boys jolly to chamonix - top tips please...

Harland71

Hiya,
with nearly one year to go we've started to 'plan' a trip for 4-6 of us to go to chamonix next september.

Has anybody done this and can anybody offer any advice or recommendations on the following:

is chamonix the place to be or Morzine or somewhere else?

ferry or flights?

own bikes or hire bikes?

how expensive are toll roads if we drive?

camping or chalet hire - any clues please...

we are starting from near Newcatle upon tyne and easyjet fly into geneva... but we think we fancy a road-trip fro some reason...

Help please!

Thank-you muchly.

H.

Goytrebiker1

Having just organised a trip for 6 this is what we came up with

fly it's easier
Hire bike suitcases and take your own unless you want to hire bigger rigs whilst yo are there

Try this guy he is a top guy with loads of help
http://www.mountainbikebreaks.com/ (mention Mark doing the VTT as a referal)

He can offer you Chalet, fully catered, transfers from Geneva.
Our accomo is costing 275 for 4 nights
Flights with luggage and bikes about 150
Lift passes about 50

Stevo_666

I've been to Chamonix a few times for skiing by car and by plane. If you were based in the SE of England then driving is not a bad option but the extra 300 mles from Newcastle will make it a bit of a trek, so probably best fly to Geneva then either pickup a hire car or get a coach transfer (its only about 90 minutes from Geneva to Chamonix).

I'd get a chalet if I were you but that's just me liking my creature comforts. Maybe not too expensive in September?

delcol

try find sara on here she and guy run flow mtb in morzine.. try looking on their website
http://www.flowmtb.com/

they are guides as well....

kurako

You could also consider flying to Torino. It's not so far of a drive via the Mont Blanc Tunnel. I only went there in winter so afraid I can't help much with the other stuff.

Chalky76

I would say fly as well and get a transfer pick up - there are quite a few companies who are running back and forth from Geneva to Morzine. Between us we have hired and taken our own bikes. Next year i think most of us will take our own but i liked hiring for the past two years as 1) you can hand it back at the end of the day and not have to worry about what damage you've done! and 2) it's a good way of trying out bikes you would normally not get the chance of trying out.

From my trips i can recommend Ride and Slide chalets, they are top notch people. Can also recommend rideability (guy called Jo) if you want a guide at all. We don't use him anymore as we know our way around, but on our first trip he took us to some cool trails which were ignored by the masses, plus he will give you tips when you stop for a breather now and then.

Whatever you do, you'll have a top time. If you do Morzine, make sure you have a Mutzig beer or two in Bar Robinsons, but if you're riding the next day, don't have too much, it's strong stuff!

hoolabloom

As far as i know Easyjet only fly NCL-GVA in the winter rubbish as i fro one would love local flights in summer too.

We flew from edinburgh to geneva which was nice and easy.

Hired a car in geneva and its bout an hour to cham.

From cham to les gets is bout 50 mins-an hour and more than doable if you wanted a change.

The biking in chams great with my fav being the 8km downhill in flegere real big mountain feel and well 8km is a long way. Me and my wife done it a couple fo times now and we normally mix it up a bit with cham and portes du soliel. We usually stay in a chalet as its nice to have the creature comforts at the end of the day.

Driving wise we ve done it on the amsterdam ferry leaving 5 from shields we were in cham 8 pm the following day ferry was nt cheap tho bout 400 quid, however we figured we d have too sleep at some point and liked the option of a chilled night trip and a beer etc then the drive next day instead of two days driving.

Am in the north east and always on the look out for new folks to ride with.

drop me a pm with any specific questions.

bluechair84

I costed up our trip on my blog post which has links to webbys which will work out your tolls for you.
I wrote about our holiday here.
And there is a video of our trip - but that wasn't the question. Bits of advice I'd pass on are; a) your fuel consumption will be higher than you think because, four hours in, you're gonna be bored as feck and start putting your foot down. b) take spare tubes, brake pads, tools... whatever you got because spares and repairs out there are expensive - and they are tough to get in a flight bag. c) Hire bikes (SC Butcher) are about 90 pounds a day. d) If you do decide to drive, it's tough to get some sleep on the ferry (but you can sneak into the HGV drivers lounge where there are lots of empty comfy chairs). When we do it next we'll take the Chunnel all the way to Paris which makes the journey shorter whilst the savings on fuel help cover the higher cost of the train.

Harland71

Wow! Thanks for all the help. well after 1week and approximately 400 emails, as of last night we thought we would: fly to geneva, transfer to Morzine/Les Gets and get a chalet and hire-bikes there. Will be a shame if the easyjet from Newcastle isn't available but Edinburgh isn't too difficult to get to.
Ferry prices from the north-east are pretty steep and we didn't fancy the drive to the south coast.
Hire-bikes get fixed if anything fails so they win.
Now to find a chalet that will take a 4/5 day booking in September...

bluechair84

We stayed at The Edge which was considerably cheaper than the B&Bs, had a jaccuzi, think it may have had a sauna but we never saw it (didn't look for it mind), Wii (though no games), table tennis, hose pipe and lock up for the bikes, WiFi and a Mac. I think the owner was Lyndsy who is a fab lady - she helped direct us to a hospital an hour away after a friend shattered his leg and gave us loads of good advice. She's a live-in so though she keeps to her own floor of the chalet, she's always around. She even checks pockets for cash (which she returns) when she washed our clothes!

Jedi

chamonix is my fave place to ride

bluechair84

Jedi wrote:

chamonix is my fave place to ride

After Sheeps' mum.


[/CC response...]

hoolabloom

Check out this place owned by a mate. In morzine close to the lifts and Pubs.....

Very good accomodation. Few folks off here have stayed and not been dissapointed

http://www.epicmorzine.com/

tomw_n

Has anybody done this and can anybody offer any advice or recommendations on the following:

I live in Chamonix & just wrote a bike guidebook to the area so can help with this stuff

is chamonix the place to be or Morzine or somewhere else?

Chamonix = riding huge vertical on technical walkers' paths, cool little genuine mountain town with climbers, families, walkers etc.
Morzine = riding lift accessed bike specific tracks, smaller town with more of a 'bike resort' feel.

ferry or flights?

I would fly newcastle to GVA then transfer or hire car up to Chamonix depending on how many of you there are.

own bikes or hire bikes?

depends what you've got & what you want really. If you've got a carbon Nomad in the garage it'd be a shame not to bring it. By the same token if you've got a hardtail or short travel full bouncer perhaps consider renting.

how expensive are toll roads if we drive?

www.viamichelin.com for toll info, you want to route via Reims not Paris

camping or chalet hire - any clues please...

Off season you'll snag a bargain on a chalet or apartment. For accommodation in CHX try www.snostation.com, www.iceandorange.com or www.yetilodge.com, all very bike friendly. These guys are good people, fair & square and all offer good value accommodation.

we are starting from near Newcatle upon tyne and easyjet fly into geneva... but we think we fancy a road-trip fro some reason...

Hiring a car at GVA will let you do days at Pila, Les Gets, Pores du Soleil, La Clusaz, Cervinia, Verbier and loads more good places that are within 90mins drive.

So, hope all that stuff helps a bit. Great decision to come in September...not so hot, fewer folk on the trails, cheaper accommodation. Happy booking, and while you're at it, have a peek at the guidebook I just wrote, the website is www.thechamonixbikebook.com.

Trapper

We too are planning a Sept 2013 trip to the Alps from Notts. Am i right in thinking there is limited lift access at that time of year, which limits the choice of resorts? I believe the lifts in Chamonix operate, but are there any others? Any recommendations for accommodation for between 8-12 people please?