Dare to drive!!

Is there a substantial saving in doing this? - Only if you share the costs with another couple, but going with your OH alone will not save enough to make it beneficial. Trust me, I've priced it to the last penny.

What are the journey times? - Calais to Serre Chevalier, 9 hours. Alpe d'Huez an hour less. Allow more time at peak weekends and in bad conditions.

Will I need a 4'wheel drive/snow chains etc? - Need a 4WD? No. Want? Probably yes. Don't take a rear wheel drive car, do fit winter tyres before you go, and have a set of chains in the boot just in case.

Route planner suggests to use toll roads in France, cost of these? - Calais to Grenoble cost us £70 last year, each way. Definitely use toll roads, less crowded and much much faster. You can add 50% travel time on minimum not taking motorways.



TTT (Tony's Top Tip): when you get to Dijon, dont take the main autoroute down to Lyon. Go onto the 2nd one that runs parallel with it towards Bourg en Bresses, you'll miss the worst of the traffic and also won't have to go round Lyon. Much much better. From there you can head up to Geneva, across to Chambery or down to Grenoble, and the world's your oyster.


I know some people do it regularly. I've driven it once, and would do it again but only with another couple as on your own the cost and hassle make it more beneficial for me personally to book a package and fly.

Well thanks for the input everyone, you have given me a lot to consider. I need to weight up my options, time to break out the excel spreadsheet and get crunching the figures i think

Before you were TowerBridgeAndy, did you used to be known as KirkbymoorsidestreamcrossingAndy?

OK, just got home from work, so my thoughts on the matter.

We have been driving to Europe for the past 10 years. Frankly, out of a group of seven of us, there is only one person who would prefer to fly, and that is because she gets a little car sick, and even then she would only do so if the rest of us still took all her gear :shock:

We take around 8 hours from Calais to places like Tignes, and that is due to several stops now we are getting older.

No, I really don't think it is cheaper, but we prefer the freedom it gives us on when we travel and what we take with us. We do have the advantage of taking a pair of 4x4 vehicles, so we really can load them up with gear and not worry too much about what the weather will bring. They are fitted with proper all terrain tyres, but even so we still have chains with us in case.

This year we will be driving to Kitzbuhel, and I still think that will be under 10 hours from Calais. I drove to Dusseldorf this weekend in just over three hours, and that is over a third of the way there.

Agree with earlier comments re France. Use the autoroutes and pay the tolls. I would look at getting the sensor for your car this year so you can pay later and just drive straight through the "fast" booths. See this thread for info.. http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/11089.page

Just make sure your vehicle is fit for the journey, carry the required extras (hi vis jacket, triangle etc) and ensure you have plenty of anti freeze in your water. Also carry a container of pre made winter strength screen wash, as if it is damp, you will use a lot on the autoroute.

We've done both. Last year we drove to St. Gervais for Christmas & New Year & found it to be a hassle free journey - althogh heavy snow did close in behind us & had we gone a day later it could have been a different story. We planned the route using the following route planner:-

www.viamichelin.co.uk

This gave us exact locations & prices of the tolls so we had the right euros ready at each booth & had no problems. Coming home we found the service areas to be very busy but out biggest hold up was checking into the ferry port at Calais. We were there in plenty of time but missed our ferry which was annoying.

The toll roads are great & we're doing it again this year. Good luck.

Driving isn't a big problem but the economics vary depending on how many are in the car, whether you are taking your own skis, and how it stacks up against a package deal.
Ideally you will be sharing the driving as it's a long drag and, should you get injured, you can get your car back to the UK.

Perhaps I should add, that we still book packages. Most TO's will adjust the price down, and include your Eurotunnel tickets in the package.

Only thing to then check and arrange is the parking at the destination end. Varies from free to €'s depending on whether covered and secure.

Done it from L'Havre to Grand Massif and that was easy in day via Paris but cost about €80 each way ..my preferred route , which I have done a couple of times, is via Lille and Luxembourg (fill up there the cheapest fuel in Europe) and then down the Autoroutes ...a bit longer but a good saving and can be done in the day..its definitely worthwhile for 2 but the main thing is the freedom while you are there..In That region you can go to 3 or 4 major skiing areas in a week ...