Chalet Tignes

How long will it take to drive to Tignes? The short answer: It  depends on where you starting from!! I can give you some idea on how long it takes me to drive from London to Tignes, which might help your journey planning (should you want to drive from the UK to Tignes sometimes soon).

The distance from my house in North London to Tignes is almost exactly 700 miles (1150km). I did the trip yesterday and the total journey time, including ferry crossing and three fuel stops was 13 hours. You can reduce the total journey time by one hour if you use the Eurotunnel to cross the channel, more if you break speed limits (not advisable).

I started from my London home at 10.15am. It took me just over 1.30hours to get to Dover. Not bad, considering I have to cross from North to East London, navigate Blackwall tunnel and cross the M25. I always plan for a minimum of 3 hours for London to Dover ferry departure as I have been caught out in traffic before and missed my fair share of ferries. I also use any spare time before ferry departure to refuel the car, check tyre pressures etc. Gets me further into France without stopping and currently fuel is cheaper in the UK too.
Ferry left on time(they normally do) and with a crossing time of 1.30 hours I reach Calais at 4pm local time (don’t forget you loose one hour travelling to the continent). Also make sure you take the ferry to Calais, not Dunkerque or any of the other port, otherwise your crossing will be longer and your drive to Tignes too.

The route goes broadly Calais – Reims – Troyes – Dijon – here you got a choice either Lyons – Albertville or direction Geneva – Annecy – Albertville. The Lyon route is longer, faster but higher motorway fees. I always drive from Dijon direction Geneva to Annecy – Albertville – Bourg St Maurice – Tignes. Shorter distance and less expensive and if you drive into the night there is no time penalty.

Calais to Reims is just under 200 miles and you are in the centre of the Champagne region. The Champagne is a fairly flat but obviously many wineries and vineyards. If you are driving from the Midlands, this is probably half way point and not a bad stopover. I always do the journey in one day, but I do stop to buy Champagne. My tip here, don’t buy near Reims where all the big Champagne makers are based, drive on another 100miles and stop near Troyes, which is still the Champagnes. For me this makes a perfect first fuel stop (300miles into the journey) and gives me an excuse to pass my favourite Champagne makers.

After Dijon, you pass the Burgundy region, another possible stopover and opportunity to buy wine, this time Burgundy!! From here you either drive via Lyon to Tignes or drive via Annecy (Geneva). The Lyon route is quicker, but the Annecy route is more scenic and cheaper. Both routes will lead you to Albertville from where you climb the mountains towards Tignes.

The total drive time from Calais to Tignes will be 9 hours if you keep your stops to a minimum and short (8 hours if you are super fast and have a big petrol tank). It took me 8.30 hours but I had to stop 3 times for petrol. If you drive the first time or if you travel with a young family you should plan for 10 – 11 hours from Calais to Tignes. If you try to avoid motorway charges and drive route national, you save 65Euro (£50) but you journey time will be more like 12 – 14 hours.

Cost to drive to Tignes, ferry £80 return, motorway charges £50 one way, petrol £120 one way, which makes return trip cost (by car) about £420 – £450 depending on ferry cost and fuel consumption of your car. Normally driving makes only sense if you are a group sharing the cost. There are four regional airports with low cost flights, good car hire and airport transfer options. Do the maths.

I always leave London late morning 10amish to beat the traffic. That normally gets me into Tignes around midnight. I have lunch on the ferry and only stop for fuel. Because I pass lake Annecy late, I also beat the traffic along the lake.I don’t like to get up early.