Spending Time at Geneva, Grenoble and Lyon Airports

TOP TIPS TO MAKE YOUR JOURNEY MORE COMFORTABLE AT BUSY TIMES

At certain times of the day, on certain days of the year, the traffic is so bad the roads become gridlocked. We are now seeing some of our transfers to Tignes take up to 7-8 hours!

The worst areas are between Bourg St Maurice > Moutiers in the Tarentaise valley, and between Bourg d’Oisans > Grenoble in the Oisans valley.

The worst time of day is usually between between 7am – 1pm (heading out of the resort). During the French school holidays, the roads are at a standstill for large parts of the day.

We therefore run a very limited number of buses on these dates. Long bus journeys are unpleasant and our drivers need to take legal breaks. We will not knowingly put our drivers and customers at risk. It’s much better to take an earlier bus to the airport, where there are toilet facilities, space to stretch your legs and plenty of shops, restaurants, bars and cafes. Read our top tips below on how to kill time at the airports.

CONSIDER TAKING THE TRAIN BETWEEN BOURG ST MAURICE < > MOUTIERS

If you’re travelling from Val d’Isère, Tignes, Les Arcs or La Plagne to any airport and you’re on a late flight, you could book a Single with us to your resort and then book another Single from Moutiers back to your airport.

You could take a local bus or taxi to Bourg St Maurice (or the funicular from Les Arcs). From there, take a train to Moutiers and you will bypass and get ahead of all the traffic on this section of the road. We’d advise booking everything well in advance.

If you plan on leaving the airport, make sure you’re back there at least 2 hours before your flight as the queues for Check In and Security can be quite long!

KILL TIME WITH A SHORT TRIP INTO GENEVA

If you arrive at Geneva Airport well in advance for your flight, you could take a train into Geneva and have a coffee or some lunch overlooking the lake. This is a much more civilised way to spend your day!

– See details of the 2 main locations to store your bags at Geneva Airport.

– See details of the train shuttle service between Geneva Airport and Geneva City Centre.

KILLING TIME AT LYON AIRPORT

The luggage store at Lyon Airport is run by SafeBag. Lyon is the culinary capital of France, so it’s worthwhile heading into town if you have plenty of time to spare. Otherwise the airport has fairly decent facilities.

– The Rhones Express train service takes about 30 mins to arrive at Lyon Part-Dieu

– You could be to take a taxi to the main square in the nearby town of Genas, a 10-minute drive away.

KILLING TIME AT GRENOBLE AIRPORT

There’s no luggage store at Grenoble Airport. There is a shuttle bus to Grenoble centre or the little town of St-Geoirs is close by and has some restaurants and a lively square which sometimes has week-end markets.

– Click here for details on the shuttle bus service between Grenoble Airport and Grenoble City Centre.

– The restaurant La Grillon is on the edge of the airport grounds and is a safe, short walk on flat ground.

BE PREPARED – BRING PLENTY OF FOOD AND WATER

Make sure you have enough food and water for the journey. This is especially true if you are diabetic.

Keep any medicines in your hand luggage and avoid drinking coffee before your journey.

Make use of the toilets before you get into your vehicle. Ask the driver if you need to go en route.

Bring a book, some games for the kids and lots of downloaded videos to view on your device.

Advice for for Bad Traffic Days