Hi all, I figure somebody here has probably done something similar.

What’s the best (quickest/not crazy expensive) way to get 3 people and 3 bikes (in bike bags/boxes) from Geneva Airport to Briancon? In June. I figure renting a car, but not sure what size car you’d need and if you’d be guaranteed to get the one you booked.

Do the ski transfer companies run in summer? Cost might be ok split 3 ways.

Train? Can you bring a bike box on TGV?

Is there a better airport than Geneva logistically?

would Turin not be a better airport?

Grenoble, chambery, and Lyon are all closer/quicker to get to Briancon from. Even Turin actually.

Grenoble, Lyon or Turin airports are closer, but variety of flights might be worse.

3 bikes in boxes, luggage and three bods means hiring a van. I’d look at the ski transfer services, they all run from Geneva and Lyon, just not as frequently.  Turin and Grenoble might be more problematic. Taxi from Grenoble?

it is doable by train, but it takes flippin ages. Regional French rail is stuck in about 1953.

Sorry, should have said. Flying from Dublin, Turin is only once a week. Options are Nice, Geneva, Milan Linate, Lyon

Nice is a million miles away by squiggly roads. Neither of Milan’s airports should be given any money. Linate is a truly dreadful place.  Malpensa feels like it isn’t in Milan.

3 bikes in boxes, luggage and three bods means hiring a van.

nah a moderately large car will get them in fine, The key thing is bike bag height – most soft-roaders these days are tall enough to take one upright (xc60 will, for example) – so getting 3 in plus 3 people is easy.

I’d rent a random large-ish car from someone who’s going to have a massive supply at the airport (so avis, hertz, someone like that) and when you rock up at the desk ask them to put you in something that’ll take your bags, if the car you’re assigned doesn’t, just nip back and change it. Job jobbed.

You may have already tried this but have you emailed or rung the local tourism office in Braincon? I’m not trying to be a smart arse but when we wanted to get to a small local ski resort I found the tourist office were helpful with local taxi / transfer people and we got a minibus to take us to and from an airport (worked well and local guy with a Mercedes minibus people carrier). They exist to keep the money local like that.
https://www.france-voyage.com/cities-towns/briancon-17497/tourist-office-briancon-5902.htm

Literally did exactly this (well in reverse at the end of a trip at least) – we used Cool Bus I think. Worked perfectly.

We hired a VW id buzz from the Swiss side of Geneva airport and only just got 3 bikes in. Two in hard cases and one in a massively cut down cardboard box.

It cost about £750 which is almost what some of the transfer companies wanted to get to Samoens and back.

Enquires on here said every man and his dog will take you for a bag of chips but it was not the case for us, so the buzz worked out ok split between three.

Talk to Coolbus or 360 Transfers. They know the area well from TransProvence and Stoneking Rally. Won’t be particularly cheap, will “just work”. 

Thanks all, it looks like it might just be 2 of us traveling which simplifies things a bit – I presume any medium hatchback with seats folded will be ok?

presume any medium hatchback with seats folded will be ok?

I’d just be careful with hire car company ‘classes’, having been given something quite different to what I was expecting in the past.

A Focus will probably swallow luggage better than a Clio, for example.

https://www.travelsupermarket.com/en-gb/blog/travel-advice/car-hire-classes-explained/

5lab

nah a moderately large car will get them in fine

This is nonsense. OP has boxes, which tend to be bigger than bike bags, but regardless, you’re not getting three bike bags in any normal car, and even something like a V60, you’d have to fold the rear seats down, so nowhere for the third person to sit

This is nonsense. OP has boxes, which tend to be bigger than bike bags, but regardless, you’re not getting three bike bags in any normal car, and even something like a V60, you’d have to fold the rear seats down, so nowhere for the third person to sit

an xc60 (as I suggested) will take them vertically, so you can slide 3 in next to the remaining upright rear seat. An XC60 is hardly a large car. a V60 is a small car, so that probably won’t, but isn’t covered by “moderately large car” in my mind.

most soft roaders or people carriers would do the job fine.

Lyon is the most logical for summer flights (excluding Turin….which is the nearest….). There has been a thread on this in the last 12 months. I live near Grenoble. The train line to Briancon comes up from the south coast. Train from Lyon to Grenoble and then bus would be one option. For the TGV trains a bike usually has to be bagged/ boxed and the dimensions are pretty tight. Do it regularly for bike packing and it’s easy once you have it sorted but use binbags sourced at the supermarket etc closest to whatever station am at rather than boxes. I’m thinking your boxes will likely be over the size limits. There’s not a TGV to Briancon anyway…which means local trains which means bikes no problems. Feel free to get in touch.