So you’ve booked a trip to Les Deux Alpes or Alpe d’Huez? Awesome! Excellent choice. These are two of the best ski resorts you’ll find in the Alps, and indeed in Europe. But if you’re wondering how they hell you’re gonna get to the slopes from the airport, well… Let’s see if we can help out now.
Chances are, if you’re going to Les Deux Alpes or Alpe d’Huez, that you’re flying into Lyon.
Although Lyon isn’t the closest airport to the alps, it is the biggest.
The closest airports to Les Deux Alpes and Alpe d’Huez are Chambery and Grenoble. But both of those airports offer less choice of flights from across Europe, and are often more expensive. And chances are, you found a cheap flight to Lyon and figured the transfer can’t be that steep. Right?
Well…. It can be kinda expensive to be honest.
But lets look at how to get to your ski resort from Lyon airport.
Bus service to the alps
There are options for buses from central Lyon to Les Deux Alpes and Alpe d’Huez.
However these are not super frequent, and do require a change to a local bus in Grenoble. But if you time it right, this is the cheapest transfer to Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes from Lyon.
A one way ticket from Lyon to the alpine resorts by bus is around £15 – so check times and availability on Busbud.
Busbud is a bus search site which allows you to find the cheapest ticket from all the available providers offering that route. And it will also bundle the connection in too, so you don’t need to faff about buying multiple tickets or trying to work out which bus will actually get you there.
How long is a bus transfer from Lyon to Les Deux Alpes/Alpe d’Huez
The bus journey can take 2 hours 40 or around 3 hours 30, depending on the booked service. The roads are mostly pretty fast and straight though, so you won’t be doing too much winding up the mountain. Until the end that is, then it does get quite hairpin (obviously).
Car hire to the Alps
If you want the freedom to come and go as you please then the obvious option is car hire. This is obviously perfect if you have a family in tow as you can just get everyone strapped in and go from airport to resort with the least amount of headaches. The downside to car rental is of course the cost. You’ll likely splash out around £300 for a small compact for a week. And that doesn’t include car seats for smaller kids, or a bigger vehicle for all the stuff you had to bring.
The cost of fuel will also need to be factored in. And, as this is France, you will also need to pay tolls for the expressways. Around this part of France the tolls can be quite expensive – expect to pay around €40 to €50 each way in tolls.
But the benefits of getting from A to B as fast as possible are obviously priceless. Check out car rentals from Lyon Airport on our handy widget below….
Private transfer from Lyon to the Alps
The easiest way to go from Lyon Airport to the resorts of Les Deux Alpes or Alpe d’Huez is to book a private transfer. You can then enjoy the ease of sitting back while your driver does the hard work, and you can just watch the world go by (or get sucked into Instagram, most likely).
A one way private transfer from Lyon to the ski resorts will cost in the region of £200. Obviously double that for the return. This is of course much more cost effective if you have a larger party, with most of the private cars taking 3 people, or SUVs and minibuses taking between 5 to 8 people.
The best thing to do is check out Get Transfer with your party size, arrival times and exact dates to get an accurate cost of a private transfer.
Is your transfer included?
Some ski package providers will actually include the ski transfer in the price of the package. Ski World, for example, offer transfer and flights as part of their ski all in package, so you don’t need to worry about how to get from airport to resort.
If you’re booking with another provider, check and see if they can include transfers as an additional fee. Often if they have many people in the same resort, they can offer affordable bus transfers for multiple guests.
Which is the best transfer from Lyon to the Alps?
Choosing the best option for transferring from Lyon to Alpe d’Huze or Les Deux Alpes will depend on your requirements and your budget. Personally, I always prefer the private transfer option, but if you’re travelling as a solo or couple, it might not be the most cost effective method.
Check out my review of Les Deux Alpes over at Gone Travelling.
