 Poster: A snowHead
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firstly hi everyone, first time on here, looks like the first heavy snowfall of the season this week, WOOHOO!!! Ive booked to go to chatel on 26th jan - 2nd feb, flying in/out of Geneva. tried to get a hire car sorted and god is it expensive. Im not going in school hols and it isnt a frech/swiss holiday either so im confused as to why it is so expensive. we need a fairly big car as there is 4 adults, 4 cases and a snowboard for the journey from geneva to chatel. was thinking of a mondeo or something similar. Cheapest quote up to now is about £340. If anyone can help i would be gratefull, cheers rick
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome to  s Ricklovesthepowder.
We have a magic link that gives you 15% off Holiday Autos prices - it may help.
Car hire is more expensive this year than previous years because the car hire companies have reduced their fleet sizes. Less cars = higher prices. You're also booking comparatively late - if you want a bargain then you need to book stuff like this 8-10 months out.
IMHO, £340 for a Mondeo isn't bad given where we are in the year and what car hire prices have been doing.
Personally, I'd recommend opting for a compact wagon, rather than a Mondeo as you could end up with a saloon that won't accommodate the board.
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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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Hi, Welcome to snowheads .
Try a car hire comparison site, we use carrentals.co.uk to find the best avaialble deal http://compare.carrentals.co.uk/search.php and maybe go for a 'compact' type such as a peugot 307. It should be ok for 4 adults and was around £220 for the week when I last looked. You should be ok, maybe try to reduce the number of bags you are taking, it will save on the airfare as well.
The price doesn't seem to vary, even during the peak weeks, only availability is limited for peak periods.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| FlyingStantoni wrote: |
Welcome to s Ricklovesthepowder.
We have a magic link that gives you 15% off Holiday Autos prices - it may help.
Car hire is more expensive this year than previous years because the car hire companies have reduced their fleet sizes. Less cars = higher prices. You're also booking comparatively late - if you want a bargain then you need to book stuff like this 8-10 months out.
IMHO, £340 for a Mondeo isn't bad given where we are in the year and what car hire prices have been doing.
Personally, I'd recommend opting for a compact wagon, rather than a Mondeo as you could end up with a saloon that won't accommodate the board. |
cheers for the help, that link wont work , any reason why at all? it was with holiday autos aswell so the extra 15% will come in handy. cheers, any snow in morzine yet, massive amounts forecast for avoriaz, 60cm+ on the tops
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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.
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im only 23 so have to add a stupid bloody excess on each day!!! also i went for the added insurance option, alps in winter = possible hazards lol, im taking my snow chains from home and popping them into the suitcase just incase!
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| Ricklovesthepowder wrote: |
| im only 23 so have to add a stupid bloody excess on each day!!! also i went for the added insurance option, alps in winter = possible hazards lol, im taking my snow chains from home and popping them into the suitcase just incase! |
Chains come in different sizes for different size wheels - even if you get the same car as you have at home there's no guarantee the chains will fit the hire car.
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If you're hiring from Geneva airport pay attention when booking as to whether you've booked to pick it up from the French or Swiss sector! Often the French side is cheaper but - depending on where you are wanting to drive to - it is a bit more faff to get in and out of the airport. We also had trouble returning it as you have to come in via France, a kind of random suburb, round the back of the airport, not near the big entry/motorway part in Switzerland. We found it a bit stressful driving around trying to find the frnech way into the airport when running late for our flight!!
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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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Ricklovesthepowder, have you thought of getting a transfer rather than hiring a car.
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Hi Ricklovesthepowder,
Agree with the point of hire from the French side - it is very confusing getting through the airport & out / into the carpark but the car hire desks are really helpful & give you a map ... my tip would be to ignore all the Airport signs when coming back into Geneva & give yourself plenty of time !
Get car hire insurance before you go from online provider - it is much cheaper.
You can use the comparison sites but to be honest I always find Holiday Autos cheapest.
For chains I would suggest checking out the roads first & if needed get from supermarket - it will be cheaper than hiring as the cars should to be with winter tyres.
As for the size / car ... bet you will not get a Mondeo !! .. they aren't French  ... thought of an estate / kango
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| brock wrote: |
| Ricklovesthepowder, have you thought of getting a transfer rather than hiring a car. |
we are stayeing slightly out of chatel so the hire car is essential. transfers are 60 euros each return and there are 4 of us so for the difference we may as well have the car. ive been wondering of the advantages/ dissadvantages of hiring from the french or swiss side. It seams to make more sense to hire it from the swiss side as you drive through switzerland for 3o mins untill you get to the south shoreline of Lake Geneva. Also if its on the french side, when enetering switzerland we may have to pay the swiss toll for the year, which is about 70 francs!!!
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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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Where you drive / go should not be a problem .. all hire cars should have a Swiss road disc so no 70 francs payable ... route sound similar to the one I take regularly (via Thollon) - compare the prices & take the cheapest whether French or Swiss side.
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| Quote: |
all hire cars should have a Swiss road disc
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Sorry but this is duff information. Most cars hired in France will NOT have a Swiss motorway vignette. It's better to hire on Swiss side unless the price difference is great - apart from the vignette, they will have snow tyres and it's easier to find the Swiss entrance to the airport - the only one that's signposted more than 50 yards away. But there is plenty of info on Snowheads about route finding and other aspects of hiring on the french side (the one advantage of that being that you don't need a bus to get to the car hire desks, as you now do on the Swiss side)
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You know it makes sense.
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Ah, but a fit young 23 year old likeRicklovesthepowder, wouldn't need the bus to the car hire parking place necessarily. From greatest ease I agree that hiring on the Swiss side is just easier.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Phyllis Stein,
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You can use the comparison sites but to be honest I always find Holiday Autos cheapest.
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Holiday autos always appear in the cost comparison sites but don't always appear as the best buy. I used to use holidayautos exclusively but they increased their prices at one stage last year (around the time they were advertising a 25% off sale) and I started looking for alternatives.
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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: |
It seams to make more sense to hire it from the swiss side as you drive through switzerland for 3o mins untill you get to the south shoreline of Lake Geneva. Also if its on the french side, when enetering switzerland we may have to pay the swiss toll for the year, which is about 70 francs!!!
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Ricklovesthepowder, From the Swiss side you will be in Switzerland for aprox 5 mins once through the third tunnel you go through the Bardonnex douine (SP?) and then you are in France. Oh and the vignette is 40 CHF and worth the hasssle of trying to drive around to avoid this. You only need it for Swiss motorways so could go via St Julian etc.
Anyway you are going to Chatel I would head into central geneva following signs to Thonon/Evian take the new Thonon motorway/bypass thingy and you are there.
Good luck
Andy
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Ricklovesthepowder, From my own research when looking at flying to Geneva I'd say booking car hire from the swiss side is a no-brainer.
One thing that seems to be causing some confusion recently is whether to opt for the 'winterising' pack - a £70 option late in the booking process when I was looking. The general consensus seems to be to ignore it. As everyone says, all hire cars in Switzerland have to have winter tyres by law. Worst comes to the worst you'll have to pay it at the desk.
If possible, send someone straight through to the car hire desk as soon as you can (remainder of party wait for bags) because there are some hefty queues at peak times.
If only you'd asked for advice before booking your flights....we could have tried to convert you to driving from U.K. 
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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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| youspurs1 wrote: |
Ricklovesthepowder, From my own research when looking at flying to Geneva I'd say booking car hire from the swiss side is a no-brainer.
One thing that seems to be causing some confusion recently is whether to opt for the 'winterising' pack - a £70 option late in the booking process when I was looking. The general consensus seems to be to ignore it. As everyone says, all hire cars in Switzerland have to have winter tyres by law. Worst comes to the worst you'll have to pay it at the desk.
If possible, send someone straight through to the car hire desk as soon as you can (remainder of party wait for bags) because there are some hefty queues at peak times.
If only you'd asked for advice before booking your flights....we could have tried to convert you to driving from U.K. |
thanks for the help. ive decided that im going to book on the swiss side, then the swiss road charge will be included wont it. ive got a sat nav which works over there but the way i will be going is into central geneva, then you cross thr river rhone over a large bridge and then take an immediate left past the big water fountain (forgot the name sorry) and continue to thonnon les bains then onto the D902 i think it it. also if i book in switz then the hire car will come with winter tyres because its compulsary, is that correct? bonus if so, cheers rick. p.s, we have friends flying from jersey to manchester then were all flying from liverpool to geneva so driving isnt really an option, i jhave done it twice though, good laugh, drove to morzine once and les deux alps -- quite a bit further actually lol!!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you hire on the Swiss side the car will come with winter tyres but you may well get charged a mandatory winterisation fee for this - see this thread . Winterisation is included with some of the cars from easycar.com, but is not included with any from holidayautos (is £80 extra). Also the swiss aren't keen on satnavs with speed camera warnings so you might need to watch out for that.
If you're going through Geneva though I'd probably hire from the French side if it's cheaper, because you won't need the vignette (road pass) as you're not driving on the Swiss motorways. Your route through the city sounds about right - just head for the lake and hug the water's edge round through Geneva, heading towards Thonon. Haven't done the journey since the Thonon bypass so will be interested to hear how it goes. Never had a problem before though!
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The Thonon bypass is a legend and cuts travel time down be about half an hour. It also allows residents of Thonon to leave their houses on a weekend.
Andy
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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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We didnt take satnav or a map last year, we were heading to Grand Massif and missed the turn sign posted for Chamonix as you exit the town, one hour later we were seeing signs for Grenoble and so decided to pull in and buy a map!!!!
Obvioiusly we had to make a detour 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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the swiss dont like sat navs that tell you where speed cameras are??? how will they ever know??? lol
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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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anderoo, Thanks, I didn't know that. But it's still worth seeing once, even if you just drive past... a bit like Stonehenge on the A303... 
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anderoo, seems both are ok, but I hadn't heard of Lac Léman before...
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman (French: Lac Léman, Léman, Lac de Genève)
Following the rise of Geneva it became Lac de Genève (translated into English as Lake Geneva). In the 18th century, Lac Léman was revived in French. It is often called Lac de Genève in Geneva and Lac Léman elsewhere but the customary name in French is now Lac Léman or even le Léman. Certain maps name the lake the Lac d'Ouchy (after the port located on the Lausanne lake shore). In contemporary English, the name Lake Geneva is predominant.
I'll try to remember in future...
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You know it makes sense.
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| WayneC wrote: |
anderoo, seems both are ok, but I hadn't heard of Lac Léman before...
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman (French: Lac Léman, Léman, Lac de Genève)
Following the rise of Geneva it became Lac de Genève (translated into English as Lake Geneva). In the 18th century, Lac Léman was revived in French. It is often called Lac de Genève in Geneva and Lac Léman elsewhere but the customary name in French is now Lac Léman or even le Léman. Certain maps name the lake the Lac d'Ouchy (after the port located on the Lausanne lake shore). In contemporary English, the name Lake Geneva is predominant.
I'll try to remember in future... |
very confused now lol, maybe we should just all start to call it "the pond next to Geneva" then we are all clear on it!!!
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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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I have travelled to Geneva a lot over the last year and I am sure you have tried this, but the price comparison sites (travelsupermarket.com mainly) generally seem to have the best deals if booked far enough in advance. As alluded to previously, £340 does not sound like a terrible price for the Mondeo. Make sure that snow tyres and chains are included in the quote though and always put Switzerland (not France) as your pick up point in Geneve Aeroport.
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Poster: A snowHead
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anderoo, Think you will find it is the Jet D'eau. There is only one so it is not plural.
And why can we not call the lake by both names ? The Swiss have far more lakeside than the French do (all the North shore and some South shore at each end).
We have The English Channel & the French have La Manche(it is the same expensive waterway, whatever you call it).
With the new Thonon bypass in place this has become my prefered route to the airport at most off peak times. Less Km's, no toll, and nicer views. Especially on a clear day with Lac Leman/Lake geneva, the Jet D'eau and Monte Bianco in the same picture
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Touchguru, why do you say pick up on the swiss side not french, just interested thats all. that price didnt include tyres or chains, but ive been told that if you hire a car is swiss in the winter, its compulsory to have snow tyres anyway? so surely they wouldnt let me drive off with summer tyres on? cheers
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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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Have hired car many times from Geneva, always from Swiss side as it seems easier, vignette always included from Swiss side, winter tyres always included, only ordered chains a few times (never needed chains yet (but only driving to 1200m ele.), although they are often in boot anyway when not booked). Even when there are 4 of us (with 1 ski bag and 3 cases) always book smallest car (often get given a larger one, sometimes after I have refused the offer of an upgrade!).
I have nearly always found Auto-europe to be cheapest hire agent (my car is then usually with Europcar or Budget)and I usually take Excess cover at time of booking (although Annual cover bought on internet would be cheaper for multiple rentals during the year).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Annual cover bought on internet would be cheaper for multiple rentals during the year
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some travel insurance policies include this - worth checking.
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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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A Swiss vignette tip.. I hired from the French side at Christmas one year as I needed to leave from Lyon, but having previously tried the 'back route' to the airport avoiding the autoroutes ( and it taking ages) decided I would buy a vignette to take with me. As they run from 1st Dec one year through the next year and until the 31st Jan the following year you can get a cheap vignette on ebay ( I paid £3) towards the end of the year as they are, by then only valid for a few weeks more.
You need one that has not already been stuck on, but there seemed a ready market in them. Only downside was - my clever plan was worthless as the French hire car already had one on! At least it was only £3!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ricklovesthepowder, exactly for that reason you mention. If you hire from the Swiss side they are required to provide snow chains and winter tyres with the car. In France there is no such requirement so they can leave these out and charge separately for them should you request them.
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Touchguru, I was charged separately for chains on the Swiss side last season, for a car hired through Holiday Autos (the car did have snow tyres, though) and I did actually have to ask for them, they weren't in the car when I collected it. Even on the Swiss side, it's best not to make any assumptions about what is and isn't included in the car hire price you paid online. If the conditions say something like 'winterisation included' you'll need, in order to avoid any surprises, to check exactly what that means.
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Fair point Hurtle, I always ask to make sure when booking a car in Geneva and they always tell me, with a perceived hint of irritation, 'yes of course they are included'. Certainly worth asking when booking though.
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FAQ
