Need transportation for four days to cover alot of ground. Any tips on where to find the best value? Also only want to drive a few hours after International flight. A suggestion on where to break the trip for an overnight? Dale
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
Check online prices for cars from AutoEurope and Kemwel. They can arrange a rental car from companies such as Avis, Hertz and Europcar. You can also send an e-mail to Gemut and request a quote. These companies will also meet/beat their competitors. You will incur drop-off fees when you rent a car in one country and return it in another country. One way to avoid this fee is to frop the car off in a city close to the border, then take a train to a city across the border and rent another car. Just depends on your travels and your finances. Plug in both situations on the AutoEurope website and see the difference in price. Freiburg or Stefan, Germany would be a good overnight on your way to Geneva. We actually went further into Germany from Stefan and found a lovely B&B on the border of the Black Forest.
Posted by
OP
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
6 posts
Appreciate the heads up, Brad. I'm comparing the cost & convenience of a car rental vs train travel. Remember where you stayed in Baden Baden? Thanks, Dale
Posted by
Palo Alto, CA, USA
6 posts
I drove the opposite way, and avoided the drop-off charge by crossing the border into Konstanz, Germany with the Geneva car, loading all of my belongings in, then driving back to kreuzlingen (sp?), a few minutes drive, and returning the Swiss car there. My wife followed me in the Konstanz car to the Kreuzlingen dropoff but it would have been doable alone, since the proximity is so close. Konstanz is a very beautiful city on the Bodensee (Lake Constance).
Posted by
Jeromesville, OH, USA
9 posts
We have not yet actually taken our trip yet so please keep this in mind but I have done some research on renting the car and have booked a car through gemut in Frankfurt. From varying message boards I learned that there are fees associated with pick-up at the airport or train station though none extra for returning them there. With that in mind I found a variety of places to pick up the car not far from the airport and yet not in the city. Sixt has a place in Niederrad (getting there would involve taking the tram or train and then walking less than a mile to get the car) and Europcar has a place in Kelsterbach (one stop going west on the S train and a short walk) which we are going with. This saves us about $80 from the pick-up at the airport. Certainly not as convenient or time efficient but money saving and a new adventure (I hope) There are places in the city that may have cost even less but we didn't want to deal with city driving.