There are a few ways in which you can get to our resorts, La Plagne or Val d’Isère, in the French Alps. Below you will find some useful information to help you along the way…
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You can access our resorts by flying into a number of airports and then getting from the airport to resort can be done a few ways too…
• Chambery – 135km to La Plagne, 144km to Val d’Isère
This is the closest airport at around a 1h45 car drive to get to La Plagne and 2hrs to get to Val d’Isère.
• Grenoble – 201km to La Plagne, 210km to Val d’Isère
This airport is around 2h30 minutes car drive to get to La Plagne and 2h45 to get to Val d’Isère.
• Geneva – 213km to La Plagne, 222km to Val d’Isère
Has a train station
This airport is around 2h40 minutes car drive to get to La Plagne and 2h55 to get to Val d’Isère.
• Lyon – 212km to La Plagne, 221km to Val d’Isère
TGV 5 minutes from the airport
This airport is around 2h35 minutes car drive to La Plagne and 2h50 to Val d’Isère.
Airport car rental:
Renting a car is probably the most direct and quickest way to get into resort, it also gives you more flexibility when you are there. Above you will see rough travel times from each airport to the resort. You need to remember if you are travelling on a Saturday then you should add on at least 30 minutes to your journey, especially during school holiday periods as Saturdays are the biggest transfer days during the season.
Airport bus service:
If you do not fancy driving yourself then you can take a bus. A bus will take you more of less directly from the airport to either the resort centre or your in resort accommodation (depending on what company you book with and if it is a public bus or private transfer). If you choose to take a bus then a few bus company links are below:
• Simply Transfers
• Europe Transfer
• Altibus
• Bouzon Taxi
• Bens Bus
• The Cool Bus
• White Rides
Airport train service:
Another option from the airport is to take a train and it can be cheaper than a bus. Not all of the airports have train stations though and often the trains are not direct, so be warned it can take a lot longer. SNCF is a good website for booking European train travel.
Once you arrive at your closest train station to your resort (Aime for La Plagne and Bourg-Saint-Maurice for Val d’Isère) you will have to find your way up the mountain. The transfer bus companies above can help you with this!
Please make note:
• Bourg-Saint-Maurice is around 32km from Val d’Isère and will take you at least 45 minutes.
• Aime to La Plagne is around 20km and will take you around 30 minutes.
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There are many people who choose to drive to the Alps and from the UK you can either take a ferry or go through the Channel Tunnel.
Calais to La Plagne is around 1000km and should take around 10 hours on the road to drive (not including your stops). The French motorways are generally very good, especially in comparison to the UK ones and the speed limit is 130km, so you can cruise quite comfortably, you do have to pay to use them though.
If you do not want to pay there is the option to take other roads and if you have enough time you can stop off on the way, however for a faster and more direct route the motorway is the best option. From Calais it will cost you around 90€ in tolls and from Le Harve it’ll cost around 70€.
If you are not driving in a 4×4 it is important to have either snow tyres on your car or snow chains in the back. Often the roads up the mountain are well cleared however if the road has not been cleared, without them you may get stuck. The French police/ gendarmerie often do road checks and will not let a car past a point if there are no chains or snow tyres on it .
Remember to also have your European driving kit in you car as without it, if you are pulled over, you will face an on-the-stop fine. It should include the following items:
• GB sticker
• Headlamp beam converters
• Warning triangle
• Hi vis jacket
• First aid kit
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Our valley is great as there is a direct train route that goes straight to Bourg-Saint-Maurise via Aime (Aime for La Plagne and Bourg-Saint-Maurice for Val d’Isère). SNCF is a good website for booking European train travel.
If you are travelling from the UK from around mid-December to mid-April you have the wonderful Eurostar Ski train that runs directly from London St Pancras or Ashford International to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, stopping in Aime for any La Plagne visitors.
You can choose from two direct trains out on a Friday night or Saturday day, and two trains back to the UK on a Saturday morning or Saturday night. It can take as little as 7 hours! Snow Carbon is a great website that can help track and book your train journey, otherwise you can book directly on the Eurostar website.
Once you arrive at the appropriate train station you can either hop on a public bus or pre-book a taxi/ private shuttle service up to your resort.
Transfer/ bus companies:
• Bouzon Taxi
• Simply Transfers
• Europe Transfer
• Altibus
• Bens Bus
• The Cool Bus
• White Rides
Please also remember:
• Bourg-Saint-Maurice is around 32km from Val d’Isère and will take you at least 45 minutes.
• Aime to La Plagne is around 20km and will take you around 30 minutes.
If you are holidaying in La Plagne you need to note that on the way back you must get the train from Bourg-Saint-Maurice and not Aime due to passport security.
• La Plagne to Bourg-Saint-Maurice is around 29km and will take around 45 minutes.
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Hopefully you have found this information useful and we look forward to seeing you in resort however you will be traveling to us…