 Poster: A snowHead
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We are driving out for the first time at half term. What would you advise re. timings for the crossing?
OH is self employed so no work no pay means he is inclined to work til lunchtime friday at least, plan to leave London then for a tunnel around 3pm ish. Then drive til around 10pm for an overnight stop.
Alternatively, he could be persuaded to take the full day off in which case we could get a very early tunnel, drive all day and make our overnight stop somewhere very close to resort.
Any thoughts? Any other considerations?
Thanks.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 15-10-10 22:24; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sarah, Where are you going to?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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sarah, and where are you leaving from?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Boredsurfing, Helen Beaumont, ooops! Thanks!
We are going to Montgenevre and we are leaving from London probably. We live in Cheshire but OH works in London a lot so we can leave from either place. Most likely situation is that he will stay down there that week and we will join him Thurs night to leave from London some time Friday.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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sarah, For a trouble free relaxed drive down I would leave on an early tunnel and stop overnight.
For the return journey I would plan to leave the reosrt no later then 06.30am (assuming the following Saturday)
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Boredsurfing, thanks. That's what I thought, to get as much of the drive as possible done on the Friday. For the return though there is no way we will leave by 6.30am  We are with a large group and loads of kids (but all travelling independently) and will have to get everyone out of the chalet and probably clean it too although haven't checked the conditions. If we can't leave that early then what's the next best option?
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| sarah wrote: |
| For the return though there is no way we will leave by 6.30am We are with a large group and loads of kids (but all travelling independently) and will have to get everyone out of the chalet and probably clean it too although haven't checked the conditions. If we can't leave that early then what's the next best option? |
Interested in this one too - when we drove back from Le Grand Bornand after New Year we got stuck in long queues round Reims due to (long term?) roadworks.
Assuming they're still there at Easter and assuming we leave at around the same time (same issue with kids/mornings/cleaning) I'd be interested in ways to miss the queues.
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do you have kids? how old? do you have pets?
I usually leave at night and get the midnight crossing on the tunnel, I then drive throughout the night whilst everyone else sleeps, if the roads are open I will go straight through (I drive to serre chevalier which is next to Montgenevre) if the roads are heavy I will put into a formula 1 and get a few hours shut eye before carrying on
its tyring for me but everyone else arrives refreshed and ready to ski
as to return journey, give it 10 hours to the tunnel and aim to cross at 9ish and you will be back in the UK for 9pm and then its a run home - done 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Probably worth repeating then 
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Wed 13-01-10 21:29; edited 2 times in total
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3 options. Ski Friday and leave Friday about 5pm and get 3 hours away from resort (North of Lyon?). We did this last week and worked well. We packed Thursday night and skied till 3pm, ate in the aprtment and got last cleaning done and headed off. Takes a chunk out of the Saturday trip home and you should be way ahead of Satursday traffic. Only negative is that during half term you may struggle to get accomodation on the Friday night and it adds cost. Though we reduced cost by eating in apartment before leaving and having some snacks for the kids for the hotel.
Other option is to ski Saturday and leave late. Same as above book a hotel about 3-5 hours north fo resort, travel home Sunday when much quieter.
Option 3 leave aboout 10am on the Saturday and spend the day in traffic jams.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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My preferred option (if <1hr from tunnel): Get a Saturday 7am tunnel, cruise at 80mph, and expect to arrive at resort in time for 7-8pm weather permitting.
My economy option (from London): Get a Friday/Saturday 9-10pm ferry, have dinner, drive throughout the night with the sun at dawn helping defeat one's body clock. Arrive at resort around 10am. Ski/board (very incompetently) for a couple of hours before calling it a day.
Luxury option: Get a midday Friday tunnel/ferry and stay in a hotel half-way. Take it leisurely with a long lunch on Saturday.
NB I'd never do the return journey in one go - always have a stopover.
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crosbie, Just out of interest which do you do at February half term.
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You know it makes sense.
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I always like to drive down on the Friday and stay overnight about an hour or so from the resort in a cheap Formulae 1 or something, then up bright and early on the Saturday, zip up the mountain and spend all day Saturday skiing. I just leave all the stuff in the car and find the accomodation in the afternoon/evening.
Similar thing at end of stay, load up the car and spend the final Saturday skiing too and drive down to the cheap hotel in the evening, drive home Sunday.
You get 8 days skiing and because Saturdays are usually transfer days for the package holiday brigade the slopes are usually quieter apart from locals. One word of warning, for half term book the overnight stops in advance or you'll be sleeping in the car.
Probably wont suit everybody but it works for me as I relish every extra minute I can get on the snow. I'm one of those idiots who is in the queue for the lifts to open in the morning and tries to be one of the last ones off the mountain at the end of the day. I'm self employed too so need to maximise snow fix with minimum time off work.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Boredsurfing, if you mean how do I avoid tons of Brits clogging the roads in the Alps and avoid hefty channel crossing fees, I would and have done the night-drive option, but set off a tad earlier (or get tunnel if nearby), i.e. in order to be one of the early Saturday morning 6am sunrise drivers (hoping the local weekenders have already driven to the resort in the Friday evening). Obviously, there's plenty of transfer coaches/minibuses coming down the mountain. You also either have to be sure the chalet/hotel/apartment can receive you at 8am or plan on getting the first lift/cable car to spend the day on the slopes (until the afternoon when the accommodation is hopefully ready). An overnight dump will cause delay of course (but should also delay one's compatriots).
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Poster: A snowHead
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sarah, In that case best plan to leave after 2pm and stay overnight on the way back or leave in the morning and join the slow moving traffic all the way home
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I think everyone had taken that option when we were driving into resort on 2 Jan, as even at 3pm the queue from Moutiers was practically back to Bourg
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks very much indeed all, that's it then early doors tunnel Friday, drive all day, overnight stay close to resort. Leave Friday night (actually I think some of our group are flying back Friday anyway) or Saturday night 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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The other thing that avoids is the worst of the queues at the Dartford Crossing which is a nightmare on a Friday afternoon/evening especially preceeding half term or Easter.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Best time to go is out of half term
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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At half term? 
I would leave resort EITHER no later than 0630 OR no earlier than 5 pm. As for getting there, I'd aim to arrive in resort either before 11am or after 6 pm. the problem with rented accommodation is that you usually have to be out of there by 10 am and can't get in before about 4.30. Which is awkward with kids. with adults, spending the Saturday changeover day skiing, then drive a few hours at the end of the day, have a nice dinner, and bed, would be a good option. But organising that for kids, with no "home" to go to, isn't easy. Personally, I'd aim to get out at 0630. Do you have to clean the chalet? There's usually an end of let cleaning option, which would make life much easier, with a group. I had to get our lot organised for an 0600 departure on 26th December. The road was very snowy and I didn't want to risk leaving later and I also didn't know how bad the traffic would be, as normally I won't drive into Geneva on a Saturday. We had no traffic going down, no problem. But when I drove back up into resort-land, around 11.30/12 noon there were long queues for the tolls on the A40 and solid traffic down the mountain - whilst I shot back up, no problem. But later in the afternoon the traffic up was solid.
Also, the roads south from the channel ports will be chock a block during the day, with long queues for the tolls. Your average speed will take a huge hit.
BUT if you plan to drive down on Friday and stay near your resort overnight (far better idea) you need to book a hotel yesterday. And the autoroutes will still be pretty busy with vast numbers of overloaded British registered 4x4s. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Agree with pam_w. Montgenevre is a bit quieter at least, but you don't want to be anywhere near the French Alps road system between 8am and 6pm on 20th Feb. The traffic is beyond most people's comprehension. Truly appocalyptic.
Can you tell I live in the Tarentaise? Record for Sainte Foy to Moutiers (~45mins drive normally) is 5hrs+
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This is my timetable from last year. It has been honed over a couple of seasons. I find the trip down a bit tight, but the trip back to be almost leisurely.
Out
Friday 3rd April 2009
Leave home 05:00
Arrive @ Ferry 09:00
Ferry Leaves Dover 10:00 (UK)
Ferry Arrives Dunkerque 13:00 (FR)
Drive to Hotel in Dijon
Hotel @ 20:30
Saturday 4th April 2009
Leave Hotel 07:00
Arrive Les Arcs 11:00
Apartment from Saturday 4th April to Saturday 11th April
Saturday 11h April 2009
Leave resort 18:00
Arrive @ Hotel in Dijon 22:00
Sunday 12th April
Leave Hotel 09:00
Nice lunch somewhere + a bit of booze shopping
Arrive Port 17:00
Ferry leaves Dunkerque 18:01 (FR)
Ferry arrives Dover 19:00 (UK)
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Colin B, pam w, stevomcd, ringingmaster, thanks all! Much appreciated.
Any suggestions for where to stay on the Friday night then? I was thinking as close to Montgenevre as possible, no point breaking the journey at 2 hours out say then finding ourselves stuck in bad traffic on what was supposed to be a short 2 hour hop the next morning.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'll add that 'with kids' in a CONVOY I'd suggest getting everyone on a 4-5pm Friday ferry. And then drive with (inevitably) plenty of fuel/loo/meal breaks to arrive at the Alps around 4-5am, resort at 7-8am.
For Montgenevre in particular, I'd seriously consider going via Grenoble/Gap/Briancon just to avoid umpteen nervous breakdowns given the icy/snowy mountain roads in the wee small hours (let alone avoiding any traffic). I did them three times (6pm-midnight) last year and I suspect they're even scarier in the day time when you can fully appreciate the depths of the chasm you're only inches away from.
Anyway, if you insist on daytime travel and a Friday night very close to resort, try Hotel de Paris in Briancon as a one-nighter. There's even a cable car in walking distance. I drove out Friday daytime for a night here last season (not in half-term). For half-term with kids you'd probably need a 4am channel tunnel though (I used a 7am tunnel and drove through the mountains to get to Briancon at 8-9pm). If via Gap add an hour (assuming the mountain roads via either La Grave or Frejus tunnel are equally jammed with crawling traffic).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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How about this for an economy option?
London: Friday 9-10pm depart
Dover: midnight check-in for 1am SeaFrance ferry (drivers take nap)
Calais: 3am, Saturday
3-4 hours unavoidably 'wasted' in umpteen fuel stops, exercise breaks, leisurely meals, convoy pow-wows, mini-emergencies, photo stops, traffic jams, etc.
Grenoble: 3pm
via Gap (to avoid alpine traffic)
Montegenevre: 7pm in time for dinner.
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Each to their own but under no circumstances would I entertain a drive through the night option. Its a long enough drive without adding in 'falling asleep at wheel option'. I'll run now for cover..............
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You know it makes sense.
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thefatcontroller, good point, but sarah sounds experienced enough at driving to the Alps to be aware of such safety issues and how to address them.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Boredsurfing, I would second that. Also, stop at the service stations and not at the aires. My kids could never understand the attraction of peeing in a shower tray which then meant another stop at the next service station.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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BergenBergen, Good point, the loos at the Peage barriers are also 'shower trays' 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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ringingmaster, nice timetable, but that wasn't half term. It's a different world.
crosbie, even overnight you can't do 80 if it's raining, or foggy, or worse still snowing. convoys behind a snowplough at new year and friends who drove down a few days ago battled snow from not far south of Calais. One lane of 4 open from Bourg en Bresse, behind a plough.
I've cruised at 80 for hours too, and very pleasant and easy it is too, but it's not realistic to do detailed planning on the basis that you can always do so.
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Avago,
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but the thought of queing at every major junction is already giving me sleepless nights. How much worse will it really be?
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Get it wrong and you can queue between each major junction and peage barrier as well. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Boredsurfing, Thanks for that
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| sarah wrote: |
| Experienced at driving to the alps? Didn't I mention in my opening post that this is the first time we've driven out for skiing? Summer yes but never winter. |
If you've driven to the alps in summer (have done 12 hours in one go) I presume you're cognisant of the length of the journey and the need to address the issue of tiredness, sharing the driving, the need for rest, etc. I didn't say you were experienced at doing it in winter. Or are you suggesting that with shorter days tiredness is more of an issue?
pam_w, I did say 80mph weather permitting.
Sarah, it may be prudent if you now propose your travel schedule here, and everyone can then point out any issues with it, with special respect to half-term and the prevailing economic and environmental conditions (bearing in mind multiple vehicles - and how many kids?).
If you don't fancy stretching a single journey via the 1am Dover Ferry, you could consider the Newhaven 1:30am ferry with cabins if you reckon folk can sleep during the 2-3 hour crossing (weather permitting). From Boulogne at 4:15am you can then push it with minimal stops to arrive in Montgenevre by dinner time (even via Gap).
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FAQ
on this and we will not be driving through the night.
