Who's going skiing and where? 23-24
Discussion
DoubleSix said:
Just avoid Saturday, its horrendous.
This. We travel on the Sunday for Feb half term. On arrival this year we were out of Geneva in around 30 mins. On the way home we were checked in and though security in around 20 mins. Speedy boarding with EasyJet out of Geneva helps a lot. I have always avoided weekends at Geneva. Now that we have small children, and would have to do weekends, we drive. This included Italy at half term, and a nice two day meander through France, Germany (saw friends in Stuttgart) and Austria via various attractions en route, both ways.
It's a lot less stressful. Big modern car with drive assist stuff and two people driving. Cost was lower than flying/transfers, too (at half term inflated prices/anyway).
I have done the train but again, wouldn't do it with a young family.
It's a lot less stressful. Big modern car with drive assist stuff and two people driving. Cost was lower than flying/transfers, too (at half term inflated prices/anyway).
I have done the train but again, wouldn't do it with a young family.
lemmingjames said:
Did (Resqski) work as advertised? I ended up going back to ribbons as forgotbto check that batteries before leaving.
Yes, but there are a couple of 'tricks'.1. Take the batteries out of the ski 'buttons' over the off season as, like any battery they can leak and in the worst case kill the button.
2. The batteries are a slightly odd size (V389) and I couldn't find anywhere on the high street that sold them. Easy enough to get online - but not if you've forgotten about them and are flying off on holiday tomorrow.
3. They can get knocked out of position (more likely in the boot room than when strapped to your feet) and now follow the advice of someone who lost one that way - either have them in your rucksack or in the skis and in the "on" position, ignoring the "off" one. If they do get knocked they are only likely to go from the "on" to "off" position, not the "off" to "removal" ones. And the batteries last ages in the buttons, you're not going to need to change them on Wednesday or anything. This also has the benefit of you not needing to remember to switch them on, and there's going to be nothing worse than losing a Resqski equiped ski only to look at your other one and realise you'd forgotton to switch them on at the start of the run!
Also looks like they are no more, so if you want to buy new ones you might want to get a wriggle on while sellers still have stock.
Condi said:
Amazing it's not a proper sleeper train, they're becoming quite popular in Europe.
Must admit I thought the ski train had stopped altogether this year but quite likely wrong.
It did stop for a while, now it is running again but only bookable as part of a package holiday. No direct bookings. Must admit I thought the ski train had stopped altogether this year but quite likely wrong.
There have never been any sleeper trains through the Channel Tunnel (and never will be).
I've taken the train many times, normally travelling to Thonon-les-bains for Morzine. Travel time is normally in the region of 14 hours door to door from the Midlands, so about the same as driving.
Condi said:
Amazing it's not a proper sleeper train, they're becoming quite popular in Europe.
Must admit I thought the ski train had stopped altogether this year but quite likely wrong.
Depends what we're talking about.Must admit I thought the ski train had stopped altogether this year but quite likely wrong.
Eurostar Direct
This did stop during Covid but came back for the 2022/23 season - but only as part of packages sold by Travelski, no more just booking seats.
Eurostar to Paris/SNCF to the alps
The sleeper trains from Paris to Bourg-St-Maurice and St Gervais were dropped in 2016 - but are due to be reinstated in 2026.
Depending on your location in the UK and passengers you have on board, driving to the Alps is better than flying via Geneva.
We have a disabled son and drive, it's absolute bliss by comparison. We do a stopover in Troyes on the way out and Bethune on the way home to break up the journey. If it's just a couple of adults I would still drive and do it in one hit. I would venture the time taken would only be a couple of hours extra compared to flying/hire car.
I find the drive a really nice way to settle into holiday mood too, rather than being on the edge of my nerves having been through GVA, especially with the way we get treated having a disabled son. Generally speaking we get left on the plane!
We have a disabled son and drive, it's absolute bliss by comparison. We do a stopover in Troyes on the way out and Bethune on the way home to break up the journey. If it's just a couple of adults I would still drive and do it in one hit. I would venture the time taken would only be a couple of hours extra compared to flying/hire car.
I find the drive a really nice way to settle into holiday mood too, rather than being on the edge of my nerves having been through GVA, especially with the way we get treated having a disabled son. Generally speaking we get left on the plane!
GVA traffic has doubled in the past 20 years and this plus Brexit means we are where we are.
Last year, I flew into Basel and then took public transport to within 500m of my accommodation In Riederalp with the last leg being a cable car that was part of the SBB-CFF rail network which worked like a charm.
Looking further ahead, Brits may be able to take a direct train from London to Basel…
https://www.timeout.com/news/there-could-soon-be-a...
Last year, I flew into Basel and then took public transport to within 500m of my accommodation In Riederalp with the last leg being a cable car that was part of the SBB-CFF rail network which worked like a charm.
Looking further ahead, Brits may be able to take a direct train from London to Basel…
https://www.timeout.com/news/there-could-soon-be-a...
Amateurish said:
//j17 said:
Eurostar to Paris/SNCF to the alps
The sleeper trains from Paris to Bourg-St-Maurice and St Gervais were dropped in 2016 - but are due to be reinstated in 2026.
Interesting! I haven't heard of this, have you got a link?The sleeper trains from Paris to Bourg-St-Maurice and St Gervais were dropped in 2016 - but are due to be reinstated in 2026.
wrencho said:
Francois de La Rochefoucauld said:
I'm driving out to Lech this year, any recommendations on Telepeage companies I can get a tag from?
https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/Keep an eye out for special offers. Often one or another will be offering X, Y, and Z for free. For example last time I looked with Fulli you'd only pay €10 for UK delivery and the toll charges as everything else, including the charge for months in which you use the tag (for 8 months) was free.
Also don't leave it until the last mintue assome people have issues getting the direct debit set up to their UK bank. I didn't have any with a bog standard high street bank current account but i know some people do have issues.
//j17 said:
Amateurish said:
//j17 said:
Eurostar to Paris/SNCF to the alps
The sleeper trains from Paris to Bourg-St-Maurice and St Gervais were dropped in 2016 - but are due to be reinstated in 2026.
Interesting! I haven't heard of this, have you got a link?The sleeper trains from Paris to Bourg-St-Maurice and St Gervais were dropped in 2016 - but are due to be reinstated in 2026.
eps said:
cashmax said:
wrencho said:
Latest model suggests the front coming into the northwestern alps will be slightly delayed meaning the cold air from the north will have chance to set in = low snowline. Down to 1,000m and 2 metres of snow incoming....
https://chamonix-meteo.com/chamonix-mont-blanc/wea...
Hope you are right. There are 20 of us that always go to Les Arcs at Easter, had great spring snow for a decade, was worried this might be the end of it, but a big dump now will set it up nicely.https://chamonix-meteo.com/chamonix-mont-blanc/wea...
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