Lyon St. Exupery* in France and Geneva* in Switzerland are the main
airports for Val d'Isère. Both have direct bus transfers to the resort. Lyon
St. Etienne* airport, near Lyon also has flights from the UK, but transfers to
Val d'Isère take about 45 minutes longer by hire car and there
is no direct bus transfer. Chambery* airport has a very limited direct
bus transfer to the resort - make sure that your flight connects with one of the few buses.
Grenoble has no direct bus link to Val d'Isère.
* Flight time from London about 1hr 50 minutes + 1 hour time difference.
Airline web addresses
Book in advance and you may get great rates.
Resort transfers
At both Lyon St. Exupery and Geneva airports there are direct bus links
that run from outside the airports to the centre of Val d'isère.
From both airports, the timetables quote approximately a four hour
transfer. The return fare is 84 euros for an adult travelling from Lyon
and 83 euros travelling from Geneva (2007).
Discounts are available for children up to the age of
12 and for groups. Full details of timetables and discounts are
available from the websites, and tickets can be bought and paid for
online. It is very important to plan your flights around the BUS
timetable if you planning on using the bus transfer service.
Web addresses
Car hire
Geneva airport
The airport has both French and Swiss sides, with Euro and Swiss franc
pricing. The Swiss side gives easy access to the motorway (you do not
need to buy a Swiss motorway pass), but is more expensive. The French
side is cheaper, but you can't use the Swiss motorways and the route
through French Geneva is not easy to find, although the car hire
companies will provide a route map. Click here for directions from the
Swiss side, avoiding the Swiss and French motorway tolls, and going on
a most attractive route through Annecy.
Lyon St. Exupery
The route from Lyon St. Exupery is very straightforward, so long as you
follow the Chambery signs carefully as you leave the airport. With
clear roads, it is about two and a half hours' drive to the centre of
Val d'Isère.
It is worth noting that Europcar is the only car rental company with a
centre in Val d'Isère itself. If you are skiing for longer than
a week, you should look at the prices for two one-way hires, though
this can only be done when booking a French (not Swiss) hire car.
Web addresses
Airport transfers.
The bus transfer is an excellent service however, if you
are struggling with flight times to suit the bus times and are not
happy about hiring a car, we will be happy to assist in arranging for
you to be collected. There will be a charge for this and as much notice
as possible will be required. Please contact us to discuss your
requirements. We do have contacts with minibus companies however, if we
can collect you ourselves we will.