Choosing a resort and sorting your accommodation are the fun bits of planning a ski holiday. Working out how you’ll actually get there is usually an afterthought, tacked on after everything else is booked. That’s a mistake, because getting to your ski resort well or badly can eat into the one thing you’re actually paying for: time on snow. A bad transfer can cost you half a day either end of your trip; a good one can have you on the first lift the same afternoon you land.
There are three realistic ways to reach the Alps from the UK: flying and transferring by road, the Eurostar Snow Train straight into the French Alps, or driving the whole way yourself. Here’s how to weigh them up.
Flying: still the fastest way to most resorts
For the vast majority of UK skiers, flying remains the quickest door-to-door option, but which airport you fly into matters more than which airline you fly with. The general rule is simple: it’s almost always worth paying a little more to fly into the airport closest to your resort, because the time you save on the transfer is time you get back on the mountain.
The French Alps: Geneva, Chambéry, Grenoble or Lyon
Geneva is the default choice for most of the French Alps and it’s easy to see why: it has the most flights and the widest spread of resorts within reach. Chamonix is barely over an hour away, Morzine and the Portes du Soleil around an hour to ninety minutes, and the Three Valleys resorts (Courchevel, Méribel, Val Thorens) roughly two to two and a half hours. Push on to Val d’Isère or Tignes and you’re looking at three hours or more, which is where the alternatives start to earn their keep.
Chambéry is a small, largely seasonal airport, but it’s the closest you’ll get by air to the Tarentaise valley, often cutting an hour or so off the Geneva transfer time to the Three Valleys and Val d’Isère. Flight choice is far more limited though, so it’s a trade-off between a shorter road transfer and fewer flight times to pick from.
Grenoble is the quiet local secret for the southern French Alps: Alpe d’Huez is little more than an hour away, with Les Deux Alpes and Serre Chevalier not much further. Lyon is the biggest and most connected of the four, with the broadest range of flights and fares, but resort transfers from here tend to run longer than from Geneva or Chambéry, so it suits travellers who value flight choice over transfer time.
Austria: Innsbruck, Salzburg or Munich
Innsbruck sits right in the Tyrol, with St Anton around an hour and a quarter away and Ischgl a little over that. Salzburg does the same job for the Salzburgerland resorts, with Zell am See roughly ninety minutes away. Munich has by far the most flights and often the cheapest fares from the UK, but it’s further from almost everywhere, typically two to three hours to Tyrolean resorts, so it’s a false economy if a cramped transfer eats your saving.
The Eurostar Snow Train: London straight to the French Alps
If you’d rather skip airports altogether, the Eurostar Snow Train is back for winter 2026/27, running from London St Pancras to Bourg-Saint-Maurice with a same-station change at Lille Europe. It departs London on Saturday mornings from 19 December 2026 to 20 February 2027, with return services on Sundays (and some Saturdays) through to 28 February 2027. The whole journey takes around eight hours, stopping at Chambéry, Albertville, Moûtiers, Aime-la-Plagne, Landry and Bourg-Saint-Maurice, from where buses and taxis connect on to Val d’Isère, Tignes, the Three Valleys and Les Arcs (a ten-minute funicular ride up from Bourg-Saint-Maurice station).
Fares start from around £125 each way in standard class, tickets are exchangeable up to an hour before departure, and you can bring skis or a board along with your regular luggage. It’s not the fastest way to the mountains, but there’s no airport, no baggage carousel, and no early alarm call, and for a lot of families that trade is well worth eight hours on a train with wifi and a café car.
Driving to the Alps
Driving suits a specific kind of ski trip: a big group splitting fuel and tolls, a family with more luggage than an airline allowance can handle, or anyone who likes the flexibility of having a car in resort. Crossing the Channel by Eurotunnel takes around thirty-five minutes; the ferry from Dover to Calais is roughly ninety minutes on the water. From Calais, budget around nine to ten hours to reach the northern French Alps (Portes du Soleil, Grand Massif) and closer to eleven or twelve for the Tarentaise or Maurienne valleys, most people split this over two days.
A few things are worth checking before you set off: many French and Austrian mountain roads require winter tyres or snow chains by law once you’re in the mountains, tolls on French autoroutes add up over a long drive, and mountain passes can close at short notice in bad weather, so it’s worth having a lower-altitude backup route in mind.
So which should you choose?
If you’re short on time and your resort sits close to a decent airport, fly. If you’d rather avoid airports altogether and your resort is on the line, the Eurostar Snow Train is genuinely one of the more relaxing ways to reach the Alps. If you’re travelling as a big group, with lots of kit, or want a car in resort, driving usually works out better value than it looks on paper once you add up flights, hold luggage and transfers for everyone. Whichever you choose, it’s worth deciding on your transport at the same time as you choose your resort, not after, since it can easily change which resort makes sense.
Quick FAQs on getting to your ski resort
What is the closest airport to the French Alps?
Geneva has the widest choice of flights and resorts within reach, but Chambéry is usually the closest by road to the Tarentaise valley resorts, including the Three Valleys and Val d’Isère.
Is the Eurostar Snow Train direct to the Alps?
It involves one same-station change at Lille Europe, but from there it’s a single train through to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, with no need to change stations or carry luggage between terminals as you would flying.
Is it cheaper to drive to a ski resort than to fly?
It depends on group size. For a large group or family splitting fuel, tolls and a Channel crossing, driving often beats the combined cost of several flights, hold luggage and a transfer. For a couple or solo skier, flying is usually cheaper and much faster.
Do I need winter tyres to drive to the Alps?
Many French and Austrian mountain regions legally require winter tyres or snow chains to be carried or fitted during winter months, so check the specific rules for the country and route you’re driving before you travel.