 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello! First time posting here. As title says I will be spending the coming winter season in the alps. Currently looking at les 3 vallees and I have accommodation booked there for 4 months. The place I'll be staying at is about 30 minutes from Les Allues and 40 minutes from Saint Martin de Belleville. The plan is to ski from opening to closing time most days.
My questions are:
How is the parking situation in Les Allues and Saint Martin? Is it easy to find free parking spots?
Is it worth taking the Brides les bains gondola up to meribel, or is driving and then taking shuttle buses preferable?
What months are the worst in terms of activity?
I am perfectly fine driving 40 minutes every day, but if anyone has any tips on accommodation higher up in the resort it would be appreciated. What worries me most is consistently finding parking spots, especially when the resort gets more crowded.
Thanks alot!
Adam
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Bankabonk,
Welcome to Snowheads.
I'd always advise anyone doing a season to stay in resort. That way you experience the seasonnaire vibe, and you ate able to find people to ski with.
I can't comment on the parking situation in the 3Vs, but regarding you commute:-
How accurate are those drive times? Do they take into account such issues as roads closed for the winter, weather etc? If you could post details of your planned route(s) it would help people answer. It would also allow advice about well know 'pinch points'.
One thing will be certain is that day of the week will be influential. Saturdays will be the busiest on the roads, followed by Sunday.
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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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@Bankabonk, do you have a particular reason for wanting to stay so far away?
I skied a few times with someone who did a season based in the valley (in this case, Passy, aiming to ski the Chamonix valley) 30-40mins drive from the skiing. He was an hour late whenever it was a powder day…
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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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If you are not a Schengen resident you will need a Long Stay Tourist Visa for a 4 month stay.
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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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@Kenzie,
Hi, thanks for the reply!
If I end up finding accommodation up in the resort I will definitely choose that over my current apartment, but it is very expensive without a job that comes with accommodation.
With the info I found on the resorts website the travel times should be accurate, granted there will definitely be a lot of traffic when holidays kick in. Most of the way is on a straight 3 lane highway and then it's a winding road up to the resorts, however this road also looks decent. It's also not very far... About 4 miles to les allues from the main highway. All this is information I found from their website, but I honestly don't know how the reality is, other than looking at the roads through google maps. My apartment is in La Bathie if that helps anyone that has experience with this area.
Basically the route will be: La Bathie -> Moutiers -> Les Allues or Les Belleville, then I will take a ski bus/gondola from there.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Sun 28-05-23 18:26; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Driving up on a Saturday morning isn't usually too bad. There is plenty of free parking in Les Menuires, don't know about the Meribel valley these days.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Sun 28-05-23 18:26; edited 1 time in total
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@snowdave,
Really the only reason is that I can't find accommodation at an affordable price anywhere else.
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@rjs,
Sounds good! Did you ever have problems with the roads closing due to poor weather conditions?
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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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@Bankabonk, the St Martin main “Le cochet” car park is currently free, and there is also parking in dedicated spots on the side of the main road just above the centre of the resort. If you are there by 9am you should be fine to get a spot and in low season weeks it’s fine all day. I’d say the car park is busier on Saturdays than it used to be. NY and the 4 weeks of half term (from Sat 10th Feb 2024) are the busiest.
The main road up is usually fine, but obviously you need to be prepared for bad weather. It takes 30 mins to drive up from Moutiers. On occasions of really bad weather the road can close. It’s rare, but never say never!
There is also free parking in Les Menuires up the road beyond the centre of town, also a couple of car parks on the VT road just below Les Men so you ski a few metres down to the La Masse lift and other lifts that back up above Les Men.
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It is quite difficult to find accommodation in resort, and even more reasonably priced one.
La Bathie, to me, is quite far away though still and would not be my decision.
Look at Le Bon Coin and the resort Facebook groups. Even if you do decide to be in the valley there should be a number of options a lot closer to the resort.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Not sure there is any great advantage to starting in Les Allues over Brides les Bains. For maybe half the season, or more, the piste to Les Allues is shut so you need bus or gondola to get back. If getting the gondola you might as well stay on it all the way down to Brides, and save the multi-hairpin drive up and down.
Meribel is a bit more central than St Martin for covering 3V as a whole. But of course you are not restricted to the same starting point every day, so you can swap around.
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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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One advantage is you could use different access points depending on where you were skiing that day.
Having said that I would rather be directly in resort and not have a car.
Will the car have winters/snow chains/be reliable?
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You know it makes sense.
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@JulieAimeLeSki, Thanks for the tip! I am a member of a few facebook groups, but I didn't know about le bon coin. Will take a look after work
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@ecureuil, My thinking is I will get to ski more and stay in resort longer by driving up to Les Allues, since the buses that run from there close a lot later than the gondola to brides. I imagine the lines to the gondola might get pretty long at closing hours aswell. How is it in your experience?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Agree reliability is important; don't underestimate what repeated driving up and down mountain roads takes out on the mechanics (engine, gears/clutch, brakes, wipers etc). But the option of being able to start from Brides les Bains, or even Orelle, on days when snow has fallen / is forecast, might mean you can avoid much of the hassle, and perhaps hours of delay in jams, from adding or removing chains.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Bankabonk, fair point about closing times, if you really want to extract every possible minute of skiing. But unless you ski slowly I'm not sure it will make that much difference. Most other uplift closes before 17:00, so people are generally back at the Chaudanne by 17:30 when the Olympe gondola closes (?). If you are driving back to LA Bathie every day I guess you won't be hanging around resort for apres.
But you have the flexibility to see how long lines are at different points in the season, and change your plans from day to day as needed.
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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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| Bankabonk wrote: |
| @ecureuil, My thinking is I will get to ski more and stay in resort longer by driving up to Les Allues, since the buses that run from there close a lot later than the gondola to brides. I imagine the lines to the gondola might get pretty long at closing hours aswell. How is it in your experience? |
We've taken the gondola to Brides a few times (about 20) over recent years and have always walked straight on a few minutes before closing time. Never seen a queue there.
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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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@Bankabonk,
Have had a look on google maps for la Baithie, have you considered Bourg St Maurice? Also down the mountain and about the same drive time to 3Vs ( though access via Courchevel side), but with the advantage that if the driving looks sketchy (traffic and/or snow) you could just take the funicular up to Paradiski.
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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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For cheap apartment in Brides Les Bains contact https://le-plein-sud.fr/ they used to offer special rates for long stays.
In my experience the drive up from Brides takes almost as long as the gondola and parking in Meribel is, from memory, all paid.
When comparing costs for accommodation don't forget the cost of travelling every day
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Bankabonk, would probably help if you said what you're paying for your 4 months in La Bathie when talking about budgets? Looking on le bon coin, it could be as little as €500/month? If so, that's way less than any usual 3V resort price or the usual seasonaire hangouts of St Bon or Bozel so not much point in people saying try to get closer if that's all you've got available. As a benchmark, I know La Tania well and the going rate there is around €8,500 for a small season rental. Personally, I'd get sick of it but I can see why you're driving if those numbers are close to reality.
For most of the season, driving to Les Allues or further up to Raffort would be my vote. Both are the mid stations for the Brides gondola but as you've rightly worked out, they're on the free bus route, Brides isn't. I think the traffic will likely flow better to Les Allues than St M but the drive to St M or better still, Les Menuires, is fun in the spring and you can park within 100m of the Les Menuires croisette for free if you're early. With both the Meribel and Belleville valleys, you can always ski all the way home as long as you're at the top of one of the ridges at lift closing time. Think I'm right in saying that the buses in the Belleville valley are for pedestrians only between resorts so you'll have to ski back but the buses in the Meribel valley are all ski buses so you have the choice.
The benefit of Raffort over Les Allues is that you have a much better chance of skiing back to your car. Both LA and Raffort have free car parks at the gondola but the Raffort one is right opposite the piste and even if it's marked closed, you can almost certainly still hack your way back. I wouldn't risk that with the LA piste being marked closed, it's a walk to the gondola anyway and you'll likely end up in a grass field above the village. The Raffort car park is only half the size of Les Allues so in peak season you might not find room. It tends to attract a lot of Meribel seasonaire cars which limit the number of day tripper spaces but for early and late season (or Jan) it would be good.
Google says it's 30 mins to LM from La Bathie and that's probably fair when it's quiet and the roads are clear but you'll need to allow a lot more time in snow. Also be aware that there are anti-pollution traffic lights on the dual carriageway between Albertville and Moutiers. If they're on, the tailbacks are 5-10km but that's usually peak transfer times only so you should avoid them on an early start. Going home should be alright. Make sure you've got winter or good all-season tyres so you're not messing around with chains every day. The only 3 lane highway is through Albertville itself and limited to 90kmh with speed cameras, the rest is dual carriageway or single lane with no cameras so you can drive like a Savoyard 
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@Bankabonk, can't you use a virtual account (CallHippo or similar) to obtain a French number so you can register and make contact? Once you're in France, you can get a French SIM from a post office vending machine.
For €850/month I think you'll get into Brides, Bozel or St Bon, maybe Les Allues. Much better to be the 3V side of Moutiers than La Bathie, and on the bus service (or Brides gondola). Only thing I'm not sure of is whether the apartment rates currently showing on leboncoin are summer rates rather than winter rates but I guess you've got to ask the question and see how you go.
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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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I would drive up to Les Allues or Raffort and get the bus or bubble from there. Another option is Meribel Village car park and the golf chair. If you go from Bride the bubble stops running at like 5pm ish.
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@Bankabonk, lots of good advice already. I do wonder if you might end up a bit lonely being 40 mins down the road from the skiing.
Bear in mind that 4-5 month ski season only accommodation is in short supply/high demand. If you can wing your way onto the Valley Echo facebook page (an english speaking facebook community for expats, seasonaires etc covering the 3V from the resorts themselves to the towns in the valley bottom)- https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevalleyecho , it might be worth posting your search for accommodation.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We rented in resort, in La Plagne, for the past 2 winter seasons. We will do this again 1 more winter season. In my La Plagne experience : Rental prices ski in ski out start at 600 euros per month for 13-15m2 to 1100 euros per month for 30+ m2. If you're willing to distance yourself up to 15 minutes on the free ski bus route (but not ski in ski out), similar rental prices but for bigger places.
Good luck with the searching and planning ! Exciting 
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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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| Bankabonk wrote: |
@Kenzie,
Hi, thanks for the reply!
My apartment is in La Bathie if that helps anyone that has experience with this area.
Basically the route will be: La Bathie -> Moutiers -> Les Allues or Les Belleville, then I will take a ski bus/gondola from there. |
And la Bathie is excellent for scoring hard drugs
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You know it makes sense.
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@Je suis un Skieur, Checked le bon coin and yep, lots of studios for good prices. Will try to setup a virtual phone number, though I've got no clue how. Hopefully the internet has the answer
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@Je suis un Skieur,
Hey, got leboncoin to work.
Do you think it's fine if I send messages to hosts in english or would it be better to message in french?
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Bankabonk, if you don't speak french then use a tool like google translate. I'd send BOTH versions to be sure, and include an apology for using said tool!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Bankabonk, as @nbt said, definitely in French. Explain that French is not your first language so it's easier to use Google translate as a courtesy. The French can be quite formal about these things so a little effort to use some of their language goes a long way. Always use Bonjour and Cordialement rather than Hi and Regards. They also rarely use first names in communication unless they already know you well. You'll probably find that in places like Brides, most landlords do speak English and will reply in English but in the smaller villages they'll reply in French.
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