How to get to Val Thorens

Flying to Geneva is probably the easiest way to get to Val Thorens for most international visitors.

You'll easily pick up a transfer from Geneva. You can also hire a car and be on your way in no time. Journey time is around 2h45.

The only trouble with flying anywhere is the environmental cost. Driving, coming by coach or catching a train are usually better options if you want to reduce CO2 emissions.

Flying to other airports

If you can’t get a flight to Geneva, try Chambery.

Chambery is closer than Geneva and journey time is only 1h40. But the airport is lot smaller and not as many airlines fly there.  

Lyon or Grenoble (both around 200km away) are also options for Val Thorens. Journey times are 2h45 to 3 hours.

We wouldn't recommend flying to Turin or Milan - even if they look close on the map. It usually takes a lot longer to get to the resort, and you'll often have to rely on pricey private transfers.

There are several ways to get from the airport to Val Thorens.

Getting to Val Thorens by train may involve a few changes, which can be tricky with baggage or kids. But:

• it's the most environmentally-friendly option
• you get more leg room than on a plane or in a car
• you normally won't have to pay extra for luggage
• journey times can be similar to driving or flying if you're doing a trip like London to Val Thorens

Which train station is closest to Val Thorens

Moûtiers is the closest train station to Val Thorens. It's about 35km from the centre of the resort, or an hour by bus.

If you're looking to get to Val Thorens from Paris, Moûtiers is your final stop. Fast (TGV) trains from Paris and other cities stop here. So does the Eurostar Snow train.  

If you're coming from the UK, London to Val Thorens by train is about 10 hours.

Val Thorens is relatively easy to get to by car, but you don't really need your car once you're in resort, thanks to the free shuttle buses.

Read more about parking in Val Thorens

If you're using the French autoroute, the journey as far as Moûtiers is straightforward. The final hour is a little more arduous as you wind your way up the 35km stretch into Val Thorens.

This road is cleared every day during winter, but it's not a trip for nervous drivers - especially in bad weather. 

Remember too that if you're coming here for a ski holiday, you'll need to fit winter tyres or keep snow chains in the boot of your car.   

Driving to Val Thorens from the UK

It takes about 9h45 to drive from Calais to Val Thorens - a distance of around 930km.

Unless you're driving an electric car to the Alps however, driving isn't very environmentally friendly.

Getting to Val Thorens by coach takes longer than flying. It's usually cheaper though, which makes it a good option if you're on a budget.

It's also a relatively environmentally-friendly way to travel.

International coach companies like FlixBus, Eurolines, BlaBlaBus and RegioJet run services to Lyon, Grenoble and Geneva. From there, you can pick up a bus transfer to Val Thorens.

Coaches from London to Val Thorens

There's a direct overnight coach from London to Val Thorens that runs once a week during the winter. The coach stops in Moûtiers, where you’ll need to change on to a bus for the last 35km of the journey. 

Total journey time is about 20 hours.

We know flying is often the most convenient way to get to Val Thorens, but we'd encourage you to look at alternatives.

One option is to take the train as far as Moûtiers and do the last leg by bus. This allows you to minimise your carbon footprint while still getting to the resort in good time.

Source: Carbon footprint of travel per kilometre (ourworldindata.org)