I am a massive fan of getting the train to the Three Valleys, in fact I’m writing this sitting on a train from Paris to Moutiers en route to Les Menuires for our December 09 #TwiSkiTrip. It’s a pretty civilised way to travel in France and the trains pretty much have a 100% punctuality rate, take note UK!

There are many different options for travelling by train to the Three Valleys, and I’ll just run over some of them now, you can check out all your options and buy tickets at Rail Europe

The Eurostar direct train goes from St Pancras in London to Moutiers, at the bottom of the Three Valleys. It also goes to Aime la Plagne and Bourg St Maurice. There are two options, firstly the night option which leaves London on a Friday evening and gets you into Moutiers early on a Saturday morning. It leaves Moutiers on a Saturday evening getting you home early on a Sunday morning. This option gives you the opportunity for 8 days skiing if you’re awake enough when you get there! The overnight Eurostar train does not have couchettes (flat beds), you will have a standard Eurostar seat.

Alternatively there is a day train which leaves and returns on a Saturday morning. This is possibly a better option if you can’t bear the thought of the overnighter. You’ll get the normal 6 days skiing with this option.

The Eurostar direct train takes 8-9 hours and costs from £179 return.

Your second option is to get a French network TGV to the Three Valleys. Firstly, no matter what TGV you choose, you will need to get a Eurostar to Paris. To get the cheapest Eurostar fares book early as they open bookings five months before travel. Then you can either get French TGV overnight train or a day train. The overnighters go from Paris Austerlitz which involves a tube journey across Paris. Leave yourself at least an hour between trains for this. The overnight trains have couchettes, which are basically flat beds that drop down. There are six to a cabin in standard class and four to a cabin in first class. They aren’t like real beds but you get to lie flat. The train arrives into Moutiers early in the morning meaning you can get up to resort to ski that day. The overnight trains run every night, so pick and choose what suits you best.

The trains that run in the day are sometimes overlooked. You get the train from Paris Gare du Lyon to Chambery and then change to get the local train from Chambery to Moutiers. Getting from Paris Nord to Gare du Lyon is extremely fast thanks to the RER, the speedier tube. Take line D, Gare du Lyon is two stops down the line and takes about 10-15 minutes only. It’s still probably safe to leave yourself an hour for this transfer. There are numerous times available for this option so just pop in the day you want to travel into Rail Europe and it’ll list all your available trains and prices.

The transfer from Moutiers can be done by the local bus company Altibus, or we recommend Three Valleys Transfers taxi company for the journey to your resort.

Travelling by train can be cheap but as always it’s best to book early. One issue you may come across is the fact that you can book the Eurostar, and thus get the best fares, 5 months in advance, but you can only book the French trains 3 months in advance. This is what I recommend; research the train times for your dates on the fantastic Seat 61 website, choose your times and book the Eurostar to suit. Then go and book the French trains at Rail Europe when they release, fingers crossed it’ll all work out and you’ll get the cheapest fares for both the Eurostar and French TGV. Sometimes first class tickets are cheaper or similar to second class tickets so keep an eye out for those.

I hope you enjoy your journey to the Three Valleys.  Also see our post on driving to the Three Valleys and flying 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:
View Larger Map
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.