 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
New on here, sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place, or if the question has already been asked etc!
I'm going on a ski trip on 3rd March, not sure where yet but it will involve 3 people driving, then 2 people flying to Geneva.
In true Top Gear style, it'll be a race to see who can get to the airport the quickest, and then we'll all drive to whichever resort we have booked.
I've heard that if you enter Geneva airport on the Switzerland side there's a tax you need to pay, but if you pick up on the French side of the airport you can continue through France without having to pay the tax.
Is this right? I saw a couple of posts talking about getting off at a certain junction for car hire, but not seen anything about the tax...
Hope that makes sense 
Jon
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi Jon,
The tax you are talking about is a vignette which is a badge to go into your car window which lets you drive on swiss motorways. They check your car at the boarder points and ask you to purchase one but, legally, they also have the right to stop you on any motorway if you are driving without one.
If you are keen to avoid this then the best bet is to avoid the motorways and large roads and go in on a smaller road. Driving across the boarder at Perly / St Julien en Genevoise the boarder point is really small and rarely manned.
Happy planning!
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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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So,
I just got back from this. (Actually, this morning at 2am I left Bourg-St-Maurice and came straight to work for 9am in London, I'm completely knackered)
I hired a car from the french side. Then went down the 1 motorway in Switzerland and down into france (A41). On the way into france they hardily ever check (Why would they? They don't care if you're leaving). On the way into switzerland they check slightly more often, however I know someone that has been into switzerland on the A41 10 times in the last 2 months and they haven't checked him once. If they do check, you act innocent and all that happens is they charge you for a vignette which is 40 Euros for the year. But remember this only counts for the motorways in Switzerland. The first time I did this without a vignette, I got completely lost trying to avoid the 1 motorway in geneva and it took me an extra hour to get to Annecy which is 3 times longer than it should've done.
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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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In my experience, if you hire on the Swiss side the car will already have a vignette for Swiss motorways - you don't have to pay anything extra. I think the issue only arises if you hire on the French side and want to travel via Swiss motorways to your destination
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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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And if you hire on the Swiss side the car will be fitted with snow tyres and will be carrying chains by law - not so on the French side - it may save an awful lot of faffing with chains and you don't have to pay an extra charge for them (although some of the budget brokers may offer you the option!)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
will be carrying chains by law
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beware - this is not always the case. You DO need to check. We helped people who had hired 2 cars on the Swiss side of Geneva. Hadn't thought about chains, but the night before they left the resort very heavy snow was forecast overnight. One car had chains, the other did not. They bought some locally and successfully claimed the cost back - but if they'd not checked till the morning, they'd have lost their flight.
There are also some reports here from SHs who have had the wrong size chains - again, something to check.
All Swiss hire cars will have the Swiss vignette. A few French ones do (because they stick them to the windscreen and they're designed not to come off). You can get in and out of the French side of Geneva without using any motorways (you can also do it entirely in France, though that is a very long and tedious diversion). You can drive through Geneva and out the other side but it's more complicated than whizzing along the motorway.
If you have any bother (e.g. even a minor accident) on the Swiss motorway without a vignette, or are stopped by the police for any other reason, the fine for being on the road without a vignette is BIG.
I drive through the Bardonnex border quite often. It's true they are checking less assiduously at busy times these days but the chances of being waved into the "pay 40 CHF" lane are quite high, as you come back in from the French motorway.
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Errrrrrrm the OP isn't hiring a car, he's driving out and picking his two mates up from GVA.
In answer to the OPs question, if I were you as the drivers time will be tight i would just be prepared to cough up the SFR40 for the vignette.
If you're looking for a few other time saving tips;
- buy your vignette on line before you go,
- buy a peage dongle.
- make sure you brim the tank the night before to save you doing it the night before,
- make sure you put your registration number on your Euro tunnel booking so the anpr picks up your booking faster than you can input your registration number.
Finally, good luck and let us know how it goes, should we open a book on who will win?
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should we open a book on who will win?
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but we don't know the airline...I'd say plane arrives first & luggage arrives last!
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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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the OP isn't hiring a car, he's driving out and picking his two mates up from GVA
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quite right, marcellus, we all followed like sheep from the first response.  But to answer the specific question - definitely pick up on the SWISS side as that will be where your passengers will be coming in. You don't have to pay any tax if you don't use the Swiss motorway but, as marcellus says, if speed is of the essence, you should definitely have a vignette. If you buy it online you could always NOT stick it on your windscreen. You will have to do so, if asked, but if you don't you could re-sell it afterwards?
You can't "continue through France" (well, you can, but it's a very roundabout route). Where are you going? Unless it's to one of the Jura stations, the only sensible way is through the corner of Switzerland, whether on or off the motorway.
Just to be 100% clear. You can get to and from the Swiss side of the airport without going on a motorway needing the Swiss vignette. But you can't drive from the French side to resorts such as Chamonix, 3 Valleys, Portes du Soleil, etc without going on Swiss roads unless you take a tricksy route which nobody would bother with unless they were prohibited immigrants in Switzerland.
The Swiss side of the airport is well signposted for miles around. The French side is practically a state secret, with no signs except a very tiny one, when you're right on top of it. All signs lead to the Swiss side.
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| brianr wrote: |
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should we open a book on who will win?
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but we don't know the airline...I'd say plane arrives first & luggage arrives last! |
Good call, 1st theair passengers, 2nd the car driver and 3rd the baggage :rofl:
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We get a French side hire car and manage to get to Italy each year without a Swiss vignette. They are not bothered on the way out and we come back via the centre of Geneva, missing the motorway, and enjoy the views round the lake.
I do have to agree though it is a secret entrance. Even when you know how to get in there it is so easy to miss it.
For your plan you should go Swiss side and just buy the vignette, its not worth the hassle. Not really sure why be bother now with a French car as the prices are so much nearer to each other now, but I don't do the car hire bit.
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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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Not really sure why be bother now with a French car as the prices are so much nearer to each other now
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Wow! where are you getting them from? I just reaearched getting a golf for a long weekend in March: French side £122, Swiss side £217. The last couple of times I have rented from the French side the car has come already with a Vignette (the hire company will charge you 30 euros for one). The hire experience (nice pickup area with a cafe, no bus transfer) is better on the French side. For £85 a few minutes spent studying gthe return route on google earth and a torturous route through the airport is well worth the effort.
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MrHoobs, just a thougth to help you with your challenge (after all it's not a race as we would never condone racing on the public highway) but I think what might really help you win (I mean get there first) is think carefully about yoru starting piont.
Assuming it is a true "Top Gear Stylee" challenge the car will need a quick and easy access to the chunnel whilst the flyers will need a slightly harder time to get to an airport!!
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You know it makes sense.
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Even better than choosing where to start choose when to start. A start after 23:00 will give the car an unsurmountable advantage.
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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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| johnE wrote: |
| Even better than choosing where to start choose when to start. A start after 23:00 will give the car an unsurmountable advantage. |
Especially if the flyers flight isn't until lunchtime the following day!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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If you can script the "race" like TG, then you can have whatever outcome you like 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not really sure why be bother now with a French car as the prices are so much nearer to each other now, but I don't do the car hire bit.
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it was waaaaay more expensive on the swiss side compared to the french side when i booked a car there last month. From memory, something like £100 more over the course of four days. We didn't have any trouble avoiding the small part of swiss motorway, it just involves a short detour through geneva which really isn't that arduous. For the money saved it was well worth it. The return route to the french side is however a bit difficult. We ended up on the swiss side and the hire company gave us nice foolproof directions. its only a 10minute detour so don't panic if you can't find it. A good idea would be to put a way marker on your sat nav when you collect your car so you can follow the breadcrumbs back.
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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 hired on the French side a few years ago, and agree much cheaper.
We also just winged it on the Swiss motorway without the Vignette with no problems.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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MrHoobs, The route you describe is in Switzerland and does use their motorway.
Have a look here for the alternative routes.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Drive 150m then take the slip road onto the motorway sign-posted France.
- The E62-A1-E25 motorway takes you to the border (Bardonnex) with France.
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that's the section when you'll be on the Swiss motorway.
you can avoid Switzerland completely but it's a long detour and completely pointless
you can avoid Swiss motorways by driving through Geneva instead. That's shorter than the motorway, but more complicated.
It's not likely that you'll have any problem driving away from the airport on that route - you'd be unlucky to be stopped/caught but it would mean a fine.
On the way back into the airport it's much more likely you'll be stopped and have to buy a vignette.
You will, of course, have to pay the tolls on the French motorway and the hefty charge for the Mont Blanc tunnel - make sure you get a return ticket.
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