J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by kmcd

Hi!
Sorry I did not mean it to sound that it is difficult to drive from the French side. My family live in Geneva so I have used both sides often. However we have found in the past because it is cheaper to hire a car on the French side the queues are very long especially if you come off an Easyjet flight. We live in Belfast so we use EJ all the time and waiting for a good couple of hours to pick up your hire car in France is not fun. Also be aware unlike in Switzerland I believe the cars in France do not legally have to have winter tires on. You can drive into Geneva without a Vignette on certain roads but for the sake of 40ch it is not worth taking the risk of a fine as you must have it for the majority of roads. My husband always gets angry about this but it is provided with your rental agreement if you hire from the Swiss.

I forgot to say for Villars there is lots of accomodation to rent in the village and a train that takes you up to the slopes runs all the time. It is a nice relaxing scenic journey. You can even get a train form Geneva airport to Villars you may need to change. However if you contact the Swiss tourist board in london you can purchase a special ticket for tourists that gives you a return train journey to your destination from your point of entry. It is about £50, and you don;t need a car if you are staying in Villars. If you book now you should get a good deal.

Hi!
Try Villars or Les Diableret in the Vaud region it is only over one and a half hours away from Geneva. It is a good place for mixed ability. look up www.villars.ch it has loads of info and if you ring the tourist board they are really helpful. When we stayed there we used Interhome but i think it is cheaper to go through the tourist board this is what i have done for next january in Engelberg(CH). As we got terrible accomodation in Tignes this year through Interhome and they did not care. The Office Interhome office in Villars are lovely and you often get discounts on ski hire and passes etc. Also get your car hire through cartrawler.co.uk I have just got a deal for a large family car with sixt on the swiss side for 349ch.

Hi!
We went to Villars in the Vaud region January 05. My husband and I had a great time it is small but it is typically Swiss. It is also just under a one and a half hour drive from Geneva. If you fly into Geneva do not book a car on the french side with Europcar it will seem cheaper but if you have to drive in Switzerland you will need to purchase a vingnette and we were waiting for nearly 3 hours waiting in line for a car. their service is atrocious. We always get a good deal with Sixt and I booked ours with cartrawler.co.uk. Contact www.villars.ch for information on accomodation the web site is brilliant.There is also skiing nearby in Diableret. We used the Ski School Villars it is yellow and blue. If you go out of season book a collective lesson and even if there is just you there you will get a one to one lesson for the same price( just act dumb when booking). Your partner would enjoy the scenery she does not have to ski to enjoy herself.

Thankyou for your advice it is a big help!

Hi!
We are going to Engelberg in January and I am starting to get a little worried. I know it is only a small resort, thats fine and I know there are only a limited number of runs. What worries me is that we are quite crap at skiing and i wonder if the runs will be too difficult. I am a very crappy intermediate skier its not that i cannot ski i just don't like heights or skiing too fast. (I know what your thinking) As a kid I was not bothered but now in my late thirties I am scared. This will be my husbands 3rd ski holiday and my son's 3rd snow boarding holiday. They like bombing down the slopes.
I am hoping someone will write and tell us we will have a wonderful time and can recomend a good ski school and snowboarding school for my 14 year old son.
All the information i have read is not that helpful and they seem to say it's not a place where alot of English go. That does not bother me. I would be grateful for any advice. Also I am really pleased to see some of the positive remarks about CH my family live there and I love the mountains I think it is one of the nicest places in the world and very uncrowded. Thanks!