The Three Valleys is the largest linked ski area in the world, and the seven resorts we drive to inside it share one lift pass and four possible airports. Which airport you fly into changes the drive by more than an hour.

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Which airport for the Three Valleys

All four airports reach every resort here, but they are not equivalent. Chambery is the closest by a clear margin – it sits at the bottom of the Tarentaise, so the drive is short and almost all of it is valley road. Grenoble and Lyon are next. Geneva is the furthest for this particular area, which surprises people who assume Geneva is always the answer for the French Alps.

The prices below are not a ranking of convenience, though. Geneva has far more flights, from far more places, at far more times of day – so a Geneva arrival plus a longer drive often beats a Chambery arrival you had to connect twice to reach. Compare the whole journey, not the last leg of it.

The last hour is the mountain

Every road into the Three Valleys leaves the Tarentaise valley at Moutiers and climbs. Courchevel gains more than a thousand metres from the valley floor; Val Thorens finishes at 2,300 metres and is the highest resort in Europe, which is exactly why it holds snow and exactly why the road up to it is the one that closes. That climb is the part of the journey a hire car makes stressful and a driver who does it every week does not.

Saturday

Changeover day across the whole area is Saturday. Every chalet and apartment in seven resorts swaps guests within the same few hours, the Moutiers junction becomes the bottleneck for all of it, and a transfer that takes two hours on a Wednesday can take considerably longer. We price Saturday differently for that reason – it commits the vehicle and the driver for longer – and we plan the pickup around it rather than being surprised by it.

Which resort is which

Courchevel is four villages at four altitudes, from Le Praz at 1,300 m to 1850 at the top; the name on your booking matters, because they are twenty minutes apart on a winding road. Meribel sits in the middle valley and is the natural base if you want to ski the whole area in a week, with Meribel-Mottaret higher up the same valley. Val Thorens, Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville run up the Belleville valley in ascending order of altitude and descending order of village character. La Tania sits in the trees between Courchevel and Meribel and is the quietest door onto the area.

Tell us the village, not just the resort. “Courchevel” alone is the difference between Le Praz and 1850.

Every resort in the Three Valleys, and what the transfer costs

Nearest first, including Geneva train station where we drive from it. Every price is for the whole vehicle and includes VAT.

Courchevel

Courchevel 1850

  • Chambery Airport – about 1h28, from €300 per vehicle
  • Grenoble Airport – about 2h13, from €320 per vehicle
  • Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport – about 2h21, from €320 per vehicle
  • Geneva Airport – about 2h32, from €320 per vehicle
  • Geneva train station, from €320 per vehicle

La Tania

  • Geneva Airport – about 2h25, from €300 per vehicle
  • Geneva train station, from €300 per vehicle
  • Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport, from €280 per vehicle
  • Grenoble Airport, from €280 per vehicle
  • Chambery Airport, from €260 per vehicle

Meribel

Meribel-Mottaret

  • Geneva Airport – about 2h30, from €300 per vehicle
  • Geneva train station, from €300 per vehicle
  • Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport, from €300 per vehicle
  • Grenoble Airport, from €300 per vehicle
  • Chambery Airport, from €280 per vehicle

Les Menuires

  • Chambery Airport – about 1h31, from €280 per vehicle
  • Geneva Airport – about 2h34, from €300 per vehicle
  • Geneva train station, from €300 per vehicle

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville

  • Geneva Airport – about 2h24, from €300 per vehicle
  • Geneva train station, from €300 per vehicle
  • Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport, from €280 per vehicle
  • Grenoble Airport, from €300 per vehicle
  • Chambery Airport, from €280 per vehicle

Val Thorens

Common questions

Which airport is closest to the Three Valleys?

Chambery, comfortably. It is at the foot of the Tarentaise, so most of the drive is valley road rather than climb. Grenoble and Lyon come next and Geneva is the furthest for this area – though Geneva has many more flights, so the whole journey can still be quicker.

Is the price per person or per vehicle?

Per vehicle, and it includes VAT. One price covers everyone on board, up to eight in a Standard and seven in a VIP, and larger groups are priced as the number of vehicles needed.

Can one transfer drop at two villages?

Yes, if they are on the same road – Courchevel Le Praz and 1850, for instance. Tell us both addresses when you book so the driver plans the order rather than discovering it on the hill.

Why is Val Thorens more expensive than Meribel from the same airport?

It is further and it is higher. The climb from the Belleville valley to 2,300 metres adds real time to the drive, in winter conditions, and the price follows the time the vehicle is committed for.

Do you drive Brides-les-Bains?

It is not a standing route, but it is on the road to the rest of the area. Send a custom request with your date and we will price it.

All our airport transfers