Where to stop between Calais and Tignes?

[CalmDownBoris72]

Hi, we’re driving to France next ski season (late December) and I want to book somewhere for a stop over between Calais and Tignes. We’re due into Calais around 1pm so ideally would like somewhere around 5 to 6 hours from there.

Has anyone who’s done the drive to Tignes or somewhere relatively close got any recommendations for a good location to stop over or a specific hotel? There are 7 of us I total if that makes any difference.

We’ve never done the drive ourselves before although that’s what we did when I was a child and I have fond memories of Formula 1 hotels and remember my horror when realising they bathrooms were shared 😂

Thanks.

We always stop at the Novotel in Beaune. It’s pretty good value, really modern, family rooms, decent restaurant, an indoor and outdoor play area for kids, nice bar. It’s day’s drive from London so we leave first thing and arrive in time for dinner. Then half a day from there to Val d’Isere so I imagine same to Tignes. Last year we had a late lunch at the bottom of the lifts in the sunshine then off to check into our chalet- it couldn’t have gone better!

Great, thank you. That sounds ideal for us, somewhere for the kids to let off steam as well as us relax after a long drive.

We stopped at the B&B Hotel in Auxerre both on the way to and from Les Arcs (there's two in Auxerre, directly opposite each other)

It's more of a motel than a hotel, but suited our needs perfectly. We got a family room, so the DC slept in the two single beds on the mezzanine level, and we had the double downstairs.

There's a bowling alley and restaurant a five minute walk away, which was our entertainment and food both times. You can actually see the motorway péage from the top floor balcony of the hotel. It's that close to the motorway, so perfect for swiftly getting on and off.

There's a Lidl opposite the hotel too. We used it for breakfast both times (pastries!) Much cheaper than the breakfast offered, and we hadn't prebooked it anyway. We plan to do our shop for the week whilst we're there next time so we don't need to stop in Bourg, or pay the resort supermarket prices.

Not much else around, but given that we just wanted some food, some drinks, and a break from the car, the hotel, plus bowling alley, served us perfectly. There are other restaurants in the area too.

Picture of our room attached.

The bathroom is under the mezzanine. It had a decent sized shower, plus toilet and sink.

We stopped in Dijon, but although we were staying only a mile or so from Tignes it was over the col (obviously not driveable in ski season) so I suspect you don’t need to go so far south.
Formule 1 don’t have shared bathrooms any more.

We drive to Val D’isere and bite the bullet and drive all the way at once! Leave at around 6pm in the evening and get to Val in the morning (and benefit from going up the mountain on a Saturday morning when everyone else is trying to get out!!). Dump stuff at accommodation and sort skis and lift passes out and head to the slopes!

Great, thanks. Do you know the name of the B&B? Rooms look ideal.

Thanks. I’ll check out the options for Dijon as I’d prefer do the bulk of the driving on the first day.

Boo to the no more shared bathrooms, I was looking forward to introducing my kids to that concept!

This is our plan on the way home! Slightly terrified.

We’ve done it this way. The drive was fine in terms of length and traffic. You’ll probably want flexi tickets on the tunnel since you can’t really predict when you’ll get there. However, it required leaving early and on mountain road in the dark both the kids got horrifically car sick which is unheard for them normally. Had to replace DS’s carseat as just couldn’t get it clean around the buckle. Between that and the flexipass it would have been cheaper to stop and get a hotel. Will not repeat it under any circumstances.

Hi, someone mentioned flexi tickets for the tunnel - don’t bother doing them as you can get on any train! We were supposed to get the 4.15pm (ish) train back this time but we got to Calais at 2.05pm, we were on a train and on our way back to England by 2.15pm!!!

Really @Matilda1981 ? Is it also ok if you miss it? Or would you say that you can really just book a really late train to be on the safe side when coming from so far but they’ll always get you on an earlier one? With no chance of sitting there for hours if it’s a busy day? Have I been conned into thinking it’s necessary?! 😂

It's literally called B&B Hotel. It's part of a chain. This is the one we stayed at.

It was about 5.5 hours from Les Arcs. Googlemaps is showing it as 6 hours from Tignes.

We took advantage of the 11am check out and slept in. By the time we got to the the pinch points around Albertville etc, they'd all gone, and we had a clear run. We couldn't pick up our accommodation keys until 1700 at the earliest, so we just enjoyed the leisurely Saturday drive.

Check out this place in Moneteau I found on Hotels.com: h.htls.co/COEy8i8hnMmWCMjX2HZfsaA9HO2

I would suggest stopping around Beaune. Lovely town and means you have about 6 hours to go the second day. We drive in one go from London to southern alps and it’s doable with 2 drivers and acquiescent children. On the return trip we leave about 5.30am and book a 6pm Chunnel or ferry.

We stayed (more than 10 years ago) at a Kyriad in Dijon with an indoor pool. Was good way for kids to let off steam after being in the car all day.
Basic hotel but was all we needed.

We usually do Dijon if we leave Friday morning. Stopping in a f1 type hotel there are loads just off the motorway.
If we leave Friday evening we do the whole lot in one go, depending on what weekend you’re travelling we often arrive at similar times just nicer for the drivers to get a solid overnight sleep.
We usually do the drive home in one go leaving resort around 5am and arriving back to the north of England around 2am.
We book a set ticket on the eurotunnel for the way out and utilise the ability to get an early train up to 2hrs earlier and then a flexi ticket for the way home.

If you only want 5-6 hours then Dijon is about that - Novotel Dijon Sud has a restaurant and supermarkets close by - although it's a few minutes off the motorway; or alternatively the one at Macon Nord is right by the motorway junction. They have family rooms and kids under 16 get free breakfast.

We bite the bullet and go all the way to Chambery or Albertville - there's an Ibis Styles which has just opened in Albertville which is very nice - breakfast is included - or alternatively several hotels at La Motte Servolex just outside Chambery (Ibis, Premiere Classe, Campanile) right by a huge supermarket if you want to stop for shopping. We get up early the next day to get to Tignes, put the car in the carpark - book online in advance as they fill up early! - and get an extra day on the slopes before taking over our apartment later in the afternoon. Driving back, we leave about 7am and do the journey in a day.

There are loads of places well set up on the way, we’ve stayed in various Ibis etc but try to shoot a bit further south (Crêches near Mâcon is a decent one). The best route avoids the Paris banlieue as it’s far more prone to delays on holiday weekends

We drive the UK to Tignes 6 times a year so have done it every which way.

Depending on the day you’re leaving just be aware of the Sunday closing times for the big supermarket in Bourg. When we leave UK sat morning we need to get far enough down to get into Bourg for 10am to get to Super U to stock up before we go up the hill.

The supermarkets are extortionate in town so well worth picking up some bits in Bourg and we made the mistake of missing the opening times once or twice!

We always stay in an Ibis family room on the way down, they are everywhere in France and have very flexible cancellation policies right up until 6pm on check in day Useful with kids when they’ve hit their limit!!

As said before Beaune is a great shout, on the way back we tend to go Tignes to Troyes (beautiful place) and the next day Troyes-Calais-Home.

Troyes is lovely but only about 4 hours from Calais so maybe not far enough in - maybe a good tea time stop though or an option for way home?

We drove from Calais to Bourg St Maurice in summer. Stayed in Reims on the way down and Troyes on the way home. Was v nice Ibis in Troyes fairly central to everything and easy underground parking (high enough for car with roof box)