hiring a car/van to take bikes to the Alps!?!?
hiring a car/van to take bikes to the Alps!?!?
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Discussion

Pierscoe1

Original Poster:

2,458 posts

278 months

Thursday 29th April 2010
quotequote all
Hi all,

I'm going on a trip to Morzine, France, for some mountain biking at the end or august/start of september, with two other guys... and we're trying to work out the best way to get there...

thinking at the moment that we might go the road-trip route...

the issue is the vehicle. We need to get three people and 3 big mountain bikes in, and none of us have a car that can carry that, so we're thinking of hiring something...

choices here seem limited - vans are ok, but the seating isn't great, for 3 people for an epic drive to the alps, as you basically have to squash three people onto a bench seat...

there's mpv type things, but we'd need to take some back seats out to get the bikes in, which I think the hire companies might not like...


Has anybody done this sort of thing before?

any experiences, recommendations, tips, stories, suggestions welcomed...


Jubal

930 posts

246 months

Thursday 29th April 2010
quotequote all
Why not use a bike carrier? I have a towbar jobbie that takes three big bikes. Cheaper than a roof mount for the ferry etc too.

BluePurpleRed

1,138 posts

243 months

Thursday 29th April 2010
quotequote all
Seeing as you have a big trip there and back, pick something to take on the epic roads, please don't use a van!!! ;P

Also if you disassemble the bikes properly they should fit in under half the space? I.e. a small roof box / boot if you take back and front wheels off and tessellate them well enough somewhere?

Pierscoe1

Original Poster:

2,458 posts

278 months

Thursday 29th April 2010
quotequote all
not sure we want to have so much expensive metal strapped to the back of a car...

Might look at the dissassembly thing, and maybe hire an estate car instead.....

Amateurish

8,148 posts

239 months

Friday 30th April 2010
quotequote all
VW Caravelle / Transporter should do the job.

threesixty

2,068 posts

220 months

Friday 30th April 2010
quotequote all
Done this many many times.

Driving out there is costly, fuels not as cheap as it was, toll roads will be around e200.

I drive out sometimes if im moving around ie week in morzine then onto the mega. But if you're just planning on staying in morzine then fly, it'll be cheaper, faster and more comfortable.

Im driving out this year but only because I want to take the M3 for a play in the alps!

Amateurish

8,148 posts

239 months

Friday 30th April 2010
quotequote all
Tolls actually E70 each way

threesixty

2,068 posts

220 months

Friday 30th April 2010
quotequote all
To be honest that was a bit of a guess i thought there was one for about 20 and then another about 65 ish?





Amateurish

8,148 posts

239 months

Friday 30th April 2010
quotequote all
And don't forget it costs an extra £40 to take a bike on Easyjet.

Pierscoe1

Original Poster:

2,458 posts

278 months

Friday 30th April 2010
quotequote all
Amateurish said:
VW Caravelle / Transporter should do the job.
well yes, it would. So where do you hire one from, because I can only find either 2-seater van ones, or 9-seater minibusses with no luggage room.




Trouble with flying is that we need to get to heathrow (£40 each), transfers at other end (£60 each), bike fees (£some)... costs all mount up...

Pierscoe1

Original Poster:

2,458 posts

278 months

Tuesday 29th June 2010
quotequote all
bumping this, because there's now 5 of us going... so 5 people + 5 big bikes sounds like it should make hire-car/van much more economic than flying (especially as 4 of us would need to shell out £200 each on a bike bag/box!)

nowhere seems to hire suitable vehicles though...

5/6 seater VW Transporter would be perfect... but you just can't get them.

any help/ideas on this?

...or anybody that wants to come riding in Morzine and happens to own a VW transporter!?!?!? wink

Wolff

413 posts

232 months

Tuesday 29th June 2010
quotequote all
Found a company with a 9 seater crew van (under minibus section) - not sure if its big enough in the cargo area? http://www.shb.co.uk/spec/home.html

Or a 6 seater crew van at http://www.hhvanhire.co.uk/vans/crew-bus-van/

Or there's this one too! http://www.selfdrivevanhire.co.uk/

Edited by Wolff to add URL's!




Edited by Wolff on Tuesday 29th June 19:37

Bluebarge

4,519 posts

195 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Check whether you can take those vans abroad, I doubt those sorts of hire companies would expect their vehicles to be taken out of the country.

TBH, you might be better off taking 2 cars with a roof rack and bike carriers each, for which you all chip in for the cost. When you get back, either flog the roof-racks etc on ebay and recover some of the cost or, if one of you wants to keep them, he can pay the others. www.roofbox.co.uk do an extensive range and will tell you what fits which car.

Alternatively, look at going by train. Eurostar will take you to a number of destinations in France and, if their website doesn't list where you want to go, check out the French Railways website for connections
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/
I'm going to Lyon on Eurostar this summer for £100 return, so you could book that leg, then do any connections via the SNCF website.

Amateurish

8,148 posts

239 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Forget the train, it will be too much hassle with five bikes and expensive. Nearest station to Morzine is Thonon-Les-Bains and even then it's a 45 min transfer.

BluePurpleRed

1,138 posts

243 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
I did a banger rally in a £100 car and it was fine ( have done it 2 times). What I am getting at is you might find buying something for £1500 between the 5 would do well, and then you can always sell it when you get back to recoup the costs?


smifffymoto

5,126 posts

222 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Hire a trailer.