Ski Travel
A summary of our package ski travel arrangements for your holiday
- Self Drive for up to £100 off p/per
- We fly from Gat, Man, Ema, Brs, Luton, Scotland
- Other airports are available
Sunday to Sunday
We offer the option to Fly, Drive (Ferry) or Snow train, and we can book each of these options for you. We operate a Sunday to Sunday programme in order to try and avoid the nightmare of airport confusion and transfer day traffic jams always associated with Saturday flying!
See our Ski Holiday Travel page to choose your UK departure airport.
Fly or Ski Drive
Flights and transfers are included in our base holiday price. You may self-drive or self-travel for a £70-£100 discount. Our standard Charter flights depart from Gatwick & Manchester and fly into Geneva.
| GATWICK / GENEVA | MANCHESTER / GENEVA |
| Local Times | Local Times |
| 06.50 / 09.50 | 07.15 / 10.20 |
| 10.50 / 11.50 | 11.00 / 12.00 |
| BRISTOL / GENEVA | LUTON / GENEVA |
| Local Times | Local Times |
| 07.00 / 09.40 | 06.25 / 09.10 |
| 10.15 / 11.00 | 09.50 / 10.35 |
We Fly with: Monarch, Flybe, BMI & EasyJet. Flights serve tea, coffee but no hot meals (ex EasyJet)
These times are Local. There will be a clock change after Mar 29 (1hr fwd). Schedule to be cleared.
Regional departures
| Airport | Dec14,Jan4,11, Mar 22, 29, Apr12 | Dec21,28,Feb15 Mar1, Apr5 | Jan20,27, Feb1,8,22,Mar8,15 |
| Bristol | £39 | £49 | £42 |
| Manchester | £39 | £49 | £42 |
| Luton | £19 | £29 | £25 |
| Liverpool | £39 | £49 | £42 |
| Birmingham | £39 | £49 | £42 |
| Edin/Glas | £59 | £89 | £69 |
These supplements are a guide & subject to ongoing availability
We advise booking early to reduce the costs of regional flight supplements which do rise with lessening availability
Ski Transfers
Our Transfers are included for free with our base “With Flights” holiday package only. Remember that if you book your own flights, or use Snow train then you will need a transfer and ours cost from £30 to £40 p/person each way (£60-80 rtn). Subject to availability.
| Resort | Time |
| Alpe d’huez | 2 hr |
| Chamonix | 1 hr 10min |
| Courchevel | 2 hr 20min |
| Les Arcs | 2 hr 30min |
| Les Gets | 1 hr |
| Meribel | 2 hr 20min |
| Morzine | 1 hr 10min |
| Sainte Foy | 3 hr |
| Tignes | 3 hr |
| Val D’Isere | 3 hr |
| Val Thorens | 2 hr 40min |
For 2010: Tarantaise transfer times have been reduced by up to 40 mins with a new motorway connecting Annecy and Geneva. Coach will stop for 30 mins.
Private Taxi Transfers
Our standard “with flights” holiday package includes the transfers for free which are usually run on a coach or minibus. However if you would prefer the comfort of a private taxi straight from the airport and to the door of your chalet , we can arrange this for you at extra cost. Pre-booking will be necessary.
Our Transfers
Please be aware that there may be a wait at the airport for your allocated transfer to depart (typically between ½ and 2 hours*). The reason for this is because separate inbound and outbound flights which share the same transfer may become disjointed, or for possible delays and / or problems with baggage. Most of our transfers are done by private 50 seat coach, and the coach will stop at intervals on request, for children and loo stops. It may be necessary for our transfers to be shared by other Tour Operators from time to time.
Transfer times (above) are a guide only and have been calculated under normal driving conditions in a minibus at 100kmph (62.5mph). Factors such as heavy traffic, snow, extra bus stops (for the loo & refreshment), feeder transport and adverse weather conditions may lengthen transfer times. Many of our transfers are subcontracted to third party coach companies and so we cannot guarantee their prompt arrival or any shortfalls in supply. Private cars or minibuses are also used for transfers and feeder transfers, however sometimes it may be necessary to share a transfer with another Operator, especially with awkward flight times or delays.
*The airport wait time may be further lengthened due to unforeseen problems with incoming flights and/or baggage delays.
Skis & Board Carriage / Baggage
Skis and snowboards have to travel as outsize baggage and must be pre-booked at least 2 weeks before departure. Charges are as follows: (return)
Charter Flights* - £25
Easy Jet - £43
*Gatwick & Manchester only
These charges are for both flights (out and inbound) but are always subject to the airline baggage policy. A £5 transfer charge is included which will 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.
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.
Weight limit
Skis and Boards go as outsize baggage and the weight limit is generally 20-25 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 direct with the airline for any changes in allowance, any information that we provide is intended as a guide only.
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 Geneva 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 Geneve 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 Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Britannia and GB. Our Ad-hoc flights 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 1-2 weeks prior to departure. Late bookers may be charged a supplemented admin fee from £10. Flight changes and name changes are charged at £25 per person for administrative costs. (Additional charges may be levied by the airline)
Self Booked Flights
Remember that if you book your own flights then you may deduct £70-100 per person from our published holiday prices but you will need a transfer and ours cost £30-40 p/person each way (£60-80 rtn), subject to availability.
Self Drive, Snowtrain
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. We can help you buy your Train, Ferry or Euro Tunnel tickets if you call our UK office.
Self Travel Discount
You may deduct £70-100 per person from our published holiday prices for using the Channel Tunnel or Ferry for self drives.
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.
Channel Tunnel / Ferry
You may deduct £70-£100 (Low/Peak) per person from our published holiday prices for using the Channel Tunnel or Ferry.
| Airport | Dec16,Jan6,13, Apr13 | Dec23,30,Feb10,17 Mar23,30 | Jan20,27,Feb3,24, Mar2,9,16,Ap6 |
| Ferry (Dover) | £79/car | £119/car | £98/car |
| Ferry (Hull) | £79/car | £119/car | £98/car |
| Tunnel | £99/car | £139/car | £125/car |
| Snowtrain | £45p/p | £65p/p | £55p/p |
FERRY is for a car & up to 9 passengers
*Hull is for a car and 2 passengers. Additional passengers are £15pp
SNOWTRAIN times are Saturday evening out & back (We are a Sun/Sun operator), so you will need to find accom on the Sat night in Bourg St Maurice
The Snowtrain supplements quoted are to add as a supl to our normal with flights holiday package cost
