If you want to take a direct train, you are happy with going to one restricted area for a week, you don’t need flexibility and you don’t mind paying a premium, then book the Eurostar ski train (prices around £200 plus).
However, if you want the flexibility to travel where you want, when you want and you don’t mind changing trains, then follow this guide and get a return fare to the Alps from around £100 plus. It may look complicated, but I have done it so many times it is now second nature to me.
First, decide which of the many hundreds of Alpine resorts you want to go to. You will suddenly find that your choice of resort has expanded exponentially. For the cheapest fares, you are looking at the French or Italian Alps. Fares to Switzerland and Austria tend to be more expensive and the travel time longer. When looking, bear in mind the transfer time from the closest tgv station. This can substantially increase costs, though there are many resorts with minus 1 hour transfers and there is normally a coach station at or near the rail station with links to nearby resorts via public transport. Transfers will always be shorter than the equivalent airport. Also, try to minimize the number of trains. The cheapest fares are for direct services and a transfer to a local train will push up the cost, but not necessarily by much. So in the ideal world, you are looking for a ski resort close to a main line tgv station. Once you have decided on your resort, check the French train timetable on sncf.com just to make sure the trains are convenient. One potential problem here is that the French winter rail timetable does often not come out before October and even then you cannot book more than 3 months in advance (though this seems to be flexible at the moment). However, any tgv station is going to have direct services to Paris each day, so use the summer timetable as a guide. It is rare for the winter timetable to the Alps to offer fewer trains.
So you have decided on a resort and you have checked the train times/frequency. Don’t worry about getting the Eurostar to Paris as these trains run frequently every day. However, it is worth exploring the prices on Eurostar which can vary widely depending on demand. If there is a major event in either London or Paris (eg a rugby or football international) the fare can rocket and there are higher rates for weekend travel at peak times. If you have flexibility avoid these times for the cheapest fares, which in theory can be £58 return. If you have limited flexibility, this may be problematic, though you can always consider taking a low cost fare to Paris, stay overnight, and move on at leisure the next day. The saving on Eurostar may give you a free night in Paris. Oldgreytravel is adopting this approach this winter and will report back.
Pre-book your accommodation in the resort, either use a website with free cancellation option or check on the provider’s own cancellation policy. This is advisable just in case the train booking falls through, though I have never had this problem in over 20 years of bookings. The French train needs to be booked first and this is best done on the French sncf website. You may be redirected to RailEurope but stick with the sncf site – it has the most availability and the cheapest fares. Fares can be as low as 29e one way to the Alps – travel time is around 4 hours. To get the cheapest fares you need to book as soon as they become available. They are generally available 3 months, to the day, before the date of travel, though this year I noticed they became available slightly earlier. You can set up an e mail alert with sncf to tell you when the tickets come on sale – well worth doing. When you book your ticket, make sure the departure from Paris allows for the Eurostar and a minimum 60 minutes for transfer in Paris, unless you go for the overnight in Paris option. Tickets can be printed at home.
Next book the Eurostar and wince at the cost compared to the French tgv.
Transfer across Paris could not be easier. Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon (for most Alpine destinations) are two stops on the RER line D. The transfer takes around 30 minutes, but allow a minimum of an hour in case of delays. One tip is to dig out those unused metro tickets from your last Paris trip and avoid the queues at the ticket desks at Gare du Nord. If necessary, you can buy a carnet of tickets on the Eurostar (but not at St Pancras) which will always come in useful.
Then, sit back and enjoy the view. You will be in the Alps around 8-10 hours later.
