Tignes sits at about 2,100 m, roughly 208 km from Grenoble Airport, and the transfer takes about two hours fifty in good conditions. It is a long run up the Isere valley past Albertville, Moutiers and Bourg-Saint-Maurice before the final climb to the lake. Montivo drives it privately from the terminal to your accommodation, at a price fixed per vehicle when you book.
Meeting your flight
Give the flight number at booking and we monitor it; the driver is there for the time the aircraft actually lands and meets you inside the terminal. Grenoble's winter schedule is concentrated on weekends, with many flights from the UK, so it is a busy little airport on a Saturday, but a straightforward one to leave. It stands in open country at Saint-Etienne-de-Saint-Geoirs, some 40 km north-west of the city, and the route soon joins the A48 towards Grenoble.
Following the Isere to the lake
For most of this transfer you follow one river. The A48 runs beside the Isere into Grenoble, the A41 and A43 follow it through the valleys to Albertville, and the N90 follows it up the Tarentaise through Moutiers and Aime to Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Beyond Bourg the road stays with the Isere as it climbs past Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise towards the dam.
Above it lies the Lac du Chevril, the reservoir that flooded the original village of Tignes when the dam was finished in the early 1950s; the resort grew up higher on the mountain. The Tignes road leaves the Val d'Isere road near the lake and climbs to about 2,100 m. This is the highest and most exposed part of the drive, and the drivers know it in winter.
Saturdays up the valley
Tignes guests on a Saturday share the whole Tarentaise with every other resort's changeover, and above Bourg-Saint-Maurice they share the last road with Val d'Isere as well. The good-conditions time stretches, sometimes considerably. We plan for it, and the Saturday rate covers the extra time the vehicle is out.
Grenoble or Chambery for Tignes?
Chambery is closer to Tignes, and a Chambery flight gives a shorter transfer. Grenoble is the better choice when it has the flight or the fare you want: its extra distance is almost all motorway, and the last section, from Bourg-Saint-Maurice up, is identical whichever airport you use.
Transfer to Tignesfrom €320 per vehicle, Saturday €475
Price for your dateRoom for the journey
Standard carries up to eight passengers; VIP carries up to seven in a higher-specification vehicle, with more room each on a transfer of nearly three hours. If the group needs more than one vehicle, that is how it is priced.
Child seats and ski bags
Child seats are free when requested at booking with the children's ages. Declare skis, snowboards and bulky luggage in the same booking, and the vehicle is chosen with room for them.
Which part of Tignes
Tignes is a set of separate villages rather than one: Les Brevieres low down below the dam, Les Boisses near it, then Tignes le Lac, Le Lavachet and Val Claret around and above the lake. They sit at different heights, and with luggage in the snow they are not a short walk apart, so the full address matters. Give the residence name as well, and the driver will head for the right building.
The return journey
We set the pick-up time for home from your flight: the descent from the lake, the valley road through Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Moutiers, the motorway back through Grenoble to the airport, and check-in with ski bags. From Tignes on a Saturday that means an early start. Returns booked with the outbound are priced leg by leg, each at its own day's rate.
