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Driving - Cheshire > Val Thorens, Easter 2015 - strategic planning?

 Poster: A snowHead
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Six of us are making our merry way to VT at Easter next year for our first foray into the whole family skiing together (ages 6, 9, 12, 15, 42 and 43). The oldest four of us drove last year at half term to Flaine, driving through the night from about 8pm Friday night arriving for about 3pm in Flaine. OK, do-able again, but we have the added luxury of Good Friday to factor into the travelling, so we thought we might try to do things in a more leisurely manner - but only if others' experiences of this was positive!!

Options seem to be:-
- early morning depart from home, aiming for (say) 10am Eurotunnel, driving 5 or 6 hours in France to arrive somewhere for the evening at about 6pm. Meal, snooze, early morning depart with about 3 hours left to go, possibilty of arriving in resort about 11am.
- midday depart from home, get across the channel and then stop after a couple of hours. Leave 6 or 7 hours of driving still to do, arriving at resort late afternoon, early evening

Now that I'm typing this, the first seems the most palatable option by far. We could vary it by actually spending some time in the town of our overnight stop, leaving the last few hours until later in the day, but I suspect I'll be told "traffic will be horrendous, don't bother". So with that in mind, where is a decent town to be heading for, quickly accessed from the autoroute, but with a good array of overnight and eating options.

Any help gratefully received!!

Thanks

Matt
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Last thread on the subject is here
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2559706&

Plenty more if you fiddle with the Forum Search tab at the top of the page.
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larkim, from experience, I'd also go for your former idea.

Dijon is a decent town to head for IME - plenty of hotel options and places to eat plus its quite pretty. A straight run from Calais is around 5 hours, more when stops factored in and then VT is about another 4 hours, I think.

That's quite a schlep from Cheshire to the Eurotunnel for a 10am crossing, of course. Personally I prefer the tunnel, but after that drive, maybe a ferry might provide the better option from a rest point of view?
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Option 1 - a few people did something similar on Good Friday for EOSB this year. We stayed in Chambery which is just about ideal for getting to VT in time for plenty of skiing on the Saturday.


I know there are people who like the Option 2 leisurely option but when you're skiing you really want your overnights to not exceed your ski days by >1 IMV. i.e drive leisurely = 9 nights, 6 ski days, drive purposively 9 nights, 8 ski days.
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Quote:

I suspect I'll be told "traffic will be horrendous, don't bother".

No, Easter is not a big deal in French ski resorts - very different from half term and a far better time to go, IMHO.
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To get a 10:00 shuttle you will need to leave home by 05:00 and will be driving around the M25 at the peak of the rush hour. This will make the rest of the journey a doddle by comparison. To me setting off at 5 seams pointless - you will not get much sleep before setting off and have the worse of the traffic on the way. Once you get to France the only increased traffic is the migration of Belgium to the Med.
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johnE, How bad a rush hour would you expect on Good Friday ?
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rjs, same as any other day of the week IME
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I would never aim to leave at 5 am unless it's essential as I never sleep that well anticipating the early start. I'd prefer to have a more civilised start and get to my overnight stop just in time to go to bed, probably having eaten a couple of hours earlier. An evening with a good meal in a nice hotel would be v pleasant but v expensive for such a big family! But could fit in well with stopping further north, then arriving in resort later - if you are renting accommodation you might not have access till 4 pm - though arriving early on a Saturday does give you the bonus of an extra day's skiing if you have all the ski gear in a bag near the top of the pile. I'd say that the timing of the journey can just reflect your personal preferences for driving/eating/skiing/sleeping, without giving much thought to traffic conditions. Unlike half term where the whole damn thing has to be planned round the traffic.
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rjs, Good Friday appears to be a rather forgotten about holiday. It is not a bank holiday, that is the Monday, and many companies seem to work that day these days
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pam w wrote:
Quote:

I suspect I'll be told "traffic will be horrendous, don't bother".

No, Easter is not a big deal in French ski resorts - very different from half term and a far better time to go, IMHO.


This. Particularly if Easter is late.
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larkim, Easter driving is fine, as others have said the queues are nowhere near as bad, if they exist at all! Haven't when we went Easter.

I think you'll be fine on M25 on Good Friday
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larkim, Easter driving is fine, as others have said the queues are nowhere near as bad, if they exist at all! Haven't when we went Easter.

I think you'll be fine on M25 on Good Friday
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Thanks for all the comments. Setting off at 5am isn't a big deal, I'm up at about 6am on weekdays anyway, so there's no real lack of sleep, and the rest of the brood just trudge catatonically into the car and then sleep until 9am when we do this for summer Cornwall trips etc. Chunnel means even if we get stuck in a hour's delay around the M25 there is little real issue with arriving late (or indeed early - sometimes the M25 does flow OK you know!), but to be fair I've not done a Good Friday trip around it before.

Chambery sounds an interesting option - we've flown into there before. Though with the ages we've got in the car, I'm not too concerned whether we do actually get 8 days of skiing, certainly not a requirement. THough for the younger ones, slapping some skis on at 2pm and heading up and down the magic carpet at VT might be a useful sighter for the week ahead. Saturday at the other end does seem like a viable option though.

I'll take a look at the other thread - I have searched and browsed the forum before posting this, but finding the right terms and factoring in the Easter weekend were specifics which I am grateful for others helping me out with.
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larkim, FWIW, we always drive out on Friday and have overnight stop just north of Lyon - early start means we can do big shop in Albertville or Moutiers and be in resort by early afternoon. Our kids are generally happy to chill out or at most go sledging. Main benefit is that we can sort out skis, passes etc and still be in apartment with glasss of something by 5

M25 I am sure will be fine Good Friday morning as there will be no normal rush hour traffic. One other thing to perhaps consider, there are several Premier Inns near tunnel and booking early can be got for £19 a night, so maybe a Thursday evening trip and very relaxed start? The one at Eureka Park have inter-connecting rooms as well which is great with kids - you have to book online then ring hotel and ask for them though
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Boris, rush hour, holiday timr, weekend. ..it's often all the same regardless but you can never plan that there won't be delays. Trust me..I spend half my week on it!
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holidayloverxx, agreed, but IME traffic is a lot lighter on Good Friday. However accept there could be delays, which why our preferred option is to get it done with and stay at tunnel. Have spent enough time on it to know you can't assume anything
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There shouldn't any typical rush hour traffic (7-9am) on the M25 but the holiday traffic can be crazily busy but it shouldn't be too bad before 10am - and hopefully by that time you'll be at the tunnel Smile
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I've travelled at 3am and been met with a closed motorway, travelled at 8am past Birmingham and sailed through - you take's your chances!!

Interesting thought about Thursday night - a possibility, but I can just see us getting up at 8am, at the tunnel for 9am and we've only really gained an hour with the headache of having to pack for two nights on the road and eating out twice too!
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larkim, two nights on the road would make the journey seem endless - personally I'd not consider that option. We did a drive back from the Alps, completely off motorway once, and I planned a route with a Michelin Atlas to take in the most picturesque options. It was a lovely drive, and we had two overnight stops camping, so not too expensive. But in summer, with riverside lunchtime picnics and evening walks a very different experience than a winter trip to ski. I drive in one hit more often than not, but I only live 2.5 hours from Dover, and I don't have to take children into account.
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Quote:

two nights on the road would make the journey seem endless


Well I disagree, find it quite a relaxing start to holiday, but accept is personal preference
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Boris, yes, obviously personal preference. If you enough days off, and can afford all the extras, fair enough. I generally prefer to maximise ski time and find I tend to sleep badly "on the road" anyway. Nothing like lying awake on a hotel bed with horrible artificial sheets, duvets and pillows and thinking you could have done another 400 miles.....
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You've not done a road trip with my boys wink

For us it would mean a rapid exit from work on the Thursday, packing up the car, quick tea and into the car for 4 hours+ down to Folkestone - let's assume at best a 10pm arrival. Experience with our younger ones is that a) they stay awake in the car if they get the chance and b) when they arrive at a hotel they are too excitable to go to sleep quickly. Oh, and as we have 4 boys, we either have to have 1 parent in each room with two boys, or one child in with us with the other 3 in a room. And that's four sets of pyjamas, four sets of clean underwear for the next day, four wash kits, at least 3 lots of teddies / soft toys (!) and inevitably at least one argument! Then it's wake up, persuade all of them into their clothes, tidy up the things they've lost in the hotel already, sort out breakfast, re-pack parts of the car, check out and head off with 9am being the most realistic exit time from the hotel. And then the same again the next night, punctuated only by 6 hours of driving!

So comparing that with dumping them all in the car at 5am and heading off whilst they nap, I think you can see why my preference might be to avoid two nights on the road!!

When they are all older perhaps overnighting will be a little less hassle, but for the time being I think I'll pass!!
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pam w, But larkim doesn't live 2.5 hours from Dover, it can take basically a whole day to get to the channel from the NW if you hit bad traffic, the plan of leaving early on the Friday sounds good to me.
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I've driven down multiple times in the last few years and living in Staffordshire I'm not too far from you. What we tend to do and will again for our new year trip is leave early Fri morning get the 10 o'clock tunnel, drive down to chambery about 7.5 hours which gives us time to get an evening meal and get daughter to bed at a reasonable time. Up early and get to resort for 9 happy days.
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Quote:

the plan of leaving early on the Friday sounds good to me.

I agree - it was the Thursday night plan which didn't sound so good.
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pam w, I have no problem sleeping on the road - the meal and the wine see to that Laughing It is our indulgence as the start of the holiday

Coming back I'm with you though and we tend to always do the trip home in one blast

larkim, can see your point - we have the 3-kids but having done overnight stops since they were tiny (twins 6-months first time) we got it down to a fine art

Very much personal preference but for me the holiday starts when I'm having my G&T at hotel in Ashford knowing the worst part of the journey is behind me Cool
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I think I may have painted an overly pessimistic picture of the kiddies!! It comes down to the plans for the Saturday really doesn't it? We really weren't thinking of skiing on the first Saturday, particularly as the youngest two will be very novice at this sort of thing, so its not as if me, SWMBO and eldest can swan off and find our feet on the reds - we'd be stuck on the magic carpet building confidence, which will be very rewarding and all of that, but isn't a necessity to rush for.

I'm in two minds about how far to aim for in the Friday driving stakes. If someone can recommend a good value place in Chambery which does evening meals and is child friendly, I'm more relaxed about heading that far south in the day, otherwise my preference would be to try to arrive (say) BourgEnBresse about 5:30ish and have some time to find somewhere to eat, and perhaps take a stroll around the town.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Boris, but do you have two overnight stops? It was that which I was thinking would make the journey seem endless.
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pam w, sometimes yes, leave home after work Thursday and tackle M25 and stay in Premier Inn at Ashford, very reasonable at £19 a room of booked in advance. Friday will drive to just north of Lyon, Saturday will be couple of hours drive and be in resort by lunchtime and will get everything sorted in terms of shopping, passes etc.

This means the only full day in car is the Friday really.

I do see how this could make the journey seem endless, but for us is nice relaxed start to the hols with a couple of nice meals out.

My own personal preference would be to leave early Friday morn and only have one stop, but Mrs B prefers the 2 stops approach so we do that snowHead
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If you are looking at one stop then I suggest that Beaun is the best place. Its about 700km from Calais, about 6 to 7 hours. Then another 350km to VT about 4 hrs the next day. There are plenty of cheap hotels like F1 and Ibis very close to the motorway so just google for them. It would be a long day in the saddle from Cheshire though but a 5am start should see you in Beaune by 6 local time.
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Quote:

10am Eurotunnel, driving 5 or 6 hours in France to arrive somewhere for the evening at about 6pm. Meal, snooze, early morning depart with about 3 hours left to go, possibilty of arriving in resort about 11am.

looking back at the OP the idea of Calais to Val Thorens in a total driving time of 8 - 9 hours if very optimistic and certainly couldn't be done legally, especially if the roads are wet, when the speed limit is under 70 mph. According to Google Maps it's 9 hours driving (it's over an hour from BSM) so adding in stops it would be nearer 11 hours, even without any traffic holdups at all.
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We always go down the Friday before Good Friday for a10 am ish tunnel. We head out from midlands, and have never been held up mire than twenty mins or so. Usually overnight south of Dijon. Never had an issue. Good Friday will be better than that.

pam w, 9 hours plus an hour of stops sounds about right to me, and no I don't speed.
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larkim, I've done Leeds to Austria many times, getting up at 5am usually means your past the Dartford crossing before peak and we've often had a really good run down to the tunnel.

Pack the kids pillow and a blanket or two and tell them no DVDs and they should get back to sleep!
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Don't count on the M25 being quiet on Good Friday. Whilst on public holidays it has less work traffic, it tends to get filled with people from London and the home counties travelling on holiday. Easter Saturday can also get fairly busy on the motorways nearer the Alps. We encountered queues from Lyon onwards last year.

In your position I'd leave Cheshire at 7 allow plenty of time to get to the tunnel and book a stopover in Troyes or Dijon. If you take in to a account the time difference I think driving to Dijon would feel far enough. Then get up early the next morning to get to the Alps before the worst of the traffic from Lyon to Val Thorens.

ringingmaster - on a 9 hour journey I'd expect to have more than an hour of stops.
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snowymum wrote:
...

ringingmaster - on a 9 hour journey I'd expect to have more than an hour of stops.


But this is a 9 hour journey that is split in two anyway due to the stopover in Dijon. we get to France on tunnel about 12:00. Take 45 min lunch stop about 14:00, and a 15 min loo stop about 16:00, arriving in Dijon about 17:30/ 18:00. Next day straight to Les Arc Super U, with just a 15 min loo stop.
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ringingmaster, yes, 9 hours should be just about doable legally in good conditions when the limit is 130 (it's an average 108 throughout the entire journey). But some or all of the journey is often wet (110 limit) and that timing makes no allowance for any roadworks or traffic at all, let alone a stop to put on snow chains. I drive back and forth quite often and never have a firm time or even day of arrival - twice I have aborted early in the journey, going north both times, once at Dijon for thick fog and once at Bourg en Bresse for heavy snow. It's also quite possible to spend some time at 30 mph behind a snowplough in northern France. Saturday traffic up the Belleville Valley, even at Easter, will probably not be zipping along at the speed limit. Having a very firm time of arrival in mind can create unnecessary pressure - especially if people use sat navs and watch their arrival time slipping back when slowed down for any reason then try to "catch up". On a busy (if not manic) Saturday I'd be very happy with an overall journey time of 11 hours from Calais to Val Thorens.
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Think we must have been very lucky the last 6 years then. Happy Timing have been within a 15 mins window for the week before Easter every year. The only hold ups have been in UK and tunnel passport control. Other than that cruise control to 130 (according to sat nav, not the car), sit back and relax.
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Quote:

Think we must have been very lucky the last 6 years then

Yes, you probably have. Obviously I do it quite a lot more often (generally I don't stop overnight and that means rather longer stops during the journey) and the more often you drive, of course, the more likely you are to hit some problems. But for anyone, however frequently or rarely they drive to the Alps, I think it's sensible to bear the potential buggeration factors in mind, be flexible in your planning and ready to make changes if necessary.
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We also do the journey every summer, again never a problem. I should enter the lottery as I am that lucky.
I guess a more pertinent comparison, is how many trips in late March / early April have you had problems with? I suspect that is far fewer.

Mobile phone with data active allows lots of flexability to rebook hotels on the fly.
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