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Cheap transfers from Turin to Montgenevre ?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I was originally intending to hire a car (and may still) in Turin to get my family of four to Montgenevre as the cost of transfers seemed steep @ ~€300. Thanks to the great Snowheads collective knowledge we've found car hire car quite a bit cheaper than the transfers I'd found myself. But before I jump into hiring a car I thought I'd tap into the knowledge again to see if anyone knew of any fairly priced transfers from/to Turin and Montgenevre and back.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Depends how much baggage you have and the age of your kids I guess, but the train from Torino to Oulx and then resort bus or taxi up to Montgenevre would be quite economical.
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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?
Make sure you get a car with snow tyres. Also if it's a diesel make sure you fill up with Polar diesel before coming up the hill.

To be fair to the taxi drivers euro 300 for a return journey isn't excessive. It's 240 miles and 8 hours work all told, not counting fuel and tolls.
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volfy wrote:
Make sure you get a car with snow tyres. Also if it's a diesel make sure you fill up with Polar diesel before coming up the hill.

To be fair to the taxi drivers euro 300 for a return journey isn't excessive. It's 240 miles and 8 hours work all told, not counting fuel and tolls.

Thanks for the pointer on the diesel, hadn't thought of that.

The journey is actually ~60 miles (100km) and ~1hr 20 mins each way which starts to make 300 Euros sound steep. That equates to €112 (£83)/hr Shocked That's what Solicitors in the UK charge! This isn't even a personal transfer either, it's shared. Running a minibus carrying say 8 people they're raking in £450 for less than 3 hrs work. I'm happy to pay a fair price but this smacks of blatant profiteering as they have you by the proverbials. It's a shame there aren't more people running these transfers to provide a little more competition. But it is what it is. Doesn't make it any more palatable though. rolling eyes
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
try and hook up with a tour company that does transfers too.
Dunno what day of the week you are going but Snowbizz (Puy St Vincent) run Sundays and might drop you off on the way through.
Also Go Montgenevre might and there's also mountvacation who we've had transfer only with in the past to Puy.

It is a fairly straightforward drive though. Personally I'd rent and buy my own snowchains of a generic variety before going.
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JuJitsoup wrote:
volfy wrote:
Make sure you get a car with snow tyres. Also if it's a diesel make sure you fill up with Polar diesel before coming up the hill.

To be fair to the taxi drivers euro 300 for a return journey isn't excessive. It's 240 miles and 8 hours work all told, not counting fuel and tolls.

Thanks for the pointer on the diesel, hadn't thought of that.

The journey is actually ~60 miles (100km) and ~1hr 20 mins each way which starts to make 300 Euros sound steep. That equates to €112 (£83)/hr Shocked That's what Solicitors in the UK charge! This isn't even a personal transfer either, it's shared. Running a minibus carrying say 8 people they're raking in £450 for less than 3 hrs work. I'm happy to pay a fair price but this smacks of blatant profiteering as they have you by the proverbials. It's a shame there aren't more people running these transfers to provide a little more competition. But it is what it is. Doesn't make it any more palatable though. rolling eyes


That sounds a mental charge for a very very simple drive for the transfer company. As you said, it's 60 miles, pretty much all motorway, and will take them an hour (x 2 for them to return to Turin).

Makes me think I should start up a transfer company!!
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
jellemr wrote:
Makes me think I should start up a transfer company!!

I said the same thing to the guy on the phone. Genuinely worth considering for the ski season, you'd make a fortune!!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@JuJitsoup, The taxi driver has to go both ways both times so it is actually 240 miles total driving for them as Volfy says.

I have used a company based in Oulx called Taxigarofalo before now to do the journey from Oulx to Montgenevre. You could contact them for a quote from Turin.

Have you looked into taking the train from Turin to Oulx and taking the bus from there as MagSEven suggests above?
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Quote:

It's a shame there aren't more people running these transfers to provide a little more competition.

there's plenty of competition. It's quite a tough business, actually. I do regular transfer driving, though I don't charge as it's for friends and families. I have a drive of an hour and three quarters to Geneva airport. It's longer and more challenging if the weather is bad, it uses a fair bit of fuel and there are tolls. Plus I often have to start early in the morning, and often have to wait around for flights coming in. All in, it rarely takes me less than 5 hours even though I won't do an airport run on a Saturday. I would do it for money, but it would have to be quite a lot of money and on a Saturday I would make that even more money. On a busy or snowy day you have to allow a lot of extra time if people are to be sure of catching their flight.

If it's so easy, just rent a car and drive yourself. I wouldn't take "generic" chains though - the fit needs to be fairly precise though if you are practised at it you can lash them up a bit if they are too big, providing you have something suitable with you.
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kabooooooom wrote:
Also Go Montgenevre might

That's who's given me the best price @ £64 pp return shared. For the four of us (2 children under 10) that's £256 and totalling around £500 all told for a full minibus for around 2 1/2hrs work.

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this is excessive. We've been out of the skiing loop for a while but I'm still shocked at how crazily expensive the whole experience has become, it almost sours the trip it's so excessive..........and there was me thinking that Euro Disney was a complete rip-off. It's fairly priced by comparison. Confused
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Prices also have to take account of hanging around for delayed flights. You may be taking guests to airport for 10 am flight, but be stuck there for several hours if the outbound flight is delayed. Not as much competition in Monty and Serre che as there are in other places though.
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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.
Hells Bells wrote:
Not as much competition in Monty and Serre che as there are in other places though.

Yeah I think we've just touched unlucky on the location. If we'd gone elsewhere it might well have been much more fairly priced. We'll be looking into this a bit more before booking next time. You live and learn!
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There's no way that doing a return transfer Turin airport to Montgenevre is 2.5 hours work. You drive to the airport, find parking, you hang around waiting, pile them into the vehicle (then one of them remembers they should have done a pee in the airport) then you deliver them to their destination, which might take a little bit of finding, and pile them all out. Then you probably have to return to base with an empty vehicle. Then repeat the performance in reverse the following Saturday. You might get some "return loads" but probably after a fair bit of waiting around. The road between the airport and the Tunnel is quite heavily speed-limited (to 30 mph if it's foggy, which it often is).

There are cheaper transfers to some places (notably Chamonix) but if you went by bus from, say, Geneva to the Tarentaise, that would cost much the same and a taxi would cost considerable more than £64 a head. With a car full of people, driving yourself is usually the most economical option and I just read on another thread that car hire is very cheap in Italy just now. Really not a major problem.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
and, of course, the resorts that aren't regularly invaded by huge numbers of British skiers looking for bargain transfers are by far the nicest...... wink


Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Wed 28-01-15 13:11; 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:
Quote:

I have a drive of an hour and three quarters to Geneva airport. It's longer and more challenging if the weather is bad, it uses a fair bit of fuel and there are tolls. Plus I often have to start early in the morning, and often have to wait around for flights coming in. All in, it rarely takes me less than 5 hours even though I won't do an airport run on a Saturday. I would do it for money, but it would have to be quite a lot of money and on a Saturday I would make that even more money. On a busy or snowy day you have to allow a lot of extra time if people are to be sure of catching their flight.

Your point is a good one but I suspect Montgenvre Turin is a fair bit easier than your trip(not done yours, have done Briancon/Turin a lot including picking people up) It is Autostrade most of the way and Turin airport is a fair bit less busy than Geneva.

One thing for the OP is that if you are planning on skiing elsewhere a car may come in handy for your trip. It s probably quicker& easier to get over to the Sestriere area by car than by lift. A days skiing in Serre CHe is well worth it if your lift pass covers it and it's a very straightforward drive.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
pam w wrote:
and, of course, the resorts that aren't regularly invaded by huge numbers of British skiers looking for bargain transfers are by far the nicest...... wink


Absolutely! snowHead

There are times we've spent a morning in linked Claviere and had the slopes pretty much to ourselves.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@T Bar, yes, my journey is more difficult, and longer, but then you won't get a transfer for £64 return, either. It's closer to £100 even in a shared minibus. And from Geneva there is no bus option, either (which does, of course, keep the riff-raff at bay......)

People get sucked in by the "cheap flights" on offer and think they are getting one over on the TOs but they often fail to factor in the price of transfers.
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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?
I shall be briefly at Turin airport on Saturday - I wonder if I could pick up somebody for a fat transfer fee for a drive to Arabba? wink
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T Bar wrote:
One thing for the OP is that if you are planning on skiing elsewhere a car may come in handy for your trip. It s probably quicker& easier to get over to the Sestriere area by car than by lift. A days skiing in Serre CHe is well worth it if your lift pass covers it and it's a very straightforward drive.

Thanks for the great info, will bear this in mind.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
pam w wrote:
and, of course, the resorts that aren't regularly invaded by huge numbers of British skiers looking for bargain transfers are by far the nicest...... wink

Yep, every cloud.....
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@JuJitsoup,
Public transport is possible
From Oulx to Montgenvre is E12 return if paid for in advance and cheaper for children,. www.05voyageurs.com/fr/consultation-des-horaires_p247

You can a bus between the airport and Oulx or a train. http://www.aeroportoditorino.it/en/passeggeri_en/trasporti_en.html though the airport bus is only once a day and you will probably have to change trains.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@JuJitsoup,

Two of us have just been out (to Sauze) for a long weekend and while we got a private transfer (supplied by the b&b we were staying in and costing E140) to the slopes as we couldn't wait to get there*, on Monday we took the train back.

This meant a 10 minute transfer down the mountain (longer from Montgenevre but only 20mins i would guess and maybe costing E20) to Oulx and then a train to Turin which took a little over an hour and was followed by a E30 taxi (we couldn't be bothered with a bus but they are available apparently). The train was E12 each for us adults bought at the station - advance tickets are very cheap, E20 for a family of 4.

So for you guys: E20 for cab, E20 for train and E30 for cab the other end. Total cost for family E70 but you've added an hour onto your journey.

The standard transfer to Sauze at the moment seems to be E130/E140 so if it's the same to Montgenevre you're saving E70 and losing an hour each way. That's the decision to make unless you're keen to hire a car which we have also done previously as the drive is very simple and we got a good deal.

Have always thought though that you'd expect that there might be "bulk" offers from people with minibuses to the main resorts after London flights come in and I can't understand why there isn't an obvious way of booking on empty seats where it's not a TO organised deal - for instance in the minibus we got picked up in which had 5 free.



*took 50mins but our driver was keen to get back on the snow himself
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

Have always thought though that you'd expect that there might be "bulk" offers from people with minibuses to the main resorts after London flights come in and I can't understand why there isn't an obvious way of booking on empty seats where it's not a TO organised deal - for instance in the minibus we got picked up in which had 5 free.


there are a vast number of regulations and, at Geneva at least, absolutely no "touting" for fares is allowed - you have to pre-book. All drivers also need special licences and permits, the right vehicle, insurance, etc. Italy is probably no different, except possibly the restrictive practices are more (ahem.....) "informal".
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@pam w,

Quote:

an obvious way of booking


Quote:

Italy is probably no different
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pam w wrote:
People get sucked in by the "cheap flights" on offer and think they are getting one over on the TOs but they often fail to factor in the price of transfers.

You forgot to use the word 'extortionate' before 'transfers'.

pam w wrote:
(which does, of course, keep the riff-raff at bay......)

Care to enlighten.....
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Curzonian wrote:
So for you guys: E20 for cab, E20 for train and E30 for cab the other end. Total cost for family E70 but you've added an hour onto your journey.

Have always thought though that you'd expect that there might be "bulk" offers from people with minibuses to the main resorts after London flights come in and I can't understand why there isn't an obvious way of booking on empty seats where it's not a TO organised deal - for instance in the minibus we got picked up in which had 5 free.

Thanks, this is definitely worth considering, much more fairly priced.

Also, thanks to everyone who provided helpful and informative comments, all very appreciated.
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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.
Quote:

much more fairly priced.

Italian trains are good value
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
JuJitsoup wrote:
pam w wrote:
People get sucked in by the "cheap flights" on offer and think they are getting one over on the TOs but they often fail to factor in the price of transfers.

You forgot to use the word 'extortionate' before 'transfers'.

pam w wrote:
(which does, of course, keep the riff-raff at bay......)

Care to enlighten.....


everyone has their view but "extortionate" is not a word i would use for a private transfer. You are paying for someone to possibly spend 4 hours driving plus a bit of flex to make sure they are on time.

Add on to the staff costs, tolls, petrol, consumables, wear and tear. Then factor in administration, other costs (tax and regulation compliance).

Absolutely they are making money, and more if they are doing a good job as they will fill their schedule sensibly and minimise empty transfer time. But extortionate, wouldn't be my view and we pretty much always have private transfer both into and out of resort.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

You are paying for someone to possibly spend 4 hours driving plus a bit of flex to make sure they are on time.

for a return transfer it would probably be more than that - four legs, each one needing flex.

But sure, private taxi transfers are an expensive - if very nice and luxurious - way of getting from A to B. First class travel is nice, too, but too expensive for most of us, most of the time.

A bottle of champagne is nice, but I'm happy with a glass of Prosecco or Cava. wink

It's not difficult, with the internet, to find out the cost of private transfers and the obvious alternative of hiring a car. Going by local trains/busses is much harder to suss out and with kids and luggage, obviously more faff.

As for the "riff raff", that was tongue in cheek, obviously, but places which are easy to get to are far busier - I like to have uncrowded slopes (we often have one all to ourselves, out of holiday time) and ski straight onto the lifts! I find I am able to resign myself to the lack of Irish bars.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@pam w, you are right in that it may need more legs and flex if you factor in return trip, though if they are lucky or clever they will limit the empty legs, possibly at the expense of a bit of waiting time in airport.

We are far from rich and our family holiday is an expensive trip, we like to make it a pleasant as possible. The private transfer gets us into resort quickly and ahead of the general TO coaches. This and a local airport either side means we can usually be skiing 6-8 hours from leaving the house in the uk.

That first afternoon, though sometimes a little rushed is usually very welcome Very Happy
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
ansta1 wrote:

everyone has their view but "extortionate" is not a word i would use for a private transfer. You are paying for someone to possibly spend 4 hours driving plus a bit of flex to make sure they are on time.

My bad, you're right, perhaps a little harsh. Maybe 'excessive' is a better word. Don't mind anyone making a profit, far from it, but it appears that they're making a lot more than the average bear.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@JuJitsoup, possibly and probably. But the same argument will apply to ski instructors, chalet/hotel owners and airlines. Basically in a ski resort they have to load the income into the peak season as this 25% of the year, probably gets them >50% of their annual income.
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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?
@ansta1, extra skiing time, given the cost of a holiday, is well worth having. It depends on people's priorities, doesn't it? I'd rather get a transfer, or hire a car, and then cook my own meals and buy a good bottle of wine or some beer from a supermarket than spend hours getting to resort and then go and buy food and drink at bar and restaurant prices - which for some folk is the essence of their holiday. We did several family holidays by overnight coach - two extra skiing days, and a big saving on the air fares.

@JuJitsoup, I think your calculations are assuming that the minibus is always full and that these transfers are going on day in day out, all year round. Very far from the case. If there was excessive profit to be made, there'd probably be more people doing it.
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