Roadtripping

So, I did my first roadtrip for a ski holiday, albeit only for 3 days skiing over Easter, and thoroughly enjoyed many of the benefits.

Ok, so at 9 hours from Calais to Serre Chevalier, its hardly a short hop, but when you compare the time taken to drive to the airport, park the car, check in, eat and drink, fly, wait for bags (if they turn up), take the transfer bus, and drop every other f***er off first, it compared pretty well.

But on the up side, you have your own space for the duration of the trip, you can eat what you want when you want, there is no queueing (apart from half an hour around Grenoble at late afternoon ruch hour), you can take anything you want, and if you are sharing costs it works out favourably too.

Luckily for me, my mate drove his car and has it fully expensed by his company, so fuel was not an issue. The eurotunnel was only about £90 return, and we chose to go there in a day so used the toll roads, which worked out to around £70 each way, but we hardly had a hold up anywhere, even in the road works where it went down to 1 lane.

I have driven abroad a lot before, and French motorways are so light with traffic generally speaking, its a breeze. We shared driving, doing roughly 2.5 hours each before changing over. I did the last stretch from Grenoble over the Col du Lautaret, which I found thrilling to drive (although Stewart D might tell you differently, as I am sure he had a shewee plumbed in somewhere....).

We averaged 43mpg in his 1.9tdi Skoda Octavia estate, and took food for 4 nights with us, 2 quilts and 4 pillows, 4 pairs of skis and poles, 4 pairs of boots, clothes for skiing and non skiing, and the car was not far from being completely full. We probably all took too many clothes, as usual, but with 4 of you going together, an average estate car is spot on for a week IMO.

It was my first ski-drive holiday, and something I will most definitely do again, especially now that I have recently bought a Seat Alhambra with plenty of room inside! Wickers - you were right, its great freedom, and actually quite enjoyable and exciting. For some, I can imagine it being too far and not their idea of fun, but for me it was a great adventure and one I enjoyed. And as for the weather in Serre Che over Easter.....well, thats another thread coming on........ 8)

I'm glad your trip worked out so well, Tony :D

So, it cost you £230 for the tunnel plus the tolls, which divided by 4 is just under £60 each. But I suppose if you'd had to pay for petrol it would have cost quite a bit more - but still much cheaper than flying once you add in the cost of transfers and the charge for carrying skis.

Ally

AllyG wrote:I'm glad your trip worked out so well, Tony :D

So, it cost you £230 for the tunnel plus the tolls, which divided by 4 is just under £60 each. But I suppose if you'd had to pay for petrol it would have cost quite a bit more - but still much cheaper than flying once you add in the cost of transfers and the charge for carrying skis.

Ally

We filled up 3 times, which got us from Canterbury to Briancon and back to Maidstone, costing roughly £150, so still only £100 approx.

Tony,
I suppose, to be accurate, you'd have to add on the cost of insurance and car recovery. We were coming back on the train once and there was a family who's car had broken down in the Alps and fortunately they'd paid extra to get car recovery from France included on their insurance. But I don't know how much it cost them.

Plus, I suppose, the cost of winter tyres and/or chains, although you wouldn't have to pay for this each holiday so you could split it over several holidays.

Ally

AllyG wrote:Tony,
I suppose, to be accurate, you'd have to add on the cost of insurance and car recovery. We were coming back on the train once and there was a family who's car had broken down in the Alps and fortunately they'd paid extra to get car recovery from France included on their insurance. But I don't know how much it cost them.

Plus, I suppose, the cost of winter tyres and/or chains, although you wouldn't have to pay for this each holiday so you could split it over several holidays.

Ally

I think you should stick to the train, pet.

Ally, our household has been driving to ski in Europe every winter since 1992, we've never owned winter tyres, and we've only needed to use snow chains a handful of times. Otherwise wot he ^ says..

Good to see that that you have crossed over from the dark side :lol:

Ian Wickham wrote:Good to see that that you have crossed over from the dark side :lol:

Oh I will still fly for ski trips, but I can now see the advantages and disadvantages of driving more clearly, and understand why people would want to drive, and also just how easy it is. I used to drive down to Catalonia each summer when the kids were little, overnight stop around Dijon, and take 2 days to do it. Not much has changes on the French roads since then.
Having your own stuff is a major benefit, and if you can share the costs with others, it can be reasonable too.

People in the UK do not use winter tyres, in fact you would get a funny look from a garage owner if you asked him to fit them to your car, and you can buy chains for £40 if you need them, but most of the main routes are kept clear because they know how to deal with snow in Europe, unlike the idiots that run the councils and highways over here.

As for insurance, most policies include European cover free anyway for enough time to have a holiday.

Personally I reckon travelling all the way to the Alps by train must be the most uncomfortable, time consuming and expensive way of doing it.