 Poster: A snowHead
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We will be arriving on an easyJet into Geneva for a morzine summer holiday in august. I want to book a car hire and I am confused. Is the default option to book French side or Swiss side, does it make a difference, and what would you recommend?
Thanks in advance
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Unless the french side is more than £50 cheaper , i would go swiss side.
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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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The only advantage of booking Swiss side in the summer is having the motorway vignette. That can be very useful as Geneva traffic can be bad. It's quite a lot quicker to get down to your car (under the terminal building) on the French side whereas on the Swiss side it's a bus or walk. If being pernickety about comparing prices, there might be a charge on the Swiss side for taking the vehicle into France - and that often seems to crop up last minute, when you pick up the car, and they ask where you are going.
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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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@Trickydicky, Usually the default is the Swiss side. The French side is usually but not always less expensive. IMHO it is more conveinent than the Swiss side with the cars actually adjacent to the termnal and easier access to the motorway but you may have to buy a vignette to use the Swiss motorways.
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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 one last question. Irrespective of where I hire from, are you allowed to cross the border ? We were thinking of going to a Swiss water park.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Origen wrote: |
| The only advantage of booking Swiss side in the summer is having the motorway vignette. That can be very useful as Geneva traffic can be bad. It's quite a lot quicker to get down to your car (under the terminal building) on the French side whereas on the Swiss side it's a bus or walk. If being pernickety about comparing prices, there might be a charge on the Swiss side for taking the vehicle into France - and that often seems to crop up last minute, when you pick up the car, and they ask where you are going. |
The bus on the Swiss side takes less than 5 minutes or it's an easy 500 metre walk, so it's not too much hassle. Also I've hired a car twice in the last month from the Swiss side (once from Sixt and once from Alamo) and not been charged to take it into France. 
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| Quote: |
so it's not too much hassle
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no, it's not a lot of hassle, but more hassle than walking down stairs in the French area. There have been a number of recent posters talking of the charges to take cars into France (of course, if you don't say you are going to France, you might not be insured..... there's a fair bit of discussion in a number of threads about that. I WAS asked last time I rented a Swiss car (about a year ago).
Getting in and out of the French side is also easy enough when you know where you're going. And don't rely on satnav!
It's swings and roundabouts.
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Just out of recent experience, Alamo didn’t ask and didn’t charge to take a car in to France from the Swiss side whereas Avis did ask and did charge (about €40 from memory). Both in the last two months.
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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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| Quote: |
Alamo didn’t ask and didn’t charge to take a car in to France from the Swiss side
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hopefully there's no small print somewhere invalidating the insurance if you take a vehicle out of Schweiz without telling them. 
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Probably should have checked @Origen!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Never heard of being charged extra to go into France. Another money making scheme I guess..
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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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It hadn't happened to me before last year, @Perty, but there are quite a lot of recent reports about it. Seems to depend on the company, or the mood of the person on the desk on the day!
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It really comes down to the specifics in the T&Cs - and varies both from company to company and country to country!
For example go to Alamo.co.uk > Locations > Europe > Germany > Munich Airport and the Cross Border Policy FAQ at the bottom of the page says "Vehicles can be driven in (list of countries and exception). n all cases, customers must inform the rental branch of their intention to leave the country with the vehicle and require authorisation. The following additional charges will apply for all cross border travels. Airport & Rail locations 6.24EUR per day."
But go back through selecting Location > Europe > Switzerland > Geneva Airport and the same Cross Border Policy FAQ instead reads "Vehicles can be driven in all European countries excluding (list of countries). No additional charges apply for cross border travels. Customers are not required to inform the rental branch of their intention to leave the country with the vehicle and no prior require authorization is needed."
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You know it makes sense.
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Be warned if renting from the French Sector - you can only move between the Swiss/French sector of Geneva airport if you have a flight within 1 day. Not a problem if you fly in that day, but I almost got caught out renting a French sector a couple of days out before my flight.
From the Geneva Airport website:
“Warning: Following security measures imposed by the Swiss and French authorities, Genève Aéroport informs you that ONLY passengers in possession of an air ticket valid for day D +/-1 are authorised to pass between the international sector and the France sector.
Therefore, car rental agencies’ clients that do not meet this condition must imperatively move from one sector to another by road (car, taxi, etc.), by passing through the Ferney-Voltaire customs. Pedestrians and cyclists are not allowed to use this road.
Genève Aéroport thanks you for your understanding.
https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Passagers/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/secteur-france#a7773c93-9319-4866-8fe9-57bc331007d2
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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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@jenkins000, what an extremely useful post for your first - welcome to Snowheads.
I've done that "Alice through the Looking Glass" walk between the two sectors at Geneva many a time, but not recently, and over the years it's changed a few times.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
| Following security measures imposed by the Swiss and French authorities, Genève Aéroport informs you that ONLY passengers in possession of an air ticket valid for day D +/-1 are authorised to pass between the international sector and the France sector. |
So no change for passengers landing in Switzerland and wanting to pick up a hire car in France? (ie just use an incoming flight ticket to switch sectors?)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes, if you arrived that day or the day prior, no problem. You’ll be asked to show your boarding pass to walk through to the French sector.
There are issues if, for example, you fly in, spend 2 nights in Geneva then want to cross to the French sector. Or alternatively if you’ve arrived back into Geneva from your ski resort and have 2 nights before your flight out and have rented a car (my scenario). In these scenarios they’ll make you take a taxi ride into France then back under the airport into the French sector. So it turns a 15 metre walk into quite an ordeal.
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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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In my experience they don’t actually scan your boarding pass or validate it in any way. I’m not sure why they bother “checking” at all, as it would take less than 2 mins for someone to edit a screenshot of their actual boarding pass, to have a different date.
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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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Getting to the rental desks in the French sector confuses some people (it’s tucked away in a corner, on the same floor as the Check-in desks rather than the Arrivals hall). A few times this winter I’ve seen people queue at the car rental desks Swiss side or ask at the rental desks if this is the French sector, to be directed back in to the airport to find the correct location.
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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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| snowdave wrote: |
| In my experience they don’t actually scan your boarding pass or validate it in any way. I’m not sure why they bother “checking” at all, as it would take less than 2 mins for someone to edit a screenshot of their actual boarding pass, to have a different date. |
They checked our boarding passes before we were allowed to cross from France to CH a couple of years ago.
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