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Trip Planning 2023/24: Information, advice and questions!

Mi-Nigle said:
I've not done France but we hired from Swiss and had no issues
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I did the same although I think the French side is actually more direct for Europa-Park.
Mi-Nigle said:
Though, am I right in thinking it depends on which side your plane lands on? You can't freely walk from one side to the other?
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Yes you can. There's a line of paint denoting which side is which from a customs perspective but you can walk between them unhindered.
 
AstroDan said:
French side is more direct for EP.

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It's also usually considerably cheaper too. Quick check on a basic hire in August comes out at £571 in the Swiss side (search for Basel airport on the car hire sites) vs £397 with Hertz on the French side on the same dates (search for Mulhouse and Europort Mulhouse Freiburg).
 
emmerse2891 said:
Thanks - if anyone can give a good review of the hire company they used, always helps, many thanks.
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Just stick to the main brands that are located at the airport such as Hertz. Avis and Budget are actually the same company, then National, Keddy, Enterprise and Alamo are one company too and will usually use the same desks and staff. I've rented from all of them at some point or another, and had no issues with any. Just make sure of the following:
  • Check the opening times of the car hire desk to ensure they're open when you land and also when you drop the car off when you're heading back. For pickup, it'll need to be open for you to sign documents. For drop off, they may require you to drop keys off in person, or sometimes they let you use a drop off box. Check the terms to make sure.
  • Double check you can take the car to other countries. The vast, vast majority of companies allow this now, but best to make sure in the terms.
  • Fully check the car over, ensure any existing damage is already noted on your agreement before leaving. Take photos of the wheels etc just in case too.
  • Refuse the car hire company's own fuel policy and just top the tank off somewhere nearby when you return. Their' fuel is often at least 50% more expensive than a local petrol station (don't use the one closest to the airport!)
  • Refuse any upgrades, they're pretty much always a rip off, and chances are you'll end up with a car of that class anyway!
  • Likewise, don't accept any additional cover beyond the standard insurance which is included. Things like the damage waiver which covers your excess payment in the event of damage for example. It's cheaper to get your own third party policy through somewhere like CoverForYou either for a single trip, or if you're hiring more than a couple of times a year an annual policy is often good value at about £30 and covers you for UK hire too.
 
Just check what card they'll need as well. A few years ago the rental car company we'd booked through then wouldn't give us a car as they wanted a credit card. Thankfully one of the other rental companies were happy with a debit card.
 
I'd recommend somewhere like Rhino Car Hire to compare the rates too. Check if your workplace has any discount as a perk
 
Out of interest, is the hotel entrance open all day? Or does it shut after the ERT period from 8:30-9 is over? I only ask because my parents aren’t sure about rushing out and doing ERT tomorrow, so we were curious to know whether we’d still be able to enter via the hotel entrance if we went in later.

Also, would we be able to exit via that entrance at the end of the day, or do we have to go to the main one?
 
If it’s the same as pre-covid they will take your picture if you exit the park midway through the day and link it to your ticket so they can check it’s the same person if you re-enter.
 
emmerse2891 said:
I'm sure this is somewhere - but forgive me for asking - but which side is the best side of Basel airport to hire a car from to have easiest access out in the right direction for Europa? Think the options are France or Swiss?

Many thanks
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It doesn't really matter. Both sides have easy motorway access, I went from the Swiss side the first time and had no issues. Just go with whichever side gives you the cheapest car hire.

On a slightly related note, a cancelled flight into Basel forced me to make a contingency one to Zurich instead. At the time, both my flight and car hire worked out cheaper from there for some reason and the saving more than made up for the fuel costs of the extra driving. If you don't mind a longer drive on either side, I usually look at various departing and arriving airports when booking trips as I'm a cheapo.
 
I forget thats Basel is in Switzerland, and picking up car france side and then travelling to Germany, is there anything i should know about this? I was mistakenly just looking at German travel restrictions and processes.

Do you need to do passenger location forms coming into Switzerland? I've read the official requirements, but just asking as a belt-and-braces approach, as I'm dyslexic and its not been the first time i've missed something

many thanks
 
emmerse2891 said:
I forget thats Basel is in Switzerland, and picking up car france side and then travelling to Germany, is there anything i should know about this? I was mistakenly just looking at German travel restrictions and processes.

Do you need to do passenger location forms coming into Switzerland? I've read the official requirements, but just asking as a belt-and-braces approach, as I'm dyslexic and its not been the first time i've missed something

many thanks
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Passenger locator forms are no longer required for any of the three countries. Proof of vaccination/booster is required and may be asked for, so just ensure you generate a travel vaccination pass in the NHS app nearer the time (they last for 30 days).
 
Okay - flying into Basel - do you need to fill out a passenger locator form? Easyjet suggests you do as you should consider it france.... trying to EU-PLF form and is really faffy - its not finding Basel airport, its not in BST for times etc.... do we need to do it?
 
emmerse2891 said:
Okay - flying into Basel - do you need to fill out a passenger locator form? Easyjet suggests you do as you should consider it france.... trying to EU-PLF form and is really faffy - its not finding Basel airport, its not in BST for times etc.... do we need to do it?
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If that's what the French government want, then flying into Basel that is what you must do. That's similar to the reason my last flight to Basel was cancelled as France were put on the Red list and Switzerland wasn't at the time (they were when we were out there). Since Basel is on the border of both, you are free to enter either country from the airport so both countries rules would apply to your arrival.

I know it's kind of insane because we just rebooked our flight to Zurich instead and could easily drive into France without hinder if we wanted at any time. But the rules are the rules. For the sake of a form, just fill it out and enjoy your holiday.
 
emmerse2891 said:
Okay - flying into Basel - do you need to fill out a passenger locator form? Easyjet suggests you do as you should consider it france.... trying to EU-PLF form and is really faffy - its not finding Basel airport, its not in BST for times etc.... do we need to do it?
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If you're trying to complete a PLF then the times will be those stated on your booking confirmation/boarding pass as they're local times. The site automatically sets the timezone depending on the departure/arrival company so no need to do any maths in your head for it! In terms of airport, just select other and type in the airport name.
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Thanks - I went down the 'other' route - filled in now!
It was just confusing as we are in Frances's green list - but filling out the EU-plf it says it's for those in the EU or flying internally, and we're not EU anymore, there didn't seem to be another option! ah well.
 
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