When people get it touch with us to book their tours, one of their first questions is usually ‘what’s the best way to travel to France for our alpine cycling holiday?’ In this blog post, we’ll take a look at all the options.

Flying

Flying is the most popular choice for our riders. Unless otherwise stated, all our tours include return transport in a minibus from either Geneva or Lyon airport to our chalet in La Praz, in the Courchevel valley. It’s quick – on average flights from the UK to Geneva take around 1 hour 45 minutes.

For our Dolomite tour, which starts in Austria, we pick up from Munich (Salzburg is another option), and for the Raid Alpine Tour it’s best to fly into Geneva and depart from Nice.

We recommend that you contact us before you book your travel so we can recommend the best arrival times to coincide with our transfers, which will help you take advantage of the most convenient flights.

Like any holiday, it makes sense to book early to get the best prices. Easyjet offer decent prices to Geneva and Lyon from most UK airports, and they also fly to Munich. Our Irish riders often use Air Lingus and Ryanair. Other scheduled airlines offer good deals, too, and they often charge less for bike carriage.

When you book, make sure to select the bike carriage at the same time, because airlines often charge excessive amounts at the airport. Definitely worth checking the small print at the time of booking. The cost of bike carriage varies from airline to airline. As a guide, Easyjet charge £70 return, Air Lingus is around 80-100 euros return, and Ryanair 120 euros return.

Each airline has its own guidelines about how bikes must be presented for packing in the hold, so it’s worth checking that out before you fly, too.

Understandably, most riders want to bring their own bikes for their cycling holiday, but it’s worth remembering that we can help you with bike hire for your trip – you can hire high a quality bike here for 150 euros a week.

Driving

For those of our trips that start and finish at the chalet base in the Courchevel valley, or our weekend trips to Annecy, many riders choose to drive from the UK. The journey from Calais to Courchevel takes around 10 hours.

The cheapest and shortest journey across the channel via ferry is from Dover to Calais, but there are other options by sea. This site has a great interactive map to help you find a ferry route near you.

You can, of course, drive via Eurotunnel and you can find more information here.

Train

Train travel is another popular choice. Lyon is the best arrival destination. Trains through France are fast, reliable and cheap, too. There’s also no charge for bikes, although you may have to change trains and stations in Paris to make your connection.

Riders who travel independently to La Praz will be entitled to a discount on the programme prices. Get in touch with us and we can give you more details.

So, what will you choose?

There’s no right or wrong way – just whatever works best for you! Prices for all methods of transportation will differ depending on dates and where you are travelling from.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions, or are ready to book.

We look forward to riding with you soon!