Best Self-Drive Ski Resorts

Best Self-Drive Ski Resorts

The best self-drive ski resorts in the Alps are easily reached by car in less than 10 hours from Calais. Driving can be a cost-effective way of travelling to ski resorts, especially for families with children. Here’s our pick of ten of the best ski resorts in the Alps for self-drive ski holidays.

Setting out on the open road, throwing the kids, ski gear, and kitchen sink in the car, and driving to the Alps is a liberating way to go on a skiing holiday. If the car has three or four passengers, it’s also cost-effective at peak times and avoids the hassle of airport waiting and the extra charges for checked baggage and ski carriage.

Best Self-Drive Ski Resorts in the Alps

The 10 best self-drive ski resorts featured below have been chosen (from a UK perspective) because they’re no more than 1,000 km (10 hours) or less from Calais. Also, if you want to take your time, it’s a great way to explore France, Benelux and Germany en route.

Chamonix, France

Distance from Calais: 896 km / 8 hours
Not only is Chamonix an easy drive from Calais – Autoroute practically all the way to the resort, but a car is very handy once you’re in the valley. The skiing is spread out across five ski areas, including family-friendly skiing at Les Houches, and while there is a shuttle bus, it can be packed and a little irregular.

Chamonix is fully deserving of its extreme reputation, and while there’s terrain to suit all abilities, the focus is on experts and wannabe experts. There are plenty of hotels in the buzzing town to choose from – Hermitage is quite central and popular – and many cater to short stays. Chamonix-Sud is apartment central, while chalets are dotted throughout the valley. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Chamonix >

Search Accommodation in Chamonix & Book Online >

Megève, France

Distance from Calais: 884 km / 8 hours.
While a chocolate box charm is not a characteristic of most French ski resorts, Megève is one of the few exceptions. Megève is traditional, rustic and chic, with horse-drawn sleighs and cobbled streets.

Flattering, mainly tree-lined slopes, are a joy for intermediate skiers, and anyone seeking more challenging terrain can ski off-piste among the trees. The village is fairly spread out, so having a car helps to access the main lifts easily. Megève is one of the original luxurious ski resorts – on a par with St Moritz and Courchevel in its heyday – with plenty of grand, but welcoming hotels. Many visitors prefer to promenade through town rather than explore the slopes, so you’ll have them to yourselves. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Megève>

Search Accommodation inMegève & Book Online >

Avoriaz, France

Distance from Calais: 895 km / 8 hours 20 minutes.
Purpose-built with doorstep skiing and snowboarding, Avoriaz is part of the huge Portes du Soleil circuit that spans the border with Switzerland. An intermediate haven, there are miles and miles of blues and reds, some offering confidence-building rollers, others more serious challenges.

The traffic-free centre of the resort, complete with nursery slopes and a play area for children, is particularly well-suited to families and beginner skiers. Most accommodations are self-catering apartments, and newer apartments are more spacious than the older, cramped ones. Cars are left in car parks at the edge of the village, and you can book an underground parking space for a hassle-free departure if it snows. If you fancy a change of scene, Flaine and Chamonix are a short drive away. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Avoriaz >

Search Accommodation in Avoriaz & Book Online >

Les Arcs, France

Distance from Calais: 980 km / 9 hours.
Extensive slopes offer mileage-hungry intermediates a wealth of options – wide bowls, tree-lined steep rollercoasters, and a huge thigh-burner from the top of the Aiguille Rouge at 3225 metres to Villaroger at 1200 metres.

And if that’s not enough, take the Vanoise Express to La Plagne, where more of the same awaits, as part of the 425km Paradiski area. Apartments and catered chalets abound in slopeside developments – the newest, Arc 1950, is by far the most convenient and pretty. Hop in your car and explore the rest of the Tarentaise valley – Tignes, Val d’Isère, La Rosière and Ste Foy are all nearby. Distance from Calais: 980km / 9 hours. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Les Arcs >

Search Accommodation in Les Arcs & Book Online >

Villars, Switzerland

Distance from Calais: 815 km / 8 hours 10 minutes.
Villars is a family-friendly ski resort that offers more than just 9-to-5 skiing or snowboarding. It’s more like a town, rather than a village, and there are plenty of activities, including skating, swimming, and walks through the lower wooded slopes.

Attracting families and second-home owners (it’s easy to drive to, and it’s also very close to Geneva), the slopes mainly suit intermediates; they reach up to nearly 3000 metres at Glacier 3000 above Les Diablerets, but it is a bit of a schlep to get to. Accommodation focuses on smart traditional hotels, and the food is good both on and off the mountain. Make the most of your car and take a day trip to Verbier, less than an hour away. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Villars >

Search Accommodation in Villars & Book Online >

Engelberg, Switzerland

Distance from Calais: 887  km / 8 hours 20 minutes.
Towering over 2000 metres above Engelberg town is Titlis, a mammoth freeriders’ paradise of a mountain with lengthy off-piste runs that start over glaciers and end among the trees near town. Also, a family-friendly ski area at Brunni is on the opposite side of the town.

Experienced intermediates will like the challenging reds, and while beginners are catered for, there is little for them to progress to as early intermediates. The town, rather than a village, is full of grand Belle Époque hotels, newer chalets and apartments. Skiing and snowboarding holidays were but a glint in Henry Lunn’s eye when Engelberg was built, so your car will come in handy for getting to the ski lifts. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Engelberg >

Search Accommodation in Engelberg & Book Online >

Grindelwald, Switzerland

Distance from Calais: 923km / 8 hours 45 minutes.
Stunning views and everything you’d expect from a traditional Swiss resort abound in Grindelwald, along with its neighbours Wengen and Mürren. A cog railway or gondola accesses the bulk of the long, fairly gentle intermediate terrain, shared with Wengen, the World Cup Lauberhorn run and the welcoming mountain restaurants and après bars dotted along the route back to base.

Three- and four-star hotels dominate the accommodation scene, and après-ski is getting livelier. With the main lift stations spread out, your car will be handy – but also take the time to take the train from the station in the village to explore the rest of the area and the valley along to Interlaken. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Grindelwald >

Search Accommodation in Grindelwald & Book Online >

Bregenzerwald, Austria

Distance from Calais: 1,016 km / 9 hours 20 minutes.
In one of the snowiest corners of the Alps, bordering Lech and St Anton, the Bregenzerwald region has 259km of well-groomed slopes, including 200 km in three main resorts – Warth-Schrocken, Damuls-Mellau, and Au-Schoppernau (Diedamskopf). Close to the German border, it’s easy to reach by car, and having a car is ideal for exploring all three ski areas, which offer excellent groomed slopes and plenty of off-piste terrain for freeriding and ski touring.

Villages in the Bregenzerwald are invariably pretty, unspoiled and quiet by Austrian standards, so don’t expect vibrant après-ski, but the region boasts dozens of exceptionally good three- and four-star hotels that are very reasonably priced. Keen skiers take note that Warth am Arlberg, and the ski slopes above Warth-Schrocken, are now lift-connected to the huge Arlberg ski area (305km of slopes), but the road between Warth and Lech is closed in winter for safety reasons. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Bregenzerwald >

Search Accommodation in Bregenzerwald & Book Online >

Soll, SkiWelt, Austria

Distance from Calais: 1,083km / 9 hours 40 minutes.
You may think driving to Austria is a turn too far, but it’s where many coach trips venture and officially (according to the AA), it comes in at less than 10 hours from Calais. Soll in the Austrian Tirol is popular with families and a great place to get a few early-intermediate weeks under your belt.

Soll is one of several villages in the SkiWelt – one of Austria’s biggest fully lift-connected ski areas (270km), which also includes Ellmau, Scheffau, Going, Itter, Hopfgarten, Westendorf and Brixen. The pretty village of Soll offers simple B&Bs as well as 3- and 4-star hotels, and reasonably lively après-ski.  Having a car here is handy for exploring other SkiWelt villages and for driving to the ski lifts on the outskirts of Soll. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Soll >

Search Accommodation in Soll & Book Online >

Courmayeur, Italy

Distance from Calais: 913km / 8 hours 15 minutes.
For a taste of the Dolce Vita, and a stark contrast to neighbouring Chamonix, drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Italy and Courmayeur – home to highly-praised restaurants serving delicious meals, both on- and off the mountain.

Courmayeur’s ski area features a brace of strong red runs, if a little limited in extent, and some challenging off-piste, including “easier” access to the Vallée Blanche. The village’s charming traffic-free centre has a few catered chalets and plenty of hotels. Further along the Aosta valley, the nearby ski resorts Pila and La Thuile are easily reached by car. Ultimate-Ski Guide to Courmayeur >

Search Accommodation in Courmayeur & Book Online >

Erna Low self-drive ski holidays

Erna Low offers good-value ski package holidays to the best self-drive ski resorts, including Eurotunnel or by ferry, and a wide choice of high-quality self-catering accommodation. It’s also worth checking for special offers from ferry companies Brittany Ferries, P&O, and Sea France, and checking accommodation prices if booked independently.

Search Erna Low for Self-drive Ski Package Holidays in the Alps >

Ferry Crossings from the UK to the Continent

Dover to Calais is the most popular ferry crossing from the UK, so we’ve used Calais as a common starting point for comparing driving distances to ski resorts. Alternatives include Southampton to Cherbourg or Caen and Channel sailings to Dieppe, Dunkerque, Ostende or Zeebrugge, then head to one of the three main gateways to the Alps – Mâcon in France, Basel in Switzerland and Ulm in Germany.

Search Dover – Calais Ferry Crossings & Book Online >

Distances and driving time estimates from Calais – Source: Google Maps.

Author: Rebecca Miles