Travel Information

Ski Holiday Travel

Travel by plane

The quickest and simplest way of travelling to the Alps is by plane. Expect to the flight to last for 1 hour 10 mins and then the wait at the airport for your transfer to be between half an hour and 2 hours (subject to delays). The transfer from airport to resort will then take anywhere between 1 hour and 3 hours depending on the resort of choice. 

Travel by car

Often a good way to save money for a group of 4 is to drive to the Alps - especially in peak season where you can save £150 per person on our holiday prices by not taking our flights. You will also save on UK airport parking, ski carriage and extra baggage charges. Drive-time to the Alps is anywhere between 7 and 10 hours on the French side. Petrol is about 10-15% cheaper, but expect to pay tolls of up to £40-50 each way. Resorts that benefit from a car (for convenience) are Chamonix, Morzine, Les Gets, Tignes Brevieres, La Plagne, Sainte Foy. See self-drive ski deals.  

Skis & Board Carriage / Baggage

Skis and boards will be charged extra, subject to the airline’s surplus baggage policy. An £8 charge will also have to be met in order to secure your skis and boards on the coach or minibus transfer. This is due to the extra costs involved in handling, and to cover for extras such as racks and trailers if necessary. In the event racks and trailers are not used there will be no refunds. Please pre-book your ski carriage by filling in the relevant section of our booking form. It is your responsibility to book and ensure you have ski carriage in place.

We cannot make any guarantees for the safe transit of luggage, and guests must have suitable insurance in place, to cover any damages potentially caused to skis and luggage in transit.

Flight tickets

Your flight tickets will be sent 1-2 weeks prior to departure. Please remember that any Flight changes and name changes are charged at £30 per person for administrative costs, and additional charges may be levied by the airline. All tickets are generally E-tickets and may require you to print off your own boarding passes or tickets for travel.

Weight Limit

Skis and Boards go as outsize baggage and the weight limit is generally 20 kilos per person. Ski Boots are generally taken on board as hand luggage. The limit is 1 item of hand luggage per person. Please check directly with the airline for any changes in allowance, any information that we provide is intended as a guide only. We cannot make any guarantees for the safe transit of luggage, and guests must have suitable insurance in place, to cover any damages potentially caused to skis and luggage in transit.

UK Airport Procedure

Please ensure that you check in at least 2 to 2.5 hours prior to departure. Check-in desks are now open 2½ to 3 hours prior to departure times in busy or peak periods. Remember to allow enough time for parking and any airport shuttles. We have a representative only at Gatwick airport for guests using our Alpine Elements charter flights. Otherwise, a representative is not available.  However, all guests are met in Grenoble, Geneva, Lyon or Friedrichshafen by our Company representatives on arrival and before being transferred back to resort on a private transfer with all luggage (including skis and boards). It is our clients’ responsibility to ensure that they make their outbound flight departure from the UK and so we ask you to be at the airport at least 2 hours prior to departure. (3 hours in peak periods). If you fail to check in on time then the airline may refuse to allow you to board the flight. Please inform our French office as soon as possible if you have missed your flights, (tel 0033 450 53 29 17).

Foreign Airport Procedure

If you arrive at Grenoble, Geneva, Lyon or Friedrichshafen airport and you cannot find one of our reps (who are usually waiting to greet you on arrival) then this may mean the coach is delayed or stuck in traffic. Do not despair, please just wait in the restaurant at the end of the arrival lounge building and our reps will come and find you!

Ad-Hoc Flights

For regional departures and holidays sold after all our allocated seats have been used up, it will be necessary for Alpine Elements to buy in flights on an ad-hoc basis, and supplements may have to be charged. We use carriers such as Easyjet, Flybe Jet2, BA and Swiss. Our Ad-hoc flight's plan is run to coincide with our Charter flights as best we can, so that we can run the same transfer coach for all in and out bound passengers, regardless of carrier. However, you may have an extended wait at the arrival and departure airport in order to match your transfer. Our ad-hoc flight programme is always engineered as best we can to fit into our charter timings, although in both cases a short waiting time at the foreign airport for a transfer or a flight to depart cannot always be avoided. In such instances we aim for this not to exceed 1 ½  hours, however, there can be no guarantees.

Connecting Flights

Please understand that flight times/schedules printed (charter) and given at the time of booking (ad-hoc & charter) are not cleared and bookings cannot be accepted conditional on timings. Clients with inward or outward connections should allow plenty of time in the event of a schedule change or flight delay. We strongly recommend that tickets on a fully flexible basis to accommodate any unforeseen delays.

Flight Tickets

Your flight tickets will be sent 4-7 days prior to departure. Please remember that any Flight changes and name changes are charged at £30 per person for administrative costs, and additional charges may be levied by the airline. All tickets are generally E-tickets and may require you to print off your own boarding passes or tickets for travel.

Own Flights

Remember that if you book your own flights then you may deduct £70-150 per person from our published holiday prices (if self-travel is an available option) but you will need a transfer and ours cost £30-50 p/person each way (£60-100 rtn), subject to availability.

Self Drive

Driving out to resort or taking the Snow train often has the benefit of an extra day or two skiing as well as increased flexibility over luggage and travel times. For driving, all our resorts are approximately 600 miles from Calais, or an 8 to 9-hour drive with rest stops on the French side. French motorway tolls will cost approximately £40 each way, however, fuel can be a bit cheaper. We can help you buy your Train, Ferry or Euro Tunnel tickets if you call our UK office.

Self Travel Discount

You may deduct £70-150 per person from our published holiday prices for using the Channel Tunnel or Ferry for self-drives. Self Travel holidays are subject to availability as many weeks we have a strict bed to flight ratio, where we cannot offer discounts for not taking our own charter flights. 

Ferry

With our preferential rates on the Dover/Calais route with P&O, we can offer a package to include a car and ferry travel for up to 8 passengers. Dover to Calais return crossings are from only £22 per person. Do call us now for a quote.

Euro Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel is a popular option with trains departing every 15 mins. The simplicity of service can often save up to an hour or more on overall journey time, however, it is wise to book in advance because tickets can cost more than the ferry.