 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
Has anyone got any experience and/or advice about travelling with Snow Express, the coach service that runs from London Victoria to the alps?
I am travelling with them soon enough, and was wondering about their carry on luggage rules. "1 small piece of hand luggage" is how they describe it. My boot bag is one of those where your boots fit together almost "ying and yang" style, in a rucksack that can also fit a laptop. Do you reckon I could get on with this to prevent them slamming around in the hold?
Any other advice regarding travelling with them welcome.
I will be sure to share my experience after travelling!
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Overall this coach experience was seamless and if you're trying to budget your ski holiday it is a very sensible option imo.
The bus was a single-decker with an overhead storage shelf that could easily fit my rucksack (not a huge one, maybe 25l) as well as my helmet and ski jacket. There definitely would have been enough room for my briefcase-style boot bag overhead too, but I decided against it, even though the drivers didn't seem to care if I would have tried bringing it on (he almost seemed surprised when I handed him my boot bag to put in the hold).
Seats were plenty comfy, and reclined a bit - they also had decent enough leg room. For reference I am quite leggy at 187cm and there were a good few cm between my knees and the seat in front (even whilst reclined).
There were both USB type A ports and UK 3 pin sockets hidden between each chair and there was also Wi-Fi available - the Wi-Fi was a miss for me, couldn't get things to load when I was connected so this might be a problem if your phone contract isn't great with roaming charges.
Nobody weighed or measured luggage as it went in, so I am sure if you're not taking the absolute mick with suitcase/ bag size you can get away with being a bit larger than their stated sizes.
I guess real thing that swung it was that I managed to sleep for a good few hours, which made the journey breeze past. If you know you absolutely cannot sleep when travelling it could possibly feel like a slog... Usually, however, I am said person who cannot sleep, so who knows! Their "quiet at night" policy definitely helped; this definitely wasn't a party bus.
Positives: - Skis, boots, suitcase and hand luggage are all included in the price.
- The price gets you direct from central London (or Folkestone) to your resort or the bottom of the mountain, depending on where you are going. Fewer transfers/legs to the journey makes it seem much less stressful, in my opinion.
- The price!
Cons: - Could be a slog if you sleep badly OR if you hit half term road traffic.
- The local bus transfer people were a bit confused by my ticket provided by snow express, as it didn't have a barcode. The driver was fine and let me on regardless, but I did worry if they'd have pushed back if the bus was at all full.
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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?
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@Ruswit, great info, thanks!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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That looks very good. I have booked to fly by air this holiday. Snow Express doesn't list Les Deux Alpes (or Alpe D'Huez, Serre Chevalier and La Grave, come to that) where I am going as usual. But next year it may be time for a change.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I'll definitely be considering them again. Although it takes a few hours longer, everything was just painless in comparison to flying, particularly the luggage situation. Having to only worry about dragging your luggage around once, prior to getting to the resort, was lovely.
If the Eurostar snow train service ever starts up again (i.e not the current situation of only booking a package deal with crystal ski), that would be the main competition in my mind.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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This is very interesting. Seems like the coach service that skiweekends used to offer. We took that twice heading to Brides Le Bains. However I dont remember the journey times bing that long. I used to remember leaving Fri evening and arriving Sat morning. Looking at their website a lot of the travel times are 14+hours!
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@turboblackbeard, Bizzarely, P&O cancelled our ferry so we had to wait around in dover for an extra 1.5 minimum, yet we still arrived on time at Moutiers from what I can tell, as I made my transfer up the mountain.
I'm not sure if they factor in big delays into their estimated travel times, because we somehow turned around a fairly hefty deficit.
Do you recall if you took the tunnel or the ferry in the past?
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how long did it take?
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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.
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@Ruswit, when I travelled with skiweekends we went via Eurotunnel, which would explain the better transit times.
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@Mother hucker, It was quite long to be fair, around 17-18 hours to get to Moutiers. The bus then goes on to stop at Aime, then Bourg and then up to Tignes.
This included us arriving at dover 3 hours earlier than our ferry departed (due to cancellation), obviously you still need to arrive with decent enough leeway, so maybe 1-1.5 hours would be shaved off normally?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Ruswit wrote: |
@Mother hucker, It was quite long to be fair, around 17-18 hours to get to Moutiers. The bus then goes on to stop at Aime, then Bourg and then up to Tignes.
This included us arriving at dover 3 hours earlier than our ferry departed (due to cancellation), obviously you still need to arrive with decent enough leeway, so maybe 1-1.5 hours would be shaved off normally? |
Hi @Ruswit
How much was the return fare in 2022/23 season? Booking is not yet open for 2023/24, I am considering this route instead of motorhome in Caravaneige type sites.
Thanks
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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.
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| Deveron53 wrote: |
| Ruswit wrote: |
@Mother hucker, It was quite long to be fair, around 17-18 hours to get to Moutiers. The bus then goes on to stop at Aime, then Bourg and then up to Tignes.
This included us arriving at dover 3 hours earlier than our ferry departed (due to cancellation), obviously you still need to arrive with decent enough leeway, so maybe 1-1.5 hours would be shaved off normally? |
Hi @Ruswit
How much was the return fare in 2022/23 season? Booking is not yet open for 2023/24, I am considering this route instead of motorhome in Caravaneige type sites.
Thanks |
I paid £181.50 for a return for 1 person. Included all baggage + skis. Prices were a fair bit more expensive a week later during the UK half term, however, flights etc are also a lot worse too.
My price also included a local transfer in the cost, so depending on where exactly you go, it might vary a bit.
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