tonyaus

I am looping the alps starting from geneva, route des grandes alpes, gorges du verdon, st tropez, cannes, nice, genoa, cinque terre, milan, como, lucerne over 3.5 weeks in mid june and then in switzerland for a week. I wont drive the entire loop and will only do a one way car hire from Geneva french side through the route des grandes alpes to gorges du verdon and wanted an advice on the best car drop off point from the cote d'azur towns depending on the one way charge and feasibility of using a car at the cote d'azur from the traffic and narrow streets and parking issues.

I was planning to do day hires of motor cycle or car for sightseeing the cote d'azur detours and public transport for city hopping. I was warned that you can be stuck in traffic jam quite often specially at peak time and also with finding parking around cannes, nice and monaco. I am definitely the driving around person more than the stay in the city person, however I will atleast be doing a day each of exploring the city.

If parking is not an issue in these cities then I will probably keep the car all the way of the alps loop back to geneva as the drive hours are not that hectic and having the car will be very handy in terms of last minute detours and also with accomodation choice and search. I do not mind parking the car away and using public transport while in the cote d'azur towns or in milan.

If I was to do the the full alps loop by car, what is the process at the france/italy/switzerland border crossing. I have an australian passport so have the free visa waiver period.

Do you recommend dropping off the car at nice or continue driving the alps loop back to geneva ?

I had an additional 600 CHF one way charge when I chose geneva switzerland side and after correcting that to the french geneva side, it actually came out cheaper to a hypothetical geneva to geneva loop ! So no extra charge for a one way drop off somehow and I will need to verify that again as that seems impossible.

Pick-up:
Tue, 12 Jun, 2012 at 10:00
Geneve Airport - French Side
Return:
Wed, 20 Jun, 2012 at 10:00
Nice Railway Station

(A) Chevrolet Spark or similar More Details
Mini, 2-4 Door, Manual, Air, MCMR

1 week at 101.43 EUR 101.43 EUR
1 extra day at 14.49 EUR 14.49 EUR
Rate Details
Location Service Charge: Included
Vehicle Licensing Fee and Road Tax Included
Collision damage waiver 60.96 EUR
Theft protection 30.48 EUR
Taxes 40.64 EUR
Vehicle Subtotal 248.00 EUR


Pick-up: Change
Tue, 12 Jun, 2012 at 10:00
Geneve Airport - French Side
Return: Change
Wed, 20 Jun, 2012 at 10:00
Geneve Airport - French Side
Selected Vehicle
(A) Chevrolet Spark or similar
Unlimited Free Kilometers Included
1 week at 222.01 AUD 222.01 AUD
1 extra day at 31.71 AUD 31.71 AUD
Rate Details
Location Service Charge: Included
Collision damage waiver Included
Theft protection Included
Vehicle Licensing Fee and Road Tax Included
Taxes 49.73 AUD
Vehicle Subtotal 303.46 AUD


thanks in advance. apologies for the long post and formatting issues

tony

nytraveler

We always do road trips in that are and there is no problem with parking - you put the car in a garage overnight - assume about $30 per night. (There is no easy street parkig in center of any city in europe - it is all garages.)

It's much easier to tour the towns up in the hills with a car - and renting a car by the day - I wouldn;t do a bike unless you have a lot of experience driving it in heavy traffic and on narrow, winding mountain roads - will be very expensive. If you are there in season, yes the major roads alog the coast are corwded - but you can usually find your way around by heading away from the coast.

Frankly I would bag Monaco unless yuo want to spend themoney to go for a very expensive dinner and visit to the casino (fun and we do it - but you need to be properly dressed and it's not cheap). Monaco is really for the uber wealthy (most trendy designer stores with huge ticket items and expensive restaurants and services for those off the incredibly huge and expensive yachts in the harbor). We have done the Jame Bond thing a couple of times - yes in the inner rooms you will see evening wear, foufou gowns and fabulous jewels (no peasants in casual wear playing quarter slots - they don't have them).

To explore NIce - do it on foot. You can esily visit coastal towns by car or train - but do avoid Saturdays - when all the weekly rentals change.

Surfergirl

I assume that if you have an Australian passport you are used to driving on the left side vs. the right side of the road. Assuming the change over, including the bigger change in using a manual gear shift with your right hand is not a problem for you, I'd keep the car.

I've had a car during peak summer seasons in the south of France (and will again this summer) and haven't found parking a huge problem, especially when equipped with a tiny car, like the one you plan to take. Maybe it's because I live in L.A. that I have learned the art of finding a parking place!

My vote is to keep the car.

NY is right about some difficulties in getting around to certain destinations without a car. Also, the city to city trains along the Cote d'Azur stop at a certain hour in the evening, so you'd have to pay attention to that. Most little towns do have bus service, but then you have to rely on bus schedules.

Nice is probably the one place where, to explore the main touristy parts, you definitely want to park the car -- there's a number of car parks, and they aren't cheap.

Even in the height of summer, if you find yourself sitting in traffic along the coastal route, there's plenty of beautiful scenery to enjoy!

AussieFrance

I, too, would keep the car. We drove that road a couple of years ago and the coast road is quite spectacular. I have never seen any border control in all the years we have been going from France to Italy via Genoa. As anywhere, avoid peak traffic late afternoon. The best solution for Cinque Terrae (see my blog post) is to stay in Levanto, for example, and then use the train to go to the different villages. There were bad storms last year and it's difficult to get anywhere by car.

tonyaus

thanks all. Yes I will keep the car for the entire alps loop then. I just costed hertz on the hires from jun 12 to 30 from the geneva french and swiss sides and got a slightly higher quote for the swiss side as expected. I also just realized that my previous 2 quotes above were different because they are in different currencies

I dont mind hiring from the french or the swiss side with the price difference, but I am guessing the french side makes more sense with insurance and support for any untoward incident since I am going to be spending more time in france. Any advice on what I need to watch out for in the car hire insurance for the multiple countries coverage ?

SurferGirl, I remember driving out from Kona Hawaii airport and wondering why is that car driving towards me on my lane

tonyaus

also any suggestion on this leasing option ? any fineprint catches ? insurance cover and roadside support difference to a rental ?
http://www.europeshoppe.com.au/carle..._france1.shtml

I leave sydney june 1st for london for 5 days and then I am in switzerland so hopefully the paperwork can be done there.