I will be flying into Basel Airport on the Swiss side. But I want to rent a car at Mulhouse on the french side - because it is far cheaper. What are the logistics of this? Is it one big airport, are they connected by shuttle?

The airport is pretty small, with different exits for Switzerland and France from the same terminal building.

There's a shuttle bus that goes to the Mulhouse Central Train Station which is about 45 minutes away.

Out of curiosity, but just exactly how much will you be saving by going to Mulhouse for your car rental?

Also, do you know that if you will ultimately drive into Switzerland from france, there's a hefty road tax or usage fee that you'll have to pay at the border from France?

If you have 2-3 hours in Mulhouse, there is a great automobile museum---Musee National de L'Automobile-Collection Schlumpf---192 Avenue de Colmar. It is well worth a visit.

Cheers,

Jinx Hoover

The Swiss highway tax is about US$35. If you don't drive on any highways, you don't have to pay it. Admittidly, it might be hard to avoid all highways, but is possible if you don't mind some detours.

Gas is now between US$5 - 6 a gallon here.

Thanks for the news about the road tax. I must definitely make another plan. Is there a tax the other way round? ie Going from Switzerland to France? The car rental in Switzerland is about 40 GBP more for a 7 day rental in Switzerland than in France. I got the quotes through Easyjet.

I was at Basle/Mulhouse airport last week. The exits for Swiss and French sides are clearly marked. There's a short walk (around 400 yds) to get to the French side, which is in a separate terminal building.
It's possible that French car you rent from Mulhouse side will already have the Swiss sticker (vignette), or ask the staff to give you a car with one. It's convenient to be able to use the motorways (Autobahn) in Switzerland if you want to do any sort of long trips (say to the Bernese Oberland, Zermatt or Italy).