Can anybody give me some advice on driving down to Verbier ,I am making the trip down there with my wife and 2 kids and need to know what is involved and also what I need legaly ,also I want a good place as a stop over halfway between Calais and Verbier as the mrs thinks its to much in one go ,I am making the journey in mid August

We drove to Zermatt last year – left Bristol 6pm friday 10pm ferry from Dover-Dunkirk then drove about 100 miles into France & stayed the night (travel lodge type of place) then drove through France on Saturday crossing the border @ 3pm arriving about 5ish.
The return journey – leave Zermatt 6am taking it in turns driving & got the 4pm ferry & back in Bristol by 9pm
I think you need a spare bulb kit, warning triangle & refective tabards for all in the car but they must be within reach from inside where you sit.
I’m sure the RAC or AA website will clarify.

Are we there yet dad?
Are we there yet dad?
Are we there yet dad?
Are we there yet dad?
Are we there yet dad?
Are we there yet dad?
You get the idea mate,reckon the journey will be harder than the raid.
Good luck mate,reckon i’ll ave’it again in 2010.

cheers mate ,that journey will test me mentaly for sure ,is the new arrival here yet ?

you need a ticket to drive on the swiss motorways,

and watch out for the trucks on the final climb.

the swiss motorway ticket called a vignette (sp?) can be bought in advance from here
make sure you book somewhere to stay as we didnt and found it was the first day of the french summer holiday and everything was full.

Driving via Pontarlier is the best route. If you want to stay overnight drive untill you want to stop then find a Formula 1 hotel, there are plenty around on the major roads. As mentioned to drive on Swis motorways you need a pass, which they force you to buy if you go over a main motorway border. I think it was 40 euros last year. You could drive via the non motorway but that means driving around the edge of lake Geneva, which trust me, is a nitemare!

It depends on if you like driving, but me and the parents tend to fight over the driving, as it makes the journey less boring, but it means its very easy to do in one go. We normally get a evening ferry then drive through the night with a short in car sleep and arrive around lunch time.

P.S. From past experience the best way to get up the twisty road to Verbier is in a Aireal Atom … beats any biking out there! It was about 20 times quicker than my fully loaded Hillman Imp!

I drove through Switzerland a few times last summer, including through manned boarder crossings and I was never asked to purchase a vignette.

Its only when your go across the border on a motorway, like if you went via Geneva they tend to stop and check most cars.

I went through Geneva twice and back again into Verbier. No charge. I suspect looking very poor in a shite car helped :o)

There’s a bottle of this vignette in our fridge you can take if your worried. Has been opened but smells ok.

😆

Done it for the last 5 years with our 2 girls with no problems. Set off at midnight on Thursday, travel down from South Yorkshire and get the first train available [use our Tesco vouchers £45 of vouchers pays for £180 ticket]

For the last two years we have stopped of at Troyes for 1 hour and then stayed here [get there about 3.00pm] for the night in a family room [its about 1 mile off the route and they have lock up parking.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.hotel-le-lac.fr/hotel-charme-le-lac-saint-point-jura-doubs.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhotel%2Ble%2Blac%2Bmalbuisson%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLL_enGB324GB324&rurl=translate.google.co.uk&usg=ALkJrhh_WCF0xRsye0JEaMPiusEjEsmRgQ

On the way back we set off at 10 am from Verbier and get the 8 pm train, we the stay over night at the Holiday Inn at Ashford [kids eat and sleep free] and conclude the journey next morning

Kevin does all the driving

If you want the route or any other info mail

Tracey

driven to Verbier for the last two years running, never been asked for a motorway ticket. Make sure you have spare bulbs and high vis jacket for french police though.

If you’re going through Geneva watch out for the speed cameras. After Nyon they’re spaced 5km apart all the way to Lausanne. Then there’s another just as the autoroute straightens out past Villeneuve. The speed limit changes in Switzerland to 120km/h…
..oh and don’t expect anyone to indicate when changing lanes.. 🙂

We went close to Verbier with our 2 last year

No stop over unless you live in the north. Should get there by 8-9pm if you are in Calais by 9, drive at the speed limit, and stop often.

Take the train

Make sure you have a full complement of Nintendo/iPod/story books/DVD/sweets/valium/whatever

GPS helps with the ‘are we there yet / how much longer’ questions

Troyes is a nice place to stop a night. We stayed at the Ibis there and the Mercure hotel. They are next to each other and have secure parking if you need it.

Troyes (pronounced tray seemingly) is the place for an overnight stop. Really beautiful unspoiled medieval French town with loads of lovely bars and restaraunts.

Go down the motorway to Dijon then take the A39 then Exit 7(I think) on the A391, brings you out at Lausanne, round the lake to Martigny then whacky races up the hill to Verbier. The 391 is a bit of a twisty road but dont be tempted to stay on the A39 all the way south and then throught the mountains to Geneva…..its way way longer even though it looks faster.

You dont need tickets for the road to Verbier, but dont even think about speeding. Cameras all over the place….

We piled the whole family into a room in this places on Troyes. Pricey but worth it, one of the best parts of the whole holiday…..think Three Musketeers.

http://www.maisonderhodes.com/

There is the Accor hotel group which are cheap to stay at. Formule 1 being the cheapest, but have shared loos and showers.

We stay at Dijon. It’s a bit of a schlep down there, but it gets you closer for day two. Troyes wouldn’t be a bad place to stop, but I have never tried it.

You can get to Verbier via the chamonix valley. There’s the Vallorcine valley just past Chamonix valley, then you descend to Martigny. I seem to recall Chamonix to Verbier took about an hour in the car. There may be a more direct route however.

This is our route, over the last five years we think its the best and quickest

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/Itineraires?strStartCityCountry=1138&strStartAddress=channel%20tunnel&strStartMerged=&strDestCityCountry=185&strDestAddress=&strDestMerged=Verbier&options=1&ie=utf-8

Tracey

I once got a hard time from a Swiss boarder guard (and they are humourless feckers) about not having a ‘carte gris’ – which it turns out is a Euro style vehicle ownership document. It’s only happen once out of probably 20+ trips between Chamonix and Geneva airport, but something to bear in mind.