 Poster: A snowHead
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Did anyone travel to Moutiers or Bourg St Maurice on the Eurostar daytime service last season? I'm trying to get an idea of typical prices outside school holidays.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A couple of years ago I checked out the prices, and it always seemed to work out cheaper to fly, think it was usually a couple of hundred or so for the train. It must have changed since then, but flying has only got cheaper.
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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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clarky999, I found the same, but I think flight prices have gone up quite a lot in the last couple of years, ditto car hire, so for me I think the balance of door-door cost & convenience is tipping in favour of the train for at least one of my trips this season.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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rob@rar, I think you ought to have a look at Eurostar to Paris or Lille and then change onto a TGV service when I was costing it last winter it always worked out cheaper that way. That said I am still driving 3/4 times a year!
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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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rob@rar, I took the Eurostar and changed in Paris and took the TGV to Bourg st. Maurice from Gare du Lyon.
The Prices were:
£65 return for the Eurostar.
Timings were:
08:00 Eurostar departed St. Pancras
18:00 Arrived in Arc 1600 via the Funiculaire
I only took the TGV one way but it was €22 and I paid a very similar price for my TGV coming home back to Paris, although that was from Italy.
The change in Paris was fine.
This was booking literally the morning the tickets went on sale 4 months in advance for the Eurostar and 3 months for the TGV. This is because there are a limited amount of cheap tickets. So it can be done for £105. This was going out on the first Saturday in March. I personally would do this everytime over the direct Eurostar because it is about half the price. I enjoyed the journey and would do it again.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Christopher, thanks, that's very helpful.
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rob@rar, No troubles
Extra details:
I would have arrived quicker if there hadn't been a one under at Albertville, which delayed us for a good 30+ minutes.
For the cheapest fares on the eurostar you have to leave before 9am going out and coming home in the evening. I returned on a 20:15 departure. As you live in London I would imagine this wouldn't be too problematic either.
Change in Paris you need to leave about 45 mins between Eurostar pulling in and the TGV pulling out. It was a bit painful lugging my bags (although they were loaded for 3 weeks) onto the metro. If you have kids it would be a bit problematic due to the metro being very crowded, but this can apparently be avoided with a taxi.
You probably know it, but there is a very handy navette leaving a short distance from the funiculaire that goes to Arc 1800.
Unlike flying you need to be at St. Pancras about 45 minutes before your departure and are allowed to board half an hour beforehand.
After having flown for my previous three ski trips, I believe this was the easiest and stress free after broken down hire cars, snow chains, more often that not delayed flights etc.
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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 think the eurostar direct return tickets start at about £149. You have to book early to get these fares..think the tickets come out next week. I think the cheapest first class returns are £229.
If I were travelling alone to les arcs I'd probably go for the direct day or night service without hesitation. However now we are a family of 4 there is more of a saving to be made by changing in paris. Although I would say try and change at lille if possible and if changing in paris leave an hour for the station change. Gare de lyon has a large metro/rer station and main station is in two parts. If you have a large amount of luggage it takes a while to find ones way up to the right platform.
A fifth option is to travel to paris in the evening, stay a night at one of the hotels at gare de lyon station and get on the first train in the morning to the alps. This is now our preferred option as it means we get to the resort at lunchtime and time to get sorted out with food/children's ski hire in the afternoon so that we are not late for ski school next morning. (the daytime eurostar doesn't get you to the resort until 6pm so there is a bit of a rush to sort things out next morning) As you have your own appt you probably don't need to hire skis etc so would have an extra afternoon's skiing.
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rob@rar, For the 4 of us I have not been able to get the train for less than the cost of driving. 
I have tried every year even through the SCGB discount scheme as well.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Plus with the Eurostar and TGV I was able to carry a large rucksack with ski poles and large cricket bag, which were classed as oversized baggage. No one batted an eye lid. So it seems you can take a large amount of luggage for no extra charge, unlike flying.
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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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boredsurfing - I'd be surprised if self drive is cheaper to bourg st maurice unless you have a very fuel efficient car and can do the journey without night stops. The Eurostar direct cost to bsm for a family of four starts at £149 per adult and £99 a child return I think so about £500 for a family of four (if the children are young enough to have child tickets), or possibly less if changing in paris.
I'd be interested to know how much you think it costs to travel to the alps by car as I have estimated at least £650 (including overnight stops each way, eurotunnel flexi pass, petrol, tolls) but then there is the wear and tear on the car too which is harder to quantify. We have not yet driven to our skiing holiday so you are probably better informed on the costs of driving than me.
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snowymum, I think Boredsurfing's children are older and may have to pay full fare, although I may be wrong.
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You know it makes sense.
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snowymum, as Helen says my kids are full fare
My driving cost is approx £500 Tunnel £39.00 frequent traveller and we drive down in the day Door to door is 12 hours. Car does 30/35 to the gallon of diesel. Wear and tear not such a worry as the car is a company lease.
The only cheaper way I have found is Easy Jet Bouremouth Geneva, but even that is now getting expensive because of the hire car costs increasing.
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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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Thanks for the info boredsurfing. I had my call from Eurostar today as am on their "interested in ski train" list. Even though the published cheapest fare would be just under £500 for a family of four the price they offered me this morning was £568. Apparently this is the price they are offering for those booking early before the general line opens next week. Makes me wonder if anyone will actually be able to buy a ticket at the lowest published fare?! Maybe the first few people who phone next week?
The direct overnight service is not available to book yet as there may be engineering works and they don't know what days it will be running on..apparently the dates of the overnight service will be known on 15th July. All in all I'm not getting very far with my booking at the moment!
I can see with your company lease car and cheap tunnel deal that it is more tempting to drive. I don't think I'd fancy 12 hrs drive in one day though.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Cheapest way is Eurolines bus from London to Paris, 3 very short metro to Gare de Lyon, and then the early AM TGV to BSM ... bought early it was £106 return. Left London Friday evening, was in Arc1800 Sat Lunchtime.
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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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Is there now a sleeper service equivalent to the old snow train run by Rail Europe. I'd go for that if there was. I had heard that you could do that with SNCF but I stuggled to find a cost efficient way to make that work. I gave up last year and drove to meribel, but I don't think I would do it again.
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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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Try checking out the Snowcarbon website - seems to be all the rail options available there, and not just France (and it gives you an emissions comparison so you can feel all warm inside about saving the world too!)
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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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kosciosco - I think the only sleeper option (in couchettes) left is the one from paris to the alps so you would need to get to paris to change on to it. There is also the eurostar direct overnight ski train service (but no couchettes normal eurostar trains). They haven't established yet which dates eurostar overnight will run - see my post above.
As bunty says snowcarbon is good, also another website called seat61.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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As far as I am concerned the point of the train is to get 8 days skiing for 7 nights in resort. The Train with couchette is then a lot cheaper than extra nights at the resort plus plane travel.
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rob@rar, I went to Moutiers early last March overnight from St P, changing at Lille on the way out and Paris on the way back. Travelled out Fri night and back the following Sat night. Booked at the end of November, the cost was £114 return (through-booked direct with Eurostar). The Lille connection is great - from essentially one side of the platform to the other. The overnight sections were just in normal TGV seats (more roomy than E'star), but there was hardly anyone in the carriages so you could stretch out or kip on the floor if you wished. Left StP about 19:30 and got into Moutiers about 6:45am. The direct train would have been about £180 IIRC, left about an hour later and got in about an hour earlier. Returning I left Moutiers just before midnight, 2.5 hrs change in Paris and got to StP about 10:30. Again the direct train (taken by one other guy on the course) was probably about 2 hours quicker.
I probably didn't get much less sleep going overnight than by daytime, as to get reasonable times/fares on another trip (admittedly at half term) I had to leave a stupid o'clock each morning.
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GrahamN, Thanks, that's very helpful. I'd prefer a daytime journey so I'm waiting until Eurostar releases their direct service prices to the public, then if I can't get a reasonable price I'll go for the Eurostar / TGV to Bourg, hopefully via Lille.
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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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One thing to watch with the Lille connection is the return trip. There are probably only two direct Lille-(some destination in the alps) TGVs a day - certainly were to Grenoble - and the return daytime one got to Lille too late for the last Lille-StP train. So, unless there's a direct Eurostar connection anyway (which there is to BSM, so you're OK there), you can't book direct with E'star and you can only book an open-jaw return (StP-Lille, then Paris-StP) with them which ends up maybe £20 more expensive.
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Rob, just booked for the Boxing Day week ( 26th - 2nd) this year. £755 return for the three of us, daytime.
Jim
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FAQ
