Kieran says: " I organised a trip for me and a few friends to Le Bettaix, staying with the highly recommended Silver Lining Chalets in a small hamlet close to Les Menuires in the Three Valleys region of france.  As it was organised only a few weeks in advance some of the overnight sleeper trains were either sold out or very expensive, but I still wanted the advantage of extra skiing days so I chose a different way. 

"The journey started with a standard train into London after work on Friday, and then a late evening Eurostar to Paris.  The pricing of the Eurostar tickets meant that the Premier class was slightly cheaper than the Standard so we had the advantage of more space and a light meal with wine included as we travelled.

"We booked into a basic motel room in Paris for the night.  There are a cluster of these (Etap, Ibis, and Formule 1) around the Portes du Montreuil and Portes du Vincennes metro stops in Eastern Paris.  These are cheap but clean and comfortable and just a few stops from Gare de Lyon where our journey continued the next morning.

"The next day we took an early morning TGV arriving in Moutiers in time for lunch.  Again, last minute ticket pricing meant that 1st class was a similar price to standard, so we had that extra bit of luxury for little extra cost.  From Moutiers it was a short bus journey (booked in advance with Altibus) up to Les Menuires and we were on the slopes for an afternoon of skiing.

"Despite needing to book a motel room this all worked out cheaper than the overnight sleeper trains or the direct Eurostar, and was a very comfortable way to travel.

"For the return journey we could have done the same in reverse, but the sleeper train in that direction was cheaper, so that was the way we went.  A week's skiing ensured we had no trouble getting to sleep soon after boarding in Moutiers, and slept soundly till we arrived in Paris around 6am.  From there it was a easy journey across Paris, with time for breakfast, before getting the early Eurostar back to London on Sunday morning.