flieder

Hi,

We are flying out of Geneva Airport (French side) to LAX. We will be most likely staying in
Annecy to do sightseeing for 3-4 days. We can either stay in Annecy the night before the travel and drop the rental car before our flight at 7:30am or stay in Geneva or somewhere close to the airport. Since our flight leaves very early, I'm thinking it would be better to drop the car off the night before and stay somewhere close where we can take shuttle/cab or train to the airport.

What do you guys think is the best option?

Thanks!

kja

"I'm thinking it would be better to drop the car off the night before and stay somewhere close where we can take shuttle/cab or train to the airport."

That would be my choice! You might consider going to Geneva in time for dinner (maybe at Bistrot du Boeuf Rouge, but you'll probably need to reserve that in advance), then stay at one of the hotels by the Cornavin train station, from which you can easily access the airport.

suze

<stay at one of the hotels by the Cornavin train station, from which you can easily access the airport>

ditto. agree.

kawh

our first priority is always to stay stress-free. i would definitely drop the car the night before just so you don't need to worry about any sort of complications. we stayed by the lake in geneva-- and it was a lovely place to take a long walk. it was super quick, easy, and (as i recall,) free to take the tram directly to the airport from there.

Pvoyageuse

I stayed at the Ibis Geneva airport. They have a free minibus shuttle to the airport (every 20 minutes).

flieder

Any hotel suggestions in Cornavin train station area or the lake?

We might consider spending a half day in Geneva so we can see the lake and see couple of main attractions before dinner.

kawh

sorry-- we stayed at an airbnb place... but saw many choices. i would not call geneva charming, for the most part... but it was lovely along the lake... and there's lots to do.

Pvoyageuse

Hotel Montbrillant is right at the station : http://www.montbrillant.ch/fr/index.php

suze

In Geneva the train station/airport are one in the same, so an airport hotel would work too (and be able to go out to dinner in the city that last night).

I also don't consider Geneva charming, more an international business city urban feel, but the lake area is beautiful and there's some interesting history (and bars and restaurants) in the Old Town.

flieder

Thanks for the replies. Really appreciate the input. We'll drop the car off the night before and stay at an airport hotel.

wesleymarsh

I thought there were no international flights on the French Side of GVA?

I recently flew EWR-GVA, Swiss side, but I rented my car for Annecy in the French Secteur. I saved almost $400. My return flight was early, too, but not 7:30 AM, although I did arrive by 7:30. I never considered staying closer to GVA the night before. I had a vignette, and the ride to the airport was a piece of cake, and the freeway was fairly empty at that hour. I returned my car on a Thursday.

The car rental counters in the French Secteur don't open until 8 AM. There are signs on the counters that inform customers. Even at 8 AM, there is no one in the garage to greet you or check your car. I picked up my car at 1 PM, and there was no garage attendant at that time either. You basically are on your own, and you simply drop the keys at the counter for early drop-off. The Europcar agent took my keys at 8:06 and told me the rental receipt would be mailed to me. I was at the counter for 10 seconds. I rented through AutoEurope and the $135 in local fees that I owed were charged to my credit card a few days after I had returned home. It was the strangest car rental return I had ever experienced. I received the Europcar rental receipt 4 weeks later in the mail. It was one piece of paper with the itemization of local fees.

Dukey1

There are two train stations. Cornavin is NOT the same as the airport station; Cornavin is the city's main station (and a short train ride from the airport where many trains start out).

It doesn;t cost "that" much to take a taxi from just about any hotel in Geneva, either lakfront or otherwise, out to the airport, so I do not see an absolute necessity of staying at some hotel near the main rail station.

flieder

I forgot to ask, if we stay in downtown Geneva or by the lake, and want to drop off the luggage to the hotel before returning the rental car to GVA french side, will we have to pay tolls as we'd cross borders, etc.? I'm really not familiar with this area and getting myself more confused. Should we drop the car before heading to the hotel? How does passing borders work, do you go through customs?

Thanks!

flieder

Bump.