UKH

Has anyone travelled to Chamonix by train from Cumbria? This would be for a ski trip. Any tips, suggestions, things to avoid? Worth getting a rail pass?

In reply to gammarus:

https://medium.com/@hermionetaylor/london-to-chamonix-by-train-my-top-tips-...

In reply to gammarus: yes but over 20 years ago . IMHO - with a small bag - perfectly doable . But  With skis , boots , skimo kit - proper pain in the arse. 

In reply to gammarus:

I have switched to using trains or buses to travel to races in the alps and absolutely love it.

It takes a little longer than flying and I usually spend a night in a cheap hostel in Paris or Lyon along the way to break the journey but I find it more relaxing, I arrive feeling refreshed and taking into account travel to and from the airports at both ends I don't find any more expensive.

A eurail pass can be a simple option for a first attempt but as you become more confident you can mix and match trains and buses and save a bit of money.

My last trip was to Aiguebelle. The outbound journey cost £28 for a bus from Birmingham to Paris, 9 euros for the train classique from Paris to Lyon, 18 Euros for a hostel in Lyon for the night and 11 euros for a combined train and bus ticket to my final destination. 

The return journey cost about £30 more  because I came back early when the weather turned and my race was curtailed but having the flexibility to return early was a real bonus.

In reply to mike123:

Me too, with skis+ winter mountaineering kit. I was the pain in the arse for everyone else on the Underground!

OP: breaking the journey in Paris (if starting from Cumbria) makes the journey enjoyable rather than a race. The question is, can you trust Avanti to get you to London when they say they will?

In reply to gammarus:

If it didn’t need to be Chamonix, there are weekly trains direct from London overnight to the tarentaise- accessing Moutiers for 3 valleys, Aime for La plagne and Borurg st Maurice for Les arcs/tignes val d’isere. Saves lugging skis and bags across Paris but less flexible as once a week.

In reply to gammarus:

I'm aiming to go by rail to Chamonix next summer. I usually fly there but wanted a better option than going through bloddy Geneva!

If booking midweek I think I can get it for roughly £250 return - but that's looking at a few changes along the way.

In reply to Tom the tall:

The old Snow Train overnight sleeper was by far my favourite way to go skiing. Usually got an extra day skiing, too. But I can't sleep or rest sitting up, so Eurostar overnight was awful...

Not sure if it has started running again.

In reply to gammarus:

have done similar several times.

It's doable within a single day, but it's a long day. Carry a large water bottle. 2 stops on RER line D gets you from Paris Nord to Gare de Lyon, you want about 1 hr between eurostar arrival to TGV departure times - (esp if you've not done it before) you could do it in less time but it can take you 15 min just to get off the eurostar and walk to the end of the platform. Buy Paris metro tickets from the eurostar buffet-car. All TGVs require seat booking before departure.

I put our wheely double ski bag into the overhead rack on train, UK, eurostar and TGV - it helps to get on prompt to grab the space. Do not ever travel the UK leg with lumo, they have a no sports equipment / oversize bags policy. It's been done in other forums and chats - but you absolutely can take ice-axes onto the eurostar. Going via Lille can save the pain of crossing Paris. Rail passes are well worth looking into.

this guy has almost everything you need to know: https://www.seat61.com/

In reply to gammarus:

Like the recent experiment in Germany, France has announced they will introduce an unlimited rail pass for 49€/month (excluding high speed TGV). 

https://www.timeout.com/news/france-is-the-latest-european-country-to-launc...

This could certainly pay for itself for local connections if used enough, and if money is more important than time you could even do the whole journey using the slower, non-TGV intercity trains. 

In reply to timjones:

£28 from Birmingham to Paris, this sounds incredible to me. Could you please say which bus company. I live in Lancashire and am keen to reduce CO2 footprint, but still travel. For me the major hurdle is getting from Lancashire to Paris, which seems to be a major train hub, from there even Morocco or Turkey appear much simpler, but getting to London and then the Eurostar always make the costs go awry.
 

In reply to Godwin:

I used Flixbus, you need to book well in advance to get tickets below £30 but there are plenty of tickets available for £30 to £35.

The bus that I came back on was heading for Manchester so that may make it even easier for you.

They travel to Paris Bercy bus station which is really handy for the trains travelling south from Paris. If you want a break and leg stretch  on the journey to the ferry you can choose a route that changes at London Vistoria.

In reply to timjones:

Most helpful, thank you. I think I should give this a go.

In reply to Godwin:

Just to add to the flixbus info. We used it to go from Milan to Lyon recently. First time using it. We had 3 big bags so paid extra for the third one, as the allowance was one big bag and one small bag. On boarding the bus no one checked or weighted anyone's  luggage. So could have got away without paying the extra. Journey went smoothly.

In reply to Tom the tall:

Hi Tom. It does need to be Chamonix.

In reply to RX-78:

Another addition: in my experience with the Flixbus, night buses are quite uncomfortable, and they leave the lights on and still do a bunch of announcements. Would not recommend! Stick to one during the day, when they're great.

In reply to ianstevens:

My experience of their night buses was very different, once we got moving they announced that they would be turning the lights off and making no further announcements until we reached the ferry so that people could sleep.