…..so I finally got a long weekend pass for a 2012 trip from the missus (pushing the definition of a long weekend here will take 3 days off in addition to the weekend) and fancy a trip to France in June next year. Don’t know much about the area – what are the options? We want something more gravity orientated with minimal climbing but not just full on downhill. Also can anyone point me at some good accommodation that won’t cost a fortune?

For good accomodation at reasonable prices

http://www.alptitude.com

Our apartment was excellent this year. Great price & great location.

Morzine is great for what you want. Loads of lift assisted, mostly down, XC trails. There’s lots of downhill stuff, too, which is fun for a play but not compulsory. Lifts only open after the PPdS which is in June sometime so check your timings. Lots of hotels in town, pretty cheap. We normally book a chalet as there is a few of us. Luchon in the pyrenees is another option. Only one lift but more than enough trails for a long weekend. Again check the timings as June is probably pre season although I think the lift is open at the weekends for more of the year.

What’s yr budget?

If you can afford a guided holiday then recommendations will be different to if you’re self-guiding – as some areas are easier to navigate than others.

Really good advice – thanks chaps.

chakaping – would be self guided i think as trying to keep costs down

The red graded stuff isn’t full on downhill and is perfectly rideable assuming you can ride most red stuff here. Physically it’s more demanding than anything I’ve ridden here purely due to speed and how rough and long the tracks were. I can still feel the braking bumps.

Didn’t ride any black stuff but seeing them from the chairlifts was enough to convince me I’d be carrying my bike down most bits.

Blues and greens were crap and best avoided.

Morzine and the surrounding Portes du Soleil area is pretty good for self-guiding, but it’s easy to end up just riding a load of DH tracks because it’s so easy and a lot of fun.

Also as a previous poster mentioned, the lifts don’t open until the end of June.

Have you thought about doing the Passportes du Soleil mass ride? That’s a good way to get familiar with the PdS area – then you could repeat your favourite bits and explore further afield on the subsequent days.

Or another option would be to get a price from a MTB holiday company for a 5-day stay. White Room did this for us this year as part of our road trip and it was a very fair price considering the quality of the riding, food and acomodation.

The full lifts is the Portes Du Soleil region don’t open until the end of June however, the main lifts in and around Morzine and Les Gets open about a month earlier.