Lyon Saint-Exupery to Meribel is roughly 181 km and takes about two hours fifteen in good conditions, which makes it one of the quicker Three Valleys runs from Lyon. With Montivo it is a private transfer: one vehicle for your group, a driver waiting inside the terminal, and a drop at the door of your chalet or hotel, for a price per vehicle fixed at booking.
No border to think about
Lyon has none of Geneva's Swiss-or-French question: you land in France and the whole drive stays in France. Your flight is monitored and the pick-up follows the real landing time, and the driver meets you inside the terminal before walking you to the vehicle.
Lyon, Geneva or Chambery?
For Meribel the three airports make for quite different travel days. Chambery is the closest, but its flights are mostly winter weekend services. Geneva is nearer than Lyon, but it is at its busiest on a Saturday. Lyon offers the widest choice of flight days and a drive that is mostly motorway, with a door-to-door time close to Geneva's.
Motorway, then the Allues valley
The A43 carries you east past Chambery, the A430 on to Albertville, and from there the N90 dual carriageway runs up the Tarentaise to Moutiers - a road upgraded for the 1992 Winter Olympics, when Meribel staged events of its own. At Moutiers the route turns south to Brides-les-Bains, the spa town at the foot of the valley, which has its own gondola up into the Meribel ski area.
From Brides the road climbs the Allues valley in a series of bends, past the old village of Les Allues, to Meribel at about 1,450 metres. It is the only road into the valley, and in a snowfall it becomes slow, careful driving on a road the drivers know well in winter.
How Saturday changes things
Changeover traffic gathers on the N90 from Albertville and comes to a head at Moutiers, where the roads for Courchevel, Meribel and the Belleville valley divide. The Allues valley road then fills with chalet guests coming and going. Flying into Lyon, the motorway part is behind you before any of this starts to matter. Saturday journeys run longer and are priced at the Saturday rate.
Transfer to Meribelfrom €300 per vehicle, Saturday €400
Price for your dateStandard or VIP
Choose Standard for up to eight passengers or VIP for up to seven in a higher-specification vehicle. A chalet party too large for one vehicle is priced as two or more, booked together.
Children, skis and luggage
Child seats cost nothing extra; request them at booking with the children's ages. Skis, snowboards and oversized bags belong on the booking too, because they decide which vehicle is sent. If you are bringing a pushchair or a travel cot, list that as well.
Meribel, Mottaret or Les Allues
Meribel spreads up its valley: Les Allues below, Meribel Centre around 1,450 metres, chalets scattered up towards the Altiport, and Meribel-Mottaret several kilometres higher at about 1,750 metres. Plenty of chalets sit on steep lanes off the main road with little room to turn. The exact address lets the driver choose the approach before arriving rather than after.
Heading home
The pick-up time comes from your flight, worked backwards: the descent to Moutiers, the Tarentaise, the motorway to Lyon and check-in with ski bags. Meribel is lower than Val Thorens or Tignes, so the way down is shorter, but on a Saturday the Allues valley road is still the slow part, and the timing allows for it.
