Driving in the Alps

[Badmutha]

I'll be driving in the Alps in June/July from Geneva down to Nice and am wondering if I need to book the accommodation en-route in advance.I'll be taking the route through the ski areas so there are plenty of hotels but is the area as popular in the Summer? Thanks for any info.

[Stephanie Plum]

I usually book in advance, but you don't have to. Masses of choice and always plenty of free rooms. Maybe book your first couple of nights so you can get going without worrying, but then you won't have too much trouble.

[Badmutha]

Thanks SP

[niki265]

Personally, I'd book in advance. While there are plenty of ski hotels in resorts, they might not all be open in summer. I would at least want to have a rough idea where I was going, and what kind of accommodation was available in that area before getting there.

[hornetrider]

I wouldn't bother booking if I were you. There are vast amounts of rooms to cope with the large skiing numbers, therefore the resorts are much emptier in the summer. If you book in advance you are tying yourself to a timetable. What if you want to do more/less miles in a day? What if you happen upon a glorious small town and fancy staying the night? What if you get to where you're booked and see a nicer/cheaper hotel?

We did a 3 week summer tour last year and the only rooms we booked were in Monaco and the Nurburgring.

[andye30m3]

We did an alps trip last year, didn't book any hotels.

No real problems finding accommodation anywhere.

[Silver993tt]

don't book in advance. There are loads of places to stay and you'll see them for real before choosing anything. You'll also get a better price by turning up, seeing the rooms and doing a bit of negotiation.

[andy ted]

Just watch out for the Tour De France! The mountain stages are unbelieveably popular and all accom will be pricey and hard to come by. Its from Saturday July 3rd to Sunday July 25th at the moment but best check the route compared to yours and either avoid or get amongst it depending on your interest in cycling!

Edited by andy ted on Sunday 24th January 12:26

[Badmutha]

I'll be doing the Route des Grande Alpes, not sure if this is on the Tour de France route but I will probably go late June so will be ok.
Thanks folks for the input; invaluable as usual.

[JONSCZ]

Hi "Mutha". Not sure if you saw this thread a while ago, but my post maybe of some use...
Have a good holiday,
Cheers, Jon
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...