Car Hire
Hire a car 
For pure convenience sake you can’t beat the car. It doesn’t matter who you are, as soon as that plane hits the tarmac, you just want to get straight to the resort as soon as possible, and if there’s at least a couple of you it’ll probably work out at least as cheap as getting a transfer.
There are obviously a couple of things to check out before you book.
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Firstly, yep obvious one, space. If you are like me, you’re looking at the cheaper models, and trying to work out the smallest/cheapest car you can find to squeeze you and your mates in, oh and your kit. If you’ve all got board bags then you’ll loose a space in the back seat, when they pushed through from the boot.
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If you’re thinking roof-rack then do make sure it’s a proper one, we’ve hired roof-racks before and they end up being some DIY flimsy thing. Always get them to specify what type it is before you book, and tell them whats going to go on it.
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Roads. All the big and popular resorts have nice sealed tarmac’d roads leading to them, but some of the smaller or further a field don’t, may require a 4wd, and may invalidate your insurance so do your homework if unsure.
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Chains. You might need these, you can usually hire them, but if you’ve got the car for more than a week its cheaper to buy them. Remember they don’t go on all your tyres, and on some roads they are essential. In the US its illegal to drive without them when the chains sign is illuminated, and it might invalidate your insurance if you triple-Salchow into the fence when you should be using them. Check the conditions for your entire journey when you can, but don’t be pressurised into shelling out if you don’t think it’s necessary, you can buy them if the weather turns nasty, and you can choose not to drive.
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Parking. Check to see if you can park where you’re staying and how much it costs. Sounds obvious, but Saas-fee, Zermatt and a few other European resorts are car free, and it costs a packet to park for a week. We’ve had reports of officious coppers in Tignes, being over zealous with parking fines. Over in the US, the car parks are so huge if you turn up late, its going right march to the lift, but at least they’re free.
We’ve partnered up with Alamo who have been one of the top rental company’s for the last 30 years. Amazingly they have 250,000 cars in over 1250 locations worldwide, and they are pretty reasonable. We’ve been hiring cars from them for the last couple of years and have had no complaints yet.
All their cars are quoted with fully comprehensive insurance and unlimited miles.
Give them a call on
+44 ( 0)870 191 6938
or visit www.alamo.com
