Travelski Express reviews by skiers
Travelski Express reviews
What's the Travelski Express experience really like? On Saturday afternoons throughout the season I headed to St Pancras International station, and as skiers arrived from the train, I asked some what they thought, to give some honest insights into what the experience is like.
Keble (travelling solo)
Travelled from: Warrington
Travelled to: Tignes le Lac
Travelled outbound: Friday 4th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 12th February 2022
“I've been on the Ski Train before and obviously this is my first time on the Travelski Express. I went on the standard premier service, which I always do, because you get a bit better of a chance of sleep. I had nine seats to myself on the way out and 10 seats to myself on the way back. Just loads and loads of space, which is brilliant, but obviously you want the service to be running for next year. I'm guessing a bit more marketing is needed.
“The extra days' skiing is great. I went to Tignes and we were in resort by 07:30, so you can gear up and be on the slopes at nine o'clock. Saturday is changeover day, so the best day to be skiing. It was a total bluebird day — absolutely immaculate! I'd prefer if we could get the overnight train back too, to get an extra day's skiing at the end of the holiday too. It's one of the reasons why I get the train. Plus, you can take your skis and all your bags on board for no extra cost. The carbon footprint's just like nothing compared to flying. And the transfer times are much shorter and more reliable.
“I don't sleep particularly well sitting up on the train. But you get there as relaxed as you probably would if you flew early in the morning and then had a six-hour coach transfer. Being able to ski on the Saturday makes it worth it regardless.
“The Travelski transfer drops you outside a restaurant in Tignes where they give you breakfast, which is a nice touch - coffee and croissant and jam and stuff. And then there's a bag storage facility which they give you as part of the service. So, you drop your bags, you get changed in the loo and go ski and then check into your accommodation later after skiing. But it all worked out well. I would do it again.”
Adam (travelled in a group of eight friends)
Travelled from: Suffolk
Ski resort visited: Les Arcs 2000
Travelled outbound: Friday 4th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 12th February 2022
"It was our first time by train - usually we fly. Our reason for choosing the train this time was partly environmental, but also because the price was great with the ski pass included.
"We weren't overly concerned about lack of sleep on the overnight journey because it's something that happens when you fly anyway, when you get up early. As long as you get the day off to get down to London on the Friday, which we had to. That was the only inconvenience really.
"I didn't get any sleep but some of my friends did. The train itself was reasonably comfortable, but I'm not very good at sleeping. Our group had the whole carriage to ourselves. I don't know if it was just the timing as it was the first departure of the season, but that in itself was pretty good.
"The transfer from Bourg St Maurice to Les Arcs 2000 was only about half-an-hour, so much shorter than from the airport. So that's another plus for the train. We couldn't check in to our accommodation until 5pm but we got to ski all day on the Saturday, which was a huge bonus.
"Our group is mixed ability, including first timers and people who have been for 10 years. The first timers spent the first day learning how to put their gear on etc, and then started on their lessons the next day, to be on the safe side. Overall, we liked going by train, and as long as it wasn't too expensive, would definitely do it again."
Justin (travelling in a group of six friends)
Travelled from: West London
Ski resort visited: Tignes le Lac
Travelled outbound: Friday 4th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 12th February 2022
"The train was pretty empty. I'd say there was only about six or 10 people in the carriage. You had a lot of space and could get one of the tables. Obviously, because it's not a sleeper train, it's a little bit more uncomfortable to try and get to sleep.
"I think a few of us managed four or five hours of sleep. I managed a couple. Once people started sleeping on the floor instead of the seats, I think people got more sleep! It was convenient, at least — gets you straight to Bourg St Maurice. We were heading to Tignes so wasn't too bad.
"There's a coach that takes you straight to the resort, so we were in Tignes about 7am. We picked up our ski passes straightaway and started on the slopes that same morning Accommodation was decent. Six-person chalet, self-catering, close to the lifts.
"One of the things you have to watch out for though is you have to pay for your bedding and towels in advance. There was no mention of it on the Travelski website. We paid for it in resort and then got our money back but it was a bit of an annoyance, so people should watch out for that.
"The journey back was fine, had to take the coach at 5:45 because you have to get to the train station a couple of hours beforehand, but the daytime train journey is perfectly fine."
Matt (travelling with two teenage daughters)
Ski resort visited: Les Arcs 1800
Travelled outbound: Friday 11th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 19th February 2022
“I think for the outbound, not be able to sleep properly and not having a couchette doesn't work. To be to be absolutely fair, I wouldn't do it again. I would do it via the SNCF couchette service. The seats are just too uncomfortable because overnight you want to sleep during the day, you can do a little snooze, play some cards, do some stuff and fill the time. We were in Standard Class. The seats are comfortable for sitting in — but the seats are not comfortable for long if you are trying to sleep. We're all in agony to some extent.
“If the transfers were a bit more slick, that would be good. We had to wait an hour before our transfer bus left. A gap of 15 or 20 minutes, sure, but an hour doesn’t make sense – especially when you are going to a resort – Les Arcs 1800 — which is only 16km from the station. I’m not sure why that happened. It felt a bit chaotic. The other problem for us was when we got to a hotel, the room wasn't ready till 7:30pm, which is really late. So, we had a lot of things which didn't set us up right in the first place. That's not being picky, it’s just what happened to us.
“If you could have a couchette instead of seats, I would do it again without a shadow of a doubt. And I would recommend I would definitely recommend they get their organisation right for both pick up and also when you return. We had to standing around in the snow waiting for the guy to turn up to take us to the station. The principle of train travel is great. Next time we might try Eurostar + TGV. We loved Les Arcs 1800. Third time there. Great resort.”
Oscar, Lauren and Tristan
Ski resort visited: La Plagne (Belle Plagne)
Travelled outbound: Friday 11th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 19th February 2022
"The journey with Travelski Express is relatively easy. But then outbound obviously it's overnight. We ended up trying to sleep on the floor, which was an interesting situation, but I guess you get what you pay for. We only got about an hour or two’s sleep though.
"The return journey was also quite seamless. It is straightforward and the train was empty – there was loads of space. Easily two seats per person, if not more, which is unusual – especially at half term.
"The transfer from station to resort was pretty smooth. Sort of just being guided around and then waiting for a bus and then the bus coming. The kind of thing where you thought there might be issues, but there weren't any issues at all. It was all very, very easy.
"This was our first time by train. We were trying to be more eco-friendly, and the price of the package with Travelski Express was no more than a package with flights. And it’s nicer to get the train. There’s a lot of faff at an airport, even if overall the train takes longer. And it’s nice to be able to leave work on a Friday and be skiing Saturday morning. So it's good to have the overnight as an option. Certainly it's more comfortable doing it during the day - but then you obviously use a day of skiing.
"We would go by train again. We’d have already talked about the idea of going via Paris and getting a sleeper train from there, depending on what the options are."
Alan, Katrina and Marie-Claire
Ski resort visited: Les Arcs
Travelled outbound: Friday 11th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 19th February 2022
“The overnight journey was quite uncomfortable. The carriage was quite empty so we were able to move around. Otherwise, it would have been quite unpleasant, actually. In previous years Eurostar provided blankets. There were no blankets this year.
“When we booked Eurostar in the past, you could do it independently. And this year, we had to book accommodation with Travelski to get a slot on the train. Normally we would have come overnight on the way back as well which gives you another extra day. But we couldn't do that this year as that’s not an option. The transfer from Bourg St Maurice was smooth. They were waiting for us, so we didn’t have to wait. You go overnight for the extra day’s skiing: we were on the slopes by 11am.
“On the return journey, they got us to the station very early. They put us through all the check in and then we had to stand wait on the platform for 20 minutes before they opened the doors of the train. Luckily it wasn’t snowing or raining. It was quite a narrow platform, so just standing there and waiting with people walking past to get to their carriages was a bit of a ball ache.
“If you are taking the train, you want to have the freedom to choose where you’re going to go and who to book with. I don’t think Travelski are particularly good. Also think the train was really empty compared to other times. In both directions carriages barely half full. It’s the emptiest train I’ve ever seen at half term.”
Ian (travelling in family group of 13)
Ski resort visited: La Plagne (Belle Plagne)
Travelled outbound: Friday 11th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 19th February 2022
“The train itself is comfortable and good. It was pretty empty. But it took a long time and the kids being upright and people trying to sleep - well that wasn't so great. And getting there quite early in the morning, bit of a wait for transfers to get to the resorts. And obviously, hotel rooms aren't ready for eight hours. That made it quite a quite a difficult trip out. The extra day’s skiing with the overnight is really appealing, but the drawback is people arrive very tired. It depends on the age of your travellers.
“There were 13 of us travelling, aged five to 50 years old. The younger children slept better, although a couple didn’t sleep at all. The adults found it really hard with the upright seats and not much much legroom, even though the train was pretty empty. Coming back was a lot easier, to be honest; pretty straightforward.
“We stayed in Belle Plagne, in La Plagne, which was a lovely village. Really nice, really cute.”
Gaëlle (travelling with two children)
Ski resort visited: Tignes (Val Claret)
Travelled outbound: Friday 11th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 19th February 2022
“I think one of one of the things that wasn't really good for families was that the train was an overnight train, and the kids were really couldn't sleep. It was really terrible! My daughter tried to sleep but it was a disaster. My son slept on me, but that was a disaster for me!
“Then, after we arrived at the resort in the early morning, we had to wait to check in — so we had to wait all morning and afternoon before accessing our accommodation. For the return journey, we were told to come very, very early — at 05:35 in the morning — for the transfer. But that meant we ended up in Bourg St Maurice very early and we had to wait in the waiting room for about an hour, with a lot of people, before we could check in for the train. I think it was to avoid any traffic. Overall, I liked the daytime train. If it was a daytime train outbound and return on Saturdays, that would be better for us. And if Travelski could allow the bus transfer to get it a little bit later or be a little adjustable that would be good as well.
“We didn't plan to ski on the day of arrival. But we would have done more if we didn't have to wait for the access to the accommodation. We were very lucky because we asked for an early check in. Other people I know had to wait until 5pm. So they arrived in resort at 8am and had to wait until 5pm.
“For us, check in was 1pm, but I paid €50 extra for this in advance. But I don't think it would work if it was an apartment for example, but we were in a kind of residence-hotel. I met a couple who came by train who had to wait till five o'clock to get into their apartment. That was bad.
“So, I don't think it works. There must be something that Travelski can do differently if they want to do an overnight train. I don't think I would do it again (if it was the overnight journey) because it was too it was too much. When they arrived, the kids were really tired due to lack of sleep. Because of that we didn’t’ even do much on the arrival day, even though it was sunny.
“We went to Tignes Val Claret, which was great. The ESF lessons for my daughter had too many people in the group, and the slope they chose for the lesson was a bit busy so she was struggling. So, we took some private lessons with Evolution 2, which was better, because we went with just two chairlifts to some quieter slopes in Val d’Isere, and that worked well. Tignes Val Claret was an excellent place to stay, the resort has everything and only two minutes by bus to Tignes le Lac — and easy connection to the slopes of Val d’Isere too.”
Mike & Lizzie
Ski resort visited: Les Menuires
Travelled outbound: Friday 11th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 19th February 2022
“We arrived at St Pancras about two and a half hours before departure and we had quite a long time waiting inside the departure hall. It’s a shame that you are not allowed to buy an alcoholic drink in the departure area if you are travelling to the mountains on the Travelski Express. You have to show your boarding card before they sell you a drink. If you are going to Paris, you can buy an alcoholic drink, but not if you are on the Travelski Express. We said: ‘We’ll drink it in front of you, just one drink!’ but they refused. I guess they are worried about people getting too drunk on previous occassions.
“We got to Moutiers station and we were met by a rather gormless person from Travelski who sent us first to the wrong place to have breakfast. When we got there and checked in our baggage, they said ‘this is only for people going to La Plagne’ and we were going to the Three Valleys. So, we got all our stuff out, went back into the station and the people for the Three Valleys were sent to a different cafe which by this point was completely full. Well, we eventually got some breakfast and the Travelski guy said at 7:30am — an hour and a half later —we will be collected by bus and taken up the mountain. We waited around, but at 7:30 the Travelski guy wouldn't speak to any of us, he just kept disappearing off. Basically, I found him negotiating with a coach driver, because it seems there was no coach arranged to take us to Les Menuires. It was a complete mess. We’d waited since 6am and eventually got on the coach at 08:45.
“We'd spoken to Travelski before we left and told them that one the reasons that we go by train is we'd like the extra day skiing. And we they said that's fine, you pay some money and you can store your stuff and get changed in the Centre Sportif in Les Menuires. So, we got there and asked them where we could get changed. And they said ‘There’s no changing facilities here - you have to go to the bus station and there's a toilet opposite.’
“I speak French and said this is ridiculous - we've been sold this. Most people just gave up and just left their stuff and didn't go skiing because there was nowhere viable for them to get changed. You've paid this money. You’ve got a voucher. You can leave your bags in a room in the sports centre — but there’s nowhere to get changed, because the staff wouldn’t let you get changed in the room, and people didn’t want to try getting changed in the bus centre toilet. But after a lot of persuasion, the sports centre staff said we could pay some more money and use a changing room. So we did that.
“Then we had to collect our lift pass from our accommodation. It was a 20-minute walk through the shopping centre to get there. And at the reception, we asked to collect our passes and the lady there said: ‘no lift passes here, you need to go to the lift-pass office’.
“I had a voucher, written in English, which said ‘please collect your ski pass from where you hand in your keys’ but they obviously meant ‘from where you collect your keys’. I translated it back into French. And so, after about 15 minutes of arguing with this woman and saying ‘we collect them from here’, she went and found another person who came back said ‘Oh yeah, we have some passes’ and so finally we were able to head off to ski. But we met a family who didn’t ski for a day because they couldn't get their lift passes, due to the mix up.
“When we returned to our accommodation at 5pm it was a complete mess in terms of collecting our keys. We were there at quarter to five in a line, and then when we reached the reception desk they said ‘It’s not 5pm, so you can’t have your keys yet, go to the back of the line. We could see our keys hanging up right behind her – the rooms were ready. We’ve been on ski holidays for 30 years, and this really wasn’t the best experience. I think Travelski need to think this all through better. But the skiing in Les Menuires and the Three Valleys was great.”
Roy & Helen (and son)
Travelled from: Southampton
Ski resort visited: La Plagne (Plagne Soleil)
Travelled outbound: Friday 19th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 26th February 2022
“The journey out was very easy. We got to St Pancras on Friday evening and were in the French Alps by about 6am. And then on the slopes by nine o'clock. On the way out we went to Moutiers station, and on the way back from Bourg St Maurice. The transfer was fine - there was a bit of a delay but we were given food at the Three Valleys Café, which is attached to Moutiers train station. There were croissants, baguettes, tea, coffee, orange juice. The food on the train was fantastic, we went Standard Premier, they fed us well and then tucked us in for the night and we got a few hours’ sleep – about three hours max, I reckon. I think that was more us being excited than the train being uncomfortable. The only downside is they wouldn’t let you have any beer or alcohol. Not allowed anything – nothing! We wanted to be able to drink and pass out and wake up in France…!
“When we got off the Eurostar there was no one that to really receive you to they're about 100 people, and one girl from Travelski trying to manage all those people. And then when you got to the accommodation there was nobody there. There was no kind of signage of how to get in. We relied on someone else coming out because the entrance has a door code. And then unfortunately, with the packages you get your ski pass from the Saturday. But when you get to the accommodation, there's nowhere to put your luggage there's nowhere to get changed and you can't have your room to five o'clock. So that was a bit of a downside.
“There was meant to be meant to be a locker room where you could put your stuff, but there wasn't. So I actually negotiated with the place: I said, ‘Look, can we just get changed in your reception and put our stuff in the corner?’ That's what we did because we had to get out skiing. There's no point being in resort at that time in the morning and losing a day of skiing. The receptionist let us get changed — in full view — but we had to leave our stuff, hoping it wouldn't get stolen. There was meant to be somewhere to leave your stuff but there wasn't. That was annoying.
“The ski passes were meant to be picked up from the hotel, but the hotel didn’t have them. So that was more confusion. We went to the ski-pass office, and our passes were given to us there. We’d been sent a little QR code beforehand, showed it to them and it worked perfectly.
“The downside was that the Travelski accommodation wasn't great. It was extremely basic and quite tatty. Locks falling off. Plug sockets falling off. All just tatty. But it was on the slopes, so not too bad from that point of view. I think the lesson learned is to get better accommodation. I’d definitely go by train again but I think I’d go via Paris, so that I could book the accommodation separately myself. It’s only one change in Paris, so that’s still convenient. The direct train itself was fantastic though. If we had the choice, we’d have come back overnight on Saturday evening, to get another day of skiing. Why would you not? That would be eight days of skiing!”
Andie and Dominic Johnson (family of four)
Travelled from: Teeside
Ski resort visited: Les Menuires
Travelled outbound: Friday 19th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 26th February 2022
This is first time I trained to the Alps. I came across the Snowcarbon website before Covid hit. We were sick of feeling guilty about flying but love the mountains, love the snow and wanted to travel the best way. I think at that time Snowcarbon was doing the campaign to get the Ski Train running again. So I'd sort of stayed in the loop from that point of view. And then when Travelski came out this year it was feasible to do, especially as the girls both had the Friday off for half term as well.
The train was only about a third full, which was wonderful in terms of having more space, and we slept most of the way down. When you go to bed it's warm, but when you wake up its chilly, so worth bringing a blanket. When we arrived at Moutiers, we were given breakfast. But then a lot of hanging around not sure which train you were which bus you were getting on. And it was a little bit disorganised. So that was quite hard. We’d got to Moutiers just before six and our bus didn't actually arrive until nearly eight o'clock. If I did do it again I’ll think about doing my own transfers.
And then the other thing was we got to the place we could leave our luggage but being homeless for the day is quite hard. A friend who we're travelling had just come off a night shift so she was absolutely knackered. We went out skiing though - a great day skiing that day. The slopes were quiet. It was good.
We had CGH apartments, which were great - better than expected with a pool and sauna and everything, which was beautiful.The resort was good, can't say it's the prettiest but we really enjoyed it.
The train journey back was great. This might have been my favourite day! I've read, I've crocheted, no one can get you. Lots of tea. I've always been a big fan of train travel.
Andrew and family
Travelled from: West Yorkshire
Ski resort visited: Les Arcs 1950
Travelled outbound: Friday 19th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 26th February 2022
"I've been to Bourg St Maurice several times on the Eurostar Ski Train. We’ve always travelled daytime, so this is the first time we've been overnight. I would prefer to go in the day, to be honest. It was very difficult to sleep on the way down. We were in an ordinary carriage, standard class. I think if we did it again on the overnight train I would go in first class on the way down, to sleep better. Although, this time the train was very empty so we could lie on the floor — literally! But other than that, it was excellent.
"We went to Les Arcs 1950. We've been many times before. Normally organise it all ourselves independently get a local taxi from Bourg St Maurice to Les Arcs. This time it was part of a Travelski package, so it was all done all for us. The transfer pick up was seamless.
"At the end of the week, coming down from Les Arcs into Bourg St Maurice, the bus departure was very early in the morning. We had over three hours in the station. But there was food there so it wasn’t the end of the world. But it was quite an early transfer.
"One thing that Travelski need to improve is communication about how to find your apartment. On the way up we were dumped at the resort - at the bus stop - without knowing which apartment we were going to or any idea where to go. Because we’d been to Les Arcs 1950 before, we knew that the main centre was Prince les Cimes, where we could pick up our keys. But if we hadn’t been there before, it might have been a different story."
Stef, Paola, Ed and families
Ski resort visited: Les Arcs 1600
Travelled outbound: Friday 19th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 26th February 2022
"The Travelski Express certainly makes it easy to get straight to your ski resort by train. But we didn’t sleep much on the way out. I think most of us got about three hours’ sleep. It needs to be a bit more comfortable if you are going to be able to sleep. But it’s definitely far better than flying. We've tried going by plane and tried driving. This is the second time by train now. Last time we went via Paris. It's still our preferred method of getting to the slopes — despite the lack of sleep. It's just less faff.
"When you fly, you’ve still got to get to the airport two hours early you can't take as much stuff, and you’ve got all the passport control faff. Obviously, by train is better for the environment as well. We really enjoy going by train. And especially with Les Arcs, it’s close to the station. We stayed in 1600, which is half an hour from Bourg St Maurice. And travelling back by daytime was nice, you get to see the scenery.
"The accommodation was great. It was our first time in Les Arcs, and we really liked it. Lots of runs, everything is just there.
Henry (travelling in a group of six friends)
Ski resort visited: Val d'Isere
Travelled outbound: Sat 26th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 5th March 2022
“It’s fantastic that they brought the Ski Train back. It would potentially be better if you could book the train independently. At the moment when you book it, it’s a package. And it's a bit of a pain in the arse because once you arrive the service isn’t great - there's nobody there. “But overall, the train is the best way to get out there. It would be better if they had the Saturday overnight service to come back, like they used to. But still, all good. We used to go overnight both ways, to get eight days skiing. I’d prefer that if it was available.
“The package with Travelski was cheap. But the train was really empty. We were in Standard Premier, which was about two thirds full. But some carriages in the train were completely empty – whole carriages.
“It’s not surprising. We tried so many ways to book with Travelski and they were a total nightmare. It all worked out in the end, but trying to email them and sort the accommodation was just hellish. The Travelski website is terrible too. We were trying to find a three-bed apartment for six of us, instead of a two-bed apartment. Travelski needs UK customer service because without that it makes it difficult to communicate with them. It took three days to get a response to an email.
“Travelski seem to have no one in resort, so when you get there it’s a bit of a nightmare. Getting the bus was OK, but when we arrived in Val d’Isere there was no one there. We were given breakfast in a coffee shop, which was nice. But everything else, like how to get the keys to your apartment etc - it was basically ‘Figure this out yourself!’ The quality of the accommodation, once we’d found it, was good.
“We arrived in resort early enough to get the first ski lift, but there was nowhere to get changed, no privacy. If you were a family, that wouldn’t be ideal.
“The train is a very easy good way to get there and your carbon footprint is a lot less. And when you arrive back in London, you can get home quite quickly. We enjoyed Val d’Isere — although I think Tignes is probably more our vibe.”
Archie & Miranda (travelling in a group of nine friends)
Ski resort visited: Saint Martin de Belleville
Travelled outbound: Sat 26th February 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 5th March 2022
“On the whole Travelski were quite good. They organise things very well and I good customer service in advance. When we were there we didn't have so much contact with them but like the place we stayed was really nice. Everything worked pretty well on the way out.
“But on the way back, we had a problem. Travelski told us two places to get to meet the transfer, but it didn't turn up at the one we were at. And then there was no one to call at the time because their offices weren’t open. We had to call a taxi and pay for it ourselves.
“There should be an emergency hotline so that you can contact them at any time. Because there were a couple of times that we wanted to ask a question and wasn't that easy to find someone to talk to. But overall, it was quite good and quite simple.
“The train makes it very easy because you get the extra day skiing as well. Particularly if you live in London, it's so easy, just coming down here and getting on the train. And coming back was very straightforward apart from our hiccup with the transfer. I would definitely recommend Traveski — I think it's been a good trip. We had to cancel twice previously because of Covid — and they were good about that.
“Weirdly, the train was pretty empty so they've charted the train for the season. You can't buy a passenger ticket because the train this year. But they clearly didn't sell it out because the train was less than half full. They could have sold a few more trips but maybe they didn't have the accommodation at the other end to get people in. Getting the train is the main draw for us —to avoid flying.
“We stayed in Saint Martin in the Three Valleys. It’s a very nice village — but for a group of young people that want bars it’s probably not the right place. I was happy there because I'm mostly into the skiing. The Three Valleys ski area is great. It was a little busy, but then it was half term.”
Faye, Rob, Ed and Trina
Ski resort visited: Tignes le Lac
Travelled outbound: Sat 26th March 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 2nd April 2022
“It was tough to get decent sleep on the overnight train on the way out. We probably got between one and three hours. The best position we found was leaning against the window, or slumped forward, using puffy jackets as pillows.
“But the day train back was really easy and transfers were really good. And like the whole trip for us was pretty smooth. So good on the whole.
“When we arrived at Bourg St Maurice on the way out, we only had to wait about 15 minutes. You basically just find which bus you're getting on. We had to ask around to find which bus, but that was straightforward. And the same on the way back: at the bus stop, the bus was already there.
“Tignes Le Lac was really good. We chose it because of the ski-in-ski-out accommodation and value for money. We had some amazing snow during the week.
We went by train because the Travelski package was good value for money too and the ease of coming out on a Friday night from working or living in London – which is very handy. And then to be able to ski on the Saturday when it's quiet — changeover day — It's quite nice. We were happy with the balance of overnight train out, daytime train back. We’d definitely do it again.”
Matthew and family
Ski resort visited: Tignes l800
Travelled outbound: Sat 26th March 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 2nd April 2022
“This was our first time travelling to a ski resort by train. The journey down there — once you can actually get off to sleep — was just a brilliant way of waking up in Bourg St Maurice, just 40 minutes away from the ski slopes. Obviously, it’s probably a little bit longer than flying. We usually drive, so this was an opportunity to try it differently.
"We got about five hours’ sleep. But, nevertheless, we did get to sleep and I thought from a price point of view and the environmental impact, definitely recommended. The benefit of arriving on a Saturday morning and getting the extra days’ skiing means I was quite happy with the five hours’ sleep.
“The journey back was an early start this morning, but it was all set up really well. It’s been a breeze, really. Transfer from outside the apartments. Straightforward check for the train.
“We went to Tignes 1800, and spent a lot of our time up at 2100. We had an apartment, which was fantastic — fairly new with a spa attached to it and a swimming pool, sauna and all that sort of stuff — and couple of nice restaurants nearby. So yeah, a thoroughly good time.”
Emily and family of four
Ski resort visited: La Plagne
Travelled outbound: Sat 26th March 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 2nd April 2022
“Coming from Bedford, getting to St Pancras was easy. We travelled to Plagne Soleil, which was great. The apartment was lovely. Not quite ski-in-ski-out but close to the slopes.
“On the journey out, I got about four hours sleep and my husband said he got about 10 minutes! I think the kids got about five hours sleep each. Some people were trying to sleep underneath the seats – people were trying all kinds of positions. But the extra days’ skiing was good. The journey back in the daytime was straightforward. I think we’d probably be happy sticking with the combo of overnight out, daytime back.
“At Moutiers station when we arrived, it was a bit chaotic. We didn’t really know what we were doing, and no-one else seemed to, either! There was a Travelski rep somewhere, but they were hard to find. A bit more signage would be good.
“When we arrived at our apartments, there was space to get changed – in a nice spacious bathroom. But friends of ours at a different apartment were told they weren’t allowed to get changed — although they did anyway.”
Jake, Ant and friends (group of eight)
Ski resort visited: Tignes le Lac
Travelled outbound: Sat 26th March 2022
Interviewed at St Pancras: Sat 2nd April 2022
“Travelling overnight is difficult because it’s very uncomfortable for sleeping. The best place to sleep was finding a little nook underneath the footwell of the seats and curling up in there. So pretty extreme! The transfer from Bourg St Maurice to Tignes was very straightforward. When we arrived, there was luggage storage and a decent bathroom to use to get changed.
“On the way back there were lots of nice views in the daylight and all that so that was all good. Travelling overnight and being able to get an extra days’ skiing is an advantage, but it is difficult to sleep. All in all, I think the combination of overnight train out and daytime train back was OK for us.
“We stayed in an eight-person apartment in Tignes le Lac. We like Tignes because it’s high and there’s lots of skiing."