December 9th, 2008 - Posted by: Powder Monkey

Car Hire Cost Cutting Tips

Car hire is one option for getting from the airport to your chosen ski resort. It can work out far cheaper than a private taxi or transfer, providing you don’t have to pay for parking. And you can save even more money on travel to the slopes by following our guide to cutting car hire costs. Car hire is an extremely competitive business these days, which is good news for the consumer because there are loads of good deals out there.

It’s finding them that can be difficult. You could spend hours searching the web company by company looking for the best price, but it’s a far better idea to let a price comparison site do all the hard work for you. There are several specialist sites which will return offers to match your car hire request from a whole range of companies within seconds. Quick, powerful and user-friendly, Kayak is one of the best.

But you’ll need to look beyond the initial quote given to you by Kayak, or similar price comparison website, to get the full picture. If you find a really great deal, the rental company is probably making its money on car hire extras, such as child seats (the law governing child seats in the UK applies in all EU member states), additional drivers, ski racks, snow chains (you are legally obliged to carry snow chains when driving in the mountains in France) or insurance upgrades. Any extras should be pre-booked to secure special equipment and to avoid paying premium airport rates locally.

Of these extras, car hire insurance requires a special mention as it can really add to your costs. If you stick with the rental company’s basic insurance you may find that the protection offered is insufficient and that you will be liable for a huge excess, often hundreds of pounds, if something goes wrong. You are usually advised by your supplier to pay an inflated excess waiver charge, but there are alternatives. Specialist insurers, such as insurance4carhire provide daily and annual insurance policies for car rental, offering significant savings and peace of mind.

Once you’ve found and booked the best deal on car hire, don’t wipe out your savings by missing your return flight. Make sure you leave plenty of time to get the airport. The roads out of resort can be slow going, even without the added complication of snow. It’s a good idea to check the weather prior to your departure from resort and if snow is forecast allow twice as much time to get to the airport. If the car is parked outside and it has snowed during your stay dig it out and fit snow chains the night before if you need them. If you’d rather not have the worry, you might want to consider a transfer as an alternative to car hire.

For car hire and transfer information specifically for Chambéry airport please visit our Chambery transfers forum, a resource dedicated to the subject. For advice on car hire at other French ski airports see internet-cottage’s informative article.

Tags: Car Hire, Chambery Airport
Posted in Skiing on the Cheap, Travel to the French Alps | 2 Comments »