 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Hi all - I'm travelling on a Friday evening into GVA for a week (+ 1 day) next year in Les Arcs. Decided to go on Friday as fights are substantially cheaper (even with a hotel room in GVA/France) and it gives more time on the Saturday perhaps even to get to Les Arcs and a cheeky afternoon of skiing. Normally we private transfer but I'm going myself with 2 kids and the private transfer prices have gone through the roof so I'm ruling that out. The flights get it late-ish so my options are a) to hire a car and drive half way on the Friday evening (as will be too late to go all the way with the kids) or b) bus or train on the Saturday and forget about an afternoon on the slopes. Any advice on the comparison cost wise and recommendations for a) hotels half way to Bourg if we were going to do that or b) bus/train websites if doing that. Thanks!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
@riman8, The options are immense, but I would suggest getting the bus from Geneva airport to Chambery (I think the last Ouibus leaves about 20:00) or the train, but the last train is quite early. Spend the night in Chambery. Then get the 8:00ish train to Bourg getting in about 10:00.
What dates are you travelling as the return from Les Arcs may be more problematic?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Is that a half term week? If so, hotels within easy reach of the big resorts are likely to be VERY heavily booked on a Friday night.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
There's a summary page on the GVA airport website* that lists the scheduled regional buses, destinations and operating days: BUS AU DÉPART. Companies include Alpbus, Alpybus, ChamExpress etc. but it's just the main ones and apologies, not being familiar with the French ski areas so much, I don't know if the destinations listed are near.
*www.GVA.ch/en
-->Access & Transport
---->Transport
-------¦REGIONAL BUSES
-----------¦DOWNLOADS
---------------->Regular bus lines from Genève Aéroport (French)
The Swiss Railway timetable page is here. My understanding is that the nearest train station is Bourg St. Maurice? Putting Genève-Aéroport to Bourg-Saint-Maurice into the SBB timetable has the quickest connection at 3h51m and the longest at 5h51m and it looks like the last train Friday is 18:16 and then nothing until 06:32 Saturday morning. The Saturday morning 09:32 from GVA gets into BSM at 13:23 (3h51m) - it says the full adult single price, undiscounted, is CHF 31.70 (equals £56 return, which seems very cheap to me - a big caveat here is that you need to double-check all this). Watch out for the site's tendency to by default quote prices on the assumption that everyone has a half-price annual discount card. And make sure that the timetable isn't changing before your future travel date (I think it'll just say it can't give you a schedule if the date is too far in the future).
So one option is just to get rooms at an airport hotel and then take the 9.32am train in the morning and you'll be in BSM lunchtime. You'll probably still be well ahead of most people who fly into GVA Saturday, even if their flight's on time (good luck with that) and can pick up a hire car with no delays, or get a perfectly-timed transfer.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Thu 10-11-22 0:27; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| Quote: |
it says the full adult single price, undiscounted, is CHF 31.70 (equals £56 return, which seems very cheap to me, so you need to double-check all this).
|
I'm pretty sure the price is correct. I paid less than that for my last trip,but I did claim an old person's discount.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Quote: |
private transfer prices have gone through the roof so
|
I've seen this mentioned a few times on here. The prices from the usual suspects (e.g. Coolbus) don't appear to have changed much. Was everyone using the shady Latvian companies that have been shut down?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What does seem certain is that for most of us, most of the time, car hire prices have gone through the roof. Air fares seem to have increased too. That does change the economics of different kinds of ski holidays - especially the choice between flying and driving. Driving costs much the same, whether in mid-January or at half term, and however many people are in the car (yes, I know fuel consumption will be higher...). There are considerations other than cost, obviously, but for anyone with a family and cost constraints, driving is worth considering. Even for two people it can make financial sense, especially if the alternative is a rented car.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I was going to do this trip last season and looked at the train. The train site tended to have issues, which may have been fixed, but it was easier to look at Geneva station to Bourg and then add on the trip from the airport to Geneva which is a lot more frequent
For me the train times didnt work that well so, in the end, I used Bens Bus which is about 40 euro each, each way
If staying in the Arc villages, you need to factor in getting from Bourg, up the mountain to the villages
The funicular is good and goes from 7.30am until 9pm and 11pm on Thursday
Taxis up the hill are expensive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
