so stringent, then they can come over and do the check for me and sign the car off themselves. It's the logical end-point of their approach.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Re scratches and dints - always take photos and video (including inside, roof and wheels) and compare against any damage highlighted by the rental company before you leave the collection point.
If they don't check it on return (e.g. out of hours) then do the same as above before going to check-in.
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any tiny scratch. Mine was almost invisible - even tho' I check cars rigorously on collection I either missed it, or it was put on in a car park.
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That should surely be classed as fair wear and tear?
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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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| halfhand wrote: |
| Quote: |
any tiny scratch. Mine was almost invisible - even tho' I check cars rigorously on collection I either missed it, or it was put on in a car park.
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That should surely be classed as fair wear and tear? |
Their definition of fair wear and tear is apparently "smaller than a Euro coin". It was the one time in a decade that I handed the keys back and didn't wait around for them to check the car over (I was in a rush), so I blame myself a bit! The reality is that to see some scratches, you need an inspection lamp and the right angle, and if you do that they are huge, and at other times imperceptible. I've had cars before where despite close inspection, it's not until I've got them into my apartment car park, in bright sunlight, that I've seen a bit of damage. That's why I keep a tube of t-cut in my apartment - it's amazing what it can do!
I also accept that there's an element of Karma about this - I've returned cars which I have dinged slightly and only ever had one c.E80 charge for a wheel trim.
I just wish there was a rent-a-wreck type outlet at Geneva; I'd much rather have a pre-dented car and no liability.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I love rentals which are already beaten up before I get them, so long as they don't also stink of tobacco smoke. It's just less hassle as you don't then need to check them over.
If you've ever sold a car to "we buy any car", then that's how I check mine over, on receipt. On occasion there's also the "I won't sign this unless you show me the car" business to go through. Inevitably the supplier ends up discounting stuff which is clearly damage, which makes it hard for them to blame that same damage on me later.
I take photos of every angle and look at the car in great detail. I don't recall ever having a rental car which was correctly marked up by the supplier. It's not in their interests to do that after all: getting multiple customers to pay for one scratch would be very profitable. As someone said, if I have to drop the thing off and they aren't there to sign I shoot the thing again.
I'm polite and patient; if the assistant gets annoyed that's up to them. I hope very much they note that I'm clearly going to fight any fraud very hard. Perhaps that's why I've never had an issue.
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I just wish there was a rent-a-wreck type outlet at Geneva; I'd much rather have a pre-dented car and no liability.
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The last car I rented at Geneva airport was an intersting experience. The plane was early and there was no queue at immigration so we were at least half an hour early collecting the car. The receptionist said the car had only just come in and there were no marks on it. Even though it was wet from the car wash we did the usual close inspection. There were dents and scapes everywhere including damage to the interior. We walked back to the reception and dragged the receptionist along. He took one look at the first large scatch and signed the whole lot off. There were no problems on the return. All they were interested in was that it was full of fuel. The most damaged car I rented came with small dents all over the roof and bonnet. It had been out in a hail storm. I dread to think what the bill for those repairs was.
Last year we rented a car from one of the smaller Italian companies at Venice airport. The car was fine on pick up but while parked in a car park in St. Ulrich in the Dolomites some one scapped the bumper quite badly. If it were my car I would have been rather cross. When we took it back we insisted the car was inspected. The scratch was not even commented on.
I never cease to be amazed at the amount of damage on even low milage rental cars. More than I would get in more than 100,000 miles of normal driving. But then as my nepthew says "whats the best car for driving off road?" - "a rental car"
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@Halitosis, Avis Geneva are atrocious - don't touch them. Europcar, Enterprise and Hertz very good. If you're booking early, you can often find a 4wd Octavia or similar hidden in the medium/large size car class for the same price as a 2wd car. I wouldn't worry about chains with a 4wd on winter tyres and if it's your first time driving to the Alps on a ski holiday, you don't need the hassle of learning how to fit them etc.
I always book through Autoeurope on the Swiss side and I never take the budget brand option - the difference in service from Hertz/Europcar/Enterprise on the main desks in the airport vs Alamo/Thrifty/Budget etc. in the P51 carpark is huge. The cars are better too, I've almost always been given a choice of cars and several free upgrades because the reserved promotional Octavia or whatever had already been given to someone else. This is especially true if you arrive after say 2pm on a Saturday. I've had a Volvo XC60, Range Rover Evoque, Octavia RS, a Jeep and a few others for no extra charge. I find Hertz particularly good for a free upgrade. Helps if you don't look like a destitute tourist and at least greet them in French (snobby but true IME..  )
Good tip I saw on here from someone else was to reserve something early and then just keep an eye out for early season offers. There's no charge for cancellation through Autoeurope so if a better deal comes up on a 4wd later, just cancel the first booking.
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FAQ
