 Poster: A snowHead
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We won't be arriving until midnight-1am so dinner isn't an issue if we push South as far as Beaune, Macone, Lyon, as we'll arrive too late, so will have eaten in the car en-route. On the way home though that might be an option as we leave Sat @ 5pm, will overnight and dinner somewhere en route for an early afternoon Sunday train home.
I've always in the past pre booked hotels, and am assuming thats even more important on half term week so Im assuming I need to plan where to stop rather than see how it goes and push on to Lyon, as Im guessing beign half term week getting a room on the fly is a big gamble, or does your experience suggest otherwise ?
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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 I think you have two choices. Be real early arriving in resort or quite late. And it sounds like you are comfortable with the latter. Personally I would drive later on the Friday evening when the roads should be getting clearer and less busy as they go. And then start out later on Saturday, taking things more leisurely and doing the shop.
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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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I would pre-book -- I answered a bit in haste, I realized. I'd go for Macon or Lyon, will get you within 3-4 hours.
I hate arriving late on Saturday but sometimes it can't be helped. Early = better. Worst case you can have a leisurely lunch and window shop for a bit.
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you guys have it easy, I'm a full day driving before I even hit France, we stay overnight is Folkstone, early train across & long drive second day.
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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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Thanks. Maybe I will pre book Lyon and just suck it up with the longer journey on the Friday night. If I'm lucky we might make it by 12.30-1am.
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Lyon might be a push.
If you arrive Calais 7pm and stop for dinner you would probably be back on the road 9pm. Lyon would probably take 7 hours with loo and petrol stops so that would make 4am. Troyes is probably ideal at 4 hours. You've then a 6 hour drive on Saturday, with a supermarket stop 8 hours. So if you set at 10am you would be arriving in resort at 6pm.
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having done that very drive multiple times , there is only one way to do it .
Take the kids out of school on the Friday on a sickie .
Although one year i did get a call from a very angry child school absentee inspector who gave me a 5 minute tirade as to why I was an irresponsible parent and how much damage I was doing to my children's education , until I found out it was my mate in the car behind me .
Suggestions for a happy drive ( i still love driving on empty motorways in France and see the journey to resort as a great part of the holiday , everybody is excited and full of energy . Get a 7.00 am ish ferry/train and take a nice leisurely drive through France ( using a tag ) , get to Albertville or Chambery ( 7- 8 hours drive approx ) and arrive at a nice pre-booked Logis a few miles off the motorway for an authentic french hotel and meal recharge the batteries and get a good nights sleep .
Leave hotel by 7.00 am after a nice breakfast and beat the traffic and be in resort by 8.00 or 9.00 . If you leave it even just an hour later , the Paris traffic will catch you and you'll sit in the car for hours . Make sure you fill up with fuel the night before , one year my mate queued for petrol for 45 minutes and in that time the traffic had caught him up and he arrived in Vald D a full 4 hours after we did having started at same time .
Get changed in car park and have a great days skiing on empty slopes knowing that the jams in the valley below are full of drivers who didnt plan ahead .
Easy !!
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@gwatts10, have you found anywhere that serves breakfast before 7am on a Saturday 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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| Layne wrote: |
Lyon might be a push.
If you arrive Calais 7pm and stop for dinner you would probably be back on the road 9pm. Lyon would probably take 7 hours with loo and petrol stops so that would make 4am. Troyes is probably ideal at 4 hours. You've then a 6 hour drive on Saturday, with a supermarket stop 8 hours. So if you set at 10am you would be arriving in resort at 6pm. |
I'd only stop for dinner the night before if we stay North, eg. Reims, as we'd hit Calais at 7.
If we push South to Lyon I'd skip dinner, we'll just take a large packed lunch and loads of snacks and eat on the go in the car.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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......or head east to AUT/ CH via Luxembourg and Germany and avoid the French funnel into Savoie
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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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Austria could be a good option most years, although worth noting the Austrian resorts are typically several hours extra drive anyway compared to the Savoie resorts.
But specifically heading east into AUT at half term this coming year puts you right into the middle of the Fasching crowds as they coincide this year Meanwhile UK HT doesn't clash with Paris HT weeks this year, so I'll take France over Austria for 2018 half term.
And heading into CH usually requires re-mortgaging your house 
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| Quote: |
Austria could be a good option most years, although worth noting the Austrian resorts are typically several hours extra drive anyway compared to the Savoie resorts.
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@Gazzza, not true, also no tolls
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You know it makes sense.
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Not sure I agree - a quick sample search on google maps shows St Anton, possibly one of the closest large scale Austrian resorts to Calais i drive time, being 10 hours drives from Eurotunnel. Innsbruck 10hrs 30.
Vs, for example, Courchevel 9 hours or La Clusaz 8 hours.
And going to Austria at half term can still have its traffic problems. I've done Zillertal Arena at HT flying to Munich and driving. It took us most of the day to get from Munich (having landed around 10am) to get to Konigsleiten (arriving around 8-9pm) with a short 45 minute shopping stop. Lots of snarl ups and standstill traffic on the 8 and 93 autobahns, and a horrendous queue to rival Albertville trying to get off the E45 and on to the 169 valley road up toward Zel Am Ziller / Mayrhofen, and the 169 was stop start almost all the way to Zel. We admittedly saved what was probably a good hour pulling off the E45 by pulling (had it been intentional) "the cheeky C maneouveur" having over taken several kms of queued parked traffic (which we incompetently thought was for the junction before until we passed said junction to find the queue still there) and luckily finding a gap to pull in literally at the junction.
The no tolls bit though, once out of France is a boon
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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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I have driven down a lot of times and I always overnight in Annecy. Like JonA I prefer the Bourg en Bresse route and avoid going anywhere near Lyon. Annecy is delightful and we always look on it as the start of the hols. ( usually with a big tartiflette!). The next day its no more that a couple of hours to get up the mountain.
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Poster: A snowHead
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And yes, take the kids out of school on a sickie and head down on the Friday. It doesn't do any harm once in a while!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@nfh1958, you don't need to go anywhere near Lyon - just go on the A432 round it. As JonA alludes to it's much better since it was constructed in 2011.
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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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@Layne, Shhhhh a lot of people still seem to be using old maps/routes/satnavs and that's keeping that A432 lovely and quiet
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@Gazzza, you clearly don't know the roads to use and the ones to avoid based on the above. Never have issues driving to Austria - I'd never drive to Savoie again....too many times held up east of Lyon.
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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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@Markymark29, I challenge you to find a route to Fieberbrunn at 1/2 term that is not living hell once you hit Munich. I have experienced traffic jams starting at 5.00am from Munich to the resorts in Austria; that was in fact the quickest drive - it only took six hours from Munich! This was with help from snowheads and Austrians from St Johann. I love Fieberbrunn but with travel times from Munich to resort for what I have done from Calais to Les Contamines has meant it has somewhat lost it's appeal. Any suggestions because I have tried what people have suggested with no luck at all. I have looked at driving to St Anton and that looks easier, but I have skied St Anton many many times. Please give me some ideas!
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We have booked a Sunday to Sunday apartment in Montgenevre for this half term. We are planning to get the tunnel around Saturday lunchtime, stay Saturday night in Macon and then drive the rest on Sunday, arriving mid afternoon. Does anyone have experience of the tunnel and roads around these times? Thanks
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