La Plagne. Christmas or Easter? And which car to take?!

A snowHead

Okay wise Snowheads, please help settle this for us.

We've (I've) decided on La Plagne for our next trip.

I want to go Easter 2024. My reasons are: better driving conditions and longer days. We went to Austria for Christmas this year and the memory of not ideal conditions is still fresh (very icy on the open pistes, some closed due to lack of coverage).

Mr. O wants to go Christmas 2023. Because 'Easter is ages away', and he loved being away at Christmas.

So there's that debate. We've never been to La Plagne, or skied in France, though we go every summer, so are familiar with driving there.

The other debate is the car. We've no strong feelings on this, we just need to pick the best car for the trip. He has a Range Rover Evoque. So it has 4x4 capabilities. But isn't great on the fuel. I own a Renault Scenic. No 4x4, but fantastic MPG, and smaller tyres so winter tyres will be cheaper than for the Evoque. Both very comfortable drives and have previously done summer trips to France in both, so we've no preference really.

Cast your votes please and with reasons if you don't mind.

A snowHead

You were unlucky with lack of snow in austria this season. But Christmas is always going to be dark and usually cold. If I only had one ski holiday in the year, it wouldn't be Christmas.

I'd take the Scenic.

But just to throw the whole thing into the melting pot, not sure I'd choose La Plagne for a first French ski trip. wink

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Ah. Okay. I chose it because of the wide cruisey-blues aspect as per my other thread, but also because it's nice and high for the Easter element. Still open to suggestions!

I know we were unlucky this year. It was a shocking start to the season for a lot of places, and I know someone that has just cancelled their February half term trip to Le Grand Massif based on the forecast. Funny old season this year.

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Oh, and as I work in education, it has to be holidays, and we can't do February because it'll be a huge rush with the drive and we'll all go back to school exhausted. Except for Mr. O who doesn't work in education so can cheerfully book an extra couple of days leave to recover.

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Easter is early 2024: Easter Sunday is March 31st. So your trip could start the last week in March.
When kids were younger we went to La Plagne at Easter for most of 2000 to 2010, staying in Belle Plagne Balcons apartments.
We always had a good time.
Easter is fun with longer days and less cold. Yes you can get slush later in the day, but on two occasions (can't remember which years) we needed chains to get out of the resort at the end of our 2 weeks (car was a volvo 850).

Recently (without kids) we've been in La Plagne for Christmas. Snow cover has been variable. Some years good, some years not so. And it can be very cold.

I would go for Easter. And I do think La Plagne a perfectly good choice for first French ski trip.

As for your car, I don't know either, but the Scenic with chains should be fine at Easter.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Interested in this. I am thinking about la plagne for this Easter and wondering if high enough compared to tignes (our default). Other option is back to cervinia

After all it is free

Easter. I have been to La Plagne in Dec several times over the years and much like other western alps resorts it can amazing or very average. Needs quite a bit of snow to cover the pistes (stones). Best from Jan onwards. In the years we were there in Easter it was always better. Purely my own experience of course.

BTW it would also depend which village you stay in…lots of choice

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La Plagne just seemed a bit dull to me - probably unfair. But we stayed in Plagne 1800 which probably isn't the best bit and some connections from there were poor, but I think have now improved. Tignes seems more interesting somehow - and nobody could avoid being thrilled to walk out of the top of the funicular and look up at the Grande Motte. I'm not a fan of Val d'Isere town, but there's lots of great cruisy skiing at altitude. It's just important not to be so lacking in self-confidence that you feel silly downloading in a lift at the end of the day. wink

The "up and over" chairlift is fun.

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As expert as I am in anything lol I am probably an expert in this as we've driven to La Plagne 6 times at Christmas and 7 times at Easter (and one at HT). Also been to La Plagne before having kids.

All TR's are linked at the top of the latest one: https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=5020479

I say La Plagne because with one exception, when we were down the road, we stayed in Les Coches.

Why the obsession/like for Les Coches. #1 It sits in the middle of the Paradiski domain, #2 It has great tree skiing and local pistes (relevance to come later) and #3 It's a lowish satellite village - easy to access, plenty of free on road parking, nice feel to it.

Montchavin just below it is also a good option - it's a prettier town but we found it a bit darker and a tad less convenient somehow. Vallandry, on the Les Arcs side as similar attributes from what I can tell - certainly #1 and #2 above.

So back to the questions in hand. The arguments laid out by the OP and others hold true. Christmas is shorter days, often colder but we've had some great conditions, it feels like Winter/Christmassy. Easter, longer days, warmer, end of season vibe. They both have their plusses. Conditions wise, honestly, for me they are the same. It's at the outer edges of the season can be a bit iffy but a fair chance of being great also. We solve the whole problem by going Christmas and Easter. We aren't big on Christmas anyway and everybody is off (school and work) so it's kind of a no brainer.

Car wise, as they are both comfortable and can do the job I would go with the Scenic for economy - cheaper to winterise and on fuel.

BTW, there is nothing wrong with the more central La Plagne villages if that is the way you want to go. I've stayed in Belle and Aime many years ago.

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Easter for me, as it's an early one.

Christmas the twin disadvantages of being hideously crowded and snow un-sure.

As for the cars, if comfort is equal, go for the one with the better range so you stop less for fuel

@Jonpim, even though easter 2024 is one week early, my daughters school breaks up on the Thursday, so the school holidays for her are still in the same first two weeks of April as easter 2023, but hopefully it could be different for the OP

@Owlette, like your husband, i like to be away for christmas as well, but others have said it will be generally colder and shorter days.

i have never skied in la plagne, so cannot give any advice on this resort.
but, we are going to Val Thorens this easter, and it does have quite a lot of cruisey blues, along with accessible routes to les menuires as well.

+1 for the scenic at easter as well

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

We’ve been to Montchavin around 4 times at Easter. We like it because it is in the middle of the Paradiski area so can choose either go over to Les Arcs or La Plagne, or stay around the Montchavin /Les Coches area. Our school holidays are always first two weeks of April, regardless of when Easter is. We have never had a problem with snow. It certainly does get slushy lower down when heading back to Montchavin, we tend to just get on the bubble in Les Coches for the last bit down to Montchavin. Due to Montchavin being lower there has never been snow on the road, so not needed chains or winter tyres (took snow socks with us but never been used). Another plus is that sometimes it has been lovely and warm in Montchavin so nice to sit out on balcony with a drink after skiing. One year kids also changed into shorts and tshirts after skiing and went out to play with a few local kids it was so nice.

A snowHead

I'm finding that as I get older my tolerance of cold is diminishing. We have a big family holiday booked for first week of April at a most inappropriate resort (Les Saisies, which tops out at 2000m!) because that's what everybody knows and loves and the grandchildren won't hear of going anywhere else. Sitting round feeling warm is nice. I sat around in Saisies in early April for 15 seasons and as stated above, it can be very snowy, or not very snowy at all. Aspect of slope (and time of day) becomes more important than altitude. One year we skied right down to Hauteluce and then sat on the grass beside the (snowy but slushy) piste with some cold bottles of beer from the backpack, surrounded by flowers (well, they were pissenlits but you can't have everything.....)

A snowHead

La Plagne is an excellent choice for your First French trip. I've skied in La Plagne off and on for the last 25 years, not just once Laughing

Either car will be fine with chains, socks, or winter tyres for Christmas or Easter.
Christmas this year was a real mixture of snow rain snow and then more snow, I was very grateful for having snow tyres.

March is always good for longer days and usually sunny, and warmer temperatures. Just in case I would go for an 'altitude resort' for March although Montalbert (1350m) as a lower resort is fine with its high speed gondola directly up to Fornelet at 1980m. Which was a real bonus when it rained for 48 hours this Christmas! (Of course another bonus of a lower resort is the shorter drive up from the valley.)

PS. On the car choice - which car seats are the most comfortable for a 9 hour drive across France....

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Thanks all. Taking it all in and listening to everything. Looks like the Scenic is the clear winner then. @boredsurfin, Much of a muchness to be fair. The Evoque has heated front seats, which is glorious, but that's about it for edging it really.

Lots to think about, including which part of La Plagne to stay in.

I've no qualms about downloading at the end of the day. The resort we've visited twice in Austria is only served by a black back to the village, so it's something we're used to anyway. At Christmas, that run was closed, so everyone was doing it.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You will always be able to ski back to Les Coches.

It's the connection to and from the Vanoise Express.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@Layne, +1

After all it is free

@Owlette, Oooh, that's odd. We're doing a family trip in Feb half term to Grand Massif for first time.

But it feels ages away still (we're 18 December week) so I'm not worried. Who knows what'll happen. Not sure why your friends have bailed so early?

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Probably not worth forking out on winters for one trip, chains do the job well when needed.

I would also go with Christmas as its sooner and its lovely being away somewhere snowy at that time of year. Its not too busy in Paradiski Xmas week usually and there will be things going on in the evenings etc.

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Well the answer is both of course Toofy Grin

Like La Plagne lots of lovely cruisy runs, I’d also go Easter. Better weather for sitting out for lunch.

As for the car tricky one - I like RR but Scenic May give you better room

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@Owlette, This March is always closer Toofy Grin

I bet theres some bargains to be had.....

I would go on both . I love Christmas in the alps and it is good to be out of the UK. Easter skiing is just good. One thing not really mentioned is that Easter will be a lot quieter. The school holidays are not until the end of April/ early May and the french don't generally go skiing over Easter anyway.

As to the car - almost all carswill cope fine. The scenic will be my choice. I'd put comfort and fuel consumption over 4 wheel drive every time,

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Can't comment on La Plagne conditions between the two ends of the season (although we are going at Easter) but if you took the RR, it does provide entertainment for those behind you in more sensible sized cars trying not to kerb it getting on the Eurotunnel! And I do love laughing at all the massive cars kerbing it. Plus if everyone drove slightly smaller cars am quite sure, they'd be able to get more cars on the train thereby avoiding overbooking scenarios.

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I constant marvel at the contra-Tardis nature of some of those big cars. I walk past massive ones parked up my road, on the way to the shops. Socking great wheel arches, socking great wheels, very bulky design, but the insides don't look any bigger than "ordinary" cars. I don't think many have as much room as our old Cortina Estate - or something like a Skoda Octavia estate now.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Much as I dislike Range Rovers, it's surely a much more comfortable drive for long distances than a Renault Scenic, and 4WD makes a big difference in snow, at least from the traction point of view even if it doesn't help with braking. It doesn't make any sense to buy a car like that then not use it a situation for which it's well suited.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

I normally ski in the middle of January & have skied Paradiski 3 times, twice staying in les Coches. Looking at a late March trip this year and just got this response today from the chalet hosts we stayed with.
“Snow - we can normally ski back to Les Coches till mid April so you should be ok. It does get a little slushy on the lower slopes from 3.30/4pm.”
Hope that helps.

I love skiing in La Plagne, but wouldn't stay there - especially for Christmas. In fact we also rule out Val Tho on the same grounds. It obviously depends on what you're after (parties, quiet village, just skiing?) but for a family xmas Tignes was a better balance for us last time. With friends, because we still love Paradiski after all, I'd vote for a stay in Les Arcs (Peisey Vallandry) and hop to La Plagne for a day or two.

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(I've always ruled out 1950 from our xmas shortlist because I've once seen it empty and without snow and it had that Westworld feeling...)

Help!!

La Plagne. Christmas or Easter? And which car to take?!

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