Colmar to Basel Airport

Auto Europe gives an error message when I ask about drop off in Kehl. There is a Europe Car location about 1 km from Kehl station. Frequent trains from Kehl to Strasbourg.

There is a direct train to Basel at 6:23 am, arrives Basel at 7:09. In front of Basel station get the #50 bus to Basel airport. Schedule shows 7:20 departure and gets to the airport at 7:36. SBB gives a slightly different answer, change trains at St Louis, but arriving at the airport on the bus from Basel at 7:44.

Edit
SNCF schedule agrees with DB. 6:23 to 7:09, BUT, you can also get the #11 bus from St Louis station. Goes every 15 minutes to Basel airport, takes 10 minutes and costs 2.50 EUR. http://www.distribus.com/uploads/ligne11.pdf

Fare from Colmar to St Louis is 13.10 EUR pp. You could go as late as the 7:23 train and be at the airport by 8:15.

First of all, Auto Europe is not a car rental company, it is a consolidator. When you book with them, you choose the car rental company. While I always check their website, I compare prices with the companies directly. Gemut.com is another consolidator - you can request a quote from them on their website. Since they are based in the U.S. you can also call them and sometimes that's the best plan.

Are you sure there are high drop off fees? A year or so ago, I was checking prices and I didn't find significant drop-off charges between Germany and Switzerland, so it may be better to keep the car and return it in Basel.

Whether you end up returning your rental car as planned or keeping it until you get to Basel, I would stay the last night in Basel. The best travel plans can be disrupted by a transit strike, road work, flat tire, etc. Personally I would not sleep well the night before knowing that I had to be in an airport many miles away by 8:15 AM, let alone with said airport being across an international border.

Basel EuroAirport is actually in France, and it covers Basel, Mulhouse, Freiburg, 3 different countries. You get there in less than an hour from Colmar using the train-bus combo. Its not a whole lot different travel time wise, than Heathrow from central London, CDG from the southern Paris, or MXP from Milan. It is , of course, safer the closer you are to the airport, rail strikes or break-downs do happen.

Juney, I can offer you three suggestions:
1) The timetable for the bus from St Louis station to the airport is here: http://www.distribus.com/uploads/ligne11.pdf
2) Don't drop the car off in Kehl, instead look for drop-offs in Lörrach or Weil-am-Rhein. Both are suburbs of Basel with good transport into the city centre (tram, train).

But, I agree with epltd, trying to get from Colmar to Basel airport for 08:15 flight is too dangerous, stay in Basel.
3) My Plan: Spend your last day in Strasbourg (park-and-ride by tram into centre) or Basel. Drop off the car near Basel and get a train or tram into Basel, where you spend your last night.
Get a hotel near the station (St Gotthard, Victoria + others). There is a frequent (approx ever 5 minutes) shuttle bus from outside the station to the airport.
Strasbourg and Basel all deserve at least one day, so decide which one you want to visit and (regretfully) postpone the other for a later trip. If you choose to spend your day in Basel then you drop of the car before going into the city, your train or tram into Basel will get you to the station.

Yes, we agree it’s risky getting to the airport from Colmar on the day of our flight with such little time. We actually had this trip planned for last year but, had to cancel 3 days before we left. When planning this itinerary again, we hoped there might be a alternative way to get from Colmar to Basel airport. “Rome2Rio” suggests the option to use a FlixBus Line:108. After checking their site, there is no such bus. I wrote this post because I was sure I was missing something.

We made some changes to our travel days, specifically so we could avoid returning our car on a Sunday, like last year. Our only choice on Sunday, was to return our car in Lörrach. This year our plan is to go to Strasbourg from Colmar, on a Thursday. We still don’t want to drive in Strasbourg.

We have two days to work with. One day to see Strasbourg, and another day to get to Basel.
I see two options:

1: Return the car in Kehl and take train or taxi to Strasbourg for the day. Take the train from Strasbourg back to Colmar. The next day, take the train to Basel and spend the day and night.

2: (Chris F suggestion:) Drive the car from Colmar, park-and-ride by tram into Strasbourg centre for the day. Drive back to Colmar. The next day, drive and return the car in Lörrach. Take the tram from Lörrach into Basel for our last day and night.
In that case where might we conveniently park the car to take the tram into Strasbourg?

As I see it, we have time to see both cities, but both options take some time away from Strasbourg or Basel to return the car in Kehl or Lörrach. As I write this, “option 1” seems to be the easiest for us.

Sam and Chani, we had used Gamüt for our car rental, and they were great about offering advice and making our free cancellation possible. You are right that it is Eurocar rental in Kehl.

One change we will make is that last year we booked our a last night hotel in St. Louis, which seemed convenient at the time. Basel now seems more appealing. So, thank you for the hotel suggestions, Chris.


Thank you again for your helpful suggestions.

Drive the car from Colmar, park-and-ride by tram into Strasbourg centre for the day. Drive back to Colmar.

I don't think it is a good idea to drive to Strasbourg when it is such a quick, cheap train trip. There are frequent trains to Strasbourg from Colmar and you don't have to fuss with finding and paying for a parking spot at a park and ride. Round trip for 2 is 50.20 EUR, and if you are 60 or over, you get a 25% discount if you leave after 8 am and return after 8 pm on the TER trains. 32 minutes and you are in the center of Strasbourg.

Chris's suggestion was to use the Park & Ride, then drive to Loerrach and drop the car, then take the train into Basel. If you are returning to Colmar, just use the train for the day. Saves time and 14 EUR of fuel (according to viamichelin) and parking fees. Looks like 4.10 EUR at the Parking relais-tram Elsau.

Thank you, Sam, for the cheap Strasbourg train information, especially the 25% senior discount! It would give us an excuse to stay in Strasbourg until after 8pm. It seems like an easy, convenient option. However, we’ll still be paying car rental for an additional day while we’re in Strasbourg and not using it. Knowing we can take a train into Basel the next day, we just thought returning the car in Kehl, before going to Strasbourg would work. Also, since free parking is scarce in Colmar with our hotel, we’ll probably have to pay for another day of parking in Colmar. If it has to be, so be it.

We appreciate your helpful suggestions. When I rent the car, I can be armed with several options to consider.