Lyon Saint-Exupery to Alpe d'Huez is roughly 155 km and takes about two hours ten in good conditions: motorway to Grenoble, the Romanche valley to Bourg-d'Oisans, then the 21 hairpins up to about 1,860 metres. Montivo drives it as a private transfer for your group only, door to door, with a price per vehicle that is fixed when you book.
Lyon or Grenoble for Alpe d'Huez?
Grenoble airport is nearer to the Oisans, but its flights are mostly winter weekend services. Lyon has flights on every day of the week and all year round, often at better fares, there is no border, and nearly all of the drive before Vizille is motorway. When Grenoble's timetable does not fit your dates, Lyon is a genuine alternative rather than a compromise. Geneva, by comparison, is considerably further away.
Meeting your driver
Add the flight number to the booking and the flight is monitored, so the pick-up follows the landing rather than the timetable. Once you are through arrivals, the driver is there inside the terminal and walks with you out to the vehicle. Lyon is a straightforward airport to be met in, even when several ski flights land close together.
Through Grenoble and up the Romanche
From the airport the route takes the A43 and then the A48 south past Voiron to Grenoble, skirts the city and heads for Vizille. After Vizille the road follows the Romanche river up a narrowing valley to Bourg-d'Oisans, the small town at the foot of the climb. This valley road is the only way in, and it is shared with everyone going to Les Deux Alpes.
From Bourg-d'Oisans the road climbs to the resort in 21 numbered hairpins - the Tour de France climb, with the names of stage winners on a sign at each bend. It is a well-kept road that the drivers know in winter, but it is steep, and snow or a slow vehicle ahead sets the pace for everyone behind.
Saturday in the Oisans
Alpe d'Huez and Les Deux Alpes change over on the same day, so on a Saturday the approach to Bourg-d'Oisans carries both resorts' traffic at once. The Grenoble ring road can also be slow at busy times. Saturday journeys take longer, the Saturday rate reflects that, and a Saturday flight home deserves a wider margin.
Transfer to Alpe d'Huezfrom €280 per vehicle, Saturday €350
Price for your dateStandard or VIP
Standard takes up to eight people, VIP up to seven in a higher-specification vehicle. A group that needs more than one vehicle is priced for as many as it takes.
Children, skis and luggage
Request child seats at booking with the children's ages; there is no extra charge. Tell us about skis, snowboards and oversized cases at the same time, so a vehicle with room for them is sent.
Where in Alpe d'Huez
Alpe d'Huez itself has several quarters, among them the Vieil Alpe, Eclose and Les Bergers, and they are a real distance apart with luggage. Oz and Vaujany share the ski area but are separate villages reached by their own roads, so if you are staying in either, say so: the drive is a different one. Either way, put the exact address in the booking.
The return journey
The pick-up time is worked out backwards from your departure: down the hairpins, along the Romanche valley, round Grenoble and up the motorway to Lyon, plus time to check in ski bags. On a snowy morning or a Saturday the valley is where the time goes, so the driver may suggest leaving earlier.
