 Poster: A snowHead
|
Accommodations and flights are booked but I'm deciding whether to hire a car from GVA for our trip to 3 valllees or use a transfer service. We will also need to move from a hotel in Les Menuires to a catered chalet in La Tania 5 days into our 12 day ski trip.
Some questions to help me decide which is best:
What are the toll costs each way for the journey? Any other costs in addition to gas I should anticipate if driving?
Are there any points of interest to see on the way that would make a car hire worth it? We are flexible in taking an extra day or two to explore around the area outside of skiing.
Do we need winter tyres for sure to get into the alps? We are Canadian and can drive in winter conditions but mountain driving is often tricky. The price of a car hire from the swiss side of GVA is double the french side but it includes winter tyres I believe.
Are there shared shuttle services that deliver you door to door? We are only 2 people so a private transfer will be about 500 to 600 euro which is a lot to pay. We have our own equipment so don't want to take a public bus.
How easy is it to get around the 3 vallees using free buses, are they frequent enough to be useful? We plan to explore some base areas like Val Thorens or Courchevel for dinner or lunch. Some resorts we have stayed at in the past have been better served than others, so the practicality of using the buses is not necessarily related to the advertisement of this service.
How much should it cost to take a taxi or private transfer from Les Menuires to La Tania with our luggage and ski equipment?
Any other tips on transfers would be helpful! Thanks in advance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Welcome to sH. I am not a 3V expert but here goes:
If you come via Annecy, Ugine and Albertville the tolls are about €6-7 each way. If you go the long way, but marginally quicker then quite a lot more.
You need to consider parking costs in each resort - in Tignes it is about €75 per week.
There are a few POI but nothing that notable in the winter.
Yu may not need winter tyres at all, but you must have chains by law to access the resorts (despite advice you may receive to the contrary.
By law a Swiss renter will have snow tyres and a vignette for the Swiss motorways, the French side won't. The access to the French side at the airport is a bit complicated as is the route out and back in (especially after a long haul flight). Have a search around the difference is not normally that much.
There are a few shared transfer services, but it relies on other punters being available.
The public buses are actually charters and are well used to carting all the paraphernalia associated with skiing. But they will drop you at the bus station so you need to look at distance between said station and chalet.
The 3V is complicated there will be navettes around the villages but not between them and not between each valley. It is not like a North American Resort, each of the 7 or 8 villages is a separate enterprise linked by a lift pass alone.
For instance on skis La Tania to Les Menuires is easy on skis but by car you have to go right down into the valley and back up again. A taxy will probably be in excess of €100, last time I was there (10 years) the advice was don't book a taxy if you miss the last lift - book a hotel!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Private transfers plus a taxi from Les Menuires to La Tania will cost about 800 euros, maybe a little more, but will be the least hassle.
Using Bens Bus you can cut that in half but it only runs Sat and Sun and the bus will be a little slower. You will still need the expensive taxi from Les Menuires to La Tania.
But as you can rent a car for about 250 euros it is a bit of a no brainer. If you get a major storm there can be a problem getting up to Les Menuires but the local services are pretty good at getting the road cleared. HOWEVER there are some gotchas about hiring a car at Geneva airport. Do a search on previous threads on Snowheads for current info. Winter tires and avoiding Swiss toll roads are the main ones I think.
The free skibus service will get you around between Les Menuires and Val Thorens . When you are in La Tania it gets you up to the different Courcheval villages. The free buses do not take you from valley to valley.
NB When you are there make sure you ski the run under the Cime de Carron cable car at least once.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
If you decide not to rent a car, and a taxi transfer is looking expensive, then the public bus for the transfer from Les Menuires to La Tania will be around €50 for two adults. Many of the people using it will be skiers, and will also have their own equipment with them. Have a look at www.altibus.com for the timetable and prices - the journeys you want are Les Menuirues to Moutiers, and then Moutiers to La Tania.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Thanks for the help. It looks like car hire may be cheaper and more practical as we also want to explore the area on non-ski days. My husband enjoys driving in different countries and conditions, so he is happy to do that. He wants to just rent from the Swiss side and save some trouble rather than money. For our dates, France is charging about 300 euros and Switzerland about 500 euros.
For some reason, I thought the tolls would be a lot more expensive. How long would the drive be to do the cheaper Annecy, Ugine, Albertville route? We are not in a hurry but would like to plan our arrival at the mountain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
About 3 hours
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The lake route is much more interesting as well as cheaper and often takes no longer. For your needs tolls can be ignored but parking charges can't.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@GPS, what are your dates? That might make a difference to advice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
We are arriving on a late flight March 27 and will stay the night in Geneva if we drive. We check out of the chalet on April 8 but have a few days extra to travel or explore Geneva before having to fly back to Canada.
The chalet has free parking for 7 of our nights. The hotel says they recommend a parking lot for 20 euros daily, but is there anywhere to park the car for 5 days in Les Menuires for free or cheaper? We have ski-in ski-out and there are restaurants nearby so will rarely even need the car in the valley
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| GPS wrote: |
We are arriving on a late flight March 27 and will stay the night in Geneva if we drive. We check out of the chalet on April 8 but have a few days extra to travel or explore Geneva before having to fly back to Canada.
The chalet has free parking for 7 of our nights. The hotel says they recommend a parking lot for 20 euros daily, but is there anywhere to park the car for 5 days in Les Menuires for free or cheaper? We have ski-in ski-out and there are restaurants nearby so will rarely even need the car in the valley |
There is plenty of free car parking but it is uncovered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
As TQA says, plenty of free parking, mainly side of roads but there are some larger car parks on the "bypass" to Val Thorens. I know, I'm sitting looking out at them now. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Thanks. I'm ok with uncovered as long as it's free and possible to leave the car for up to 5 days without issue. Do you know of any close to Hotel Kaya? It's further up on the mountain and would rather keep it as short of a walk to the car as possible. I assume we can also take free transit if we park further into the village.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
