 Poster: A snowHead
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I fancy a DIY holiday in December with a drive through France in my new Peugeot 407 Diesel Estate and would like to know what would be the nearest decent resort to Calais. I don't think the wife could accept much more than about 6/7 hours drive on the French side.
Cheers.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You're going to struggle at that distance. Flaine or La Clusaz would be about the closest for the Alpes. Why not just stop overnight on the way, get a reasonable hotel, nice meal, even a bit of shopping.
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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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up4it, some lovely places to stop on the way down, we stayed in a lovely place this Summer, fab B&B run by a Scottish couple . It's near Gevrey-Chambertin, in Burgundy. PM me and I'll find the e-mail. That's about 5 hours and still a long way from the Alps.
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ise, last year I went to Meribel by coach and it took about 10 hours with 2 stops. I thought in the early hours we could do 140kmh uninterupted as opposed to 100kmh in the coach and find a resort closer than the 3V?
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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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up4it, if your car is as comfortable as our Renault, your wife won't mind a longer drive.
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up4it, Flaine would probably meet your requirement, St Gervais or Megeve are pretty good, close to the autoroute which makes the journey much easier. You'd struggle to make the journey in less than 8 or 9 hours from Calais. It's hard to average more than 100kph under any circumstances.
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The cloest resort to the channel ports is Chatel, 506 miles from Calais/Boulogne. You can make Chatel in 8 and a bit hrs by the shortest route.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Wed 3-11-04 23:32; edited 1 time in total
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Chatel's 850km or so from Calais. It's also not an easy drive from the UK, the drive up to Chatel from the Swiss side is a pain, the shortest route from the UK is pretty cross-country as well. My guess is that St Gervais, Megeve, Morillon, La Clusaz and Les Carroz are the quickest drive from the UK, but inside a range of 30-60 minutes you've quite a choice. Averaging the 100kph plus from Calais to the Alpes that's required to make the journey in 8 hours or so and being in sight of the speed limit is a complete fantasy, if you want to keep your license and car you'll allow nearer 10 hours.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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ise, your'e right, it's too far, 900kms plus 100 miles our side, I checked on teletext and I can go on the 11th Dec pretty much anywhere for £275ish. Stuff the 407, i'll take the 747.
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up4it, you'll want to pick a little carefully, it's still early of course. But, I expect to be into the full swing of it by then personally. Any ideas where you'll go yet?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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ise, the plan was France by car but if we fly, Austria (if there's snow) would be my 1st choice. I love Scandinavia but's it's way to dark in December.
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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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I do love the drive to the Alps now compared to flying,bit like marmite,you either love it or hate it.. 
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up4it, Obergurgl and Lech in Austria have given me the best December skiing. I'd recommend either. There's Switzerland od course, we ski here and our manners and food are so much nicer 
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You know it makes sense.
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I reckon Engelberg in Switzerland is one of the closest resorts to Calais (850km from ViaMichelin)
- Neil
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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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neilswingler, welcome again.
up4it, Glencoe is 750 km from Reading, course if you want to drive through France to get there as you stated originally, it would be further.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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up4it, LDA is a lot further south, but only 8 hours from Calais. It's motorway until the last 80K. You pass the large shopping centre of Espace Comboire right by the motorway in Grenoble and can stock up there is you're self catering. Easy! 
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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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Driving to the Alps is a peice of cake......finding somewhere to park in some resorts is the nightmare bit!
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Lorraine, from Northumberland! that must take forever to get to there. I can't imagine how depressing it would be on the way home to arrive at Calais and still have half the journey ahead of you.
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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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Thats nothing,our journey from St Malo to Murren is 1026km 
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Chris but I didn't include the distance covered by the train 
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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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We don't do the Calais run. We catch the overnight ferry from Newcastle or Hull to Zeebrugge or Rotterdam (can throughly recommend the meal on the Scandinavian Seaways ferries, it starts the holiday) and then we are on the right side of the channel for an early start. It also means that we bypass a lot of the congestion which occurs around the Calais routes.
Driving south in the UK at any time is not for the faint hearted and to avoided if at all possible!!!
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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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D G Orf, We stay at Besancon in France which means we leave St Malo in the morning and arrive at Besancon about 7pm. The next day we leave when its still dark an arrive at Lauterbrunnen around midday.
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Each year We do one or sometimes two trips from Necastle/Amsterdam route. Like Lorraine Aqass said the meal is superb on a ferry. The journey would start with a good rest on the boat comming off at 9:30am.
The jouney through Holland is a bit busy but it is only 100 miles to the German border. Thereafter we would have a fast run all the way to Switzerland and 650 miles to Chamonix. Austria Alps is actually a bit shorter.
Over the years I have tried the Calais route which is tolled. Crossing into Lillie, Luxemborg in the middle through Metz and Nancy is toll free but there is a small stretch of single carriageway after Epinal to Mulhouse.
The German route is by far the quickest. Unlike the French side there is no German police waiting there to do the British motorists either. It is rumoured the French have found the calais route a rich picking when many British motorists are anxious to return home.
Returning generally takes 2 days for us because the ferry leaves at 6pm. We pick a German city along the Rhine, between Koblenz and Dusseldorf, for overnight stop and haven't exhaust our choices yet. It is quite civilised to enjoy a bit of night life and a nice meal in a German City when there isn't any traffic around.
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You know it makes sense.
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I have no problem with long drives to the alps. It's the drive home afterwards that's the killer 
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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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Do people who drive from the UK to the Alps have snow chains or at least winter tyres? You are not going to be popular if your summer (normal) tyres end up spinning and holding people up. (we see it a lot here in Austria when people from Holland, Hungary etc drive down).
There may also be insurance issues if you are invoved in an accident on ice/snow with summer tyres.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Calais to Courchevel = 8 (very easy) hours. We either drive all night, sharing the driving (although once had to go to sleep in a layby at Albertville), or drive to Ashford after work, stay the night there, then an early train to Calais, arrive in courchevel mid afternoon. Our return trip is now a hallowed process: ski until 5, pile into the car, drive to Burgundy, shower, slap up meal, stock up on wine, leave by 9am and get to Calais for 5 o'clock crossing - arrive in Ashford half an hour before we left to sinking hearts at the worst part of the entire trip.
And yes, we take chains, although haven't had to put them on our present car even when it was very snowy last November - the snow plough service is incredibly efficient!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Calais to Courchevel = 8 (very easy) hours. We either drive all night, sharing the driving (although once had to go to sleep in a layby at Albertville), or drive to Ashford after work, stay the night there, then an early train to Calais, arrive in courchevel mid afternoon. Our return trip is now a hallowed process: ski until 5, pile into the car, drive to Burgundy, shower, slap up meal, stock up on wine, leave by 9am and get to Calais for 5 o'clock crossing - arrive in Ashford half an hour before we left to sinking hearts at the worst part of the entire trip.
And yes, we take chains, although haven't had to put them on our present car even when it was very snowy last November - the snow plough service is incredibly efficient!
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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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Don't think I got both but may be one and half.
One can fit "all season" or "all terrain" tyres to a vehicle. Manufacturers give out rating for their model and these types have the micro zig-zag grooves and are suitable for snow surface but still have the hard wear resistance of the normal tyres. Proper winter tyres are softened by silicon for low temerature.
A set of snow chains is recommended because without them one may be banned from going into certain passes.
I would say the tyres are the most important factor in driving to the Alps in the winter.
This is of course where a 4x4 comes into its own, with the additional assistance from the large tyres, high ground clearance, low range gears and locked differentials. Have done it with normal cars, soft 4x4 (without the low range gears and locked differentials) and full fleged 4x4.
Generally a normal car with a good set of tyres is all that is needed because every resort owner will make sure the access is clear for business. It is normally after a sudden dump at the time before the road can be cleared that a 4x4 will become really useful.
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On Newcastle/Amsterdam route I usually cover the 650miles in one day arriving late in the evening. The 2-day return is more relaxing, normally allowing us to drive into a German city after office hour, walk around the city centre, may even do a bit of shopping before settling down for a meal. In the morning we can also have a walk in the market or along the Rhine before jumping onto the car to make for the 6pm ferry in Amsterdam. A nice buffet meal on the boat, a well earned sleep and arriving Newcastle 9am. Go home and get change and turn up for work. Haven't got killed this way yet, as long as priming the boss I would be a little bit late on the arrival date.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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up4it, You'll need chains (cheaper if you buy in France), and a shovel is handy to dig the car out. I also keep a pair of gloves handy....You don't need a 4*4.
Other stuff that's good include a CD multichanger - although you can get R4 on longwave almost to Lyon if that's your thing. Formule 1 hotels make a cheap overnight stop. Have at least two drivers, you can go the whole way yourself but it's pretty tiring.
To come home we always stop overnight, this means that if you spend a long time getting out of the resort (and you can if it's snowy), you don't then spend 10 hours wondering if you'll miss the ferry.
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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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We have driven from Durham several times, it's dead easy, even driving South, if you do it on a Sunday. I haven't tried the long crossing, too many gales and storms for me in Winter. In the Summer, it was way too expensive. Even with an extra nights hotel in Northern France, it was cheaper to use the Tunnel.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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We travel regularly from Solihull, in the Midlands, to Bourg. 2 1/2 to 3 hours to the tunnel, and then 600miles on the other side. We regularly took 7 1/2 hours to do this in a galaxy, now the journey time is closer to 9 hrs, thanks to a 4x4 and sticking to the speed limit. We just stop 2 to 3 times for fuel and coffee, and arrive in time to buy provisions at Geant in Albertville. We have always carried chains or spiders, but have never used them. With certain combinations of alloys and low profiles, its worth buying chains or spiders over here to ensure they will do the job and not remove expensive bits of body work!
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I also drive to the Alps every year - fed up to back teeth with airport check-ins, flight delays, and 5 hour transfers. My modus operandi is depart friday afternoon at 17:00, pick-up a 19:30 ferry and stay at a nice little Chambre d'hote 45 miles from Calais. Out the next morning at 08:00 and arrive at the destination by 17:00 to 18:00. Depending on your driving stamina you can get to most resorts in Tarentaise or even the Austrian resorts close to Salzburg in this time. For the return journey you really do not need a an overnight stop - you can reach Calais by 21:00 with an early start from resort . I reckon to average 60 mph for the driving hours, so 8 to 10 hours maximim driving time to anywhere in the northern Alps. To my mind the holiday starts from the moment you depart so for en-route hotels forget Formule1, Campanile, and the rest of the convenience watering holes. Try some of the Chambre d'Hotes ( traditional French B&Bs or look as Aistair Sawdays special places to stayhttp://www.sawdays.co.uk for a great kick off to the holiday.
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This is getting me all excited! We always drive, most important piece of kit for me is the kids dvd player & films. Keeps 'em quiet until they first spot the mountains looming ahead!
After a nightmare journey to La Clusaz last year (took 13 hours from Calais) resolved if we ever go during half term again we'll drive overnight, going end of Jan this winter so staying overnight close to the tunnel with an early crossing 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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Hi Nick We drive every year and depart Friday early evening and stay 45 miles in from Calais at Les Cohettes at Auchy-au-Bois near Aire-sur-Lys run by Gina Bulot ( it's in the Alistair Sawday book/website) Seriously this is a great chambre d'hote. Kick off the following morning and you'll be in the snow 600 miles later by the very latest 18:00
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dead simple to drive and even better if you can stock up on wine, beer etc before the ferry/eurotunnel back.
6am eurotunnel from folkestone means you should arrive 4ish pm in the afternoon into Haute Savoie (we tend to drive on a friday so that you can ski on Saturday morning until you can get into the appt/chalet etc and as its changover day the slope are lovely and quiet 
To return: ski till lunch or mid afternoon then drive to Dijon etc stay overnight (if back on a sunday into UK Calais is shut so clean up and change at your hotel, skip off to Geant in Dijon, back to the hotel then drive back for a late afternoon crossing into the UK.
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FAQ
