[Closed] Morzine Trip

road trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /thread

If there's more than two people going it's always more cost effective to drive. It's also more fun, more flexible, much easier etc etc... Take as much gear as you can carry.

Flying with bike boxes and stuff is a ball ache. We just have one person put all the fuel and tolls on one credit card then square up when we get back.

I've done it in 24 hours door to door form Newcastle when I was the only driver. Won't volunteer for that again.

Where are you based though, north or south?

I'll echo the above - if there's more than 2 drive for all the above reasons. When you factor in that you can take more than 1 bike each to mix things up and a load of spares which will save money it's much more cost effective and convenient even if there's technically a couple of hours extra travelling time.

If there's a BIG group and someone has a van there's always the split the fuel and 2 drive while the rest fly option which we did one year. That way you get the best of both the cheaper travel and minimum hassle.

We always drive. It is slower but that doesn't necessarily mean you lose holiday. Leave after work, dinner on the ferry/tunnel, drive a few hours, cheap bed for the night. Up and there by early afternoon. Similar on the way back. Load up the car, ride, leave early afternoon. Drive part way, up and head for the channel. Take loads of spares and tools. Extra clothes, padding, whatever, it doesn't matter.

Drive defo.

Cheers folks.
@sharkattack I'm based in glasgow,will be at least 6 of us going but my van is only 2 seater but can take 4 bikes,Bult so would mibbe take more if broken down,

Some of my rules of thumb:

It's £500 per vehicle from Cardiff to Morzine ish, bit more in a van. That's Fuel, Tunnel and tolls.

It's £100ish for a flight to Geneva if you're local to an airport that has Easy Jet plus £70 to fly your bike, £35 for a transfer from Geneva to Morzine. Can't remember if that's one-way or not.

It's between £40 and £70 a day to rent a bike depending on whether you want a slightly rough, well used povo spec Spicy or a nearly new DH bike - you can pay more for something really flash like a V10. You'll need a credit card or €500ish cash deposit. Even the nice ones can be slightly less than perfect, they have a hard life, your bike at home might be used two three times a week for 2-3 hours, 2/3rds climbing and a 1/3rd descending - these are descending 6-8 hours a day, every day, in the Alps.

Driving and taking your own bike is the cheapest and possibly easiest way, it just takes a day, a loooong day to get there. We leave at 4am and generally arrive in time for dinner at 7-8pm.

Down south, drive. From Scotland though it's pretty much double the drive time (as I often say I can get to the Alps in not much more time than getting to Scotland, from the South East).

From the SE, around 10ish hours via tunnel, maybe bit more if you have long stops.

Compared to flying though, door to door it's not much more. Flying can be around 6 to 7 hours once you've added transfers, the several hours early you need to be at the airport, baggage claim, delays and getting hire car or finding/waiting for the bus.

Benefits driving - Can take loads of tools and spares. Don't have to pull your bike apart and reassemble the other end. Bike isn't going to fail to turn up at the other end and ruin the trip. Or get smashed to pieces by baggage throwers. Less stress/faff with a road trip.

Downside - cost maybe unless you can split costs enough, and time.

But as I say, from Scotland it's a much longer journey. Still though, break up the journey. Stop overnight somewhere south or along the way in France.

Are there any over-night ferries that go from the further up the East Coast of Britain to Calais?

I know there are some that go further down the west cost of France but as Morzine is tucked away down the South East it probably doesn't save you anything.

Q1 do you actually want to go to morzine? What sort of riding do you like?
Q2 do you want to explore or be shown around?

From Glasgow I'd be flying, a well looked after bike will do fine for a week. Given you can generally do 32kg in a bike bag it's a lot - I normally do a 23kg bike bag and a 23kg hold bag for most things these days so you can get plenty of gear in there. Group transfer from gva and costs might be more but way less stress and being knackered.

Been running bike holidays in the Alps for 10 years. In all that time, hundreds of clients, 80% of whom fly out, there has never, not once, been a bike damaged in transit. Worst thing that's ever happened was bent brake discs because someone left them on the wheels (which is pretty foolish).

There's been a tiny handful of bikes delayed in transit, maybe half-a-dozen or so in all that time. Never known a bike to be lost completely.

Benefits driving - Can take loads of tools and spares. Don't have to pull your bike apart and reassemble the other end. Bike isn't going to fail to turn up at the other end and ruin the trip. Or get smashed to pieces by baggage throwers. Less stress/faff with a road trip.

Other than flying is a lot more chilled out experience, driving for 12 hours is bloody knackering. It's also soul destroyingly boring driving through the middle of France.

I live on the south coast & there is no way i'm driving it ever again.

I live on the south coast & there is no way i'm driving it ever again.

I live in Glasgow and always drive, sometimes multiple trips over the summer.

Cruise control on. Good tunes. 85mph all the way with zero traffic jams or road rage. Driving in France is a joy compared to the hell of getting to Calais or Folkestone on a friday

I am in Glsgow and have flown every time,the first five years from Edinburgh then last year from Manchester as the flights where only £89. Booked a whole chalet from Riders Refuge which worked out at £150 p/p with transfers included and we have never had any problems or hassle with the bike bags.

We're driving this year, 4 up in a i40, I'm not looking forward to it.

Flew for a trip to Les Arcs last year, it was joy - even considering having to hire a car to drive to Les Arcs, but then I somehow managed to convince my mates to drive down and take my bike and baggage - I flew with hand luggage. Shame alone was enough to stop me asking again this year.

I'd fly every time if I could. Been going down for 10 years now, one bike damaged in transit in all that time and that was in a trailer on the back of the car.

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17.5 hours of constant driving, plus another one for the tunnel, plus stops etc - I reckon it's a 24 hour trip, that's brutal.

Plus £300 in fuel (based on 40mpg) €160 in tolls, £150 for a crossing all big numbers.

17.5 hours of constant driving, plus another one for the tunnel, plus stops etc - I reckon it's a 24 hour trip, that's brutal.

I tried to do it in one go once. never again. Always have a stop over for a night either in a hotel or in the back of the van. If you're splitting the driving then it can be done in a oner a bit easier though.

It depends what vehicles you have and how sound your mates are - the perfect way is for one or two people to take a big carload of bikes and luggage out, drop it all at the chalet then drive back to Geneva and pick their remaining mates up, daisy fresh off their flight. In a fair world you'd swap roles on the way home.

It's handy having a vehicle over there too.

I am going out to Morzine as well in a few weeks, and are flying, so was wondering if the flight boxes are significantly better than the bags.

it looks like you need to strip forks off to get a mountain bike into most of the bike boxes but the bags take them with only the wheels off.

anyone have any experience on this?

cheers

Fly,fly,fly!

Its just easy - Get yourself a bike bag with wheels on (although you don't have to take it that far from car to check-in) and let somebody else do the driving/flying. Would possibly consider driving if I lived on south coast but having to battle through UK traffic doesnt appeal to me. We get picked up at other end by owner of chalet.
Never known any of my fellow riders have damage to bikes during transit.

Went a couple of years ago and drove, took 21hrs from Sunderland. I was knackered. This year I'm flying because I'm on my own but I still have to drive to Heathrow because it works out about £200 less than flying from oop north.
cashback - I'm hiring a bike box from Team Cycles, it's like a hardshell type thing and they have categorically said that a DH bike will fit in it. Lots of people just go and get boxes from the LBS and pack the bike in with other stuff to stop it from moving around.

Been many times fly always best bike in a box easy or hire even better ,we are going again July early .c

P-Jay

a bit disingenuous to just cite the flight time. Admittedly I drive from Oxford not Edinburgh. but you've got travel time to airport (or off-site long term parking), getting there however long the airline stipulate before flight time to check in, waiting around for an hour at the other end for your bike and luggage, then transfer at other end.

I flew for 8 consecutive years to Geneva for Morzine holidays. One year we drove to BikeVerbier and it was an epiphany. Door-to-door including all the faffing time there was very little in it, we weren't bound by luggage limits and long distance driving on the continent is a breeze. I'd never fly with bikes to the Alps again. Last summer we drove to the Dolomites in one hit. Long old day but we're doing it again this year.

lots of threads on this already and those who prefer driving will insist it is easier and cheaper and those who prefer flying will insist the opposite.

I've done both multiple times and personally I prefer driving.

Chalet £1,000 pw split 7 ways for me this year = £142 each

Rough costs for driving:
Fuel - about £120 split 3 ways
Chunnel crossing - £175 split 3 ways
Tolls - about £120 split 3 ways
lift pass - 110 Euros
DH specific insurance about £45
Food/beer -75 to 125 Euros if self catering, more if eating out

Additional things to consider if flying:
cost of flight
transfer from Geneva to Morzine (and return)
bike bag (buy or borrow)
weight limit

Ok flights.
£140
Hotel yep hotel half board £120 4 days
Insurance £30 dh and off track
Transfer £45 return
Usually hire bikes £200
Plus pass can't remember price

We drive from Buckinghamshire. Leave Friday and fight our way down to the tunnel. It's usually stress free across the tunnel (once we were delayed for hours but that could just as easily happen at an airport). Then stop somewhere cheap for an overnight a couple of hours south of Calais. We would expect to get to the Northern Alps resorts by about 1400 on the Saturday. The drive can be quite pleasant and I agree with Mr Monkey that the timings are not that different.

For me the best thing is we can take loads if gear and spares. Also we have a nice practical bike carrying car to use when we get there. I don't know how easy it is to hire something you can put a muddy bike in at the end of a day out.

@MTB-idle unfortunately my van is only two seater so the 3rd cost would be half instead so cost would be more,Sounds like the cost wouldn't be much different in this case if splitting by two so would be less stressful/tiring if we flew,As other option is hiring a bigger van,which then adds to the cost,As for fuel,no way i can get to wales and back for £120 from Glasgow never mind Morzine,

Hiring a van to drive over the channel is mega expensive!! How many people are going? Do any of the others have a large estate car?

@thebrick mibbe 6-8 I'm only one with a van,not sure what other drive,Might be best just flying,would loose a day plus with driving,plus i would be knackered after the drive and loose a day with not being arsed to do anything when i get there

Drive with a few in a van and camp for a couple of weeks. Then you can move to around to other places/countries nearby ... that's the main advantage! Find other trails different to Morzine.