HELP! we are driving to the slopes for the first time - advice please!!

[sinclair]

Just got ourselves sorted finally and booked LEs Saisies for the half term week. The chalet comes with a Eurotunnel crossing so we are taking the plunge and driving for the first time. Tips and advice welcome especially -

• should we cross Friday night (we are W London but can leave after school) and get a head start in the morning or is it possible to get an early crossing and still make it?

• is it true that the roads up to the resorts get very jammed and that is where you lose time - any way around that?

• have seen a tip on here for a pre-bookable motorway card - or did i dream that?

• are the timings on AA or ViaMichelin even slightly reliable or will it take way longer?

THanks all...

We drove early december down to Chamrousse near Grenoble so about 550 miles from Calais. Went on eurotunnel. Have you got the upgrade to flexi plus? Its a good idea to stop at the flexi plus lounge and grab a free pack up lunch and magazines/papers. We left Folkstone at 3pm on the friday and spent the first night in a Etap travelodge style place at Laon on the first night, The rooms are for 3 so fitted us ok. Next day we took the road down to the resort and arrived in daylight. Went on the autoroutes and paid the tolls- no hold ups and no need to put the snow chains on. On our return we left the resort at about 10 and had to dig the car out and put on the snow chains to get down the mountain. Spent the night at a formula 1 in Reims and made the middday eurotunnel. Next time we will not do the overnight stop on the way back as we wanted to get home. Didn't find any hold ups and compared to all the waiting around at airports/transfers it was brilliant to do it on our own terms. Friends who came at the same time did it all in one both ways and found timings a good guide. Most self catering cannot be taken over until 5pm so the chances of skiing on the first day are probably limited....I always want to get setttled before I venture onto skis.

We drove to French Alps for first time at Christmas. It was fine, much better than I expected. But we have two drivers and children are old enough to keep themselves as happy as you can be on a very long car journey. We didn't stop overnight and overall, door to door, it took us around 15 hours. We had Flexiplus which was great as it meant we could pick up some food and drink and have it on the train. You lose an hour going out and we actually left at 4.30 in the morning which meant the roads were clear pretty much all the way. We got to the resort at about 7.30 pm only stopping a few times, for around 15 minutes a go. Coming back we left the resort at 8.30 am and got home at 9.30 pm. I was very happy driving as we could pack quite a bit of stuff in the car, including some food - we were self-catering. We live in London.

As it's your first time, I'd leave on the Friday night and get over to France immediately, stopping between Lens and Reims, so in fact Laon is an ideal spot. France is awash with budget chains, most are for 2 or 3 people per room, BB chain does rooms for 4. Often these chains are next door to somewhere budget to eat or nearby.

We have a 500 mile journey where we live to where we ski, the driving takes around 8 hours, we stop for around 2 hours for lunch. Leave at 7am, get there at 5pm.

I'd aim to try and get to the resort early evening, especially as it is French holidays also, the hire shops will be very busy. Do check what time your chosen hire shop closes. Make sure you know where the shop is in relation to accommodation.

If there is a pre-bookable motorway card, don't see what benefit it brings, it takes us about 60 seconds max to get though tolls with a credit card - talking of credit cards, Nationwide is the best one for France.

Never had trouble with queues into resort. We always go to the Chamonix valley now as 4 kids cost the same as 1 child for the lift pass and our close friends live there too. But we come into Chamonix from Switzerland, unlike most who arrive through France.

thanks all for the responses, very reassuring. We can both drive and the kids are pre-teen so that sounding more manageable from what you say than i had feared.

Knew you would give me food for thought. Will first off check whether we have the flexi upgrade thing- thanks!

we regularly drive from sw london to the alps. we usually leave after school, cross in tunnel and sleep in reims or tinqueux in a cheap 4-bed room in a premier classe hotel or similar - i usually book through venere but do it soon if you want a 4-bedder.

Then we drive home in one day, as others have said, you just want to get home.

Last year I got an automatic toll paying card after reading about it here. it's called Liber-t. it really came into its own in the summer when the queues are stinkers. We haven't had it for the winter journey yet but the joy of sailing past even a few cars queuing for the toll is immense!

We've driven from west London to France for skiing the last few years and always used a late night crossing, about midnight, OH would drive most of he night while I got some sleep and We'd stop for breakfast about 6am somewhere , then swap over and I'd drive while he kipped.
Get to resort or within a couple of hours late morning for a supermarket shop

Always worked well for us, but also can be a good idea tostopever in Riems or somewhere close

The queues can be stinkers - sorry to say usually Saturdays in peak periods are bad to get into the resorts, and then on the day/evening that people are leaving on the way out.

But not much you can do about that other than resign yourself to it and make sure your car is well stocked with all you need (food/drinks/entertainment). In the past, we have pulled the dc out of school on Friday and stayed near Moutiers that night so we could get in the resort early on Saturday before the crowds.

If you can't do that, definitely go on Friday night and travel as far as you can - the M25 if you need to use it will be your biggest issue that evening.

Google Maps/Via Michelin are quite reliable in terms of driving time, but remember that doesn't account for stops.

How good are your dc in the car? Do you have a DVD player that will keep them occupied?

Can they/the non-driver read without feeling sick? If so, take books/magazines in the car too as well as blankets and pillows - our dc slept most of the way through France, in both directions on daytime drives.

Be careful with SatNav - one route (as we found out to our cost when we ended up on the Peripherique in a Monday lunchtime jam) will take you on the outskirts of Paris - so check what route it's planning to take you and go east of Paris, not directly around it!

LovelyJudy - thanks for the tip about the motorway toll card, didn't know about that, but it would've saved us at least half an hour on our last trip.

OP - have great fun! We much prefer driving compared to the cost/hassle of airports and airport transfers and it's lovely knowing the holiday has begun as soon as you start the engine to leave home, and you can stock up on wine French produce to take home.

Thanks all we are definitely decided to travel on the Friday afternoon now and have flexi-booking on the tunnel so that allows for some leeway on the no doubt hideous traffic!

Think we are too late for the family rooms as someone said, but that hotel in Laon is still cheap and looks fine for us too.

Couldn't access the toll card site as it wouldn't accept our postcode - but will keep trying.

DH is a geek so regards Satnav as a holy text so it is going to be tricky if it routes us through Paris - seems that the Eastern route is about the same in time/cost tho.

all good advice on here as ever and may see some of you in the queue for the tunnel!

Sx

Tell geeky DH (wondering if my dh is leading a double life) he can interrogate the satnav to find out if it's intending to take you via the Parisian periperique.

If it is, press "choose alternative route" or similar - believe me, you don't want to go around Paris or you'll be stuck there for hours - worse than M25.

Divorce him instantly if he refuses to comply!

I am hopeless driving at night, but we just came back from the Alps having gone on the Newhaven Dieppe ferry. Good because you get a bit of sleep, bad because the wake up call is at 1.45am UK time. however, DH then drove about 3 hours (no issues round Paris at that time!). Had breakfast at the Beaune services, then tootled on to Grenoble for lunch and into our place in S Alps by tea time.

Half term week can be a nightmare on teh French roads - do not go near Paris!!! And you are definitely doing the right thing leaving on Friday. Use the alternative route satnav function.

Have a lovely time...it is snowing at the moment!