Poster: A snowHead
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Does anyone know any options for affordable car rental at Geneva airport this season? Prices for a week seem in the £600 region which is a bit insane?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sadly, most people seem to report rates in that region (or maybe £450 if they are lucky)...
Is a car the only option to get to your chosen resort? With the newish train line between Genève and Annemasse which opened just before COVID, train transfers (while still a hassle) are easier than they used to be.
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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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Take a look at the Hertz worldwide site. They, for some reason, had some decently sized vehicles for £500 (prepaid rate but cancellable and refundable) in weeks for Easter. Also try ensuring that when you search you include or select the French side rather than Swiss. Again, depending on how big a vehicle you’re after, it looked like a few weeks were reasonable.
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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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Prices appear to have been a roller-coaster this year - probably impacted by the shortage/delayed supply of new cars. A few weeks ago it was over £1,000 for Christmas week
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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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A quick question for those in the know, is the swiss side of geneva airport known as Geneve-Cointrin? (for car rental purposes)
Thanks
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To be fair, the analysis is that the rental companies were hard hit by the Pandemic lockdowns and the economics were such that they continued to dispose of cars in the normal turnover process (plus sold many of their underutilised vehicles). There was no financial justification to renew the stock, so when things picked up, there was a shortage. And given the current continuing cycles of infection, they aren't disposed to speculatively burden themselves with potentially further underutilised stock - so that's where we are for the coming season.
To be constructive: people should also check if it's possible to get to their destinations by public transport or transfer providers. Quite a lot of Swiss resorts, for example, are accessible by public transport from GVA, albeit it may take twice as long, or more, or involve a taxi for the final leg. The SBB Swiss rail timetable site will quickly show if such a route is viable for your destination - put 'Genève-Aéroport' as the 'From' point.
Of course, this isn't going to be viable for a significant proportion of resorts, so sympathies to those who find themselves in this situation. My guess is that these higher prices will be in place for this season, at least, if not into the summer.
And yes, Cointrin is the Swiss segment of the airport. All other things being equal, you would generally prefer to pick up and collect from the P51 car park which is 10 mins walk from the Swiss-side car hire desks, or a short shuttle bus. When you book, always check that you're picking up and returning at the same location, ideally P51 - sometimes intermediaries use the Cointrin designation even 'though you're collecting/returning at the more distant Ferney Voltaire (so check) .
There's a Snowheads thread with maps and diagrams of how to walk to P51 and how to exit it and get onto the autoroute towards the Swiss resorts »here«
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Sat 11-12-21 23:42; edited 6 times in total
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@james75, yes Swiss side and recognised as GVA in car rental online forms. French side is GGV.
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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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Thanks all. Have secured a car for 5 days for £320. Not cheap but not ridiculous. Thought of the train / taxi option to Nendaz but have gone with the car to try and limit contact points etc. Hopefully all will be ok.
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