France this year

:mrgreen:Hi every body
i have been to Austria for the past couple of years and wanted to try La Plagne this time.
We usually fly and get a Hotel wich is great but it seems to cost mega bucks so i wanted to get the price down.So i wanted to drive to the Alps and get an appartment in La Plagne .As always its difficult choosing accommodation, its got to be right on the slopes, and is the driving thing complete hell.
Iwould really appreciate anybodies experience of doing a ski hol this way
many thanks

The first thing I'd ask is "How confident are you driving in snow with chains?"

Why is staying slopeside important to you? If you ski high, sleep low, you will save even more money. Decent parking in La Plagne is underground, and quite pricey IMV.
As for the journey, it can be as tough as you want it to be. We have tried the "we drove through the night and were on the slopes by 10am" stuff, and now we stay in a hotel somewhere en-route, we just don't have the stamina :mrgreen:
It's been many years since our main ski trip of the year was by plane. Driving is so much easier, take exactly what you want, stop when you want, take as long as you desire to arrive, no one weighs your luggage, and I get to take all the comforts of home :D

You can search on J2ski for apts to book direct, but also check the main ski tour operators, some do package self drive in low season for a good price.
Don't forget to budget for European Breakdown Insurance and possible costs for uprating your car insurance for european travel. Depends on the insurer.

I havent been to La Plagne but my family and me drove to Les Gets two years ago in Feb half time to save money. There were 10 of us (including a two year old) in 3 cars. We did the journey in two days and stayed in a hotel overnight. We also stopped every few hours for breaks. You could do it in one go if you had two drivers. We would certainly would consider driving again as its much better than waiting around for hours in airports etc. This year we are flying and going to Oz en Oisans as it worked out cheaper than driving but it does not always. Each car had a GPS electrionic map device which made it easiler to go there without getting lost. You will need snow chains and make sure you pratice putting them on especially in cold weather. We had to use ours to get out the resort to come home.

Thanks for the replies so far .
Hamish i've never driven in snow chains before,i am an experienced driver,does everyone use them????

Staying next to the slopes or very near them is fairly important for me and my two kids ,it just seems a bit easier.
I dont mind the driving 9 hrs in a car is a long time but i would take it steady and would stop somewhere.
The plane thing is just becoming a hassle and it just seems easier to get in a car and drive.
many thanks

We used to drive to Les Gets &, like Bandit, stop en route (in a Formule 1) to break the journey (2 families with 3 young children). The driving was always pleasant, scenic & relatively straightforward but are you sure it's the cheapest method of getting there? (I guess it depends on how many people are travelling). For our main holiday I now book flights, accommodation & a transfer all separately & for us that works best. (It does require spending a considerable amount of time on the internet though).

I went to La Plagne in March this year with a couple of friends for a short break. We booked cheap flights to Grenoble with Ryan Air, an apartment in Plagne 1800 through Expedia, & hired a car off the internet.

If driving there, you'll have to consider ferry costs, road tolls, fuel costs, snowchains, European insurance & breakdown cover, possible car park fees in resort & a hotel stop en route if you want to break the journey. If your budget is your main priority rather than your resort, you might be better looking for cheap flights to an airport not too far from some resorts (go to the 'Sking near Airports' section on this site) & taking things from there.

We always have to keep the price down & believe me, within reason, it can be done. (Interestingly I read yesterday that the average income of readers who buy one of the popular ski magazines is £69,000 :shock: Sadly I'm not in that league :(

Re: Driving on chains.....
it's not so much how experienced a driver you are as even experienced drivers have accidents...but being aware of the limitations of driving on chains...you have to observe the speed limitation - on many chains 30-40km per hour - go over this and you will bust them.
Plus practise putting them on in the dark - in the cold with a force 10 gale blowing - with ice, snow & dirt all over the tyres and traffic whizzing past you - and expect to get your knees wet & cold! We recommend carrying a spare pair of gloves over which I always wear a large pair of marigolds (waterproof, grippy & helps with fiddling with those little clasps & links)- plus get the mats out of the car to kneel on - theres nothing quite like having your knees freeze to the tarmac through your jeans - and carry a spare fleece that you don't mind getting dirty as you fiddle about under the front of the car....
Having said all that - do drive out as with a full car it is still a very green way of getting to the slopes....

Thanks for all the replies so far ,certainly lots to think about .An interesting point was the one about booking everything seperately might give it a go.
Thanks very much