Lyon Saint-Exupery to Val Thorens is roughly 201 km and takes about two hours forty-five in good conditions. Most of the distance is motorway; the demanding part is the final climb from Moutiers up the Belleville valley to around 2,300 metres. Montivo drives it as a private transfer for your group alone, door to door, with one price per vehicle fixed when you book.
Why Lyon for Val Thorens
Chambery and Geneva are both nearer in kilometres, but Chambery's flights are mostly winter weekend services and Geneva is at its most crowded on a Saturday. Lyon has flights on every day of the week, no border to cross and a journey that is motorway for most of its length, which keeps the timing predictable as far as Moutiers.
Landing at Lyon
Put the flight number in the booking so the right aircraft is monitored; if it lands early or late, the pick-up moves with it. The driver meets you inside the terminal and walks you out to the vehicle, and because the airport sits right beside the motorway, the journey east starts straight away.
Up the Tarentaise to the Belleville valley
The route heads east on the A43 past Chambery, takes the A430 to Albertville and then the N90 up the Tarentaise to Moutiers. That is the easy part. At Moutiers you leave the main valley for the Belleville road, which climbs through Saint-Martin-de-Belleville and past Les Menuires to the head of the valley - a rise of roughly 1,800 metres between Moutiers and Val Thorens.
There is only one road up, and above Les Menuires it crosses open mountainside with no trees for shelter, so wind and drifting snow count for more than they do lower down. The drivers know this road in winter and plan for it.
Changeover Saturday
On a Saturday the motorway generally moves better than the valley. Queues tend to build from Albertville, where traffic for every resort in the Tarentaise meets on the road to Moutiers, and again on the Belleville road, the only way up for all three Belleville resorts. Saturday transfers take longer and are charged at the Saturday rate; plan the return with the same allowance.
Transfer to Val Thorensfrom €320 per vehicle, Saturday €475
Price for your dateStandard or VIP
A Standard vehicle carries up to eight passengers; VIP carries up to seven in a higher-specification vehicle with more room each. If your group is more than one vehicle can take - a large apartment party, say - the booking prices as many vehicles as you need.
Children, skis and luggage
Child seats are free; add them when booking and give each child's age. List skis, snowboards and oversized bags at the same time. The vehicle is chosen from what you declare, so equipment mentioned at booking has space kept for it.
Arriving at 2,300 metres
Val Thorens is built for people on foot: much of the resort is closed to through traffic, and vehicles reach it by set access roads and car parks. Give the residence or chalet name and its full address at booking, so the driver can plan the closest approach the resort allows instead of stopping at the first car park. For some buildings that still leaves a short walk, which is worth knowing when you pack.
Getting back to Lyon
The return pick-up is set by working back from your flight time: the descent to Moutiers, the valley, the motorway and check-in with ski bags. From this altitude after a night of snow the way down is slower, and the driver may bring the pick-up forward. On a Saturday the valley traffic affects the descent as much as the climb.
