Avoriaz is car-free, so a transfer there finishes where the road does: at the resort entrance, about 1,800 metres up above Morzine. From Geneva Airport that is roughly 89 km and takes about an hour and three quarters in good conditions. It is a private service - your group alone, from inside the terminal to the entrance - priced per vehicle and fixed when you book.
Where the road stops
Cars, coaches and minibuses do not drive into Avoriaz. Every vehicle, ours included, stops at the resort entrance, where the car parks are and where the snow-taxi and horse-drawn sleigh points are. From there you continue on foot, on skis or by one of those resort taxis, depending on where you are staying and how much you are carrying.
Residences handle the last stretch in different ways, so ask yours before you travel how its guests get from the entrance to the door, particularly if you land in the evening. Give us the residence name at booking all the same, so we know where you are heading.
Collected inside the terminal
At Geneva the driver meets you in the arrivals hall, inside the terminal, and stays with you as far as the vehicle. The flight is monitored, so if you land early or late the pick-up follows the real landing time and there is nothing to rearrange from the baggage belt.
It matters which side of the airport you come out on, Swiss or French, and the flight number on your booking is what tells us where to wait.
Up the Arve valley and over to Morzine
The first part is quick: the A40, the Autoroute Blanche, heading east from Geneva into the Arve valley. At Cluses the transfer leaves the motorway for the mountain road to Morzine, and from Morzine it climbs again, winding up some 800 metres to the resort.
That final climb sets the pace. After fresh snow it is slow for everyone, and on busy days it carries everybody heading for the same car parks. The drivers know the road in winter and time the journey with both in mind.
Saturday in the Portes du Soleil
Most apartments in Avoriaz change guests on a Saturday, as do Morzine, Les Gets and the other French villages of the Portes du Soleil. The Morzine road fills up whether the traffic comes from Cluses or from Thonon, and everyone bound for Avoriaz ends up on the same climb. A Saturday transfer takes longer than a midweek one, which is why Saturday has its own rate, on the way home as well as on the way out.
Transfer to Avoriazfrom €200 per vehicle, Saturday €300
Price for your dateStandard, VIP and bigger parties
Standard vehicles seat up to eight passengers; VIP vehicles, built to a higher specification, seat up to seven. When a party is too big for one, the booking prices as many vehicles as it needs, so eleven people book two.
Children, skis and what you can carry
Child seats are free: add them at booking with each child's age so the right ones are fitted. Declare skis, snowboards and any outsized bags at the same time, so the vehicle that meets you has room for them.
Avoriaz adds one more consideration. Everything you bring has to get from the car park to the apartment by sleigh, by snow-taxi or under your own steam, and a few soft bags are easier to manage over that stretch than a pile of hard cases.
The journey back to Geneva
Going home, we take your flight time and plan back from it: check-in with ski bags, the drive down through Morzine and along the valley, and extra time for snow or Saturday traffic. The part only you can plan is getting yourselves and the luggage to the resort entrance by that time, so leave room for it. The return can go on the same booking; it is charged at the rate for whichever day you travel.
