 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi. New to the forum so looking for a bit of advice
Family of 4, going skiing 28/12-04/01 over school hols. As would need to sell a body part to finance this year's flights we've decided to drive instead. Fancy a change from France & has to be somewhere high as early season so thought Cervinia might be an option. How
easy is it to drive to ? (we r getting zeebrugge ferry from hull on the Friday night) any advice would be appreciated 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hello and welcome. I haven't driven to Cervinia but have driven similar distances. I find www.viamichelin.co.uk very useful for timings and also route planning. I also use the Hull ferry from time to time. If you haven't yet booked your tickets, it is sometimes worth checking on the arrival time in port as the Rotterdam ferry used to arrive an hour earlier so you had the chance of a quicker getaway. The only other advice I can offer is to treat the journey as a part of the holiday
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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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Advice: drive to Chatillon down in the Aosta valley, where Valtournenche (name of the valley Cervinia is situated in) starts.
Sleep there. Then drive up after breakfast.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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The Rotterdam ferry from Hull leaves later and arrives earlier than the Hull/Zeebrugge one -- However, you would need to check which is further from the Alps....!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Have driven.....long, long time ago though. I reckon 10 hours from Calais to Chamonix is fair going and Cervinia is going to be another couple of hours from there. The road up from Chatillon is typical ski-resort approach wiggly-waggly as I recall and maybe best not done dog-tired. Do-able in a single push if you can kip while someone else is driving.
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Thanks for all the helpful replies. I've booked the zeebrugge ferry already. Didnt even cross my mind to consider Rotterdam....duh!
Anyway I am not entirely sure if cervinia is best option. I keep reading re lifts being closed in bad weather e plus so far I cannot find a single available decent apartment!! Have found 3 valleys one that looks ok, but it seems immensely boring to just go with the same old thing. Anyone got any other drivable suggestions??
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malarkey99, you should probably re-think your "early season so got to be high altitude" criterion. I've skied every Christmas for the last 11 years in an area which tops out at 2000m and in only one year was the snow poor - mostly it's been absolutely fine.
There are loads of easier options than Cervinia which aren't the 3 Valleys but a lot of places are now booked up for Christmas. What's your budget for an apartment?
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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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Family regularly drive to Saas Fee, albeit from the south, so Chunnel and via Calais but not wildly different and ski the week before Xmas/ Xmas week itself. We've lost the odd day here and there in the last couple of years, but have generally been OK with the weather.
You can also get a pass that allows you to ski Saas Grund which we have done on occasions where lifts havent opened first thing on those days.
Village is car free though
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malarkey99, If you are doing the Zeebrugge crossing, and even though it is a skiing holiday, depending on the ages of the children, consider coming home one day early and spending it in Bruges or Ypres. We have done both. The Last Post at the Menin Gate at Ypres is moving (understatement) and makes a big impression on the children. I'm not one for organised tours, but we took a minibus tour of WW1 cemeteries around Ypres and it was excellent. In a different way, Bruges is also a lovely place to visit. If you try this, due to the time the ferry leaves, you need to get to Bruges / Ypres for early evening (Menin Gate is 8.00pm I think) and spend the next day there.
 So that's a SnowHead on a skiing forum suggesting leaving the slopes early to go sightseeing. I will get my tin hat
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yeah I've only skied twice at new year, in paradiski & 3 valleys. I did think of Saas Fee too so will revisit accommodation options there. I think I just had a bit of a hankering to go to Italy as not been in years but fancied Val Gardena which is too far. Hubby skied Austria. I've not! Any recommendations there? Budget wise, looking for a 2 bed apartment, dont want to spend more than £1000 for the week if poss. Been getting some mental (in my opinion) quotes for €3000 & the likes! Have found one in 3 valleys, decent location for £850. Just want to bottom out the other options as would really prefer somewhere else other than France.
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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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Haha! Done Bruges before. It was lovely. My 2 teenage boys would not be happy though to go sightseeing rather than racing their old mum down the slopes!! 
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malarkey99, which other French resorts have you skied? There is a great range of different kind of places. £850 is very cheap for a good location in the 3V for New Year; there might be a catch. 
You have a long drive, and the roads will be very busy - it's really not a great moment to be extending the drive into Italy.
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You know it makes sense.
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Oh I just search for places in the French websites. Prices often cheaper, especially if dealing direct with the owners. Fortunately my French is pretty good....cant say the same for any other language!! The 3V one near Le Bettaix. Drive 10 mins up road to lower Val Thorens car park which is free & never full. Done it before. Clip on the skis. Easy!
I think you're right re Italy. Could be too far.
Other French ones I've been to - portes du soleil, paradiski, grand massif - fed up of paradiski as been there several times recently & definitely do not want to go back there at mo. Grand massif, was good one holiday, rubbish the next. Portes du soleil prob only one I'd maybe consider again. Last time stayed on swiss side at les crosets, girls ski trip, which was really good.
Think I'll revisit avoriaz etc too for options. Thanks for all the advice, really useful!
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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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JohnHSmith, don't bother with your tin hat. There are no tin hats left in Ypres. Blown to bits by all the whizz bangs and minenwerfers, what? I have heard that the battlefields are an incredibly moving place to visit. The machine gun has a lot to answer for....
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Poster: A snowHead
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Have driven Cervinia from via Calais a few years back. Not a difficult drive, but it does drag on a bit (compared to eg. 3V). How well do your kids travel?
Switzerland is closer to drive to (eg. Zermatt rather than Cervinia), but following my visit to Engelberg this summer I won't be skiing Swiss again soon as the strength of the Swiss Franc certainly shows!
How about the Arlberg area of Austria (Serfaus, Fiss, Ladis, Ischgl or even St. Anton) for somewhere different to France? You can avoid the French tolls and MB Tunnel toll, and get cheap fuel in Lux - combined makes a big difference to the cost of the drive. Traffic crossing the border from Germany can be pretty bad. The few times I've done it suggest going via Lux, Strasbourg and Zurich is the better route.
Not sure it's ideal for a family new year trip, but I found a very good value place this year that was rural, but only 30 mins drive from all 3 of the above areas. Gasthof Alpenblic in Tobadill. Certainly offers a budget way for anyone with a car to sample all 3 of the above mentioned areas.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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malarkey99,
just checked on aa route for you ---- Zeebrugge is nearer to Cervinia than Rotterdam (its a 9 1/2 hour 1000 mile drive....)
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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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Yes I'd worked that out too, plus would have to easily add at least 2 hours for traffic jams, etc. It's not the getting there, but the getting back I think! Have to be at zeebrugge at 5.30pm at latest on the 4th.
Going to look at portes du soleil options as a bit closer!
I think my main problem this year has been that hubby has new job with unpredictable working pattern so haven't been able to plan in advance like usual....I'm not a last minute sort of girl!
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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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malarkey99, if you are looking for something a bit "different" but an easier drive than Cervinia you could look at the "Portes du Mont Blanc" area - Combloux and La Giettaz. The local pass is good value (reductions till 15 Nov) or the wider Evasion Mont Blanc pass covers a huge area. Or a bit further along the road, Praz sur Arly, which is part of the Espace Diamant. Though you are going to find accommodation a bit of a challenge - I wouldn't delay to book something.
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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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Malarkey99, drove to Aosta two years back and stayed in Pila which is a 50minute drive up from Cervina. We travelled to Dunkirk and then make the journey into Belgium/Luxemborg (don't forget cheap fuel in Luxemborg), then skimmed around France, into a bit of Germany, then into Switzerland (pre booked my Swiss autoroute badge). Made my way down past Berne towards Lake Geneva then onto Martigny. You then take the cheaper tunnel Great St Bernard tunnel into Italy and drop down to Aosta taking a left turn at the bottom towards Cervina.
I found this route a lot cheaper than going through France/Mt Blanc tunnel with the tolls. You obviously have to pay for the St Bernard tunnel/Swiss badge, with a few toll roads, journey time was roughly the same albeit an hour extra. Great journey, just watch out for the Swiss police as they are really keen on speeding, the smaller tunnels also have speed cameras dotted all over..
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FAQ
It's quite a long drive - probably about 10 hours driving if conditions are really good, plus stops of course. You will have to use the Mont Blanc tunnel, which adds to the cost (nobody suffers from claustrophobia? 
). The roads will be very busy at New Year - so you are very unlikely to be able to drive to the speed limit the whole way. Worth thinking quite hard about timing to try to avoid the worst of the traffic, especially the time when traffic into the resorts will be specially heavy, from about 11 am - 5 pm. And when you leave, being either ahead of, or behind, the exodus from about 8 - 12.
