I am trying to find a 3 day car rental at the end of July, picking up and dropping off at or near the Bern train station. I am finding literally nothing. Am I missing something? Any guidance you can provide is most appreciated.

Avis. I searched on Kemwel.com found cars available July 25-28 and July 28-31... The office is about 15 minutes' walk from the train station.

Rates seem to be lower if you book directly with Avis.

Thank you Jean. I'll have a look right now.

I figured out the problem. Most, if not all of the rental counters are closed at noon on Saturday and I won't be able to get the car until 2:00. I have booked, at an INCREDIBLE rate, with Enterprise Go, an app. which lets you rent a car outside of normal hours. Now let's see if I can decipher the German enough to actually find and access the car

May be it would make more sense to rent the car at another place. But as long as we don't know why you need a car just at Berne, it's not possible to make any suggestion.

Are you not arriving in Bern until about noon?

I'd be inclined to just have lunch, walk around Bern a bit and pick up the car at 2:00. Keep it simple...

Jean, it appears that all the rental counters close for the day at noon on Saturday, and we cannot arrive in time to get the car. What's worse, I just found out that Enterprise Go cannot currently be reserved in the US. I really don't know how to get a car at this point.

neckervd, I would love your suggestion. The reason I am trying to get a car in Bern is because we are arriving there by train from Dijon that day. I am using Rome 2 Rio to look at train times and I don't see a way to arrive prior to 2 pm.

Our lodging reservation is in Grindelwald. Also, on our departure day, we planned to return the car to Bern train station and take a train to the airport in Zurich.

I would consider visiting another area, with the knowledge that we only have 3 days (Sa/Su/M), and that Sunday we need to meet friends in or near Worben or Ligerz.

Do you have a better way to route us? I'm all ears.

I'm not neckervd but will try to help anyway ;-)

If you're booked on the TGV from Dijon to Lausanne, just end your train journey there. The Sixt office is open until 2pm, which should leave you plenty of time to pick up your car.

If I can pick up in Lausanne or Basel, which would be the prettier drive to Grindelwald?

Also, can anyone tell me what time the Avis office in downtown Bern at Warbenstrasse 41 actually closes on a Saturday? Their website says noon but AutoEurope tells me 2:30 pm??? Also, how long of a drive is it from the train station to that address by car? It's possible we could arrive by train at 1:30. If the car rental is open until 2:30, could we make it there by cab on time?

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

I don't think Basel works as I don't think the fast trains leave early enough and the rental offices open late enough on a Saturday.

You could call AutoEurope, tell them your situation and ask for advice. But I think you'll have to follow Andre's suggestion and work with Sixt. Renting at Lausanne seems the solution. Unless you can leave Dijon on Friday evening.

Lausanne pickup would make for a prettier drive if you route via Vevey - this takes you though the Lavaux vineyards above Lake Geneva. If you want a really scenic drive, you can take the Jaun Pass. You can also stop in Gruyeres en route to visit the cute medieval town and enjoy some fondue or Raclette.

If the Avis website doesn't let you book a pickup after noon, I would be wary. You could call them at: +41 31 3781515

If you reach Bern (from Dijon) via Lausanne, you have only 1 train change and the journey is more scenic than that via Basel.
If you travel via Basel, you must change twice (at Mulhouse and Basel).
As a base for day trips by car into the Alps (Mont Blanc, Verbier, St-Luc, Saas Fee, etc.) and to Ligerz (55 miles, half of them along Lake Neuchatel; all motorway), Lausanne might be as suitable as Berne.

Other suggestion: leave Dijon at 9.35 by Lausanne bound train up to Frasne (small station, short ways), change there to a local train to Neuchatel (12 miles from LIgerz) ar 11.53, rent your car there (https://www.europcar.ch/en-ch) or go on by train dp 12.01 (same platform) to Berne ar 12.52.Neuchatel has a medieval city center and 3 hotels along the waterfront (Lake Neuchatel): Beaurivage, Beaulac, Palafittes

BTW: Avis Budget Car Rental at Wabernstrasse 41 (5 min by cab or Tram 9, stop Sulgenau) closes Saturday at noon and reopens Monday at 8am

[QUOTE=Andre;17454212]Lausanne pickup would make for a prettier drive if you route via Vevey - this takes you though the Lavaux vineyards above Lake Geneva. If you want a really scenic drive, you can take the Jaun Pass. You can also stop in Gruyeres en route to visit the cute medieval town and enjoy some fondue or Raclette.

Are these 3 separate routes or all along the same route? Admittedly, I haven't studied the map yet.

[QUOTE=iregeo2;17454423] Sorry that wasn't clear. Your navigation app will tell you to take route A1 from Lausanne to Bern, then the A6 towards Spiez and finally the A8 towards Interlaken.

Under normal circumstances it's only marginally slower for you to take the A9 from Lausanne to Vevey, then the A12 to Bern instead of the A1, and the first section between Lausanne and Vevey is beautiful.

In addition, you can exit the A12 at Bulle to:
- take the short detour to Gruyeres for a quick visit / lunch
and/or
- continue on the beautiful Jaun Pass road, which will lead you to the A6 for a little bit before hitting the A8

Jaun Pass:

https://www.fusions.ch/sightseeing/2...8/DSC_0087.jpg

18 minutes of the drive on YouTube. Very scenic and little traffic.

Well, I've finally gotten confirmed to use Enterprise Go, which means that I can pick up my car in Bern at 2ish on arrival. That said, you have all convinced me of what a lovely drive we could have from Lausanne to Grindelwald, and I think I will change my car reservation to Lausanne! Thank you all so much.

On a related note, have any of you ever used Enterprise Go, the app which lets you rent cars 24/7 in Switzerland? It is several hundreds of dollars (or CHF) cheaper than renting conventionally. I'm wondering if I'm missing something?

We"ve never rented a car in Switzerland! Trains and buses all the way...

Hopefully, someone can give you some feedback....

You're most welcome!

You actually made me aware of the service, even though I live in Switzerland, so thank YOU for that! It does look quite useful, especially if you're not renting at an airport - I really like that they offer 24/7 pickup in combination with unlimited mileage and one way rentals.

I wouldn't hesitate to try Enterprise GO out. It's offered by a major player in cooperation with other major players such as the railway company SBB.

[Edited to add] I did just do some online research and there are definitely several poor reviews online, with people reportedly unable to unlock their cars with the app and abandoning their rental. The service is conceptually great, but probably not geared towards international and/or less tech-savvy users who may have trouble dealing with the registration process and app usage (roaming etc.)

I can tell you first hand that I entered my verification credentials (front and back DL, photo and signature page passport and selfie) over a dozen times, and I am finally "verified." I do fear that I will have trouble accessing the car, which is compounded by the fact that I don't speak German.