Advice needed getting from Turin to les menuires

Hi

I have just booked flights from 11th April to 18th April from Dublin to Turin Airport.

I am trying to find the cheapest way of getting to les menuires to my brothers apartment.

I am travelling alone but dont mind hiring a car if i have to.

My brother is also hiring a car but he is arriving at grenoble airport, would it be easier to travel somewhere on his route and meet up with him??

Can anyone please help

thanks

Mags

the cheapest way would be for you to pick him up if the schedule matches ...according to autoroute its an extra 60m on your journey if you do.. shame he is not getting into Chambery as its nearer

I've just seen this question, nearly a year too late for the poster. But I thought I'd post a little bit of info., in case anyone else has the notion of trying to get from Turin to the Northern Alps by bus or train. So this might inspire them to try it. It's probably just as easy as from Nice or Marseille, which can be given as airports for the northern Southern Alps resort Serre Chevalier. Given Les 2 Alpes & Alpe D'Huez aren't so far away from this by bus (however bus times make it hard to make these 2 resorts in 1 day), and then that Vanoise National Park, 3 Valleys (Val Thorens anyway) isn't a huge distance further, this way of thinking is the manes to accepting it can be possible.

This idea is based on arriving in Turin on Saturday, the day of most of the ski flights for European ski airports.
But, during the winter, the first leg of the journey would work on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday, and no other days in the week.

Take a Cavourses bus (may be a mini-bus) from Turin airport to Oulx. You have to book in advance at www.cavourese.it select English version if you need). It is the first of the 4 boxes on the home page you have to select, which is "Bus Charter - Low Cost" (Turin Airport to Oulx). It's 34 Euros. The other option to get to Oulx is more complex - the airport transfer bus from Turin Airport which stops at Porta Nuova station, Turin (note - this isn't the airport main transfer bus which goes to Turin central rail station). Check the times on the Turin airport website. Then take a train from Porta Nuova station in Turin going to Oulx train station.

The next leg is getting from Oulx to Briancon - the only way is by bus. The bus company is Autocars Resalp, here is the timetable page:

http://transports-autocars-excursion-voyages-scolaires.autocar-resalp.com/en/lignesbrian.htm


The next leg is Briancon to Grenoble, by train. You can buy the ticket just before you go at Briancon train station. They're regular enough. Usually the journey is made by changing at Gap, sometimes at Valence Ville. Ask for the journey which gets you there soonest - the tickets are the same price. The ticket officers speak English here. It's a long enough journey from Briancon to Grenoble if you're changing - 3 to 4 hours as far as I remember, there is likely to be waiting time in Gap. 3 to 4 hours would include the quicker waiting times, but it may be some times you have to add 30 minutes or so onto the journey if trains don't link up for you easily.

If you decide to stay overnight in Briancon, there is an early bus which goes to Grenoble run by the company V.F.D. (and I think then on to Chambery, if you've booked in advance with V.F.D.). The V.F.D. bus to Grenoble is quicker than the train there, unless you get one of the fast, but unusual, direct express trains to Grenoble. www.vfd.fr - there's an English version.

(For Staying in Briancon - Hotel de la Gare is a basic 1 star, the cheapest hotel in Briancon, and a clean, basic place you can trust with a nice and likeable bar - pizzeria restaurant (also had the most comfortable mattress - 2009 - I have ever slept on in any hotel of stars 1 to 5). Hotel de Paris is close also, a short walk away, similarly basic & reliable 2 star hotel, but more expensive, with a very good restaurant and charming, lovely little bar (you can eat and drink here if staying elsewhere).

After Grenoble, it's easy enough to get to Chambery rail station by train - frequent trains, the journey takes around 1 hour 15 minutes. (I think there's also the V.F.D. bus which goes to Chambery on the way to Geneva, but I think you have to book in advance, check their website).

From Chambery - it's up to you. Also, a possibility might be resort transfer bus services which go from Grenoble airport to the Northern Alps - I don't know about these - check the Grenoble airport site. The Grenoble airport bus leaves from Grenoble bus station, beside the train station, and takes about 50 minutes. But the times aren't so frequent at some points in the year - there may be a gap of 2 hours or more with no bus in the afternoon for example.

But if you have made it to Grenoble - probably one of the 2 best possibilities onwards is the Northern Alps ski resort bus transfer services from LYON AIRPOT. There is a direct bus from the Grenoble bus station next to the train station which goes to Lyon Airport. It goes throughout the day and it's quite frequent and takes only about 1 hour 25 minutes.

Or if there is no resort transfer bus from the airport - get into Lyon and take the train, for example to Moutiers, where you can get the resort bus (very, very likely to be after an overnight stay by this stage) which goes up to the main 3 Valleys resorts - Meribel, Courchevel etc.

I guess it's possible that someone can make it in 1 day actually from Turin to a Northern French Alps ski resort like the 3 Valleys by heading the way I've suggested through either Chambery / Chambery Airport or Lyon Airport / Lyon by train transfer. Planning to stay in Lyon though is usually not a delightful thing at all if you are on a lowish budget - hotel prices are generally quite high there, and if you go to the discount web travel agent sites like hotels.com & expedia or consolidators like Nextag.co.uk or travelsupermarket.co.uk, most of the cheaper hotels, like under £75 per night are not in the centre of Lyon. There may be a couple of central ones at £45 or so, though - best to try the consolidator sites in advance.

Alternatively stuff all you gear into a back pack, catch the train to Modane and a bus to Orelle and ski there....

Or,
Type the route into raileurope.co.uk and see what it says for a Saturday:

Train leaves Turin (Torino porta nuova) at 12-40
Train arrives Chambery Challes 15-39
Train leaves Chambery Challes 16-25
Train arrives Moutiers 18-02
Total cost for a single ticket = £63-50

Then get a bus (Altibus)to wherever you want to go in the 3 valleys - Les Menuires, Val Thorens, Courchevel etc. - about half an hour - 3/4 hour on the bus - cost about 20 euros return.

Ally

Wow, can those times be right for this journey? I didn't realise that was possible, and a reasonably low price. It even makes Turin a reasonable ski airport for The 3 Valleys & Northern Alps - I hadn't assumed anything like that. Is that the high speed Paris train from Oulx? Does it have Chambery as a stop or is there a change?

factual wrote:Wow, can those times be right for this journey? I didn't realise that was possible, and a reasonably low price. It even makes Turin a reasonable ski airport for The 3 Valleys & Northern Alps - I hadn't assumed anything like that. Is that the high speed Paris train from Oulx? Does it have Chambery as a stop or is there a change?

Factual,
Type it in yourself on Raileurope.co.uk and see what comes up. That's what I got. I assume it's correct. You can also phone them to enquire. I haven't actually done this journey myself, but I've planned and booked several of my French train journeys using their website and so far all has gone like clockwork :D :D :D

Ally

Thanks.