 Poster: A snowHead
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The only time I have had a problem at the tunnel was the day after the London bombings with understandably long security problems. I just get on the next train which is rarely more than 40 minutes after I roll up. I did say I was fortunate to be able to choose my times.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@pam w, We never buy the more expensive Tunnel tickets either, at Xmas last year (2013) we had to wait about an hr at Dover, an hour on the way back which was the 'busiest crossing time'... friends of ours had the expensive tickets and still got stuck in queues and were unable to use the flexi lane - they couldn't get to it. In April (Easter) 2014, we made up massive amounts of time by having our SANEF toll thing at Grenoble. I reckon it saved us a minimum queue time of an hour, judging by other friends experiences at the same tolls.
This year, we are going on a Thursday (2nd April) arriving France about noon, driving down to Avallon (320 miles) where I have booked us into a cheapie hotel (about £40) for Thursday night. We then have a leisurely drive on the Friday to Albertville (260 miles) where we will meet up with family as usual, stay over at the Ibis (£50 or thereabouts, depends on exchange rate). We prefer the unhurried two night extra stay as we do the mad dash north the following Saturday. Friday is Easter Friday and we judge it will be fairly busy on the roads...We have in the past, got a late tunnel over to a hotel just outside Calais and stayed there for the night, having breakfast and then setting off down to Albertville. Whichever way, we factor in the two nights at cheap hotels...I don't need to put my (lead) foot down and save on diesel... and its not such a mammoth drive on either day.
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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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@Fruity, Am I missing something about these autoroute transceivers. From what I see they use the same lanes as the normal credit card ones and the only difference is that you do not need to stop. According to by calculations they will save you about 3 seconds on picking up a ticket and 30 seconds paying. This amounts to 160 seconds on the journey from Calais to Albertville. I cannot even manage a pee that quick. Often I come up to a booth, the car behind me drives straight through the adjacent one while I pay and I overtake them a few hundred metres later. I just cannot see how someone will be held up for an hour while others sail through.
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@johnE, there are lanes exclusively for télépéage.
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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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I was about to buy one of the Sanef things and there was some kind of blurb saying the microwaves they transmitted weren't harmful..which immediately made me wonder if they were and I never got one in the end  Can anyone explain the technology to me!
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Mon 12-01-15 19:07; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@johnE, as @pam w, says, there are lanes exclusively for the T card. As we approached Grenoble peage, the queues were about 20 cars deep... we kept left and drove past the whole lot... one car in front of us with the T card.. through the barrier and off we went.... plus, if you are on a budget, not getting the invoice from SANEF until a few weeks later can help. And, I must add that the exchange rate applied was very reasonable.
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I'm no technophile but I imagine it's very like the "smart" ski pass cards - and you'll be exposed much more closely, and frequently, to them, so why worry?
I have to drive into Turin again tomorrow and I know I'll be cursing the need to keep stopping and digging out a card or coins - but at least I will have a passenger to do the necessary this time.
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@snowymum, if you're worried about the radiation from a telepeage, you definitely need to ditch your mobile phone!
TV remotes, PC, wifi etc
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| for what looks like a very nice 2 bedroom apartment. |
Tried through peak retreats but booking ski pass, accommodation and ski hire through the tourist board is coming out around 200 cheaper....even with the flexi eurotunnel pass.
Thought that was quite interesting.
Though.....I did ask (in written french) for the total cost of accommodation, ski pass and sock hire. I think i might have heard the laugh that caused!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@snowymum, well the way it works is like this,
A man with very good eyesight sits hidden near the special lanes
When he sees the tag, he presses a button to open the barrier
He then writes down your registration
The companies then get your address from Dvla etc and send you a bill
Simples
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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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@CeliaCo, well done. I thought the Peak Retreats deal, at £587 including flexible tunnel crossing was pretty unbeatable for a roomy 2 bedroom apartment in a complex with a pool.
I've done that with chaussures and chaussettes too.  And there's always the classic cheveux and chevaux.
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@johnE, I'll bear that in mind! I am usually around 10pm Friday or 7am Saturday out and mid-afternoon Sunday back, but never in school holidays.
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You know it makes sense.
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I've just done the journey (twice in as many weeks) in a discovery. Cost me 2.5 tanks of fuel each way from Derbyshire at £80 in in the uk and €65 in France so approx £320. Your car is way more economical than mine so probably nearer £250*. Hotel should be no more than £30-60, either for a budget hotel like ibis or a nice little auberge. Tolls will be around £140 return although you could take another 2 hours getting there and avoid them altogether. The tunnel is around £150 return. Snow socks or cheap chains £30-£40, I would buy the chains here as you'll struggle to get any large enough in the French hypermarche. So total costs no more than £700. You'll struggle to get 4 of you to the resort with all your luggage by flying for less than £1000 and total travel hours probably won't be much less.
* I drove to Mayrhofen last year in a DB9 cost me £1500 in fuel!! 
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Tue 13-01-15 16:44; edited 1 time in total
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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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@johnE, There are also the 30 km lanes where yodo 30ks and magic still occurs. I reckon you gain at least a km each time, even if there are no queues.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@chocksaway, I still have not managed to go through one of those at 30km.... always ease off just a bit.
@897sma, I think omitting toll roads altogether would add more than 2 hours to the journey because although some of the roads themselves are good there are a lot of speed limits (one of which I broke, inadvertently as there were no signs, and got fined, therefore eliminating any savings ).
If heading towards Geneva you can save tolls by heading across the Jura through Poligny. Very good road, quite interesting scenery, I reckon it takes around 15 minutes more than the motorway but it always seems quicker because so much less boring. I always go that way in light and decent weather. A couple of excellent, and cheap, lunch spots along that road too.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The 30kmh lanes are a game of chicken. If you have full confidence that the thingy will read your wotsit, 30kmh is just about doable. However, if the thingy doesn't read your wotsit and you have to do the Stop of Shame (esp when you're in a hire car and holding the wotsit, trying to drive straight in a narrow lane and change gear at the same time), at that speed you find out why the barriers are wrapped in foam 
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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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@chocksaway, I suppose my 30 seconds stationary versus your 30 secs at 120 really does gain you a km, but over a 950 km drive I suspect my, possibly, larger bladder cancels that out 
@897sma, Wow what a difference a different vehicle makes to the cost. I thought my superb estate was bad after the previous A4, but the return cost still came in at £450 , £250 less than yours. Please tell us more about the DB9. Did you have a roof box for the skis?
I seriously doubt you could do a no toll route to the Tarrentaise at only 2 hours more than the autoroutes. That would be a 12 hour journey (it is 10 hours give or take a bit depending on conditions on the autoroute). Many years ago I used to do it on my motorbike and it would take 2 days to do. Just getting through towns like Troyes and Chalon would take an extra hour, never mind the other small towns and villages.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@johnE, The big time saver with a toll doofer is when it is very busy. The queue just to get to the booths can be kilometres long and whilst you suffer in the queue with everyone else when it starts to widen you can head far left lane and avoid perhaps 500m of very slow traffic. That can easily save 10 minutes each time.
That said the big advantage is convenience, particularly if driving a RHD car solo
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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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I've done Bandol on a motorbike a fair few times, in one day. Its a dog of a journey.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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For Sainte Foy the train is a great option. Last time I did it I booked the sleeper from Paris to Bourg St Maurice & then separately Eurostart to Paris and it was pretty comparable with driving once you factored in all the hassle. I've also done it by flying to Lyon that invariably has cheaper flights & car hire than Geneva.
The time we did drive we stayed in Annecy in a very cheap but nice hotel (I forget the name) although a family room at the Novotel there is also a good deal. Staying in Annecy, which is beautifull, means you can go for a wander & to a proper restaurant in the evening rather than just making a motorway pit stop.
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@pam w, @johnE, maybe 2 hours extra is a little optimistic, but if you just used the toll roads to bypass the major cities it wouldn't be far off. The route is more direct so saves around 70km.
We drove to PDS last year via Beaune & La Clusaz deliberately avoiding the motorways as we had a couple of days to do the journey, and we didn't travel for more than 10-11 hours across France in total. It was quite an enjoyable way to travel, late breakfast, couple of hours drive, long lunch, a couple more hours driving and there at a reasonable time for dinner. Sainte-Foy is perhaps an hour further south. I drove down Friday last week via the Motorway and it took me 9 hours from St Omer to Morillon with stops, the weather was appalling though so maybe 8 hours normally.
BTW I'm not advocating that the D roads are the best way to travel, just offering an alternative. Motorway for me every time if I just want to get to the resort.
Edited to add: Google maps thinks 10.5 hours avoiding toll roads, assuming you stick to the speed limit of course
Last edited by After all it is free  on Tue 13-01-15 17:19; edited 1 time in total
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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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@897sma, Less good.
You take lots of stuff don't you?
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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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@897sma, I looked at google maps based on your suggestions and was quite suprised that it routed us throught the Begian motorway system. Anyway the results I got for Calais to Bourg st Maurice were:
not using tolls journey time 11:51, distance 1049 km (but 12:41 and 940 km not going via Belgium)
using toll roads time 8:42, distance 967 km
Since the best I have done from Bourg to Calais is 9:15 I think both journey times are a tad optimistic.
I suppose that if you wanted to take a few days over the journey then going via the back roads would be interesting, but surely the cost of a hotel for the night cancels out any savings on the toll
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not if you only pay £42 for a cheapie hotel 
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You know it makes sense.
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In summer I think spending some money on a nice overnight stop instead of tolls is a good swap. You can pick up nice stuff for a picnic, stop somewhere pretty, etc etc. In winter, except for the route across the Jura which for me is a non-brainer in good weather, I stick to the motorways.
@897sma, whatever is in that huge pile of stuff at the back of your car? Are you going for months?
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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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After the earlier discussion on this thread was paying attention today to the "doofer only" lanes. Of the 6 gates at the start of the péage (A430) towards Chambery, Lyon, Turin, 3 were reserved for télépéage only.
fr
Having had to do about 8 Italian gates on the drive Frejus/Turin/Frejus it was a relief to be able to just drive through the French ones.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| pam w wrote: |
@897sma, whatever is in that huge pile of stuff at the back of your car? Are you going for months? |
luggage and Christmas presents for the 5 adults (& 1 dog) travelling down, yes we're going for 4 months on and off. There were 4 large holdalls on the rack at back. Half of that came back when we brought my daughter and her wife home after the New Year but at least we fitted it all inside for the journey back. This time when I went back the car was full to the roof again with the parts of a shed I'd built as I needed somewhere warm and dry to keep the all the family's skis and there wasn't enough room in the chalet.
Apologies for the sideways image as I uploaded from my iPad
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Tue 13-01-15 23:27; 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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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 suspect you win the 'weird things to take to a ski resort' @pam w, so that's two threads this week. Although I can't believe you trumped a shed with a piano. Nice top trump.
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FAQ
), a large amount of food and drink including a huge pile of frozen stuff, and a piano. For the music room in my apartment.... 