 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi folks! Been reading posts round the forum for a few weeks! Some great tips and advice!
After a search and getting me more confused I thought I'd start my own thread!
So what's the best way to get to avoriaz? Hire car or transfer? I'm flying from Edinburgh with my wife(pregnant) and four year old, in to Geneva.
So been reading about car hire with Avis, sounds ok. But do I drive to avoriaz and park in a mass car park, pay a daily rate, and get a lift to our apartment?
Or do I get a transfer to avoriaz, looks like a shared transfer is fairly cost effective? And does this drop you at the same place or somewhere in morzine, and then get the connecting cable/gondola/fernicular, can't remember what it's called, and not sure what it is! Lol
Any pointers would be great
Oh and do you land on the Swiss side of Geneva and then drive to resort (in France) via Swiss roads?
Many thanks
And sorry for the amateurish questions! Not been to the alps for about five years!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
Oh and do you land on the Swiss side of Geneva and then drive to resort (in France) via Swiss roads?
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can answer that, but not the ones about Avoriaz. Flying international you will "land" on the Swiss side of the airport but you can walk through to the French enclave if you wish. Generally it's best to hire on the Swiss side (you get snow tyres and the motorway vignette). With the latter you drive a few miles to the Bardonnex border place, clearly signposted "FRANCE" in big green letters from the airport (in Switzerland, confusingly, motorway signeage is in green).
After that you're on French roads. Straightforward journey - and if there's so much snow you have to put chains on, you can count yourself lucky. 
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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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Get a shared transfer, it will drop you at the lift, unless the lift is broken in which case they will take you up to Avoriaz
My recommendation for a shared transfer is http://www.skiidygonzales.com/ and for a private one http://www.alpinecab.com
Oh you want Swiss (main) side of the airport - the French part of the airport is only of any use tax reclaim if you are leaving the EU and have a non EU passport.
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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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We always get a shared transfer to Avoriaz (from Geneva) and either use Skiddy or Ski Lifts. Both have been great in the past although from memory Ski Lifts are always a few quid cheaper but there is not much in it.
Most of the time we get the transfer right up to Avoriaz but have gone to Prodains on the odd occasion when I have stayed near the bottom of the resort and it's almost as easy to get the cable car up.
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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 for all the quick replies! Much clearer! I'll have a look at the two transfer companies mentioned.
Getting excited! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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My recommendation is to book with Mountain Bus Company because we booked with Skiidy last year and ended up being offloaded onto Mountain Bus Company for the journey to Avoriaz when Skiidy ran out of minibuses for prebooked transfers.
Guess who got our business this year...
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Personally i would prefer to be dropped at the prodains cable car. Its only a 4 min ride now and saves driving up that winding road.
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Gmac, If you're arriving on a busy Saturday with a 4yr old and pregnant wife, getting to either Les Prodains or the Welcome Centre at the top is the least of your worries! Avoriaz is car free, in resort transport is either by shared rattrack or horse-drawn sleigh, and it's often impossible to get either at busy times (or at night or in a blizzard). If your accommodation is close to either entry point (Falaise complex for the Welcome Centre or the "old town" for the Prodain lift) then you can walk it (good boots and a sledge for the luggage and/or child would be useful).
If you're more towards the centre of town and arriving late/in bad weather, (and depending on the degree of pregnancy!), I would seriously consider getting a room in Morzine for the night and dealing with it in the morning.
Here's the link to the info and the number to call for a rattrack once you reach the resort (neither rattrack nor traneau (sleigh) can be booked in advance.
It is all worth it when you get there though! 
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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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avoriaz is a car free resort, so no matter what you do transfer or driver you will always end up at the same point, the main carpark, which is the bus terminal too at the entrance to avoriaz, you then have to walk to your hotel, or you can get a snow mobile type taxi.
I have been to avoriaz about 5 times and always got a bus transfer from geneva to avoriaz its by far the easiest way to travel. it take about 4 hours from memory, and the final ascend up the mountain if they have had recent snow means the conditions can be a bit scary, with blind corners, narrow roads, and crazy french drivers on the wrong side of the road with nothing between you and a sheer drop of the side of the mountain.
depending on what time you arrive and what end of avoriaz your hotel is you could get dropped at morzine first and get the cable car up?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| thestoney6 wrote: |
avoriaz is a car free resort, so no matter what you do transfer or driver you will always end up at the same point, the main carpark, which is the bus terminal too at the entrance to avoriaz, you then have to walk to your hotel, or you can get a snow mobile type taxi.
I have been to avoriaz about 5 times and always got a bus transfer from geneva to avoriaz its by far the easiest way to travel. it take about 4 hours from memory, and the final ascend up the mountain if they have had recent snow means the conditions can be a bit scary, with blind corners, narrow roads, and crazy french drivers on the wrong side of the road with nothing between you and a sheer drop of the side of the mountain.
depending on what time you arrive and what end of avoriaz your hotel is you could get dropped at morzine first and get the cable car up? |
Does it really take 4 hrs???? all the transfer companies are saying about 1h45.
I think from the replies I'll get a transfer to the prodain and go up from there. We arrive about lunch time early afernoon next tuesday, so arriving shouldn't be too busy?
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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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Ok you should be fine on Tuesday afternoon. If stoney meant public bus with a change in Thonon it could take 4 hrs, but a transfer van would be 1.45 as you say. You haven't said where your accommodation is but unless it's very close to the top of the lift you should get a sleigh if there's one waiting, or call that number to get a rattrack.
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My accom is in Avoriaz, Les Portes du Soleil, its fairly central i think?!
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You know it makes sense.
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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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It does NOT take 4 hours - it takes 1.5 up to Avoriaz - les to Prodains lift.
ALl the bus companies share the work during busy times so I wouldn't view a transfer to another company as a 'downside' its the same Renault bus!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Nadenoodlee, agreed, but if there wasn't a sombrero on board I would feel cheated
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It also depends where in Avoriaz you're staying. If you're up at the top, near the main car-park, then it's a bit of a trek from the Prodains lift up through the town with luggage, unless you sort out a sleigh or cat to take you.
I'll be staying in the Douchka apts, in the Falaise area which is right next to the resort 'entrance' so I've arrange a transfer with ski-lifts.com from Geneva right up the twisty road to the main drop off area.
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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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marmotte16, Mr NN is an ex-skiidy driver, I miss that sombrero....
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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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Nadenoodlee, my OH has literally just come back from Mexico - if I had known, it would have given me great pleasure to have insisted he brought one back for a friend 
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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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marmotte16, we went to Mexico in September and spent wayyyyy too much time with sombreros but he wouldn't let me bring one home  He did get to keep his Skiidy jacket though
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Booked with mountain bus company 220 euros return shared transfer, to the prodain in morzine! Cheers for the advice folks!
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One other thing.... Will I need speedos for the aquariaz? I've taken my swim shorts, without thinking about the budgy smugglers!
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Gmac, I haven't been to the pool there but based on most public French pools it's fairly certain you will need speedos 
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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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Aquariaz allowed bermudas last time I was there (summer 2013), so only pack the budgie smugglers if you're looking for an excuse.
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| Gmac wrote: |
| Booked with mountain bus company 220 euros return shared transfer, to the prodain in morzine! Cheers for the advice folks! |
If you haven't sorted out your lift pass yet, you might want to get them sent by post before you go, then you can use them to get up the Prodains lift and gain a bit more skiing time the next morning. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| snoozeboy wrote: |
| Aquariaz allowed bermudas last time I was there (summer 2013), so only pack the budgie smugglers if you're looking for an excuse. |
Yeh and had a look at the avoriaz site and the info on the aquariaz states swim shorts are allowed! Looks like I'll have to disappoint the ladies and give the smugglers a miss! Lol
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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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As said above we went with mountain bus company and couldn't have been happier. Transfers both ways were straight forward, and would definitely recommend them. Heather herself took us back down from avoriaz, (not from the bottom of the prodain gondola, as our transfer was too early for it to be running, but Heather was more than happy to pick us up from the welcome car park at avoriaz instead) and was very friendly and helpful. They are a small company, so whoever is driving, they know the roads and short cuts, if needed, very well, which I think really helps. Ie great local knowledge!
Has a super holiday in Avoriaz, and skied a foot deep powder all day Friday! Woo hoo!
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sorry if i caused a bit of confusion, i think that must have been a bit of a case of fat fingers small keypad, i should have states geneva to avoriaz 2 hours not 4
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