Transfers! Are there any reasonable ones?

A snowHead

I've just been looking up the cost of transfers....
Now I'm not sure if my memory is somewhat rose-tinged, but have they (and car hire!) become stupid-expensive?
I found the cheapest transfer from Geneva airport to Samoens is getting on for £450, with the very cheapest car hire at £400. Though not sure my skis would fit!
This brings the cost of flying, including transfers and parking in the UK to around £950!
I can drive there for nearer £600, including an Ibis on the way out and back.
Any suggestions? Or is it The Drive?

A snowHead

Go to a different country with a decent train and integrated bus system. Austria and/or Switzerland

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Leonard Smalls, I don't know about the cost of transfers, but as a general comment on the cost of car hire many sHs have commented on the fact that car hire in European countries at the moment is significantly higher than in previous years. An explanation often given, which sounds plausible, is that during the pandemic car rental firms sold off their vehicles as they had virtually no business, and when business picked up again and they started to buy vehicles to restock they were affected by the world wide shortage of new cars which in turn is due to automotive semiconductor shortages post pandemic. Sad

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Door-door Geneva-Chamonix transfers were a bit more expensive last winter than 2019 e.g. ~ €90 return vs iirc ~ €70.

No idea re Samoens transfer infrastructure.

The car hire business, marginal at the best of times, aiui, had a torrid time over the crise. Its pre-crisis business model essentially made no sense. And is broken. Probably never to recover long term. C.f. Autonomous vehicles.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I am not sure if you can expect to access next winter's transfer schedules and prices yet.

While it takes a little longer, an inexpensive solution is always to use public transport. Geneva Airport to Cluses by train will cost well under 20 euros each way, with an hourly service. I am pretty sure there will be a bus service from Cluses station to Samoens, though the timetable currently online is the very sparse low season one. With luck someone here will know the winter frequency.

However it does seem to be the case that transfer companies were hard hit by Covid, and the winter just gone the prices were higher than previously, and there were less frequent services for the shared transfers. However they still exist and we got a shared transfer to St Gervais for 46 euros a head each way, which is about the same distance as Samoens.

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@Leonard Smalls, oh and friends in March saved huge money by hiring their car from Veyrier, a modest taxi drive from GVA.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

@Leonard Smalls,
young miniRoll has today booked train from Gva - Bourg: admittedly mid week, and admittedly this summer, for €45 return. There's a lot to be said for public transport.

@Leonard Smalls, I think their taxi was 4 mins? But a few CHFs!

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Did Samoens GVA transfer in March … taxi David … e480 return for 8 seater … great service and good price too.

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I was going to suggest the train as well. I've got the train to Cluses before from Lyon then the bus to Flaine, I suppose Samoens isn't much different.

Rome2Rio reccomends taking the bus for between £14 to £24.

That e480 return is for 8 people … so £50 each return … I think that’s fine.
You can get a bus to close to Samoens too for a bit less

You know it makes sense.

@Leonard Smalls, but the someone doing the transfer doesn't work all the time - in peak season transfers can be doing 4 or 5 return trips to GVA a day, but they have to finance and insure a vehicle all year round, comply with onerous Swiss rules on who can drive, and run a schedule that allows for flight delays etc. They're not earning £200 per trip every day. If they were lots of them wouldn't have given up over the last couple of years. I have mates who run transfer companies who have got through by the skin of their teeth, and thanks to the B word can't employ people at the rates they could. So their costs have gone up again. The actual distance/time of the transfer isn't the issue - nthe fixed costs of taking a minibus to Geneva airport have gone up significantly - so of the c£200 (Morzine is c£180 each way) you spend, most is fixed cost rather than diesel.

We generally hire now and hire cars can be as little as £50 a day, but normally £80 and often £100+ next winter. So if you're going for a week and there's more than 4 of you a £200 transfer can be the best way (assuming you can't get the train - which we generally can't as we do evening flights).

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@Leonard Smalls, not sure why you can't find a shared transfer ... ?

A snowHead

Nowt comes up - Samoens isn't that popular despite being a great place (shhhh)

Help!!

Transfers! Are there any reasonable ones?

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