Val Thorens Travel by Plane
Flying out to Val Thorens has got a little easier over the last 10 years, but nothing to do with Airlines or Airports. The most popular ski airport of Geneva has now got a superb motorway all the way to the bottom of the mountain. This has knocked off a good slice of the travel time, approx 40 mins.
There are four airports skiers use to travel to Val Thorens, they are: Geneva, Chambery, Lyon and Grenoble. This gives plenty of options when selecting your flight. Something to remember is that it takes approx 45mins to climb the mountain from Moutiers, so the boring motorway drive is not that long.
If you prefer to go by bus Ben’s Bus run ski transfers to meet all flights into Grenoble, Geneva, Lyon & Chambery Airports every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, depending on the airport you fly into. Their prices start from £75pp return with discounts for children and groups.
Geneva Airport
Airport: A refurbished international airport and most popular for Skiers heading to Val Thorens.
Airlines: Aer Lingus, Air France, British Airways, Easyjet, Flybe, Jet2, Lufthansa, SWISS to name a few. Full list here
Travel time on Bus: 2h 40m
Travel time in Car: 2h 25m
General Info: There are two road routes to Val Thorens, either via Chambery or Annecy. If traffic is not an issue (Annecy can get a little clogged up) going via Annecy is slightly quicker as it’s shorter, also Annecy is one of the prettiest towns in the area.
Tips: If you are hungry on your way home eat before you go through airport security as the choice is much better on the public side. Beware that the queue you need to join to go through security can be long and can take awhile. They used to scan your bags later on in the process so there never used to be a queue here, shame. Geneva is EasyJets main airport so flight prices to and from this airport can be cheaper. See our Travelling by bus page for bus timetable.
Chambery Airport
Airport: Very small airport, you will be lucky to get a sandwich.
Airlines: Flybe Jet2 British Airways
Travel time on Bus: 2h
Travel time in Car: 1h 50m
General Info: If more than one plane is arriving at the same time then the airport is packed. As it’s a small airport delays are not as often.
Tips: There isn’t much of a choice for car rental there. Check before booking flight. See our Travelling by bus page for bus timetable.
Lyon Airport
Airport: Big international airport.
Airlines: Aer Lingus, Air France, British Airways, Easyjet, Lufthansa, SWISS to name a few. Full list here
Travel time on Bus: 3h
Travel time in Car: 2h 45m
General Info:
Tips: See our Travelling by bus page for bus timetable.
Grenoble Airport
Airport: Big airport but a bit out the way.
Airlines: Easyjet, Ryanair, Jet2, British Airways to name a few. Full list here
Travel time on Bus: 2h 30m
Travel time in Car: 2h 20m
General Info: The airport is not in the city of Grenoble, in fact it’s not that near to the city. It’s about 20mins away and if you are driving the road signs are not that good so don’t rely on them.
Tips: Not many bus transfers from here, bare this in mind if you need one before you book the flight. See our Travelling by bus page for bus timetable.