J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

Thanks Jon :D

So, how much do you think it would cost to hire an estate sized car to drive from Geneva airport to Tignes and back for a week ski-ing, including the tolls and fuel?

randyrat wrote:Well, it looks like it's car hire...I've exhausted all the options. For a small group like ours it's by far the cheapest option, even including fuel and "gasp" £60 for a weeks parking in Tignes. Ah well, on the upside it'll be quicker than a minibus, and we can stash up on food and drink before we reach Tignes, which should save a packet.....
Happy days.....!! :P

Hi Randyrat - how much are you paying for the car hire? I'd like a figure to put on my group holiday 2013 thread.

Do the hire rules specify you have to use undercover parking? If they don't (and you bring a shovel in case of mega snowfall) as far as I know you can park for nothing in the outdoor car parks.

Thanks very much Dave Mac for your kind words :D

I'm really sorry you can't come with us this time, but maybe next year ....

I am actually enjoying organizing this holiday, and I'm really looking forward to it now. We have a great bunch of people in the group and we're all helping each other and making friends. I am sure we will have a really great time out there :D

We have to make our final payments to Bonjour by the 21st October (we paid a deposit of £100 each when we booked), and anyone who decides to come with us after that date will have to pay the full amount (the basic price is £399 for 2 people sharing a room) when they book.

Transfers, ski passes, ski hire, and lessons are all extras but can be arranged through Bonjour. And anyone wanting to come with us has to book their own flights from whichever airport is the most convenient for them.

We are quite happy to welcome all standards of skier/snowboarder from beginners to experts.

The photo below shows the tree-lined piste down into Les Brevieres, with a view of the dam and the lake over to the right (photo taken April 2012 by my daughter).


The chalet Bonjour Bonjour in the snow (April 2012)

I think the hardest part of organizing a DIY ski holiday (once the date and location are sorted) is finding a reasonably priced reliable return transfer from the airport to the accommodation.

Of course, those driving to Tignes from the U.K. or going by train to Bourg St Maurice don't have this problem.

Bonjour advised us to book flights to Geneva even though it's not the closest airport, as they felt there was less chance of flights being diverted due to the weather etc. It is, however, quite a long way from Geneva to Tignes (about 100 miles). Car hire from Geneva is a possibility but it's expensive, and I should think you'd need 4 people in the car for it to be cheaper than the public bus.

Luckily there are several transfer options, amongst which are:

1. The chalet transfer coach is the cheapest option and costs £60 return, but is only suitable for certain flight times which arrive at Geneva before 13-30 on the way out, and depart after 11 a.m. on the way home.

2. The public bus Altibus.com - a return costs 109 euros (about £87).

3. http://www.snowbus.co.uk/
A return with snowbus travelling on Sundays costs £82 and the time it takes seems to vary according to the time of day but it's around 3 hours.

4. http://www.bensbus.co.uk/prices.php

The cost of a return from Geneva to Tignes Les Brevieres with Bens Bus is £74 for Saturday travel and £84 for travelling on Sunday, and it takes between 3 hours 10 minutes and 3 hours 40 minutes.

Luckily the bus stop is quite close to the chalet, and there is also a large, free car park for those driving:



The chalet Bonjour Bonjour in the sketch below is the one on the far left coloured in red.

millstreet wrote:
My wife and I have found a flight from Cork to Munich.
5 day round trip, max 3 days skiing, 1st week of December 2012.
We are good intermediate skiers.
35 - 40 years old.
We Like good restuarants & bars,
Ski in Ski out would be desireable,

Mayrhofen or Kitzbuhel?????
Open to suggestions!!!!

I have just thought another thought, which is that maybe we'd better get back to the subject of this thread ... :D

You're quite right Bandit :D

What I should have said was 'I think that Ian W is just joking ...'

I mean, none of us can ever, really know what anyone else is thinking and in fact sometimes I'm not too sure what I'm thinking or if, indeed I'm thinking at all (as on this occasion).

So, perhaps to be even more accurate I should have said, 'I think, that I think, that Ian W is just joking ...'
:lol:

And, 'I think that I think that perhaps, in this instance, I was wrong, but I'm not too sure. I will have to think about it some more ...' :lol:

Thanks very much for posting that up. It's most interesting.

According to the website below, the Swiss train will be leaving St Pancras 3 hours earlier, at 06-57, than the direct train to the French Alps which leaves at 10 a.m.:
http://www.greentraveller.co.uk/blog/eurostar-launches-new-weekly-ski-service-swiss-alps

Departure times for the new service to the Swiss Alps:

Outbound (Saturdays only)
Dep St Pancras 06:57
Dep Ashford 07:28
Arr Lille 09:26
Dep Lille 10:02
Arr Aigle 15:47
Arr Martigny 16:13
Arr Visp 16:57
Arr Brig 17:08

Inbound (Saturdays only):
Dep Brig 12:51
Dep Visp 13:02
Dep Martigny 13:41
Dep Aigle 14:01
Arr Lille 18:55
Dep Lille 20:30
Arr Ashford 20:35
Arr St Pancras 21:06

Harry,
Ian W is just joking about Austria - that's what the wink is for :wink:

So, don't worry about it :D