Advice please - Driving to alps with the kids

A snowHead

Evening all,

We're thinking of booking a week's break on Dec 28th and potentially staying lower in the valley somewhere like Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Having not driven to the alps before I'm wondering if anyone has advice on how best to approach it with 3 young lads in tow.

Our current plan is to set off from Cardiff early morning to catch the 8am (ish) euro tunnel. We would then drive to Reims, spend an hour or so there, then drive down Dijon and overnight there. Set off next morning from Dijon, drive to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, unpack, sort our ski hire to be ready to ski Monday. We'd ski all week including the Saturday and head straight from the slopes back to Dijon, overnight there and drive back home Sunday.

How does this all sound?

I've read a few post and am already consider getting one of the automated thingys for the tolls to speed up the French motorway section.

Thanks

A snowHead

@tomb, how old are the "young lads"?

Is the wife/another going/sharing the driving or are you driving solo?

Do you have all weather or winter tyres? Do you have snow chains?

Will you or the "young lads" be doing lessons?

Why are you staying in the valley?

Have you considering driving overnight?

That week is one of the busiest of the season in case you are not aware.

Not sure why you are spending "an hour or so" in Reims. It's a lovely place but driving into it and parking on what will be a busy Saturday - just for an hour or two, doesn't seem worth it to me.

Most accommodation will be Sat to Sat obviously - and you will have to ensure you can check in on the Sunday.

Other than that the plan seems OK.

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

@tomb, When our son was young we always drove overnight. He'd fall asleep shortly after we set off and wake up somewhere around Albertville. Even now as an adult he sleeps most of the way, only waking up to collect and pay toll tickets. Now we tend to do the journey during the day, setting off from the midlands about 04:30 and getting to Les Arcs about 20:30. I don't see the point in an overnight stop. It just makes the journey last forever. If you catch the 08:00 tunnel you can easily get to Bourg st Maurice by 20:00.

The autoroute transciever saves about 2 minutes on the journey but does stop me having to nudge my sleeping son at the toll booths. Like most French people I don't bother with it.

An important question - how many of you will be sharing the driving. My wife and me share it - 3 hours on 3 hours off with the slight exception of the drive to the tunnel in the UK which can easily be 4 hours.

If you want to stop in Rheims then park up just off the Autoroute and get the train into the centre of town. If you want to stop off for some sight seeing Troyes is a much nicer town.

The hard part of the drive is getting to the channel tunnel in England Drving on the French autoroutes is much easier. Put the cruise control at 130 and just steer, (don't let the lane control take complete control)

Talking books or podcasts are essential.

Joint01

You should consider breaking up the drive further by adding an extra overnight stop between Dijon and Bourg-Saint-Maurice, especially since it’s a long haul and traveling with kids can be exhausting and maybe packing essentials like snacks, games, and travel pillows will keep the kids comfortable during the long drive

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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@tomb, I wouldn’t stay somewhere in the valley with young kids. I’d stay right next to the lift and ski school, with snow outside my door.

Do you really want to walk to the funicular each morning in full ski kit, commute to the resort, walk to ski school, discover you’ve left a glove in the apartment and someone needs a wee…

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

We have been loads with little kids. Now made much easier now they are tweens.

This is our route…

Home Salisbury - to Eurotunnel - Calais - always factor in 6 hours to get to Calais
If a full Friday travelling - travel all the way to Dijon to get there for 6/7pm dinner
If a half day travelling or mid morning travel to Troyes for an overnight
Saturday Dijon to BSM really easy and loads of time to shop / get skis.
Troyes to BSM is tighter - will need to leave early to get shopping in.

Would recommend lots of travel activities and just don’t worry about how much screen time.

On the way back we always stopped in Reims - would easily get there for dinner and bed. Now we drive all the way home - we don’t need to stop much for breaks and get home around 10pm.

I would also suggest staying in resort right next to slopes and lessons. It a hassle as it is carrying stuff. You are also risking 1600 at that time of year. Last year it was quite slushy down at 1600 - you might it better being in 1800 or 1950.

After all it is free

Your plan is mostly sound. We will be travelling the same week with kids. 12 years and 10. Have been doing the drive the last 4 years sometimes twice a year.
Dijon is fine to stop on the way down.
I would try and make it to Troyes on the return as it makes a shorter trip to the tunnel the next morning.
Troyes is also much nicer than reims

Not sure what's behind your idea of an hour or 2 in Reims, I'm guessing lunch and a leg stretch? If so I'd actually suggest either stopping 90min earlier in Saint-Quentin or 2hr later in Troyes.

Reims is nice enough but very much about Champagne tasting - a Champagne tourist prices. Also I don't remember it being great for parking.

Saint-Quentin is much smaller/less touristy but a nice stop, reasonable for parking, and a nice, pedestrianised main square with loads of restaurants.

Troyes is bigger but a huge car park up the middle of a boulevard in the centre and loads of shops/restaurants a short walk from there.

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no ones mentioned the traffic getting in to the tarentasie valley. Be wise to that one.
Everyone's got the right way of driving down with everyone else's being unbelievably wrong.

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Sound advice there, except a second overnight stop but I was a bit confused about your timing. Will your overnight in Dijon be Saturday night? Hotels will be stuffed with Brits driving down - do book well in advance. You will not be able to do 130 all the way. We drove down last Christmas and there were a LOT of traffic jams or very slow progress. New Year will be worse. The telepéage doofer is useful, but makes little overall difference. And if it's wet, of course, the speed limit is less than 70!

An hour's stop at Reims is (as advised) pointless. Two shorter stops, at motorway aires, for a break (some have kids play areas) would be better.

Personally I would drive overnight but I recognise that's not for everybody.

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Having done the journey ( starting at London at 7am using the ferry ) a few times I always go via Luxembourg and stay overnight in Metz getting to Bourg the next evening so if you are getting to france at 9am you should be able to get much further south than I, with 2 drivers you could make it in a day...If you are hiring skis there is a large ski hire shop by the funicular ..its either hire there or leave your skis in the depository there at extra cost as it is a fair walk from the town

You know it makes sense.

We don't know, do we, that these are beginners?

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

A snowHead

A snowHead

we drive but now to Austria. we leave home 1am(nottingham) for a 6ish crossing(always on the friday). We drive to leave us 3hrs driving in the morningto the resort. Start driving at 4am to miss all the traffic, grab some breakfast drop bags at hotel and ready to ski on the 1st morning.

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I've driven a lot to the Alps, but never before this last journey on a busy holiday weekend (because driving with entire family in education!). I was surprised at the jams we encountered well north of the Tarentaise valley. And the big queues in the "aires" for petrol and ladies' toilets! We planned the journey to be driving up the mountain (to Les Saisies) about 6 - 7 pm, after the main rush. Driving to Dijon on the Saturday and completing the journey (very easily) on Sunday is a good plan, though it involves "wasting" a day of a 7 day Sat/Sat rental. Skiing the final Saturday is also a good plan too, avoiding the lemming rush out of resort in the morning.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

When our son was at school and one’s wife and one were working full time we would leave after work on the Friday getting to the resort early Saturday mornings ski that Saturday and the following Saturday. Then drive back overnight getting 8 days skiing and missing most of the traffic.

Now we drive midweek to midweek and do the journey during a single day. The target is to get to les arcs before the pizzeria closes and home before about 2. We do the drive about 3 times a year though sometimes fly to Geneva for trips of less than a week.

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Remember this isn't summer, so if your Reims stop is just for sightseeing and a break, I'd skip that. It's going to be cold (hopefully) and possibly wet and get dark early afternoon.

We've done family overnight drives summer and winter and the trouble with the latter is it's dark and cold, with bad weather more likely, and you can't stop and have a nap or a longer break without the car getting cold very quickly.

With kids, all you usually want is to stop somewhere near to the autoroute. If you can afford it, somewhere with a pool would be a good way to relax and for the kids to burn off surplus energy. That's why we do Calais>Troyes then stop off at a motel (Le Val Moret) just off the autoroute. It's also good that the car is parked outside the room, rather than somewhere else on site, or in a public car park.

On the return journey, the overnight is a harder decision as of course, you gain an hour on the return crossing. But we're only 90minutes from Ashford and If I was further away, I'd endorse an overnight on the way back as well. We still overnight on the return as well, even 'though we don't drive with the kids any more.

We do have an autoroute tag for convenience. You don't need but it helps smooth out the journey, with no frantic searches for toll tickets etc.

We also carry a 5ℓ petrol can (this is permitted on LeShuttle) just in case. It's one of those with a honeycomb core for safety. Details in the blog link at the end.

In an ideal world, if money and convenience were no object, you'd have winter tyres or at least all-seasons on your car, and be carrying chains. Rather that start a drift around winter tyres I suggest you search the forum for threads on the topic, of which there are many.

Chains are a no-brainer as insurance for the possibility of really bad conditions and/or their mandatory fitting as directed by the Gendarmes. Cue the usual "I've been travelling to the Alps since the late Jurassic and never needed chains." but like all insurance, just because many people have never needed to claim doesn't mean the risk is absent. But you decide.

I've done a blog piece on our client website pages discussing Self-drive to the Swiss Alps: Preparation most of which is equally applicable to France and includes useful links.

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

If you can get Sunday-Sunday accommodation for New Year week that would avoid two of the busiest transfer days of the winter, and has much to commend it. If there is heavy snowfall which coincides with either of the Saturdays of that week it can be absolute carnage on the roads. However, as others have said, the majority of accommodation books on a Saturday-Saturday basis so you really must check that you can get Sunday-Sunday before you commit to your travel plans.

If you require ski school for your kids it might well be fully booked relatively early, so don’t leave that until too late. Some ski schools start classes on Sundays, so starting your skiing on the Monday might mean your kids miss the first day (and there won’t be a lesson on the Saturday at the end of your trip).

After all it is free

@tomb, if you can take your time, do so. Our most enjoyable trips with our children have been the ones where we've explored the rest of France too. Why not make that Reims visit an overnight one? Not worth it for a couple of hours, but I think the Christmas market carries on until NYE. It will be busy but there are park and rides, trams into the City, or a huge underground car park at Place D'Erlon. I wouldn't drive overnight because although kids may sleep, you won't, and a fractious, tired parent with excited kids aren't a good combination. We'd probably drive the rest of the way from there the following morning.

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You know it makes sense.

You will find very little choice of accommodation available by now (I booked for Christmas over a month ago, last minute plan, and there was little available). Car parking anywhere near lifts will be very busy too.

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

A snowHead

I drive to Alps from London many times every year like many on here. Our golden rule is when we stop along the motorway for a toilet stop, everyone goes to the toilet and I top up ten tank, even it’s its only 15 litres. Vice-versa if we stop for fuel. This seems to make the trip more efficient for us. Our kids 13 and 10 have iPads and messaging to friends to keep them occupied. I would sack off Reims and perhaps consider Chaumont as your overnight stop it’s before Dijon and has a good Ibis hotel with secure parking.

The big unknown are expected delays that will be caused by the new EU biometric collection that comes into force in November and suspect will cause chaos at the Dover and Folkestone.

A snowHead

I've driven to the French and Italian alps a few times for Feb half term with children from Colchester (according to Goggle Maps, 2.5 hours closer to Folkstone than from Cardiff).

When they were younger we'd drive overnight to avoid too many "are-we-there-yet"s, but even with two drivers it's hard on the the drivers. We took the Eurotunnel to avoid having to awake sleeping children to remove them from the car.

When they became older we found that overnighting in Macon (there are a few motels near the A6, just south of Macon) on the way down works, although the traffic on the second day can get pretty bad if you do not leave early. On the way back we stop in Troyes as it is close enough to Calais to be able to judge the timings reasonably well (although if skiing all day first then you would not get there early).

If you want accomodation for Sun-Sat it might be worth thinking of Italy (e.g. La Thuile) because they tend to be a bit more flexible about non-standard (i.e. not Sat-Sat) stays.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@tomb, Our 3 sons are all grown up now, and beginning to take their own children skiing. When they were small we did ski tips to the Alps in many different ways, several times a year, the majority being with the caravan in tow which made it easy to stop for a night en route if we wished, but sometimes we rented places.

The drives were never a problem, the boys often slept a lot, and once computer games and screens were a thing that was a bonus, though we learnt quickly to ban them once we got onto twisty mountain roads!

We`ve done the drive many times in one day, Including with the caravan in tow. Mr CvS was always happy with long drives and his favourite was leaving the UK via the tunnel late afternoon, stopping for a meal after a few hours, then driving to the end of the motorways. We`d sleep in an aire (only when we had the caravan) and drive to the resort early in the morning. Otherwise we mostly left the UK very early in the morning to get to the resort that evening. The worst of the traffic into resorts is usually during the afternoon on Saturdays.

We were often not close to ski lifts so chose to drive to the lifts at the ages yours are, rather than walk or take a free ski bus if one was available. The ski bus thing worked well when the boys were all old enough to return to base on their own (as a group) which meant they could do different skiing from us.

If you are driving to the ski lifts look for ones with large car parks, get there early, though sometimes being late in the day can work if early skiers have gone home. Consider being organised enough to drop one adult plus all the ski kit at the lifts whilst the other adult drives potentially quite a way to park. Or, sometimes you can do a deal with a ski rental shop next to the lifts,(sometimes there are lockers for hire too) to leave maybe your own boots there and their rented ski`s overnight so the walk from the car can be done in comfy footwear.

If you are going to drive to the lifts being a bit further away will likely give you better accommodation choices.

The road into and out of Bourg St Maurice can be a nightmare at peak times (do what you can to avoid busy times) and whilst there is lots of accommodation in the valley the parking at the bottom of the funiculaire up to Les Arcs gets very busy. The drive up the valley to the other Isere resorts does not take too long and we have always managed to find parking. Though to be fair its maybe 5 years since we last did that.

Have fun!

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At that sort of age my kids would have voted loudly and unanimously for a small and basic apartment with snow outside the door and a lift not far away over a more palatial place in the valley.

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

It sound like a reasonable plan

We did our first self-drive to Oz En Oisans at Easter (with another family with kids) and aside from the usual “when are we there”, it was just like any old long journey; loaded the iPads up with games/films, set up some playlists, and the wife and youngest sat in the back in a makeshift chez lounge (14yo sat up front with me and aside from paying tolls, just slept - useless co-pilot!! Very Happy

) always hard budgeting for kids’ attention levels in a long trip, thankfully enough rest stops on French motorways to break things up and get a leg stretch.

Early start from Rugby for a 10am tunnel and got us to Troyes for about 4:30pm, so I’d say your timings work.… can highly recommend it as a place to overnight because it’s a lovely place and there are plenty of accommodation options in the city, and on the outskirts. Plus, it’s not a million miles away from resort. In the anyone we did Reims and it’s okay, lots of touristy stuff, but it’s very much all about the champagne experience. Lots of city centre parking done through the EasyPark app, so you pay for what you use and not a fixed fee. You can get near the cathedral easily, that’s a really good place to visit for sure. But we’ve said if we self-drive again, we won’t revisit Reims, we preferred Troyes and fancy Dijon because it’s closer.

Main traffic queues we found on the way were at Vizelle where we did a shop (1hr from Bourg d’oisans) and further up the valley, but that was due to a crash. Traffic was heavy around Lyon but not standstill.

With young kids, I echo the thoughts in easy access to slopes; no matter how well we planned each day, we had countless forgotten gloves, over/underdressed and forgotten to go for a wee; being 100m from the lifts was a blessing, not sure I could have handled longer walks. Fortunately we had great accommodation but we’ve said that if it means going in something smaller, more bijou in future then for the sake of convenience we’ll do it.

After all it is free

@tomb, With Eurotunnel, you'll need to be there for 6am for an 8am crossing, which I guess means leaving Cardiff around 2am. That Saturday will be busy as it's one of the peak weekends and as mentioned above by Ozboy, the new EU checks will cause issues at Folkestone. Can you leave home and cross on the Friday?

As mentioned by many, I would avoid Reims. There's little else other than champagne and the Cathedral - which only takes a few minutes and it takes you off the autoroute and via a slow traffic city.

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Advice please - Driving to alps with the kids

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