Flying to Geneva

If your flying to Geneva, and then driving onto Les Arcs…
which “side” of the airport is it easiest / best to hire a car from ?
The French or Swiss side ?
ie, Is it better to hire from Swiss side to avoid crossing border twice ?
Cheers

I think the Swiss side will have a heavy tax premium to pay on car hire thats not there on the French side, border guards got all ‘official’ with us going into Switzerland but couldn’t care less when we left!

Never managed to find the French side of the airport – don’t understand it anyway as the airport is several kilometres from the border. Check the comparative rates, and also remember that even getting a car from the French side you will have to drive through a bit of Switzerland and will therefore need to buy a Swiss carnet (road tax) for the windscreen.

iirc the swiss side, as above poster mentioned you have to pay about £25 if you hire from france

Alternatively from the airport get a bus to Les Arcs, or train to Bourg san Maurice and then taxi or bus

I thought you could only use the French Sector if you were flying to or from France. Anyway, you can enter it just to the left of passport control (the sign’s hidden!) I’d imagine the Swiss boarder police will probably recognise a French hire car and sting you for some tax (that just so happens to match the one at the airport…)

There are no buses from Geneva to Les Arcs in the summer. Plenty in the winter.

If you hire from the French side, it is possible to avoid using Swiss motorways and hence paying for the Vignette, but the route is very complicated. Some guests in our chalet hired from Hertz last week and got really detailed instructions to avoid the toll roads.

Alternatively, come stay with us and we’ll pick you up! Sainte Foy & Les Arcs Mountain Bike Holidays 😉

it’s dead simple if you go to the swiss side, inwards and outwards. That’s worth quite a lot for me. I’d be happy to pay any surcharge that might incur. And crossing the swiss/french border is usually as much of a formality as driving from england to scotland, especially if you’re in a swiss registered car.

The French side is upstairs and to the right (with your back towards the front of the airport).

We usually hire from the French side as it is loads cheaper and you get less hassle from French drivers for driving s Swiss car. However, if you do go into Switzerland on the motorway, then you will get charged something like Ä60 tax.

If you ask when you hire the car, then they give you this hand drawn map that shows you how to avoid the motorway by going through the centre of Geneva. It’s not easy, but also not that difficult.

We did the journey loads last year when skiing, shuttling mates to and from the airport.

Leaving the airport from the French side you get sent down this fenced in road for a couple of Km’s and then pop out next to the border. It is also possible to stay within France and skirt around Switzerland, but you’ll probably need a GPS, we did.