[Anonymous]

17 March 2019 at 7:52:22 #820429

Hi,

At the outset, I am grateful to the MySwissAlps community for providing such useful information to Switzerland trip planners like me. I have managed to plan a self guided tour of Switzerland in May this year based on useful information available on this forum.

My query pertains to car rental from Basel. I am travelling from Paris to Basel by TGV and will be arriving at the Basel SBB station. Since it is a sunday, the car rental offices near the station are closed. However, the car rental options at the Basel airport are open on Sundays too.

i) Is it possible to access any car rental place in Basel airport from outside the airport or are all of them in the arrivals area of the airport which cannot be accessed by passengers arriving by train?

ii) If the above is possible, can I get a shuttle from the SBB station to the airport?

Side note – We are a family of 4 travelling with luggage.

Regards,

Ishan

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[User]

Reply 1 of 10 • 17 March 2019 at 8:28:35 #906708

Hi Ishan and a warm Welcome to MySwissAlps,

It’s lovely to hear that you have found the forum helpful so far and appreciate the information you find here!

Here some helpful links for your arrival from France to Basel and the question about car rental at Basel Airport. I believe the car rental services at Basel Airport are accessible for travellers and NON-travellers equally.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/france
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ai rports/basel
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ca r/carrental

MySwissAlps supports any kind of travel planning to Switzerland (and beyond) but one of our specialities is definitely travelling by train. The Swiss rail system works close to perfection and is a great way to visit the country. Please have a look at following links for further input:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ca rversustrain
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr avel/inswitzerland

If you already have an itinerary set you can use our timetable link to calculate detailed travelling times and to look into the best available rail pass (if required), the rail pass link will be of great help.

Timetable
http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

Choose rail pass
http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass

We are here for further input and support, whichever mode of transport you should decide to use.

Happy planning and kind regards,
Steph

[User]

Reply 2 of 10 • 17 March 2019 at 9:12:02 #906709

Hi Steph, thank you for the quick response! MySwissAlps is helpful as always.

I have indeed weighed in the option of traveling by the efficienct Swiss public transport and will be using the details provided by you to do a cost comparison analysis. Apart from the pricing, my preference for a rental car was based on the idea that since I am travelling with my parents who are seniors with limited mobility, they may find the car option less stressful. However, I hear that the railways are quite senior-friendly too with ramps etc. in many places.

Regards,

Ishan

[User]

Reply 3 of 10 • 17 March 2019 at 9:27:41 #906710

Hello Ishan,

You’re more than welcome!

Generally I would say that the swiss trains and also train stations are practical and senior-friendly, including ramps (apart from stairs) and even elevators. But of course it is very individual, what a person can put up with and what is too much.

A lot depends on your detailed itinerary, so feel free to get back to us for any further input about your plans.

If you have an itinerary set, use the timetable link to get an idea of connections (you will see, often connecting trains leave from neighbouring tracks, so barely any walking).

Should you be worried about travelling with luggage and seniors, look into these options, too:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/practical/luggage

Best,
Steph

[User]

Reply 4 of 10 • 18 March 2019 at 1:01:58 #906711

Basel airport is small, and the terminal is very open so you won’t find it a problem to get to the car rental desks.

Take Basel transport (BVB) bus service 50 from Basel SBB station to the airport

[Peterli]

Reply 5 of 10 • 18 March 2019 at 15:22:16 #906712

Hello Ishan,

Before I jump too far into this discussion, I have a couple of questions. First, how many days do you plan to be in Switzerland ? Second, are you returning to Paris at the end of your visit to Switzerland ?

The airport at Basel, called the EuroAirport, is my favourite Swiss airport, not only for its geographical location but also for its relatively small size, as 1960man has already mentioned. I assume that you are aware that when you rent at an airport there is a small additional premium location fee. You should also know that if you drop off your rental at a location different from the one where you picked it up, there is an extra fee. However, it is often much simpler to pay this fee rather than drive back to your starting location.

If you do some checking, I am pretty sure that you will find you are able to rent a car at the French end of the airport for a much cheaper rate. That was certainly the case when I checked last year. Even if you rent at the French end you may be lucky enough to get a car with a Swiss Vignette as a good number of rentals they do are for travel in Switzerland. Another nice thing about renting there is that the cars are parked just outside the rental counters, which themselves are all together at the north end of the arrival area. Just find a baggage cart and roll out everything to your car and then return the empty cart to the side door.

[User]

Reply 6 of 10 • 18 March 2019 at 17:59:47 #906713

Hello members,

Thanks to the details provided by Steph, 1960man and Peterli, I think I now have a clear picture about the rental car scenario. Sorry, I should have clarified this well in advance: I am travelling by train to Basel SBB from Paris and leaving Switzerland from Zurich airport. So if I rent a car, I will have to pick it up from Basel Airport and drop it at Zurich airport. I am currently in the process of doing a cost comparison with the Swiss Travel Pass and the Half Fare Pass and will see what works out best. I will also share my itinerary for expert feedback from the wise people on this forum. 🙂

Thanks and regards,

Ishan

[User]

Reply 7 of 10 • 18 March 2019 at 21:30:00 #906714

Hi Ishan,

We’re here for any input, I hope you know.. 🙂

I think considering travelling by train in Switzerland makes lots of sense. But then again, there’s so many individual reasons why one could choose to travel by car.

Looking forward to the development of your plans.

Best,
Steph

[Peterli]

Reply 8 of 10 • 19 March 2019 at 1:56:37 #906715

Hi again, Ishan.

As a follow-up to my post yesterday about the EuroAirport, I attach the following image (from Google Maps) that shows the following: The small size of the actual terminal, the parking lot for rental vehicles (in red) just outside the French (north) end of the terminal, the route you would take (in yellow) to exit the rental parking area and head off to Switzerland, and the route (first part yellow, then blue) if you were going to head into France.

Since you are four people sharing the cost of one automobile, this may be an economical way to travel around Switzerland. However, only after knowing the extent of your plans for Switzerland will it become clearer if an automobile is the right choice, both from a financial and a practical point of view. Do you have an itinerary in mind and are you planning to go to places that are not accessible by car (such as the tops of mountains, and also some villages) ? I also understand that traveling with elderly people can be less stressful when moving around by car, especially if there are mobility issues. You have more freedom to stop and go where you want, whenever you want. Of course, taking care of baggage is simplified when traveling by a car, as you only take out what you need, lock the car, and it thus becomes your portable storage area.

I am looking forward to know more of your plans and thoughts.

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[User]

Reply 9 of 10 • 19 March 2019 at 19:49:46 #906716

Hello Steph and Peterli,

I have drawn out the following broad itinerary based on where I am staying (4 nights in Spiez and 2 nights in Lucerne):

1) Head to Spiez from Basel on arrival from Paris in the afternoon. Spend rest of the day in Spiez (check out the castle in Spiez if possible and spend time by the lake).

2) Leave for Bern the next morning and check out the old city area on foot. Travel further on to Broc to visit the Maison Cailler chocolate factory. Return to Spiez at end of day.

3) Leave for Zermatt in the morning and spend the entire day exploring Zermatt and either of the two peaks i.e. Gornergratt or Klein Matterhorn. Return to Spiez at the end of day.

4) Spend the entire day exploring Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/Jungfraujoch region. If possible, take a boat trip on Lake Brienz on this day.

5) Reach Lucerne. Visit the Swiss Transport Museum and the Chapel Bridge.

6) Make a trip to Mount Rigi or Mount Pilatus or Stanserhorn (final choice would be based on multiple factors) and spend the rest of the day at leisure. Leave for Zurich the next morning to leave Switzerland.

The above itinerary is only to give a fair idea of my plans and is open to expert suggestions and feedback.

With respect to ease of access and convenience, the only option that works for me apart from a rental car is the Swiss Travel Pass where I believe I can board any train (except specified mountain trains), bus, boat and some cable cars without having to purchase tickets from a counter or kiosk. Please do correct me if I am wrong about this. Added perks include free round-trip of Mount Rigi/Stanserhorn, discounted mountain excursions like Mount Pilatus and Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe, free entry to some museums, no parking woes and the ability to travel on some world renowned rail routes.

On the other hand, the rental car offered me ease of access and convenience and as rightly described by Peterli, a portable storage area. It is also the cheaper option based on my calculations with the Swiss Travel Pass. However, I have decided to opt for the Swiss Travel Pass after considering the pros of the Swiss Travel Pass as discussed above and after considering the fact that I come from a Right Hand Drive (RHD) country and would have to be on a constant vigil while driving on unknown roads with a Left Hand Drive (LHD) configured car which I am not used to driving. This would be a big downer on a trip where I am supposed to be relaxing in the lap of nature.

I thank the members above for their valuable inputs in helping me reaching this decision. In case of any queries on the Swiss Travel Pass or rail travel, I would be posting on a separate thread to avoid straying from the topic of this thread. However, suggestions on the feasibility of the itinerary posted above would be very helpful!

Regards,

Ishan

[Peterli]

Reply 10 of 10 • 19 March 2019 at 22:34:49 #906717

Hello Ishan,

It looks like you have given much thought to how to move around Switzerland, and after all these considerations, whatever you have chosen will work for you, I am sure. I went to a niece’s wedding in Ireland ten years ago and rented a car and had no difficulties. But changing from RHD to LHD or vice-versa can add to anxiety for some drivers. In the train you leave the driving to the railway staff and you just relax and enjoy the views. Since you are staying overnight in only two locations, you wan’t have to be constantly moving with your luggage.

I like your choice of the two locations where you plan to stay overnight, and Spiez is a good jump-off point for excursions in all directions. I see your day 1 is not too busy since you only arrive in the afternoon. For day 2 you might consider adding Gruyères (which is very close to Broc). Your day 3 will be long, so I suggest you get an early start. I hope you have excellent weather for your day 4. The Swiss Transport Museum is a visit you can do rain or shine, so check the weather forecasts with a view to making some switches between days 5 and 6. Actually, what I say about the weather could also apply to your days 2 and 4, and possibly 3. You can do Berne on a rainy day, but the Bernese Oberland and Zermatt are not so great if the weather is inclement. Mind you, I hope that the sun shines for all of the days of your visit.