Short break flying into Geneva

A snowHead

Hi all

We’re planning a Mon-Fri trip next March and looking for recommendations please.

Criteria:-
In France
Short(ish) transfer
Good apres ski… (first trip without the kids)
Don’t mind if not ski in/out but don’t want a lot of walking (use of buses are fine though)
Access to large ski area (both experienced skiers)

Thanks all
LB

A snowHead

Chamonix.

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

Verbier

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Who do people so often say “in France” while asking for advice on where to go skiing, especially when flying into Geneva? Why discount anywhere else, like say the country you are landing in?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@zikomo,

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@Zikomo probably due to the vast difference in cost between resorts in france v switzerland

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@zikomo, Why I suggested Verbier wink

After all it is free

@zikomo, because traveling to Italy, Austria or Andorra from Geneva doesn't make a whole heap of sense, and Swissy is eye wateringly expensive.

Also, France is quite nice, innit.

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@Dr John, isn't Courmayeur a very short transfer? It seemed it when I flew into Geneva to go there.

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@sugarmoma666, correct, and very lovely it is too (but please don't burst my facetious bubble with cold hard facts)

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You know it makes sense.

@snowdave, quite, and it would be a fairly miserable 2 hours.

@leeboy, sacrifice your short transfer requirement and go to Val d'Isere (yes, I am biased). Ticks all your other boxes, with bells on. You won't regret it.

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

The Switzerland is 'eye-wateringly expensive' thing is something of a cliché. Just like Vail, or Courcheval 1850 you can do it on a budget, or you can do it at a premium, with options in-between.

You can find cheaper winter holidays in the Alps and you can find more expensive. You can get caught paying much more then you expected to if you are unlucky, anywhere. You can get caught at any resort if you don't check the prices at some of the restaurants and bars beforehand.

More useful advice to the OP than writing-off an entire country would be to say that in the last two seasons, a lot of people have got caught out booking cheap flights first, only to find the cost of car rental or transfer to their chosen destination is a big shock. Or that their flight times don't coincide with cheaper transfer schedules. Or that another destination accessible by public transport would have worked out cheaper overall. Or that equipment rental is pricey. And so on. So it's a good idea to cost out all the holiday elements up in parallel first, before booking those flights.

A snowHead

@LaForet, wise words
My DIY trip this week ticked a lot of value boxes, but when considering resort options I toyed with the Aosta Valley ex GVA until I saw the price of the Mont Blanc Tunnel.

A snowHead

I agree with @LaForet, that it is wrong to assume that Switzerland is always more expensive than elsewhere. For quite a few years it was cheaper for us to ski in Sass Fee than many places in France because we have a lot of kids and they had a generous free ski pass for kids policy (despite having one of the most expensive adult passes). That policy changed but on a like for like basis I still don't find it more expensive. The key point being like for like.

Added to that, budget was not one of the criteria mentioned by the OP. There are plenty of places in Switzerland that are a relatively quick and easy transfer from GVA. Seems odd to discount all of them. As others have said Italy is also an option, although I accept the Mont Blanc tunnel can be a bit of a gamble!

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

For whatever reason the OP gave criteriea which can be fulfilled within their list easily.

There's nothing wrong with any country to ski in, but in this case the question is just about France, surely it's up to no-one else to impose anything in contradiction.

Agree that looking at a trip holistically is perfectly valid, will change based on circumstances like paying for a family or single etc, etc to put something interesting together. But here they've stated France, in which there are choices aplenty grouped close to Geneva and fitting the remit.

Can't they have their choice discussed ? There's nothing wrong with it Very Happy

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@leeboy, Morzine based on your description sounds like it ticks the most of those boxes.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Wow

Thank you to those offering advice on my request, I will look into the resort’s recommended.

Also, No assumptions were made, we priced up Swiss skiing and unfortunately I’m not a lottery winner so ruled that out, it was much more expensive and out of our price range, some serious Swiss love in here!!!!
Cliche???? No, facts, at least for us.

If you can afford to Swiss ski, good luck to you….

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No need to choose now , it’s March next year there will be plenty of flights and hotels to choose from, look where the snow is good nearer the time , why Geneva , might be an idea to look at Turin also . Car hire is cheaper and there are many resorts under two away to choose from . A friend of mine arranged a weekday trip to La Thuille 7 days before departure at a very reasonable rate last week , equally last week you could also pick up sensible Mon/Fri returns to Geneva for under £70 from Luton .

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@leeboy, you're a bit unspecific.

Shortish transfer - how long is tolerable? Assuming you are talking 60-90 min you've got Morzine/Porte du Soleil, Flaine/Grand Massif, Chamonix Valley, St Gervais/Megeve/Evasion Mont Blanc, Aravis resorts (La Clusaz, Grand Bornand etc), Les Saisies/Espace Diamant around that limit.

Good apres ski - what sort of thing? If you are looking for Dutchmen dancing on the tables to cheesy pop in their ski boots, you might be disappointed. Everywhere has perfectly pleasant bars though. If you want nice restaurants, you are probably best going for one of the resorts that are not on the tour operator lists.

Large ski area - how large? And all lift connected? Porte du Soleil is on paper the biggest, but in practice the headline number includes the Les Gets-Pleney area (needs a bus across Morzine to access from the rest) as well as several smaller disconnected areas. The Chamonix Valley is really a collection of smaller areas on the same lift pass (and Les Houches which irritatingly has its own lift pass) needing bus or train connections. Evasion Mont Blanc has a reasonable sized central area which is lift-connected but the lift pass includes other areas that need buses. If you think 200 km lift-connected will do you then Porte du Soleil, Grand Massif, Evasion Mont Blanc and Espace Diamant (just) are possibilities, but if you are prepared to travel to different areas within the same region there are more options.

If you look at all these and narrow your choice to one or two candidates, there are plenty of people here with good local knowledge to answer questions.

After all it is free

Request for resort recommendations are often something of a Q&A because the OP either doesn't mention a lot of criteria or isn't certain about them. So that's why SnowHeads often reply with suggestions outside the criteria set initially. Someone may be saying France because they are comfortable with the language, not realising that the Swiss Vaud and Valais are also French-speaking. Or they may say France because they've skiied France exclusively, and feel they have a measure of which resorts do and don't suit. So it's always useful to know why a specific country or region is specified, and what the budget is, and all the other things mentioned, if possible. No transfer from GVA is short, really, so it's a matter of degree and a specific 'no more than x in a car' would help a lot. Similarly, are you carrying your own kit or renting in the resort? If the latter then you might be much more inclined to get the train if it's cheaper or you like the idea of not going through the rental circus. Do you have constraints about the flight time (e.g. flying out in the late afternoon after work) or can you be completely flexible? Are there resorts you've already skied in France which you particularly liked or disliked? Etc. The more we know, the more relevant the advice will be, and the forum is exceptionally good at providing advice about specific resorts.

And re. Switzerland the only thing that I would concede is definitely disproportionately more expensive is instruction. For various reasons, it's very pricey. But you can as easily price Courcheval 1850 so expensively that if you took that as the measure, you'd be discounting France, based on an unrepresentative case.

@leeboy, …don’t rule out CH….

Hire car from Geneva - swiss side will be fully winterised
Quick drive - 2,5 hours to excellent Valais results
Air B&B in Vercorin, Chandolin or any small village resort in Val D’Anniviers or Val D’Rechy - cheap
Food on the hill about the same or less than 3 Valleys
Hidden gems
Around 58gbp for a day pass

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When in March? France best avoided before the end of the French school holidays on 10 March.

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You know it makes sense.

@ski3, we have met dancing Dutchmen in France, I recall a pop version of Verdi's "Va Pensero" which they all sang along to. But I associate it more with Austria.

I think cracking walnuts is all about the technique, I remember my brother-in-law doing it as a party trick many years (decades!) ago. If I had any walnuts to hand I would see if I can recall how it was done and enlighten everyone.

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

You need two, and squeeze them together. We all used to do it, not as a party trick, but when sitting round the Christmas table with a bowl of nuts and fighting over the only nutcrackers. Cracking Brazil nuts with bare hands would be a much more impressive trick.

As for "apres ski", it means absolutely nothing. It's like when people say they want somewhere which is good for "non skiers". Puzzled

A snowHead

A snowHead

In mentioning non-skiers I was responding to the reasonable point by @LaForet that people who ask "what resort" questions are often rather vague about their requirements. The chat about cracking nuts is just typical Snowheads thread drift. And if you make a blanket assertion, like Switzerland is only for lottery winners, you can expect some push-back.

You said you wanted "apres ski" because first holiday without kids, but not what you want to do apres. I doubt if there's a resort in the Alps which doesn't offer you some possibilities. One man's idea of apres ski is another man's idea of hell. What do you want to do? My ideal would be to go back to a comfy apartment and sit in my base layers with at least two large mugs of tea, then have a shower and an "apéro" before going out for a quiet drink in an attractive bar with any background music down at a level which permits conversation followed by romantic dinner in a restaurant. Others enjoy a few hours in a noisy piste-side bar, getting pissed with their boots on in an atmosphere so noisy you can't even talk to your partner, and staggering back to a hotel where someone will give them dinner without them having to think about it.

,

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

Was it the walnuts @leeboy, Laughing

Everyone

knows the right answer is Chamonix, jump onto the train easy, or usually busses going that way too. Epic scenery, many different aspect to ski, great atmosphere, very very good variety of evening places in town, everything you could need for a free-n-easy 4/5 day getaway. Dont even have to travel far to participate.

Very Happy

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Chamonix a good shout, but not in French school holidays. More flexibility on non-standard week's accommodation than many French resorts.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

So has @leeboy, flounceoed off then? Some people ...

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

This morning I was skiing just like a Swiss millionaire, in Switzerland on a near empty mountain.
We were skiing some delightful cold powder putting down fresh lines to our hearts content.
I am not and never will be a Millionaire, I just know where to find millionaire conditions.
Have a fabulous time in France.

After all it is free

Should have confessed@leeboy, I am from Chester.

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@leeboy You say you’re booked now, so out of interest where did you decide on? It’s always nice to get feedback. Whatever you may think about Helvetiphiles, most of the advice is given in a genuine spirit of trying to help.

Help!!

Short break flying into Geneva

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