 Poster: A snowHead
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We're going to LDA at the end of June. We know we want a car when there, but are debating whether to take ours, or get the train down & hire now that it's easy to get a local train, changing at Sheffield & St Pancras. There are pros and cons both ways of course.
Driving:
No worries about packing - if it fits it goes, but it's not that big a car (but there are only 2 of us!)
It's a long drive - 4.5 hrs or so to Dover then something like 12-13hrs in France I think during which we'd get very stiff.
Can stop anywhere we want
Train
Limited to what we can carry, packing-wise
Possible delays/cancellations
But room to walk about, not sit confined to quarters all the way & less tiring (unless we got the travel companions from hell!)
COST?
Driving = petrol, channel crossing, tolls, a night's stay en route
Train= train fare x2, car hire (would we need an overnight stay somewhere?).
Anyone done the train/hire option? Recommend it?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just come back - takes about 10hrs from Eurotunnel.
Petrols about 1.30 Euro's/Litre and Disel about 1.18 if you shop about.
Tolls - about 60-70 euro's one way. You have 3 sets to go through so I can't remember off the top of my head.
I've done the train eurostar to GND the mad dash through paris on the metro to GDL - go as far a Lyon then hire a car - the slog from Lyon to Grenoble on the train is really slow. This is france they don't have that many delays like we do, more probablematic is strikes!
There are bus links but the're not that frequent in the summer for obvious reasons.
Grenoble airport is great if you can get a flight as I don't know who'll be flying there in the summer - but car hire is MUCH easier than Lyon. Just outside the terminal rather than bussing it about.
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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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Butterfly, ChickenDhansak, Very useful - thanks both, we have half a mind to go to LDA in August at the moment.
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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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Butterfly, 10 hours from Channel. Have a nice overnight stop somewhere on the way down , and a nice drive the next day, stopping off for lunch somewhere on the way.
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As we usually travel to L2A from Hull and you are that neck of the woods, we find it is just right to do it in 2 days by car. Leave home earlyish (say 7 am) and get a lunchtime crossing (Norfolk Lines is always the cheapest) then we stop around Reims or Troyes at a Premier Classe Hotel (they're not cute but they are so close to the autoroute/you know what to get/the restaurants are suprisingly good often/you can prebook and arrive late as they have automated reception services etc etc) then set off around 9am the next day to get into L2A late afternoon depending on stops, which is a civilised time to arrive. South of Dijon on the A6 is an 'aire' near Beune (junction 24.1 I think) that has a nice and large properly forested picnic stop without leaving the motorway. Yes, early summer usually a safer bet on the glacier, although its a mixed bag and unpredictable like winter!
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| Quote: |
| nice and large properly forested picnic stop without leaving the motorway. |
the French motorways are full of nice picnic stops, with shaded tables, etc. Very civilised, though not much use in Winter. I would say that if you just plan to blast down in the minimum time, fly or go by train, and hire a car. But if you take a bit more time, maybe do some of the journey (the more southerly section) off the autoroutes, and see a bit of France, it's worth taking your car. Megamum, August is a bit late for the glacier - see what easiski has to say. If you are not thinking about skiing, but just fancy an alpine summer holiday (a fantastic idea) there are lots of nicer places than LDA, I have to say! But if you can get some ski lessons, go for it. A couple of sessions with easiski on the glacier will do you a power of good (it did me a power of good, anyway, and I have been practising some of the exercises Charlotte gave me today!)
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Well, as you've guessed a couple of lessons with Easiski for me and couple for the kids was an ulterior motive for going to LDA. The trouble is that good excuses or not I was brought up to do things by the book and that includes sending the kids to school when I'm supposed to. I hadn't appreciated that the glacier had better times to ski in the summer, I assumed that summer was summer. The last week in May is the half term before the summer, but that seems a bit early for a summer holiday. Maybe I'll have to rethink things.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I'm with Chaletglacier, although I will skip on the budget hotel near the autoroute, as the last one we were in was truly dreadful. Nice towns like Reims, Chalons or Troyes have pleasant famiyl run hotels with family rooms at a reasonable cost.We don;t use the A6 any more either, going via Bourg en bresse instead to miss out the Lyon traffic.
Megamum, glacier will be closed from end April until mid-June, so it isn't an option for half-term. Go as early in the summer hols as you can is your best compromise I think.
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Megamum, PM Easiski and discuss the options - she was really helpful in both discussing dates and finding me a brilliant apartment to rent. I do understand what you mean about school, disappointing we can't go at the same time though - that would have been good.
chaletglacier, thanks - we are not that far from Hull - only 8 miles south of the bridge! I was thinking of doing the tunnel if we take the car rather than boat as I go rather unflattering shades of green on boats! Also I have a collection of Tesco vouchers I can use towards it.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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chaletglacier, Why not get the Hull to Rotterdam or Zebrugge ferry with an overnight crossing and cabin, then a blast to resort next morning ? I've done this twice and found it to be a very relaxing way to do it. Evening meal on the ferry plus a few drinks and entertainment, then breakfast and you leave the ferry about 08:00 the next morning. We went to Zermatt one year and Verbier the next and did the car journey in about 10-12 hours without pushing it.
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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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chaletglacier, sounds like an excellent solution, but I always find the summer crossing so expensive
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brian
brian
Guest
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Megamum, I doubt they'll be open in May. Summer season in L2A starts around the middle of June and runs until the end of August. The earlier you go the better in terms of snow condition and skiable area.
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brian
brian
Guest
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Helen Beaumont, have you looked at the Newcastle - Amsterdam ferry ? It's a lot cheaper than the Rosyth - Zeebrugge one, don't know about Hull though.
Butterfly, what about fly/drive ? A flight to Grenoble, Lyon or Geneva has got to be easier (and in June will be cheap) than a 2 day marathon via Sheffield, London and Paris. We've done this to L2A via Geneva twice and it's worked out really well.
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