Where are you skiing? Post Reply

[Seb]

Hi
We're thinking of ski drive this year and I wondered if anyone had done it from Wandsworth and how long it took to get to the Alps? Do you stop on the way and if so where?

Also, I am guessing the Switzerland is a big no no now?

Just read this and didn't think about the effect yesterday must have had on Swiss tourism eeek!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuter ... -rise.html

[Annabel (admin)]

Mr NVN is ski driving this year with friends and the children, I'm too busy s̶o̶c̶i̶a̶l̶i̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ working,

I'll ask him what he is doing...

[ramdays]

Hi Seb

I've done the trip about 5-6 times by road and personally prefer it, although other family members prefer flying. Door to door I would say it's around 10-12 hours depending on various factors. Overnight stop of course adds to that

Your best bet is to take the eurotunnel shuttle, and I've typically set off from SW11 around 6pm on a Friday for an 8.30pm crossing (you should allow 2 hours to get to Folkestone although 90 minutes is more likely). You'll be in France around 10pm (local time) and my preference is to drive 3 or so hours while the family is asleep in the car. We tend to stop past Reims in Champagne (which also gives us a good excuse to stock up!) and if you go an hour further Troyes is a lovely medieval town.

The next morning after a bit of a lie in and relaxed breakfast, hit the road at say 10am and with a stop on the way you should be in resort mid to late afternoon depending on which resort

If you're going to some of the well known French resorts, you'll want to go down to Bourg-en-Bresse (where the famous Chicken is from) and skirt past Geneva. If southern Switzerland (Valais type region) then I get off at Dijon and cut through Besancon and drop north of lake Geneva at Lausanne. I've not driven to resorts around Zurich or Austria

Bear in mind that the French police have toughened up on speeding Brits in Chelsea tractors and you'll be wise to carry cash to pay the on the spot speeding fine otherwise they'll drive you to the nearest ATM. The French also have rules around what safety equipment needs to be in the car (high viz jackets, breathalysers etc.) and to legally drive in Switzerland you need to buy a road tax disc that is valid for a year, but I've never bothered (it shouldn't be an issue unless they pull you over and check). Speed cameras in both France and Switzerland aren't well displayed like the UK, and I would strongly suggest either taking snow chains or winter tyres. Many times the police block mountain roads in heavy snow and only cars with chains fitted are allowed to continue on.

That's my 2 cents. If you want some more info happy to help. For me the convenience of putting everything in the car from home, especially when self catering, is great, but it can be a long trip for young passengers.

All the best
Saquib

[Seb]

That's brilliant - thank you for such a detailed response.

Off now to look at snow chains!

[Geegee007]

If you are looking for a stopover, may I recommend Les Tilleuls, Burgundy.
http://www.athomeinburgundy.com
It is in a tiny hamlet about 12 minutes off the autoroute South of Dijon. Roughly 5 hours from Le Shuttle, just South of Dijon.
We stayed here both ways when travelling over the Christmas/ New Year break just gone. It is very comfortable, reasonably priced and run by a lovely Scottish couple Pam and Neil Aitken, who were so accommodating,

[youonlyliveonce]

We own a chalet in Nendaz (see advert for "Ski Chalet for rent" on this site) and we drive down 4 times a year. We always do the trip in one day, it usually takes less than 12 hours door to door. Our preferred method is to leave London early, about 5:15am, drive to Folkestone for the Eurotunnel (takes about an hour and a quarter at that time of day) and get a Chunnel at about 7:20am.

On the other side it takes us 8.5 hours to drive to Nendaz (it's about 550 miles). That's about as quick as you can do it, cruising just below 90 mph and only stopping once for fuel and lunch (we only stop for 45 mins tops). We have 3 children but they are used to the journey and are very well behaved. When we first started doing the trip 10 years ago we invested in an in-car dvd which has been an absolute life saver. We share the driving and have plenty of food and water on board.

As one of the other posts says, chains are essential unless you have a 4x4 with proper winter tyres. When we first started doing the journey we did stop over en route a couple of times but now we always go straight through. Troyes is lovely, as is Reims plus around Dijon.

Coming back we aim to get to Calais late afternoon for the return crossing which means leaving the resort about 8am.

[ladyofacertainage]

We have done it many times, normally leave straight after school on friday with the kids and my husband gets the train out of the city and meets us at Sandling Station. We drive as far as Reims and stopover, then do the rest the next morning. Timing wise our journeys are always longer than previous posters as we have mostly been in Feb half term which is peak travelling season for the french as well as us so an early start on Sat am is required. We ski all day on the last saturday, leave the resort in the evening and drive to Bourg en Bresse for the night and do the big journey back on Sunday. Advantages are we get an extra day on the slopes and having 3 children it is much cheaper than flying. We have driven to the Alps many times in the Summer too. I would agree with the other poster on having food etc in the car and keeping stops to a minimum.

[Flump2013]

This is all really good advice. Driving can be a really good option as long as you have...
1- plenty of entertainment, food and drink for all involved
2- good directions/ maps/ sat nav
3- snow chains are a must (and avoid buying them once in the mountains as they take advantage of that)
4- make sure you have all the bits that the French authorities require (triangle, high viz jackets etc) as well as a few Euros!

I run a specialist ski travel agency, so do get in touch if you need help with the accommodation side of your trip. www.summersandwinters.co.uk

Have a fabulous time.

[nvmof3]

I also really recommend getting the sanef toll tag from www.saneftolling.co.uk. You can use the fast track at all the tolls and don't have to worry about having euros etc.