Hello,
My family is coming over and we need a car to rent for 22 days. It would be good to rent it from Geneva airport. Anybody has tips/suggestions how to minimize the costs?

People mentioned in other threads about cheaper prices on the French side of the airport. I've never been there... Is it easy to get there from the Swiss side without a car? How do we do it?

Also, have you used Avis On the Road Card? Does it really give you a good discount? Hertz card?

Thanks for your help!

First work out whether they the car for the full 22 days - if they can live without one for the first/last few days it will make a huge difference.

The other suggestion is to book on though US sites - although make sure you are comparing like for like with what is included in the price.

I checked for a car to rent at the local garages in town. Some rent cars and mostly at prices far below any standard renting company...

You could try Autoeurope :

http://www.autoeurope.ch/index.cfm?changelang=CHF

Prices seem a bit cheaper compared to booking direct with the rental companies they represent.

Pick-up / drop-off at an airport is usually more expensive than a city / town based office. If you can get one in town, you'd save some money.

http://www.aalt.ch/

Have a look at that one to compare prices.

You can also look at renting on the French side of Geneva airport (Geneva is right on the border, and the airport has an official French-side)- it often turns out cheaper, and paid in Euros. You would then possible have to pay for the Swiss Motorway vignette, 40CHF, unless you are lucky to get a car with it.
Check Holiday Autos.


Beware though that in winter, cars rented on the French side do NOT have snow tyres or chains included unless paid for as extras, but this would be included on Swiss side. Just in case anybody makes a mental note for future ref.

Thanks for all the tips. As the flight arrives quite late, I need a car from the airport.

How do I get to the French side of Geneva airport? Can I walk through the airport building?

Yes, it is well signposted. Rentals with HolidayAutos are usually for Alamo or Sixt- they act as a broker.

http://www.enzolocation.ch/ based in Lausanne is pretty cheap, 1 month starting from 750 CHF incl. 2000 km

You might want to check mobility's prices for long term rentals.

After using various sites to find the best deals in the UK, here and USA, the one that consistently provides the cheapest is www.carrentals.co.uk

It's an aggregator of most 'brokers' who then use the normal suspects (Avis, Hertz etc), but this site tends to have better deals than even going to the same brokers direct...

Regards,
Stu