 Poster: A snowHead
|
| Quote: |
nab those £30 flights
|
very few of those around nowadays, especially on weekends in the ski season. On easyJet the basic seat price no longer includes a large cabin bag (i.e. one of those on wheels) which will cost almost as much extra as a 23kg bag in the hold. Getting a family from home to a ski resort is depressingly expensive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| Quote: |
Another option is to travel by train. It can be done from the UK for under £200 a head (and that includes taking skis).
|
Hmmm, I looked at this the other day for travel London to BSM and couldn't see how this could be done easily. Granted, we need to get a train to London too but it seems to be a whopper of a travel day and unlikely to be in resort no earlier than 7pm with shopping to do etc.
Gutted really as wanted to train instead of drive but just too expensive with extra hassles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| johnE wrote: |
| The train from Geneva to bourg st Maurice is ok and apart from weekends |
@4 hours with two changes and customs at Cornavin I'd be seriously thinking about the Eurostar instead. Really a journey for the trainspotters. I used to do the Grenoble -> Geneva leg 3x a week, nothing better than trundling past le lac du Bourget on a winter morning with the sun just peeping over the mountains, or sunset for that matter. Nothng worse than the train broken down at Culoz, waiting hours for a shunter to tow us into the station.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| kettonskimum wrote: |
| Quote: |
Another option is to travel by train. It can be done from the UK for under £200 a head (and that includes taking skis).
|
Hmmm, I looked at this the other day for travel London to BSM and couldn't see how this could be done easily. Granted, we need to get a train to London too but it seems to be a whopper of a travel day and unlikely to be in resort no earlier than 7pm with shopping to do etc.
Gutted really as wanted to train instead of drive but just too expensive with extra hassles. |
I stayed overnight in Paris when I did the train last year. It made for a very relaxing journey.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
I think you have to move your initial focus of planning away from flights, and more towards destinations that support public transport transfers.
Car hire and transfers have become more expensive over the last two years, and somewhat unpredictable as well - sometimes reasonable but other times extremely costly. My advice to the many queries we get about suggesting locations is to make at least one of your candidate destinations somewhere that's accessible by train/télépherique/bus. Then work backwards from the ideal arrival time and see what connections are available, and then lok at the flights that get you there, with a margin for delays. I would admit, however, that this process usually ends up with a departing flight from the UK being somewhat earlier in the day than if we were fly-driving.
Having just booked our flights for our December, pre-season trip out to our apartment, we'll be using public transport this time 'round, as the car hire options at GVA look pricey. Especially given that all the rental car would be doing is getting us there and back. Resorts like Verbier are easily do-able by public transport and in fact, the transfer is arguably easier than the car rental circus (especially for the driver). And if people are arriving on different flights and one or more are delayed, it doesn't impact those who've arrived on time. Our resort is a satellite, so the public transport links aren't as good as Verbier's, but still good enough to fly-train as opposed to fly-drive.
It does look like flights are still ridiculously cheap (at least for our next trip out) but the days of correspondingly cheap car rental seem to be over, or at least not as certain as they were. And the impression I get is that minibus transfers are also either getting more expensive, or often have schedules that don't work with people's flight arrival times. I suppose there's a corresponding argument for taking the same approach as I'm suggesting with trains i.e. work out what transfers are available given your preferred flight schedules, and then chose a resort that works effectively with these, and then choose your flights last.
I also think that another candidate option should be self-drive, at least for comparison purposes. Think £500-700 all-in costs for a vehicle with, say 4 people i.e. £125-£175/person. Initially, this may not compare well with fly-whatever, but then add the transfer costs in and it can end up looking better. I don't think there's any absolute winner because the variables are too, well, variable and also depend on the specifics of those involved as well. But it's worth having fly-train and self-drive on the table for comparison purposes. As long as you take a 'working backwards' approach with these, as opposed to just booking the flights first before looking at the rest of the logistics.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Wed 14-09-22 9:00; edited 5 times in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Quote: |
I think we have to start moving ... more towards destinations that support public transport transfers.
|
I think this in general, no?
The (affordable) car hire business model seems broken, possibly permanently, possibly always was.
"Transfers" seem only really to have worked well where there is adequate density of travellers so +/- to main areas served from GVA.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
I stayed overnight in Paris when I did the train last year. It made for a very relaxing journey.
|
Yes, I'd factored that in too. Whilst sounding lovely it's just another £200 to add to travel costs. We're a family of 4 and it's about £750 to drive and DIY a ski hol (plus the added bonus of shopping in a nearby town/bringing wine back etc).
Worked out train could cost between £1000-£1200 so really not worth it. Annoying the most expensive leg is London to Paris on Eurostar (almost as much as Paris to Bourg SM) but a fraction of the time.
If the difference was marginal I'd opt for the train.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@under a new name, I suspect car hire has been undermined by the supply chain problems hitting car manufacture. Their business model will have relied on buying large car orders at a good discount from manufacturers (whose sale numbers are thereby kept up, and whose latest models get public visibility) and selling on after a year as premium used cars with a service history. At the moment manufacturers don't have problems selling their limited production at full price (even possibly inflated) so there are no discounts.
If I am right (I am speculating, I don't have inside knowledge) we may return to a more competitive market in a year or so.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Well, it may not return to the previous situation for some time if the car rental companies can make as much or more money from a smaller fleet of expensive vehicles, versus a large fleet of cheaper ones. Not being in that business, I've no idea what the operating model, costs and profits look like. What seems to have happened is that the point where it's cheaper per person to go by train versus rent a car has dropped. Of course, this is very dependent on the number of people sharing a vehicle. And if you've chosen the resort without reference to train access, you may then be adding taxi transfer to the equation. Which bring us back to having at least one candidate where you can get there by train or at least by a combination of train/télépherique/bus.
The uncertainty here is that flight arrival times have also become very unpredictable, thanks to a high degree of rescheduling. You can allow a contingency for flight delays, but at some point, the train connection will become infeasible. Train tickets are often discounted if you book a specific train and seat in advance, but this may have to be discarded if you're delayed and you have to buy a new ticket. However, this is just as much a problem for shared transfers, where your transfer can't wait indefinitely for delayed passengers. Even car rental can be a problem if you arrive very late and there's no one at the pick-up point.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just before the pandemic struck we flew to Geneva and used the train to get to Les arcs. The whole journey there and back from Birmingham cost £150 each with luggage, but no skis. Now, I’m not sure as flights have shot up in price. TBH the flight costs were and still are ridiculously cheap. As a comparison it can and often is over £100 return to London on the train. It sounds wrong (and is) that I can fly to Bratislava (where I am at the moment) for less than I can get a train to London.
I think @LaForet, is right when planning a ski holiday - start at the resort and work backwards building up a matrix of travel options. The methodology is called dynamic programming.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| LaForet wrote: |
I think we have to start moving the initial focus of planning away from flights, and more towards destinations that support public transport transfers.
Car hire and transfers have become more expensive over the last two years, and somewhat unpredictable as well - sometimes reasonable but other times extremely costly. My advice to the many queries we get about suggesting locations is to make at least one of your candidate destinations somewhere that's accessible by train/télépherique/bus. Then work backwards from the ideal arrival time and see what connections are available, and then lok at the flights that get you there, with a margin for delays. I would admit, however, that this process usually ends up with a departing flight from the UK being somewhat earlier in the day than if we were fly-driving.
Having just booked our flights for our December, pre-season trip out to our apartment, we'll be using public transport this time 'round, as the car hire options at GVA look pricey. Especially given that all the rental car would be doing is getting us there and back. Resorts like Verbier are easily do-able by public transport and in fact, the transfer is arguably easier than the car rental circus (especially for the driver). And if people are arriving on different flights and one or more are delayed, it doesn't impact those who've arrived on time. Our resort is a satellite, so the public transport links aren't as good as Verbier's, but still good enough to fly-train as opposed to fly-drive.
It does look like flights are still ridiculously cheap (at least for our next trip out) but the days of correspondingly cheap car rental seem to be over, or at least not as certain as they were. And the impression I get is that minibus transfers are also either getting more expensive, or often have schedules that don't work with people's flight arrival times. I suppose there's a corresponding argument for taking the same approach as I'm suggesting with trains i.e. work out what transfers are available given your preferred flight schedules, and then chose a resort that works effectively with these, and then choose your flights last.
I also think that another candidate option should be self-drive, at least for comparison purposes. Think £500-700 all-in costs for a vehicle with, say 4 people i.e. £125-£175/person. Initially, this may not compare well with fly-whatever, but then add the transfer costs in and it can end up looking better. I don't think there's any absolute winner because the variables are too, well, variable and also depend on the specifics of those involved as well. But it's worth having fly-train and self-drive on the table for comparison purposes. As long as you take a 'working backwards' approach with these, as opposed to just booking the flights first before looking at the rest of the logistics. |
Couldn't agree more with what you've written to be honest. It's a shame but the cost of a resort transfer is now causing us to rethink our destination for future trips. As someone else put it, it's the frustration of the last 10% costing x times the flight price, it just doesn't sit right. I did St Anton a few years ago and caught the train from-I want to say Zurich? Either way it was very picturesque and felt almost like a practical holiday excursion (much like the drive from Vancouver to Whistler).
So yeah, next year it will be drive or fly-train for us.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Just costing-out train vs car hire at GVA this December pre-season visit and the very cheapest smallest care rental base price is £98/day. And that's for a weekday-weekday rental in what is the low season. So for our five days it would be £500 base before any additions compared to £178 for the two of us return by train/télépherique/PostBus using a 'Saver Day Pass' ticket. The flights total £175 return - and those are the most expensive easyJet row 4, speedy boarding, seat+cabin+hold luggage. We definitely could get the flight cheaper on a standard seat and boarding. So for a notional trip based on 4 people, return, for 7 days the total cost per person would be
(i) Flights + train (Saver Day Pass) = £179
(ii) Flights + car rental = £213 (4 people sharing) or £338 (2 people sharing)*
(iii) self-drive = £125-£175 or £225-£275 (including mileage depreciation)
Not including a mileage depreciation rate into the initial self-drive figure is a bit artificial, as we're talking about around 1,000 miles going on the clock - if you used a notional 40p/mile for depreciation, then that'd be +£100/pp for self-drive (£225-£275/pp).
*For just the two of us, the flights+car rental is a lot higher - £338/pp, so the train is a real no-brainer. And this is in early December, not a peak school holiday week or the main ski season. What's interesting is that self-drive is competitive even for a short trip (for 4).
All this changes of course if there are more or fewer people sharing a vehicle and if the trip is longer or shorter. But it illustrates the point that transfer costs have a big effect on the cost per person and choice of mode of travel and perhaps given recent changes, need to be given more weight than in the past in terms of choosing destinations. I haven't made any comparisons for minibus transfers because our satellite resort isn't big enough to warrant scheduled transfers - it would effectively be close to taxi rates for the 178km journey, which would be unrepresentative.
And I appreciate that there's big difference if these costs are for someone in a self-funding group versus a family trip e.g. I might happily pay the extra £34 for the convenience of car rental on a lad's trip (especially if we were all on the same flight and arriving at the same time), but not if I was footing the extra for a family of four.
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Thu 27-10-22 16:53; edited 2 times in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
To help you understand why a private transfer seems expensive, here's a rough breakdown of the costs for a taxi business:
Example journey, Munich airport to Obergurgl, 246km via the shortest route.
My price for this season for 4-8 passengers: € 520 one way
Costs:
VAT, 10 % for km's travelled in Austria, 19% for km's travelled in Germany, Approx. € 65
Fuel for minibus (there and back), approx. € 100-120
Journey time 3-3.5 hours, that's one way. So 6-7 hours of driving for the driver, when there is no traffic. Add rush hour traffic or transfer day traffic, 7-8 hours driving.
Add a short break between drives, waiting at the airport for luggage to be collected, possible toilet stops and it quickly becomes 9 hours of work for the driver.
Everybody would like a clean car for their transfer, so bear in mind cleaning costs and extra working time for the driver. In winter often 2 car wash trips for each transfer.
Cleaning costs approx. € 10 per transfer
Airport parking is getting more expensive every year. In Munich € 10-20 for a normal pick up. If delayed it can easily be more. Zurich airport is at least € 20-30 every time. Even just dropping off can cost € 5-10
These are the obvious costs.
520 - VAT 65 - Fuel 120 - Cleaning 10 - Parking 20 - Driver pay (9 x how much do you like to earn per hour)..lets say a low € 10 per hour for simplicity 90
That leaves approx. € 215
Then the not so obvious costs:
Tax on the drivers wages, Percentages of vehicle purchase or leasing costs (we try to provide luxury cars and not the cheapest), wages for the office staff taking the bookings, Car insurance, Liability insurance, business insurance, credit card machine charges, tourism tax, office costs, vehicle wear and tear/repair, child seats, snow chains, garage rent, electricity, accountancy costs, etc, etc.
If the plane is delayed we don't charge extra, so the extra wages incl. taxes for the driver waiting around, either at the airport or the taxi base also has to be paid for somehow.
The biggest misconception is that we are always driving full with guests. It is actually rare that a pick up at the airport then coincides with a drop off from the same resort. Normally one direction we are driving an empty minibus.
Private transfer prices haven't increased that much over the last 10 years, maybe 10-20%. But the cost of buying a luxury vehicle, fuel, and general expenses has increased by a lot more than that.
Sometimes we have to think to ourselves that we should really be charging a lot more.
A private transfer is a luxury, but so is a skiing holiday.
Many people are prepared to pay € 18 for a Gin & Tonic at the hotel bar, or € 100 on a bottle of wine. Lots of people pay approx. € 150 for a 2 hour private ski lesson, or € 300-400 for a day.
The transfer to your ski resort and back to the airport is such an important part of your holiday, why does it have to be cheap?
Thanks for reading and I hope that helps understand the prices.
Have a great ski holiday this season and please think about tipping your driver if you were happy with your transfer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
Or try Greenland. Skins on outside airport terminal and 45 min walk/ski to accommodation. Luggage towed by skidoo.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| Quote: |
I also think that another candidate option should be self-drive, at least for comparison purposes. Think £500-700 all-in costs for a vehicle with, say 4 people i.e. £125-£175/person.
|
I agree. And if you haven't got a vehicle of the right size, don't want to put the miles on your car, or don't fancy arranging insurance, breakdown cover or winter tyres/snow chains then 'Vans for Bands' have 9-seat vans (minibus) available. Bit of a shameless plug but if people are looking for an economical 'door to door' alternative to flights/transfer then I genuinely think this might help. With 8 day rentals between £1212 and £1596, depending on dates and type of van, you could get a group of 6 to 8 down to a ski resort for between £2000 and £2500 at a guess. Obviously, it suits larger groups - but 2 x families could also share.
If anyone's interested, have a look at the link. Again, apologies for plugging this but it might help some people.
https://www.vansforbands.co.uk/winter-holidays
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
I always drive and the cost seems to break down to £150 ferry return £50 x2 Hotel £350 fuel ...+ food which adds up to £225 for 2 people in a car for a 2000m journey opposing this is cost of plane tickets plus carriage of skis plus transfers ....plus the added flexability to go to 2 resorts in the holiday and different local places and not worrying how heavy your suitcase is how many bags you take
ps my continental breakdown is incuded in my normal breakdown
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
^^^agree with the driving & personality I find it more relaxing, however let’s not ignore the winter tyres cost if you’re comparing £ V £ costs
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| under a new name wrote: |
| Quote: |
I think we have to start moving ... more towards destinations that support public transport transfers.
|
I think this in general, no?
The (affordable) car hire business model seems broken, possibly permanently, possibly always was.
"Transfers" seem only really to have worked well where there is adequate density of travellers so +/- to main areas served from GVA. |
Maybe it is not broken.
It could be less people heading to the slopes for various reasons?
There is also a new car shortage. Long waiting lists. So supply & demand. A company needs to meet it costs & if it only has 8 cars available, instead of 12, then the break-even point is going to be higher.
Hire companies do not keep cars for long, so anything pre-covid has probably long gone to auction for resale.
I will stick with Austria, where you can still manage to get around relatively easy for most journeys by public transport.
Similar transfer company cannot rely on a return fare. eg - drop off person A at airport, pick up person B & drop off at Resort, pick up person C at resort & drop off at airport.
Once there is a break in that chain, then that means an empty leg of making no money. I also do not know what rules are about for transfers & cleaning in between drop off/collections.
If Taxi firm needs 1000 euro per day to make it worth while & it can only do 3 legs instead of 4, then that is going to affect the pricing model. Add in the extra costs of Fuel being 20% higher, assumed increase in tolls, parking, insurance, etc. All these costs get passed on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
£510 (or Euro's, not much in it these days) return is actually ok I'd say. You have to factor in that it's unlikely that the guy will get a return fare to supplement the income.
As said, it's a good 2.5 hours each way, and allowing a little extra time for waiting at the airport and extra traffic etc, it's most of the drivers day done.
They have to do this twice for a return, so £510 for 2 days work, especially when you take out 400km worth of fuel, insurance, wear and tear etc, isn't a crazy price.
If they get lucky and have a return fare each way, then good luck to them, but I suspect that won't happen too often, certainly outside of Saturdays.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| whitedescents wrote: |
To help you understand why a private transfer seems expensive, here's a rough breakdown of the costs for a taxi business:
Example journey, Munich airport to Obergurgl, 246km via the shortest route.
My price for this season for 4-8 passengers: € 520 one way
Costs:
VAT, 10 % for km's travelled in Austria, 19% for km's travelled in Germany, Approx. € 65
Fuel for minibus (there and back), approx. € 100-120
Journey time 3-3.5 hours, that's one way. So 6-7 hours of driving for the driver, when there is no traffic. Add rush hour traffic or transfer day traffic, 7-8 hours driving.
Add a short break between drives, waiting at the airport for luggage to be collected, possible toilet stops and it quickly becomes 9 hours of work for the driver.
Everybody would like a clean car for their transfer, so bear in mind cleaning costs and extra working time for the driver. In winter often 2 car wash trips for each transfer.
Cleaning costs approx. € 10 per transfer
Airport parking is getting more expensive every year. In Munich € 10-20 for a normal pick up. If delayed it can easily be more. Zurich airport is at least € 20-30 every time. Even just dropping off can cost € 5-10
These are the obvious costs.
520 - VAT 65 - Fuel 120 - Cleaning 10 - Parking 20 - Driver pay (9 x how much do you like to earn per hour)..lets say a low € 10 per hour for simplicity 90
That leaves approx. € 215
Then the not so obvious costs:
Tax on the drivers wages, Percentages of vehicle purchase or leasing costs (we try to provide luxury cars and not the cheapest), wages for the office staff taking the bookings, Car insurance, Liability insurance, business insurance, credit card machine charges, tourism tax, office costs, vehicle wear and tear/repair, child seats, snow chains, garage rent, electricity, accountancy costs, etc, etc.
If the plane is delayed we don't charge extra, so the extra wages incl. taxes for the driver waiting around, either at the airport or the taxi base also has to be paid for somehow.
The biggest misconception is that we are always driving full with guests. It is actually rare that a pick up at the airport then coincides with a drop off from the same resort. Normally one direction we are driving an empty minibus.
Private transfer prices haven't increased that much over the last 10 years, maybe 10-20%. But the cost of buying a luxury vehicle, fuel, and general expenses has increased by a lot more than that.
Sometimes we have to think to ourselves that we should really be charging a lot more.
A private transfer is a luxury, but so is a skiing holiday.
Many people are prepared to pay € 18 for a Gin & Tonic at the hotel bar, or € 100 on a bottle of wine. Lots of people pay approx. € 150 for a 2 hour private ski lesson, or € 300-400 for a day.
The transfer to your ski resort and back to the airport is such an important part of your holiday, why does it have to be cheap?
Thanks for reading and I hope that helps understand the prices.
Have a great ski holiday this season and please think about tipping your driver if you were happy with your transfer. |
Good info, and backs up my comment - I hadn't read yours before I posted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Gored wrote: |
| under a new name wrote: |
| Quote: |
I think we have to start moving ... more towards destinations that support public transport transfers.
|
I think this in general, no?
The (affordable) car hire business model seems broken, possibly permanently, possibly always was.
"Transfers" seem only really to have worked well where there is adequate density of travellers so +/- to main areas served from GVA. |
Maybe it is not broken.
It could be less people heading to the slopes for various reasons?
There is also a new car shortage. Long waiting lists. So supply & demand. A company needs to meet it costs & if it only has 8 cars available, instead of 12, then the break-even point is going to be higher.
Hire companies do not keep cars for long, so anything pre-covid has probably long gone to auction for resale. |
For many many years hire channel has been used/orientated as buffer to production variables, stock overruns etc etc with "clearing" route out through hire fleet a means of industry adjustment for these eventuality. Basically it helps the whole chain out (raw material through labour, maintenance etc of production capacity) and syphons off stock to avoid long term ageing in prime customer supply line. They effectively make money out of stock that could just be parked and diminished assett value without having to undercut retail price point into loss. Starved output during C period has caused a vacuum in hire fleet supply, with attendant adjustment in where real cost come out, to whichever customer that may be.
We've yet to see where this will balance out longer term, confidence in supply line size/analysis may hold sway, making hire route consideration look very different.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have an ex hire car, bought 6 mths old with 13,000 on the clock (and that was high) for 60% of list price.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
We booked a transfer from Geneva to Courchevel last season. Price is 390€ for 5 pax. Mercedes Vclass. I think this is a good. There are many ways to get to the 3 Valleys, even cheaper. But if you are traveling with children, it is better to rent a car or book a transfer in advance. Taxi is too expensive for me 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Has anyone been on the train from Chambery to Bourg recently ? both the SNCF website and the trainline are offering me first class tickets which I thought might be nice as they aren't expensive - but reviews seem to indicate it's a local train, no separate classes and you can't book a seat so you might as well just book the ticket at the station when you get there. Is this right ? bit worried it'll be rammed as it's half term Saturday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
@ski3, well a story in some media last week prompted us to look at car hire in Edinburgh for an impending trip (having spent 2 or so years looking and being shocked at the rates).
Pleased to see a return to pre 2020 rates at around £20 a day for a very small car. Not quite sure what this implies for the underlying business model.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| pam w wrote: |
| There is simply no inexpensive way of going on a ski holiday......... |
Late deal with a TO that includes the transfer
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The chosen airport can make a big difference, last feb I was looking at getting to Andorra, the hire car from Barcelona, predominantly a summer destination with a lot of hire cars sat around in the winter was far cheaper than hiring from Toulouse & the flight to Barcelona was cheaper. unfortunately the covid rules stopped me flying into Spain at the time so I booked Toulouse, then the rules were changed a week before we flew out 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| tangowaggon wrote: |
| The chosen airport can make a big difference |
This is true. I just compared Sixt rental car prices at MUC vs GVA for the last two weeks in March and GVA is 50% higher with far fewer choices.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Yep, I was looking at hire car prices at Turin for the gnarly & op double but now flying into Milan where another  has found a car at less than half the price
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| under a new name wrote: |
@ski3, well a story in some media last week prompted us to look at car hire in Edinburgh for an impending trip (having spent 2 or so years looking and being shocked at the rates).
Pleased to see a return to pre 2020 rates at around £20 a day for a very small car. Not quite sure what this implies for the underlying business model. |
Not wanting to drift but I’m assuming you’re moving away from Edinburgh, a car in the city is a pain
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
@Jonny996, mostly. Have free on street parking while in Edinburgh, car won't be used, but useful when we then head across to my Mother's. At that price very justified vs costs of taxis and trains + convenient.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| Scooter in Seattle wrote: |
| tangowaggon wrote: |
| The chosen airport can make a big difference |
This is true. I just compared Sixt rental car prices at MUC vs GVA for the last two weeks in March and GVA is 50% higher with far fewer choices. |
have checked both GVA french & swiss sides?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Looks like GVA shared transfer prices taking another jump this season. A GVA/Morzine return, shared minibus transfer that was €80pp last year will be €100pp this with the operator I usually use (and I'd assume will be in line with competitors prices).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
We are €793 GVA-Tignes-GVA next season for private transfer x 4 people (CoolBus).
There were a few options that were +€1000 so not too bad based on general price increases imv.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Mjit wrote: |
| Looks like GVA shared transfer prices taking another jump this season. A GVA/Morzine return, shared minibus transfer that was €80pp last year will be €100pp this with the operator I usually use (and I'd assume will be in line with competitors prices). |
Which operator is that?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ski-Lift/Getaway Vans/do they have even more names?
Still think it's a good deal for door-to-door service though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Gored, yes. Example (BMW X-1 at GVA, X-3 at MUC since the X-1 wasn't offered, all in USD):
GVA-F: 87/day
GVA-S: 115/day
MUC: 53/day (GVA-F has the X-3 for only $141/day!, 166% higher)
The term "highway robbery" seems apropos. Of course there are the other charges; you can dig for those, including the new-to-me one-time "leaving Germany" charge of $23. Not to Ukraine, but to AUT, ITA etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Last year we did a long, long weekend trip - Weds to Monday and the cost of a private transfer for the two of us was less than we could have hired a car for, by 60%, GVA to Val D'isere. The transfer was great and relaxing and would have been the same cost if there were 6 of us!! It helped that it wasn't a peak time for the transfer cost.
I have no skin in the game with the company, but if it helps have just had an email from them with 10% with code TRICK until 7th November - Alps2Alps, they were competitive and reliable.
We are just Eurotunnel and driving all the way in January.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
....but that goes against parking costs at the airport say £60 per week or a taxi at £180 return (from Sheffield to Manchester) 
