travelfan1

Tentative plans have us flying into Geneva, picking up a rental and heading to Annecy. Several months ago I ran across an article about there being different "sides" to the airport and how difficult it was for the writer to get to Annecy depending on the "side" the car rental is on. Unfortunately I can't find that article now. Can someone explain the different "sides"? How difficult is it to get to Annecy? If there's a French side and I'm returning in France will that help with the one way drop off fee?

We plan on a day trip to Chamonix and visiting the Gorges du Fier - both, I believe, can be done by public transport but I'm inclined to believe it would be simpler with a car. Is this accurate?

I wanted to pick up the rental in Geneva to get an automatic but we will definitely be returning the car in France - if a car isn't necessary in Annecy should I reconsider and pick up the rental in Annecy (would be a manual) before heading to the Dordogne?

Thank you in advance for any help/information you can provide.

Alec

Geneva airport has Swiss side and French side (even though the airport iteslf is on Swiss soil). If you land on the Swiss side, after baggage reclaim, just follow the sign for France, and you emerge through a corridor to the French part of the terminal. There used to be a cursory passport check, but since Switzerland joined Schengen in 2007, there isn't any.

Car rental agencies have counters and fleet of cars both on the Swiss and French sides. You can get your car from either, but from the French counter you get a French registered car which eliminates cross-border drop-off fee, and rates are usually lower too. To get a French car at French rate, you must specify French side of the airport as the pick-up point.

To drive to Annecy, one thing to bear in mind is that if you use any part of the Swiss autoroute (which is usually the quickest way out of the airport), your car must have a current vignette (toll sticker). All Swiss-registered rental cars have one, but French ones probably don't, so make sure you avoid autoroute (with a sign <i>vignette obligatoire</i or you may be stopped and fined on the spot.

Pvoyageuse

To avoid one way drop off fee AND buying the Swiss motorway vignette, rent your car on the French side of the airport and return it in France.
Here is how to avoid driving on the Swiss highway and the vignette.
From Grenoble, Chambéry, Annecy, Chamonix• Highway A40, ➡Lausanne/Genève-Aéroport✈(blue sign)• Exit A40 «St-Julien-en-Genevois» (blue sign)• National road N206 ➡Viry➡Valleiry➡Collonge• Departmental road D984➡Collonge➡Saint-Genis Pouilly•D35 ➡Ferney-Voltaire• Just before the customs of Ferney (do not cross the Swissborder)➡Aéroport secteur Français (white sign)

There are regular buses from Geneva to Annecy.
See www.frossard.eu for timetable.

travelfan1

Okay....I got it now. I need a valid sticker to drive on the Swiss auto routes. AutoEurope indicated they're about $30 - wouldn't it be easier to just buy one at the airport and take the direct route to Annecy?...after an overnight flight I'm all for taking the shortest route to my destination. Or is it a higher cost?

Alec

From the parking lot on the French side of the terminal, the only way out is through route douaniere (customs road) to the Swiss/French border at Ferney (no chance of entering Switzerland before). From there, you can just follow D35 and D984 to French autoroute A40 for Annecy. Or from Ferney, cross into Switzerland, buy the vignette (40 CHF or in euro at prevailing rate - paper bills only and change given in CHF) and join the Swiss autoroute A1 towards France and join A40 as above.
http://www.gva.ch/en/Portaldata/1/Re...cations/af.pdf

FrenchMystiqueTours

The vignette is currently 38 euros. I haven't tried to cross the border from the Geneva airport but if you use any portion of the Swiss autoroute you will need the vignette. The highway signs on the Swiss side are color coded green and the non-toll roads are color coded blue. This is the opposite of the French side. If you are good at reading maps then a good map of Geneva and environs will help you avoid the toll road and vignette. Once you cross the border into France autoroute signs will be color coded blue and you can look for the autoroute sign to Annecy.

The easiest thing to do might be to just use the viamichelin website, which will explain to you how to get from the airport to Saint-Julien-en-Genevois. This is the first town across the border and once you enter it on the main road just stay on it and look for the signs for Annecy via the autoroute A41. I just entered this route on the viamichelin website and here is the link:

http://tinyurl.com/3wq3v6u