The 21 hairpins above Bourg-d'Oisans are the last part of a long drive from Geneva: Alpe d'Huez is roughly 216 km from the airport, and the transfer takes about three hours in good conditions, most of it on motorway to Grenoble. Montivo drives it privately, for your group only, from the terminal to the door of your accommodation, at a per-vehicle price agreed when you book.
Is Geneva the right airport?
An honest point before you book: Alpe d'Huez is in the Oisans, south-east of Grenoble, and Geneva is not the nearest airport to it. Grenoble airport is roughly half the distance away, and Lyon Saint-Exupery is closer too. If flights from home suit either of them, compare them; Montivo drives to Alpe d'Huez from both.
Geneva still makes sense for many people. It has far more flights, from more places and on every day of the week, while Grenoble's are mostly winter weekends. The transfer is longer, but it is a straightforward one.
Met in the arrivals hall
The driver is inside the terminal when you come through and walks you to the vehicle. On a three-hour transfer it helps that the flight is tracked: a delay simply moves the pick-up to your real landing time. Give the flight number at booking, since Geneva has a Swiss and a French side and the driver needs to be on yours.
Motorway to Grenoble, then the Romanche valley
The route heads south on the A41 past Annecy and Chambery, then down the Gresivaudan valley into Grenoble. Beyond Grenoble the fast roads run out: the transfer goes through Vizille and along the Romanche valley to Bourg-d'Oisans, the small town at the foot of the climb, and that valley road is slower going than anything before it.
From Bourg-d'Oisans the road climbs roughly fourteen kilometres and more than a thousand metres to the resort at about 1,860 metres, through 21 numbered hairpins, each marked with the names of Tour de France stage winners. The drivers know the road in winter; after fresh snow it is simply slower.
Saturday in the Oisans
There is one way into the Oisans from Grenoble, the Romanche valley road, and on changeover Saturday it carries the traffic for Alpe d'Huez and Les Deux Alpes at the same time. Bourg-d'Oisans, where the two resorts' traffic separates, is where it bunches. A Saturday transfer takes longer and is priced at the Saturday rate; if your return falls on a Saturday, expect an earlier pick-up.
Transfer to Alpe d'Huezfrom €350 per vehicle, Saturday €450
Price for your dateVehicle size for a long run
Three hours with a load of ski bags is where the vehicle choice shows. The Standard vehicle is for groups of up to eight; VIP is a higher-specification vehicle for up to seven, and on this distance some groups choose it for the extra room alone. For more people than one vehicle takes, the booking prices two or more.
Children and equipment
Child seats come free of charge when you request them at booking and give the children's ages. Skis, snowboards and oversized luggage should be declared at the same point, so that a vehicle with enough space is allocated.
Which part of Alpe d'Huez?
Alpe d'Huez is a large resort spread across several quarters, Vieil Alpe, Les Bergers and Eclose among them, so a precise address saves a tour of the resort at the end of a long day. Vaujany and Oz-en-Oisans share the ski area but are separate villages, some way from the resort by road; if you are staying in one of them, send us a custom request rather than booking Alpe d'Huez.
Timing the return
With three hours of road between the resort and the airport, the return pick-up is worked out with some care. We start from your flight time and count back through check-in with skis, the motorway, the valley road and the descent, then add a margin for the hairpins in snow or a Saturday in the Romanche valley. It usually means leaving the resort early. A return booked now is simply a second leg, priced for the day it runs.
