How to get to Val d'Isere

Flying to Geneva Airport is the fastest way to get to Val d'Isère for most international visitors.

You'll easily pick up a transfer from Geneva. You can also hire a car and be on your way in no time. 

The only trouble with flying anywhere is the environmental cost. Driving, coming by coach or catching a train are usually better options if you want to reduce CO2 emissions.

Lyon or Grenoble are options for Val d'Isère. Both are about the same distance away with transfers taking upwards of three hours.

Chambery is actually closer than the three airports already mentioned, but it's a lot smaller and not as many airlines fly there. 

We wouldn't recommend trying to get to Val d'Isère from Turin or Milan - even if they look close on the map. It usually takes a lot longer to get to the resort, and you'll often have to rely on pricey private transfers.

Getting to Val d'Isère by train may involve a few changes, which can be tricky with baggage or kids. But, if you're in no rush the train is the most environmentally-friendly option and it's arguably the most comfortable way to travel.

Bourg St Maurice SNCF is the closest station at only 30km away by local bus. That means you can be in resort within an hour, saving several hours over the airport transfer time. High speed (TGV) trains from Paris and the Eurostar Snow train also stops here. 

Val d'Isère is one resort where driving perhaps makes more sense. That said, you won't need your car once you're in resort.

If you're using the French autoroute, the journey as far as Bourg St Maurice is straightforward. The final 45 minutes is a little more arduous as you wind your way up the 32km stretch into Val d'Isère. This road is cleared every day during winter, but it's not a trip for nervous drivers - especially in bad weather. 

Unless you're driving an electric car to the Alps however, driving isn't very environmentally friendly.

Getting to Val d'Isère by coach takes longer than flying. It's usually cheaper though, which makes it a good option if you're on a budget.

It's also a relatively environmentally-friendly way to travel.

International coach companies like FlixBus, Eurolines, BlaBlaBus and RegioJet run services to Lyon, Grenoble and Geneva. From there, you can pick up a bus transfer to Val d'Isère.

There's an overnight coach from London to Bourg St Maurice that runs once a week during the winter, and from there you can hop on to a local bus for the last 32km. It takes about 20 hours.

We know flying is often the most convenient way to get to Val d'Isère, but we'd encourage you to look at alternatives.

A good option is to take the train as far as Bourg St Maurice do the last leg by bus. This allows you to minimise your carbon footprint while still getting to the resort in good time.

Source: Carbon footprint of travel per kilometre (ourworldindata.org)