 Poster: A snowHead
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Hiya,
Anyone got any experience in driving to/from Calais to Chatel for skiing?
I'm keen to know good routes and short cuts, diversions, traffic dodges etc please.
Thank you!
Julie
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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mention when you are going - makes a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG difference.
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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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Ok, I should have mentioned that we are travelling via the Chunnel on Sunday 28th Dec and driving straight on to Chatel with only a lunch stop. (Plan A)!
Leaving there to come home Sat 3rd Jan. Possibly night stopping enroute?
Usually fly, so very novice! Are we mad?
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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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You wont have any problems driving down on the Sunday. If its your first time driving then autoroute down to Annemasse, then Thonon and uo the valley to Chatel. However the return on Saturday will be a different story, particularly Annemasse unless you time it correctly, ie later in the day. Alternatively, return via Switzerland, up to Lausanne and then Besancon. You will need a vignette for this and you may want to drive down this way to get your monies worth by saving on the peage. It will still be busy up to Besancon, but the route does give you options to detour. If the weather is forecast to be bad, then stick to the autoroutes.
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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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Thank you for that info. I will look into the vignette you suggest. Is that some kind of Swiss driving pass? Expensive?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@julielevy, welcome to Snowheads  I read your other post too. We drive to Chatel regularly, 3 times last year and always on peak weeks unfortunately 
As @BergenBergen says you'll have few problems driving down on that Sunday as most folks are on the move on Saturday.
You can definitely do the drive in a day with a lunch stop and a few loo/petrol stops.
Regarding the route, we always take the Jura route and through Switzerland. It makes a nice change after the motorways, is scenic and less prone to traffic. For that you'd need the Swiss vignette as previously mentioned which is about 40CHF I think, and you can order it in advance or buy it at the border crossing.
There are a couple of variations on the route but basically from Dijon its Dole - Besancon - Pontarlier - Vallorbe border - Lausanne - Montreux - Monthey - Morgins - Chatel or else cutting across swap Besancon - Pontarlier to Poligny - Champagnole but the rest of the route all the same. The latter route we tend to do now is quieter, but there are less places to stop if you need a toilet/petrol/food etc and parts of that road are remote.
You mentioned winter tyres in your other thread, and someone said Chatel is low you don't need them. But if you can run to them then why not. We use them here in the uk in winter too and it does make a big difference in snow. I would definitely want to have winter tyres on going over the Jura routes just described above. And also coming in to Chatel over the Pas de Morgins. If you don't have them and the weather is bad then consider the alternative route sticking to the motorway all the way down and going Bourg en Bresse - Geneva - Thonon and up to Chatel. Also depending on where you are staying you may want to drive around in resort and there are a couple of places where you could need chains if you haven't got winter tyres.
Leaving the following Saturday, you should be fine going over the Swiss and Jura routes leaving by 7.00 am at the latest as coming from Chatel you're already ahead of the masses leaving the resorts further down.
There are a couple of old threads on this too, I will have a search.
Ask anything, good luck
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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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Hi Sarah, its very kind of you to reply and your advice looks like top stuff. I am trying to persuade the family we are going with to drive as well and I will send them a copy of your email as it sounds really positive.
We have been close to buying winter tyres for at least one of our cars for the last couple of years. We generally get stuck on our road in snow, so heres the ideal trip to justify that!
Thanks again. Ill look up those links you sent too.
Very best regards,
Julie
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Hi Julie,
We've driven to both Chatel and Les Gets for several years, booking a mixture of independent catered chalets and apartments booked over the internet with local estate agents or the tourist offices for Saturday to Saturday bookings
We always get the ferry or train on the Friday for about 6:00 a.m. giving us the day to get to our hotel, usually in Thonon or Annemasse for Chatel or Cluses or Sallanches for Les Gets.
Saturday Morning, early breakfast and drive to the village, underground parking at Les Gets is right under the Chavannes lift, a bit further to walk in Chatel. We have our own ski gear and usually pre load our hands free lift pass so we don't have to queue for lift passes. We then leave the mountain about 4:00 p.m., check into our accommodation, fetch the car and unload. Normally we find the traffic going up the mountain at that time of the morning is restricted to day skiers while the traffic coming down can be queued for miles.
Leaving is the same in reverse, load the car, check out on the Saturday morning, go skiing, leave the mountain between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. then drive to a hotel at Bourg-en-Bresse or Macon. Again by leaving late in the day all the rush of the normal changeover leavers has long gone and we have a relatively quiet drive.
As for the route, we always take the motorway, Reims, Troyes, Langres, Dijon, Bourg-en-Bresse, Annemasse; we just find it quicker and easier. We have been through the Jura in the summer, just don't fancy it in the winter.
As for equipment, winter tyres are essential in my personal view, we have been able to get around without using snow chains (which we do take) even in bad snow conditions in my (then) rear wheeled drive car. Also useful for the motorways if you drive to France regularly is the Liber-t tag ( https://www.saneftolling.co.uk/ ) which allows you through the Telepeage lanes at the tolls which if there are queues can save considerable time.
Everyone is a novice to start with, our first drive to the Alps was when our daughter was expecting her first baby, our first grandchild, and we wanted to be able to get home quickly should there be an emergency. Since then we have driven every time except one which was a total disaster as the plane was delayed which meant that transfers were missed and then delayed.
The flexibility and independance of driving is great. Last March at the end of a good, but warm week, thr forecast predicted a big snowfall for the Sunday, so we just found some accomodation for 3 nights, changed our ferry and stayed to enjoy beatiful fresh snow.
Hope this is of interest and good luck.
Timc
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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julielevy, Welcome to snowheads, try the forum search, top left, as you can imagine your questions have been asked and answered many times before.
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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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Hi Tim,
That's some very useful info. You sound like a real Chatel local! Thanks for your time.
Good advice re Home bound. I think we will leave after late breakfast on Saturday and drive until bored. Then find a nice place to stay and complete the journey home on Sunday.
Will def go with winter tyres. A good thing to keep in the garage for UK winters anyway.
Nice of you to take the trouble to post.
V best regards,
Julie and family
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@julielevy, you are welcome, let us know how you get on
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You know it makes sense.
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@julielevy, winter tyres are supposed to be good for driving in the rain too - that's what I consoled myself with last winter when we didn't drive to the Alps (went by train) but changed the tyres anyway.  In the long run you will prolong the life of the summer tyres by not using them year round.
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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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Probably lots of other threads about winter tyres on here and lots of videos on youtube showing how well winters perform, in particular check comparisons between 4wd on summer tires and rear wheeled drive on winters. Mine go on as soon as the temperature starts to be below 7 degrees regularly and come off after our last ski trip in late March or early April.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Regarding tyres, where in Chatel are you staying? As someone said in the other thread, you may want to use your car whilst in Chatel as you may not be near a lift or a shuttle bus route. If you're away from a lift or bus, I would swing slightly towards winter tyres, especially if you've been thinking of them for the uk. If you're close to a lift or bus and are unlikely to use your car, I would just carry some chains in the boot and make sure you know how to use them. The route there and the roads around chatel (possibly excluding the road to your apartment/chalet) are not that steep. The only blackspot to put on chains is at 46.235665, 6.903877, where the route is relatively narrow, slightly steeper and if snowing, is where the Dutch tend to decide to put on their chains, blocking the road. The road levels out soon after, but if it's snowing and you think you're going to need chains, put them on in the hairpin bends a few km just before this point, where there are lots of laybys (sp?). The swiss don't bother marking these laybys with "aire de chainage" like the French do, because they assume that no one is stupid enough to put on chains in the middle of the road higher up... wrongly. (Rant over)
I'd also recommend the swiss side to get there and back. It's less congested than the french side, especially on changeover day (Saturday), but changeover on the Chatel side is nowhwere near as bad as Morzine, so there's less between the two options. If your arrival/departure is a Sunday, there's even less, unless you get caught going towards Lausanne at Aigle at about 6pm, which is when the swiss come back from their weekends or Sunday ski in the hills. Even then it's not that bad - maybe 30mins to 1 hour delay.
Customs at Vallorbe are also very likely to stop you and insist that you buy a vignette at chf40.
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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 for your reply. All good stuff. I have just ordered the winter tyres.
Btw, dont suppose you can recommend any good spots in Chatel for some fun on New Years Eve? We have four teenage girls with us though.....
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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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@julielevy, The Avalanche pub
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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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Sounds fabulous. Thank you!
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