Driving to the Three Valleys

Driving is one of the most convenient methods of getting to the Three Valleys. The journey time is around 9-10 hours from Calais and for the majority of the journey you can travel on the, usually empty, French motorways. I’ve completed this journey many a time and I usually find it better to stay overnight in a “just off the motorway” hotel about 2-4 hours from Calais, or as far as you can get basically. The journey can be done in 1 day depending on where in the UK you start from, but you will be arriving very late into resort. Stay overnight and you’ll arrive in resort early enough to sort your ski kit out if hiring and have a relaxing evening.

There are two options for crossing the channel, a ferry or the Channel Tunnel. The Channel Tunnel is quick, at only 30 minutes and that includes offloading. The ferry is a good call if you have kids, it gives you time to get something to eat and have a walk around.

This is my usually itinerary travelling from Oxford to the Three Valleys assuming a Saturday to Saturday holiday.

• Leave work early on Friday afternoon aiming to arrive in Folkestone / Dover about 7pm.
• Cross the channel, arrive in Calais at 9pm local time (if using the channel tunnel, add 1 hour on for ferries)
• Drive for 2.5 – 3 hours, I would try and stop at Rheims, try the Etap Hotel there it’s very good value.
• Set off at 7ish in the morning
• Arrive in the Three Valleys from 3-4pm assuming several pit stops along the way.

This is the route I would take assuming the stopover in Rheims and visiting Meribel:
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Or if you’ve got holiday to burn you can do another of my favourite options. Leave early on the Friday thus making most of the journey on this day. Stay in a hotel at the bottom of the valley, Moutiers or nearby. Then you can get up to resort on the first day’s holiday and ski that day giving you 7 days skiing. The mountain traffic will be a lot clearer with this option as most of the transfers will come in later in the day.

We work on about £400 to get you to the Three Valleys and back which includes petrol and tolls. We drive a Ford Focus (1.6l).

Top tips for driving
1. If you’re taking children then invest in entertainment systems if at all possible, unless you want the children to drive you potty.
2. Going with a group? Try and share your journey with other holiday members, £400 is more than flights will be, but with 4 in the car it’s only £100 each which probably is cheaper flying or the train.
3. Take a sat nav, worth its weight in gold and saves marriages!
4. Don’t forget the snow chains, and also don’t forget to practice putting them on (I speak from a terrible snow chain experience that I won’t go into here!)
5. Check out where you can park your car in resort before you go. Some chalets / hotels will have their own parking, but some won’t. There will be a nearby car park, but it’s worth knowing where that is so you can go straight to it.
6. Last but not least, the French law states that you need to take a warning triangle and now also a fluorescent jacket in your car. Don’t forget it.

Hopefully your journey to and from the Three Valleys will be a stress free one! Also see our posts on flying to the Three Valleys and travelling by train to the Three Valleys.