We have been skiing in Europe for 25 years and have concluded that driving to the French Alps is our preferred method of transport, and our only way for many years. We love to be able to just pack the car and go without having to worry about baggage allowances and airports – and you can get extra time skiing!
Don’t forget that if you are driving to the French Alps in the winter you will need snow chains. There are many different sizes depending on the tyre dimensions so make sure they are right for your car. I strongly recommend you practice putting them on at home before you go and have a pair of rubber gloves to hand if you need to use them – it’s a dirty job!
If your journey is going to take you through any other countries be sure to check their rules for snow chains / winter tyres.
Flexiplus on the Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel has been our method of crossing the channel every time. We live in the South east so it makes sense for us. At just 35 minutes it’s definitely the quickest, especially if you buy the Flexi Plus ticket which gives you:
- Arrive whenever you like – take away the stress of whether you’re late!
- Dedicated check in lane
- Fast track past the queues, via the Flexiplus lounge if you wish where you can grab complimentary drinks & food for the journey, straight on to the next train to depart.
The Flexiplus ticket can be expensive but we’ve found that they can be great value if purchased as part of a drive/ski package deal. We’ve used peak retreats for many years now and can recommend them.
An extra day on the slopes
Saturday is always changeover day for the Ski resorts so is by far the quietest day on the slopes. We always leave the UK first thing on Friday morning and plan our journey to have a stopover within a few hours of the resort on Friday night.
In recent years we have stopped in Macon, jut north of Lyons, and more recently in Chamberey, a few hours further south, when we were heading to Montgenevre which is one of the further away resorts
We then leave after breakfast, head to the resort, get changed out of the car and have a full afternoon’s skiing / snowboarding. Some resorts (including our favourite, Montgenevre offer 4 hours skiing free on the Saturday afternoon with their 6 day pass. After half a day’s skiing it’s time to check in to the hotel.
French Motorway Toll Tag
You can buy a toll tag in the UK. Whilst there’s a small cost involved with buying it, and a modest annual charge, it’s well worth it in our view. In the early days we made the mistake of using a credit card at every toll booth – the wrong kind of credit card so we got charged a foreign currency exchange fee every time we used it as well as the charge itself!
The tag allows you to sail through the toll booths, you don’t end up with a car full of receipts, and the toll company take their money via direct debit once a month. Another advantage of course is you don’t need to wake your passenger to pay each time as the toll booths are of course on the passenger side for UK cars.
The return journey
At the end of a week’s skiing it’s a long way home in one go. We now always break the journey on the way home and stay in Reims on Saturday night. We leave the resort early in the morning to get to Reims by mid – late afternoon. It’s a lovely city to wander around. As the centre of the Champagne region all of the champagne houses are based around here. Several of them offer tours of their cellars, but you do need to book well in advance.