The transfer from Chambery Airport to Tignes is roughly 142 km and takes just over two hours in good conditions. It follows the Tarentaise almost to its head, then climbs past the Chevril dam to a resort at about 2,100 metres. Montivo drives it privately and door to door, for a price per vehicle rather than per passenger, set when you book.
Meeting you off the flight
Chambery is at its busiest on winter Saturdays, when many of the week's flights from the UK arrive on the same day. We follow your flight, and the driver is inside the terminal when you land, whatever time that turns out to be, to walk you and your luggage to the vehicle.
The whole length of the valley
Tignes is one of the furthest resorts from Chambery, and the reason is the valley rather than the motorway. The A43 and A430 reach Albertville quickly. The N90 then climbs past Moutiers and Aime to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, where it hands over to the road towards Val d'Isere. From there you pass Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise and Tignes les Brevieres before the road reaches the Lac du Chevril dam and the turning up to the resort.
Above Bourg-Saint-Maurice the road is narrower and more exposed to the weather, and it is the part of the journey that snow slows most, which is where it helps that the drivers know the road in winter.
The Bourg-Saint-Maurice funnel
On changeover day the N90 carries every Tarentaise resort's guests at once, and by Bourg-Saint-Maurice the traffic for Les Arcs, La Rosiere, Sainte-Foy, Tignes and Val d'Isere is all on the same stretch. Tignes guests are among the last to leave that queue. Expect a Saturday journey to take noticeably longer than a weekday one; the Saturday rate is there because the vehicle is out for longer.
Which Tignes?
Tignes is a set of villages at different heights. Les Brevieres is down by the main road below the dam, Les Boisses is close to the dam itself, Tignes 1800 is further up, and Tignes le Lac, Le Lavachet and Val Claret are at the top, around and beyond the lake. Booking just "Tignes" when you mean Val Claret leaves the driver guessing, and in bad weather the gap between villages is real, so put the exact address in the booking.
Transfer to Tignesfrom €300 per vehicle, Saturday €455
Price for your dateStandard or VIP for a two-hour run
Standard carries up to eight passengers; VIP carries up to seven in a higher-specification vehicle, which on a drive of this length gives more room per person. A group that will not fit in one vehicle pays for each vehicle it needs.
Bringing children and kit
Child seats come at no extra charge when requested at booking with the ages of the children. Declare skis, snowboards and oversized bags too, since equipment for a full group changes the vehicle we send.
Coming down for your flight
The pick-up time is worked back from the flight: the descent past the dam, the queue through Bourg-Saint-Maurice on a Saturday, the run down the valley and a small terminal that is at full stretch on changeover day. From a resort at the top of the valley that adds up, so expect an earlier start than you might guess. Booked as a return, each leg is charged at its own day's rate.
Compared with Lyon and Geneva
A Lyon transfer to Tignes drives past Chambery on the same A43, and a Geneva one joins this route at Albertville after the stretch past Annecy. Neither shortens the part above Bourg-Saint-Maurice, which is the same whichever airport you use. If a Chambery flight fits your dates, it simply removes the longest motorway leg.
