info re MTB TIGNES / VAL D’ISERE?? family friendly?

anyone with kids been to either site?
experience of camping either place ?
or recommendation to choose an apartment instead?
some green graded trails? eg similar to easy stuff in morzine
thanks for nay beta
paul

About the best resort there for family fun.
Loads to do for the whole lot, youve got loads of activities around the lac to do, biking wise kids pump tracks and brilliant green and blues, but theyre long so be prepared to do them in stages and work up. I would say the length and way theyre designed steps them up from morzine – obviously dependent on the kids skill level and age. Easy to get carried away with the speed on them and tire as theyre so long.

Camping isnt great, there are sites in val d,isere and tignes but val will have lots of construction going on as its in town, tignes brevieres is basic and high so it can be cold and wet. Nice big communal room with games etc for when its a bit grey.

Biking is afaik still free this year, staying locally should get you a tignes card for free access to pool etc and some activities.

Personally, id do an apartment there with a family, i dont really rate the camping and its a lot cheaper than winter. Actually thats a lie, i just park the van for free in the car park and try and bum a shower as required but thats probably not an option for you.

Agree with Nick above, perfect spot for family stuff. We found Camping les Brevieres to be great. Cheap, quiet/spacious, bit to keep the children happy – outside table tennis (get some bats and balls in decathlon on the way) and small park, and the facilities were fine. Just makes sure you take winter coats for the evenings. I prefer camping higher as at least when the kids go to bed the tent/van isn’t roasting. And you get your ‘My Tignes’ cards there to get free access to the activities – SUP, waterslides, horse riding, archery, trampolines, slack-lining, amazing leisure centre for the wet days with climbing wall.

In Val the campsite is small and limited and by the side of the road up to the col de l’Iseran, which can get quite busy. It’s not a great location and I would look at appartments if you’re thinking Val over Tignes. The resort is more compact than Tignes, and has quite a lot going on in the main streets that will be of interest for younger children (they pedestrianise it usually once a week and have parades or wooden toys and games laid out etc). You don’t say how old your kids are – if they’re older (say 8 or 9+) then Tignes is probably more fun for them.

I’m going to Val for 4 weeks this summer with two younger kids (they’ll be 5 and nearly 4) – they’ve both been before and loved it, but when they’re older I think we’ll try Tignes. Swimming pool is better in Tignes too for kids (but good in Val – and if they’re little they do a kids play hour on Sunday mornings where they get out a bunch of inflatable things and the kids can clamber around and leap on/off them).

Yep. We did tignes two years ago, when the kids were 9 and 11. Loved it. Hoping to return this year . I’ll try and find my long rambling thread on it.

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/tignes-blueberries-les-arcs-rasps-la-thuile-strawbs-bleau-blackberries/

Alas all the photos are gone, but there is some useful stuff hidden in amongst my pontifications.

We have been to val twice and stayed in the campsite at Val. I like it, never found a problem with construction. The site at Tignes doesn’t get much sun but not stayed there. You can cycle direct to the lifts in Val from the campsite but in Tignes have to drive / get a bus up to resoort to get on lifts. The queues for the bus often exceed the capacity.

Biking is great – lots of swooping easy greens particularly on the Tignes side and even on the harder trails few braking bumps- you can to Tignes from Val using the lifts but the second lift is not always open if windy to get you to the crossing point.

Lift passes last year were 10e per day or 40e for six days. With this you also get daily entry to the pool in the place you are staying and some other free activities such as a paddle boarding if staying in Tignes / archery/ remote control monster trucks.

Stock up on food at the supermarkets in Bourg – the one near the campsite in Val is well stocked but expensive.

We went Summer 2016, would happily go again as would my boys!  My two were 8 and 6 at the time.

We stayed with Chalet Chardons in Tignes Le Brev which is a good spot if you’re riding as you get to finish your day with the great trails from Le Lac down to Le Brev but a slight (and it’s only slight) pain in the bum if you’re off to the Le Lac for watersports on the lake as there is an extra layer of complication of having to drive up to Le Lac.

Le Brev has a small French Village feel about it unlike Le Lac though.

Check that any accommodation you plan on using gives you the free My Tignes card.  If they don’t or you are camping you’re looking at 300Euros for 2 adults and 2 kids for 2 weeks, which actually still isn’t that bad.

https://en.tignes.net/what-to-see-do/my-tignes/my-tignes-achat

You can cycle direct to the lifts in Val from the campsite but in Tignes have to drive / get a bus up to resoort to get on lifts. The queues for the bus often exceed the capacity.

Less of an issue if you’re staying in Brev and want to get up to Le Lac with your bike as you are the first to get on the bus.

We stayed at the Brev campsite last year. They give you a card which you can exchange for a free lift pass for the duration of your stay. Getting the bus up wasn’t really a problem. It was a fairly easy walk down into the town where there are a couple of restaurants and a small shop.

I don’t remember an indoor games room though? There was a couple of outdoor table tennis tables.

great stuff
really helpful top tips guys
thanks a lot
paul
ps kids are 8 (less confident on bike – rides greens at morzine) and 12 ( happy with morzine blues / some reds)

ps kids are 8 (less confident on bike – rides greens at morzine) and 12 ( happy with morzine blues / some reds)

They’ll have a great time in Tignes then.  Some of the Blues are better for kids than the greens as they are smoother.

Camping isnt great, there are sites in val d,isere and tignes but val will have lots of construction going on as its in town, tignes brevieres is basic and high so it can be cold and wet.

I can’t confirm it, but I think the Brevieres campsite may have closed down?

Val is a better option anyway, as it is short ride to the lift and a walk to the supermarket. No problem with construction as the site is not in the town.

Is there a Val equivalent of the My Tignes card? We’re trying to decide if we should camp in Brev again (the web seems to suggest the campsite is open as usual) or try the Val campsite for a change. I’m put off going to Val as I can’t see anything to suggest staying there gets you a free lift pass?

The family groups at Tignes when we were there were pretty amazing, they approach it like british non-cyclists might approach a weekend at centreparcs- hire a bike, jump on the chairlift, figure out how to ride a bike on the way down.

Yes there is an equivalent of the MyTignes card but far far fewer places are signed up to it, only a few of the big groups and I think Val Agence. There is a circa 40E / week card that gets you pool entry, lift access and a few other things. That’s the adult price, kids are 20E or something. With a family it adds up… It’s possible to buy multiple swimming pool tickets if the MTB lifts are not an every day thing for all family members.

Cheers for the info. We will probably only stay a few days so will go back to Brev.