Skiing in the Alps does not need to be an expensive holiday. It's much cheaper to rent a car from the UK and drive it through France to the Alps than it is to take a flight. We're seeing a huge increase in car hire from UK destinations and our customers driving the car over to France for a week or two. Larger groups tend to opt for the 7 seater vehicles such as the 7 seater VW Touran (5+2 seater) or the larger Ford Galaxy 7 Seater or Vauxhall Zafira car hire. Alternatively the 8 seater Citroen Jumper, or the 9 seater Mercedes Vito car rental. For 7 or 9 people this option is far less than half the price of flights, and that includes the petrol and tolls in France.
For information on the top Ski locations take a look at our guide to the top 10 ski resorts in Europe. If you're looking for something further afield, check out the guide skiing in the USA.
From Calais to the world-class ski resort of Chamonix next to the border of Switzerland is a 7 hour drive in a hire car. Even if you fly from London to Geneva Airport (which is the closes airport to Chamonix) you are looking at a few hours wait in the airport, plus an hour and a half flight crammed in to an Easyjet seat, plus another hour collecting your luggage. You could be traveling in comfort in your own rental car and taking in the sights of the French countryside on the way.
All of the cars available for hire in the UK come with free cross-border travel within the EU. But please check the details of the rental conditions before travelling. For tips on driving abroad, read my recent blog about driving on the right side of the road in Europe
Take a look at the Google Map and you can see that getting to Chamonix is almost a perfect straight line, driving on some of the best roads in Europe.
If you don't fancy the drive from the UK, you can always fly and pick up your car hire from Geneva Airport. You can exit the Airport on the French side of the border and you never have to set foot in Switzerland. Pick up your rental car from Geneva Airport you can be in Chamonix in less than 30 minutes.
To get you in the mood for some of the world’s best skiing, take a look at this video from this year's Freeride De Chamonix Mont Blanc.
