 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Ouch @BergenBergen, hope you made it to your evenng destination, and that there was a beer at the end of the tarmac!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
We're heading to Val T on Friday. 8am Chunnel and stopping overnight just outside Lyon. Then up to VT on the Saturday via the supermarket.
Think this is our 4th Easter drive down. 2 cars, 8 of us. Never really had any traffic or any issues. Well, except 2 years ago when we had a tyre blow out on the autoroute. Called AA euro assistance and was told our MOT had expired 2 days before... Lots of bad french later we got towed to a tyre place and got both back tyres replaced.
Have checked the MOT this time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
[quote="johnE"Below zero temperatures driving through England and the car is covered in salt.
Assume this is joke, below zero where and when
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
@BergenBergen, Erk, hopefully you'd slowed down enough for that to not be a complete disaster.
Hope you've made it to resort and have your beer, now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
The journey continued to go really well and I got to les arcs at 21:30 to be met by my wife and nephew who had been tracking me on WhatsApp and found a parking spot less than 100m from the apartment. They unpacked the car while had a cup of tea.
The whole journey from home took fourteen and a half hours with 10 hours from Calais. I had an hour’s break at Folkestone and two 30 or 40 minutes stops in France. I stop every 3 hours.
There were a lot of Dutch and Belgian cars on route but with the exception of the a6 all roads were quiet and I could cruise at the speed limit easily.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
@ribblevalleyblue, the below zero temps were on the m40 around Oxford at 7 ish and the roads were salted. It was not a joke.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@ribblevalleyblue, live near M40 las few mornings has been frozen solid before 7am everywhere
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Driving down on Friday heading to La Plagne for the week. Trying to decide if im going to bother changing the wheels out on the van to the winter set. Part says yes other part says cant be bothered but the van has silly 20” wheels ( its my wife’s car!) and are terrible in any snow
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
@Ffati, If you do you won't have needed to, if you don't then you'll have needed to!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exactly this is the dilemma I remember a few yearsago thinking the same thing and we went to Alp D’Huez and havingto drive down in a blizzard and 20cm of fresh snow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Does anyone know what date the need for winter tires changes,
Thanks in advance
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
These threads all seem very problematic, we're driving to Menaggio where our house is in June and I shan't be stressing very much other than where to let the dog out for a wee!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Jonny996 wrote: |
Does anyone know what date the need for winter tires changes,
Thanks in advance |
Well the regulation in France requires them (or approved chains, socks) in specified regions 1 November to 31 March. But if you are asking what are the dates you need them - well that depends on the weather!
Not sure about other countries.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
@DJL, Perfect, thanks
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Another one taking the train - Eurostar on 31 March, overnight in Paris hotel, train to Aime La Plagne (connection in Chambéry) followed by bus up to La Plagne. Returning by overnight coach on 11 April. Planning to buy first pair of boots once in resort, despite it being near end of season. Let's see how this all goes. Wishing everyone pleasant journeys.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Maurienne forecast is showing snow down to valley level this thursday. We arrive sat and have cross climates plus chains so shouldn't be an issue - just pleased there's a bit of a freshenup and colder temps for our late season trip tbh.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| Thick As wrote: |
| ......loaded to the max! |
I've had multiple internal debates about how much stuff we take, as this year we have 2x snowboard and boots plus a set of skis, so I've been mithering the family about slimming down. Even contemplated buying a second roof box but opted against that, as it's look like a scud missile launcher (and probably be even more uneconomical on fuel) 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Leaving from Pembrokeshire to Folkstone after school Thursday..... hotel and up and on the 6.30am channel tunnel down to Lyon. Nice supper out and a reasonable night before heading up to Les Arc 1950, putting the car in the underground, getting changed in the car park and heading to the slopes hopefully to enjoy peaceful blue skies!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
@Specialman, I foolishly thought when we got the Transporter, the days of roofboxes were gone. Apparently didn't account for being asked to take other's kit, as they were flying etc, or boys numerous pairs of XC skis (which are too long to fit inside comfortably)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Driving from London to Andorra on Saturday via Tunnel, Calais, Abbeville, Amiens, Beauvais, A86 (west), A10 to Orleans, A71/A20 to Limoges (overnight). Next day: A20 to Toulouse, then straight down to Foix & Pyrenees via RN20 (glad it reopened!).
Its our 2nd ski trip this winter, so we're trying to be careful on costs. As a result, I have 2 questions on refuelling/journey strategy:
- Is there a straightforward alternative to the A86 tunnel near Paris? it's fancy, time-efficient, etc. but costs around €10€. Expect to be there around 4pm.
- Are there cheaper petrol stations conveniently near the motorways in the section between St Arnoult toll booth (the huge one before A10/A11 split) and Orleans? I estimated that I could just about get to Orleans (Leclerc/Intermarche pertol stations) with 1 tank, but I need a back-up option in case I need to refuel slightly before.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@ck_v2, drove through Paris the other week in the work van, so had to come off at the tunnel due to height restriction; we ended up being taken around all sorts of bits of Paris and I reckon it ended up adding at least 60 minutes to the drive. We were there about 2pm - 2:30pm on a Thursday, traffic was fairly heavy but moving. The fact we were in a van really hindered us because we found numerous height restrictions trying to get back onto the motorway. We had a good tour of Chilly-Mazarin 
I'd pay the €10.
As for fuel, someone posted earlier a site that you can get fuel info > https://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr
We ended up fuelling up somewhere off the motorway and it was €2.11 litre, so not cheap.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just come back from Les Gets and cheapest fuel was NOT at the supermarkets. Cheapest was fuel stations run by Total Energies.
Diesel was 2.09 on their motorway stops and ordinary fuel stations. Supermarkets, LeClerc,Carrefour, Intermarche etc were anywhere between 2.20 and 2.35 as were the other motorway stops.
There are couple of websites detailing all current fuel prices, just Google prix gazole france and you will find them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@ck_v2, going to the east of Paris is easy enough, come down the A1 and just follow A3 after Orly Airport, it is then reasonably well signed if you follow something like Bordeaux.
Just in case you didn't know the A86 tunnel on West side has 2m height restriction and (IMO) it's very well signed that it has. A car with roofbox may well not fit
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Thx all in all, going via the A1 might be a good alternative option, as it looks quite straightforward, does not add up time and allows to avoid this A86 tunnel. I used it once, and my car is below the height restriction, but its so expensive!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After filling up at Folkstone we managed all the way easily on one tank. Nearly there, we nipped off at St Michel de Maurienne to fill up again at 2.072 at the Total garage. This was selected using the search along route feature of (as noted above):
https://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/
A slight following wind gave us an average of 61mpg. We had just over 67 at Dover but France’s undulations are a killer.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Mon 23-03-26 17:54; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
@Timc, I saw that when doing a quick price compare that the totalenergies prices were good and similar across sites including autoroutes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
@ck_v2,
I'm tempted with driving to Andorra at Christmas, so I'll be following your drive down with interest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@altis, that’s good going, I’d be happy with half that
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
@Boris, nothing like as good as Mrs A’s previous vehicle, a Pug 207sw (admittedly smaller frontal area), in which we would regularly achieve well over 80mpg.
But I imagine we take a good many hours longer than you do to get here. 
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Tue 24-03-26 19:27; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
@altis, our old VW Sharan managed around 50mpg, and took us there many times when kids were little. The Transporter with roofbox manages 30ish at a steady 80mph. Happy with that really, as it’s got a huge tank we only need one fill up.
Our old Disco while a great car is be happy if we hit high teens
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
I used a fulli service station on the way down the other week, gevrey-chambertin, E10 was 1.80 per litre, all the other ones we drove past/loo stops were nearly 2euros per litre, fortunately that was the only services we needed fuel from.
I think this was a tip from a previous post
Also, the hypermarket at Albertville was a lot cheaper than anywhere close.
Though This is going on E10, not sure about diesel as I didn’t really take notice
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Tue 24-03-26 8:57; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
I think that, largely because of the aforementioned government website, fuel prices in France do not behave as they do in the UK. Supermarkets are not always the cheapest and prices tend to fluctuate a lot as outlets push out a loss-leader for a while to build up custom.
Our government has recently introduced something similar:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-finder
However in our version the government will provide the raw data for other websites to present as they wish.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| altis wrote: |
After filling up at Folkstone we managed all the way easily on one tank. Nearly there, we nipped off at St Michel de Maurienne to fill up again at 2.072 at the Total garage. This was selected using the search along route feature of (as noted above):
https://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/
A slight following wind gave us an average of 61mpg. We had just over 67 at Dover but France’s undulations are a killer. |
Wow, what are you driving, I struggle to get over 30mpg
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
@Jonny996, a Nissan NV200 van, diesel 110bhp 6-speed.
We always keep one eye on the mpg gauge and don’t rush. I’m happy draughting trucks if I can find a consistently fast one (makes a big difference) but the bigger hills in France make them slow down too much for comfort.
But, it has to be said, unlike Boris and many others we don’t have to drive down and back in a week so can afford travel at a more leisurely pace.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Tue 24-03-26 19:28; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
My 2-litre diesel A4 generally gives me between 60-65 mpg on trips to the mountains. Much better than my petrol VW Vento 20 years ago which was not much over half that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Fortnight in Val Thorens for us this Easter: leaving afternoon of Friday 27th after daughter's mock exam, Eurotunnel late Friday and overnight at Reims then drive down Saturday, via Bourg en Bresse and then possibly via Annecy depending on traffic. Rarely had a problem with traffic, compared to half term it's a breeze, and looking at the European school holidays calendar here on Snowheads, most countries don't seem to break up until Good Friday.
Two dogs, a non-skiing husband and a fortnight means we take it more leisurely and enjoy some fantastic walks, snow shoeing and skiing. Getting excited, hoping for more snow but frankly after half term, that feels greedy .
Safe travels everyone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How come Total is undercutting everyone?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current plan is to head off Friday evening for a 22:30 Tunnel crossing, hopefully late enough to avoid the worst of the M25.
We would then overnight in St Quentin, continue to La Rosière for one night, ski or board there on Sunday, and then head on to Tignes for the week. Return crossing is booked for Easter Monday.
That said, with fresh snow currently forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, we are considering switching to a FlexiPlus ticket. The idea would be to leave around 12:30pm, catch a 3 to 4pm crossing, and then push further south, potentially as far as Mâcon. With an early start on Saturday, we could reach La Rosière by around 11am and get a solid half day on the slopes. That could be a nice option, especially as it is likely to be quieter and, for now at least, looks sunny.
We have done similar before, so it is very doable, but it does add a bit more stress and time pressure. Decisions, decisions.
Either way, looking forward to some hopefully empty French motorways. Last year’s Easter trip was a bit of a slog as it coincided with the Zone B holidays, so the autoroutes were packed with everyone, and their bikes, heading south.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@knackered knees, joy of joys, miles of pointless 50mph limit, only made bearable by laughing at the people who didn't understand the signs and are now stuck in the lorry lanes 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
