Travel information

Steering you in the right direction and helping book your travel...

‘Dynamic packaging’ has become the new buzzword of the travel industry. With the use of the internet, people no longer need to purchase package holidays as it has become so easy to put together your own travel package using various suppliers.

We do not sell or take payment for travel but we are legally permitted to advise you.

By Air

The main airports served by the major airlines are Lyon in France and Geneva in Switzerland. Most flights from the London area take about 1hr 50 minutes but you have to add on the extra 1 hr time difference.

British Airways is extending its route network from London City Airport this winter with a new route to Chambery, the gateway to the French Alps.  Click here for more details http://press.ba.com/?p=1364

With more and more cheap flights available, most people tend to use scheduled carriers including:

British Airways, www.britishairways.com
Swiss, www.swiss.com
Easy Jet, www.easyjet.com
Ryan Air (who have now purchased Buzz), www.ryanair.com
British Midland, www.flybmi.com

We highly recommend you try a ski specialist flight agent in the UK called Ski Flights. Mention you have come from Mountain Rooms & Chalets and they will look after you. Contact them on www.ski-flights.com and check out their latest deals and prices. Or email info@westernair.co.uk

If you book in advance you can get some great rates. Smaller airports such as Chambery & Grenoble, are now attracting airlines like Ryan Air but beware of transfers to and from resort as hire car companies and public transport are not easy to find.

If you don't like searching every airline for hours on end, we have found a new website called www.skyscanners.com who show all airlines and available flights for most European routes. It can reduce search time dramatically. See also, www.opodo.co.uk

If you are experiencing difficulties in finding a flight in to any French or Swiss airport, try Turin in Italy as this is not as far from Val d'Isere as you think. We regularly do a staff trip to Turin and on a Saturday or Sunday it can take from 3.5hrs to reach resort (allow more time on a heavy high season Saturday).

Trains     

The Eurostar overnight service departs from Waterloo Friday afternoon and stops in Paris. You change platforms (not station) and take another train that arrives at Bourg St Maurice the following morning (Saturday). Transfer time from Bourg St Maurice to Val d’Isere is approximately 40 minutes. This can be longer on busy weeks. 

You then have most of the following Saturday to ski as the train departs Bourg St Maurice early evening, stops in Paris, again you change platform (not station) and arrive in Waterloo Sunday morning. This option gives you more ski time either end of your weeks stay in resort. This option and the price you pay includes a couchette (bed).  However, for us operationally in resort, you arrive very early at our resort office that opens at 8.30 am.  We can offer you a place to store your luggage, also to change to go skiing and a warm space with tea and coffee but we can't get you in to your property until the outbound clients have left and the property has been cleaned.  

Then on departure day as the train leaves later this also means you want to ski all day, shower and change but it is not always possible to stay in the property that long if we have new guests coming in.  So again, we offer the same facilities in the office plus we can pick up your luggage for you and get it back to the resort office.  Showers can be used for a small fee in the sports centre. 

The Eurostar Saturday service leaves London Waterloo early Saturday morning and runs through the day to get you to Bourg St Maurice around 5pm. This is a dream if you are travelling with children and don’t want the hassle of airports, check in, baggage re-claim etc… It’s worth considering but you have to book in advance. Check out www.eurostar.com for prices and availability.

Car Hire

All major hire car companies have availability at Geneva and Lyon airports and some smaller airports. We can’t book these for you so get on line to book a car direct.  

We have partnered with Rhinocarhire.com who find the best deals from the car hire companies and whose rates are very competitive, backed up by a great UK based customer service team for continued support. 

To book , http://www.rhinocarhire.com/Affiliate/Quote/ID602652.aspx

If you are flying in to Geneva on the Swiss side, we do not recommend you hire a car from the French side as this can be difficult to access. It is not impossible, it just adds time to your pick up and drop off and getting back to the right side of the terminal.

Please note that cars hired with a Swiss registration cannot be taken into France by an EU National. Therefore it is important that when booking a hire car from the Swiss side, any EU Nationals should notify the rental firm that you will be driving in France and are therefore supplied with a French registered car. However, post Brexit, this does not apply to UK residents now that we are non-EU residents.

We would advise all customers check with the rental agent at the time of booking that they are compliant and they will provide the correct car.

Some other useful web addresses:

www.europecar.co.uk
www.sixt.com
www.hertz.com
www.avis.com   
 
GPS information
The address for your GPS to get to Val d'Isere is postcode 73150 and our office is on Route de Coin. In the winter the Col de L’iseran is closed. GPS and road finder routes often give this as an option. It is NOT an option from November to June. This is also applicable to Col de Petit St Bernard.
 
Rough cost
To give you a rough indication of price, last season a 5 door Renault suitable for 4 adults cost £215/305€ for a weeks rental.
 
How to get to Val d’Isere. Directions to Val d’Isere from the airport
  
WARNING: DO NOT GO VIA ITALY TO GET TO VAL D’ISERE. THE COL D’ISERAN IS CLOSED DURING THE WINTER. Follow the route given below.
  
WARNING: Some route finders still give Italy as the route to take (the AA route finder did last season) so please be warned.
  
From Geneva
When you come out of the airport in Geneva there is a big sign saying FRANCE. You follow that and then join to motorway A40 in the direction of Chamonix. You follow the A40 until you see signs to ANNECY – the A41 to Annecy starts off the A40. Follow the A41 through Annecy and Chambery. After Chambery you will see a turn off to the left to Albertville – the A43 – follow signs to Albertville which eventually comes off to the left of the A43. At Albertville join the N90 to Moutiers then the D902 to Bourg St Maurice. At Bourg you will find signs to Val d’Isere, which is about 40 minutes up the mountain from Bourg.
Once you are past Annecy and heading to Chambery you don’t have to worry about road numbers too much as the names hit you as you drive making it easier for you to find your way. Also, don’t worry if you haven’t seen a sign for a while as the French like to scare you occasionally and just when you start to panic, the sign you have been looking for suddenly appears!
  
From Lyon
On exiting the airport follow signs to Grenoble/Chambery that will take you in the direction of the A43. Continue following directions to Chambery then beyond this is the A43 until the N90 that branches off with signs to Albertville or Centre Commercial due Chirac. Continue on the N90 through Albertville to Moutier then follow signs on D routes to Aime and Bourg St Maurice. At Bourg St Maurice follow signs to Val d’Isere, which is about 40 minutes up the mountain from Bourg.
We find it easier to drive to Val from Lyon as it seems to be much more direct and faster! As the crow flies it is closer than Geneva but there’s not much in it but we prefer the drive from & to Lyon over Geneva.
  
NOTE: The motorways cost money to use so you tolls must be paid along the way.  You can either pay in euros or by credit card.

We have driven both journeys many times and have done our very best to provide accurate and sound information, but if you prefer to check your route yourself, log on to www.maporama.com.

Driving from the UK

 Every winter I take my car from the UK to Val d’Isere and every year I do the drive alone and it takes me around 9-10 hours from Calais to Val d’Isere. I do put my foot down but 10 hours seems to be the general time it takes to get from Calais to Val with take away food stops only.

I take the motor way all the way (until it runs out) and tolls cost 65€ in total, petrol for a gas guzzling Subaru = 180€ and the Eurotunnel €217 (but that is a one way price).

The route, very roughly is Calais, Reims (Champagne region), Troyes, Dijon, Lyon, Chambery, Albertville, Moutiers, Bourg St Maurice, Val d’Isere.

Beware, there are often speed cameras on the return journey just before Calais. I got stopped in June 05 and had to pay a spot fine of 90€.
There is also a speed camera in the tunnel on the way to Moutiers from Val in the tunnel to Moutiers.

Total distance = 1003.7 km.

There are alternative routes but Dover is quick and easy using the Eurotunnel but cheaper and longer alternatives are available.