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Advice on driving to St Gervais

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Good afternoon,

Already thinking of 20/21 New year week away to St Gervais (Sunday Dec 27-Jan 3rd). Would normally fly and transfer but theres 11 people going so might look into driving.

For those who have done this, what would you recommend. i.e,
What time to get Eurotunnel from Folkestone?,
is best to drive at night or during day?
Would you recommend a hotel half way or just a couple of breaks (Anywhere lovely to stop off etc)
As for costs, I'm thinking all in about £500 return!

Thanks
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
We normally aim for a 6 am tunnel and depending on whether we have others in the car do it in one hit with a couple of quick stops for fuel and food , if we are on our own we tend to go the day before our accommodation is available and stop somewhere to look around a new town/city and get to the resort mid morning to collect passes supplies etc and get settled in before the others arrive. The only issue of night driving is if the weather is bad and you miss the lovely scenery which is why we do days
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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?
@mjh1972, a few years ago we went to Combloux, not far away from st Gervais, we travelled by Eurotunnel at around 6am. we arrived about 4pm at annemasse on the Friday evening, it was then about 45 mins from there up to Combloux. there is an ibis in sallanches next door to a supermarket, and somewhere to eat if you want to push on a little bit further and do a shop before you carry on to st Gervais the next day.

I would thoroughly recommend self driving, as you have a lot more flexibility, can work out a lot cheaper than flying during busy holiday periods, but that is working on 3 to 4 people travelling together.

if you use sites like booking.com or accor (ibis/Novotel etc) site, you could book several options now and cancel as and when you have decided your final route, that is what I do.

Eurotunnel normally works out to be around £150 to £200 depending time of day you go through, you can pick up hotel rooms for about £50 per night, this feb half term It is going to work out around £700 return, but that is 2 overnight stops on the way and 1 on the way back. compared to around £2000 for me and my 2 daughters flying with baggage/ski baggage/parking/transfers etc, but we get 8 days skiing with that.
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@mjh1972, You haven't said where you are starting from. The length of your drive in the UK may influence where you might want to stop for the night.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Make sure all your passengers are confident in your long distance driving ability. Perhaps consider a backup/copilot or 2nd driver.

If young and keen to do it in one go then set off in the late evening such that you arrive in resort during the morning. This is because the sunrise will re-invigorate you just at the point you would otherwise be flagging.

Otherwise, I'd recommend using a channel ferry as a breakfast/brunch rest, and a stopover such as Poligny.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
@mjh1972, we get a tunnel crossing at around 10pm Friday, drive through the night, go to a supermarket and arrive in resort late morning. We then move our stuff into the apartment if possible, then go skiing.

On the way back we ski all day and leave resort 5pm. Have an evening meal and drive through the night getting a 6.30am tunnel on Sunday morning.

But driving through the night isn't for everyone. Beauty of driving through the night is the lack of traffic.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
What time does your accommodation open? No point driving through the night and arrive with 11 people at midday only to have to wait 5 hours for keys to the chalet...

We cross channel around 6pm on the Friday and drive to hotel near Reims (like many others). Leave around 8am and get to resort around 5pm, in time for check in and hiring skis. On the return, leave early and drive straight home.
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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!
@mjh1972, where are you starting from? It makes a big difference.

11 pax! Are you thinking 1 minibus or 3 cars?

5 years ago, with 3 in the car, it was about £150 each from Warrington to Le Fayet (near St Gervais) and back including diesel, ferry, Formula1 and tolls but excluding wear and tear on the car.
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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.
Oh, and book Le Shuttle crossing FlexiPlus on return leg (you don't really need outbound).
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Thanks for the replies...

Starting in Hertfordshire, so about 1 hr 40mins to Folkestone.
Thinking of 3 cars
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
charrison wrote:
What time does your accommodation open? No point driving through the night and arrive with 11 people at midday only to have to wait 5 hours for keys to the chalet...

We cross channel around 6pm on the Friday and drive to hotel near Reims (like many others). Leave around 8am and get to resort around 5pm, in time for check in and hiring skis. On the return, leave early and drive straight home.


Get keys after the day skiing. Saturday is a great day to be on the slopes.
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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.
I'm guessing accommodation will be available around 2pm
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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
Good to have a car in StG in case you want to go up to Les Contimens
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

I'm guessing accommodation will be available around 2pm

It could well be more like 4pm. But if you are organised, and keen, you could certainly ski Saturday then get settled in afterwards, as @endoman suggests.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
mjh1972 wrote:
I'm guessing accommodation will be available around 2pm

If you go with someone like Odalys it will be something like 5pm.

A private rental could be as early as 2pm.

If there was no one in the apartment the week before you may be able to get them as soon as you arrive. This is what we mostly do because we are ski Christmas and end of March/early April. A bit less likely new year week.

But as others have said, either way, skiing on a Saturday is great as slopes are so quiet and is one of the big advantages of driving.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
it normally takes us 9 hours from tunnel down to StG & that's with breaks, I would never even think about doing it during the night
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Drove through the night a couple of time in my 20s, would never do it now esp at that time of year as you could be dealing with anything from heavy rain, to fog (once had to pull over at Dijon in -8 freezing fog and it was only about 8pm and we were less than 3 hrs from our flat) snow and ice. Sunday to Sunday is not that usual for accommodation esp that week, so if you can get it I'd snap it up now. Saturday will be very busy on the roads esp the Chamois Tunnel around Bellegarde, so you could aim to leave the UK on Saturday, get as far as Dijon, stay there and then it's probably less than 3 hrs on Sunday morning.
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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?
Driving for many hours along French motorways is tedious (but quick) whether done during the daytime or night time.

Me and the wife share the driving and swap every couple of hours. When not driving you stretch out in the back and sleep. We have a flask of coffee and some energy drinks to give us a boost before/when driving.

Driving up to midnight/1am is pretty standard. Getting through the early hours is the toughest part but perfectly manageable given the above. Once the sun comes up and/or you get closeish to your destination it's not a problem.

Advantages of driving overnight - you can leave off work Friday afternoon and be skiing on Saturday, can ski Saturday and be home for breakfast/lunch in the UK on Sunday on the return. No traffic worries (very pertinent for new year week), no Hotel expense.

As I said earlier it's not for everyone and very much a personal preference.
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Done both lots of times, prefer driving through the night as there is less traffic and the motorways are good but domestic management informs me that our driving policy has been amended to day driving only now. If driving through the day we aim to get a tunnel crossing between 6am and 7am.

Drive for 4 hour stints and swap on average. Everyone goes to the loo on a stop and the dog gets at least half an hour out of the car. When we had a car with carp MPG I would fill up at each stop, now we get to the foot of the hill before we need to top up.

Risk of bad weather is there whether during the day or night, just drive to the weather as normal. This is where multiple drivers are great as you can swap as often as you need if you tire quicker. Have the phone number of the apartment owner or agent in case you get a weather delay and need to let them know you will be late.

We share the drive and our rule is that the non driver can call a stop if they think the other is tired.

French radio is shoite and even if you like it there is no national coverage so you are constantly re tuning every few miles, Spotify, podcasts or audiobooks to your taste are your lifesaver.

Get your chains in the UK and practice putting them on a couple of times. Have your chains, carp gloves and a torch as the last thing packed so you can get to them if needed. Lost count the number of times I have driven and have not needed to put my chains on for 15 years. Just luck and probably cursed myself for this year now.

If you have kids have screens and enough chargers to go round in the car. Back in the day, our cheap DVD player was fantastic for the kids.

We prefer the drive, even before we had our own place as you have more space for luggage and if needed put a roof box on top. You are also mobile in resort and can duck down to the valley if you need to or have a non skiing day.

Have fun whatever way you go
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:

our rule is that the non driver can call a stop if they think the other is tired

That's a very good rule.
Quote:

French radio is shoite

And the shoitest is 107.7 FM, the autoroute channel. Good to know about traffic and stuff but their choice of music is even more dire than most French stations.
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