 Poster: A snowHead
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Just returned from a weeks' skiing in Val Claret (Tignes) that we reached by the snow express bus from Victoria (Colonades) bus station. Readers may be interested to know our experience.
The bus was relatively cheap compared to trains and air, but it took 20 hours to get there! There was very little information given to the passengers by the drivers, no dvd's (even though there were screens to show a film or two during the mammoth journey), and even the clock didn't show the right time. The seats did recline and there was quite a bit of room between seats, but don't expect to do more than doze overnight. A pillow, thin blanket, ear plugs and plenty of food and drink are essential. A good alternative to other modes of transport, but could be improved!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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im doing the journey to Tignes on the 23rd March by snow-express. not looking forward to it really but as you say cheap alternative and 7 days on the mountain.
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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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keenskier, does the 20h include a few stops or does the coach motor all the way with drivers switching and sleeping on the bus?
I reckon an ipad or simmilar to watch your own movie an essential for a long couch journy now.
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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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kat.ryb The bus made two short stops - one in a service-type station and another slightly longer one at Moutier (where people boarded other buses to go to resorts like Chamonix). There were 2 drivers and they changed over at the scheduled stops and slept on the bus. There was a lot of snow on the roads upto Tignes and the driver had to stop and put snow chains on (why they can't just use winter tyres is beyond me!). Also, a double decker bus with luggage trailer attached trying to manoever out of a very tight space at Tignes Les Breviers was the cause of another hold up. In the end, the driver had to unhitch the luggage trailer, turn the bus around, then reattach the trailer - The road to Tignes Les Breviers is just too narrow for such an enormous vehicle.
There were a number of people on the bus with tablets/laptops etc who were lucky enough to have some entertainment during the long journey, but for those of us who didn't have such a luxury, it was pretty tedious. When we travelled to the alps with the Ski Bus company, 2 years ago, they showed 2 films, had refreshments available on the bus and the journey was about 7 hours shorter!!! However, this company seems to have been taken over by ski express - more's the pity.
Forgot to mention that all the downstairs seats (with tables) and the front seats upstairs were 'reserved' - we were certainly not given a choice to reserve any seats when we booked, so don't know how you get a choice of where you sit.
Having said all the negative things, we did get almost a full days extra skiing in on the Saturday we left the resort, which is a real bonus and the main reason we chose the bus over the plane/train. Because this bus is too big to go through the tunnel, it has to use the ferry crossing, which is OK if the weather is good, but can imagine that this could be the cause of yet more hold ups and delays during the winter months.
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