Station-to-ski-resort transfers

Whether by bus or taxi, transfers from train stations to ski resorts are far shorter than transfers from airport. 

Transfers to French resorts, for example, typically take between 20 minutes and 50 minutes from the nearest train station. Airport transfers take much longer, usually between two and five hours - or even longer at peak times when roads get heavily congested with traffic. So, shorter transfer times are a clear win for train travel.

If you would want to go by taxi from the train station to you accommodation, it's cheaper to book with a local taxi company than an airport transfer company.  In most cases, airport transfer companies just aren't set up logistically to serve train stations, and so they have to charge more (we'd love to hear of exceptions to this rule, of course).

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Bus transfers

Photo: Daniel Elkan

Taking a bus from the train station to your resort is the best way to reduce transport costs, traffic, and carbon emissions. It’ll take slightly longer than a taxi, but not by too much. By bus there are usually few (if any) stops between the train station and the resort.

Transfer buses in the Alps are essentially coaches. They’re big, warm, and can take skis, snowboards, and other luggage for free. Buses always depart from outside the train station, so you don’t have to walk far to get on.
Depending on where your bus stops, you’ll be right outside your accommodation or within walking distance—check beforehand. If it’s a long walk, ask your accommodation if they can pick you up from the bus stop.

Transferring by bus is one of the most cost-effective modes of travel. Fares for most French resorts are around €12 one-way for adults, and €8 one-way for those under 26.
It's advisable, of course, to book in advance, although you can if you wish (and if there's availability) but tickets at the station.  For each ski resort on SnowCarbon, we have a 'Transfer guide' section with advice on booking tickets.

As a general rule, when arriving in the Alps by train, allow at least 15 minutes between your train arriving and the bus departing, so that you can make your transfer in good time. At the end of your holiday, allow at least 30 - 60 minutes between your bus arriving at the station and the train departing, in case of delays on the road. At most stations there's a cafe in the station or nearby to have a tea or coffee or snack while you wait.

For French resorts, most bus services are booked though Altibus. Altibus isn’t a bus company itself, but a portal that enables local bus companies to sell tickets in one consistent format.

You can book buses on the Altibus website. as well as checking bus timetables. You can email Altibus at info@altibus.com or phone Altibus on +33 4 79 68 32 96.

You can book bus journeys to over 80 ski resorts via Altibus, including:

Annecy to La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand
Aime-la-Plagne to La Plagne
Cluses to Avoriaz, Flaine, Les Carroz, Les Gets and Morzine
Bourg-Saint-Maurice to La Rosière, Sainte Foy, Tignes and Val d’Isère
Landry to Peisey-Vallandry
Modane to Val Cenis
Moûtiers to Courchevel, Doucy, La Tania, Les Menuires, Méribel, Peisey – Vallandry, St Martin de Belleville,  Val Thorens and Valmorel
Saint Gervais to Saint Gervais and Les Contamines
Sallanches to Megève

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Transaltitude (for the Southern Alps)

Transaltitude busPhoto: ©VFD_KLIP.fr

In the Isere region of France, where you get buses from Grenoble train station, the bus company is called Transaltitude. You can book tickets on the Transaltitude website. Here's the Transaltitude contact page and you can phone Transaltitude on +33 4 26 16 38 38.

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List of bus timetables

This is a list of the latest bus timetable PDFs that we have gathered. We will keep adding timetables as we find them. Where we don't have all the 2025-26 ones yet, the winter 2024-25 is shown for reference. 

Alpe d'Huez, France
Here's the Grenoble - Alpe d'Huez winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at Transaltitude.

Avoriaz
Here's the Cluses to Les Gets, Morzine and Avoriaz winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Auris-en-Oisans, France
Here's the Grenoble - Auris-en-Oisans winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at Transaltitude.

Chamrousse, France
Here's the Grenoble - Chamrousse winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at https://www.bus-et-clic.com/mreso

La Clusaz, France
Here's the Annecy to La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand winter 2024-25 bus timetable in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Doucy, France
Here's the Moutiers to Doucy winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

La Plagne, France
Here's the Aime-la-Plagne to La Plagne winter 2024-25 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

La Plagne (Montalbert), France
Here's the Aime-la-Plagne to Montalbert winter 2024-25 bus timetable in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

La Rosiere, France
Here's the Bourg-Saint-Maurice - La Rosiere winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Le Grand Bornand, France
Here's the Annecy to La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand winter 2024-25 bus timetable in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Les Arcs
Les Arcs doesn't have a bus service from Bourg-Saint-Maurice anymore. Instead, you used the funicular from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Arc 1600 and then take the free connecting buses to other villages from there. You can find out more in our guide: how to transfer from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Les Arcs. 

Les Contamines, France
Here's the Sallanches - Saint Gervais - Les Contamines winter 2024-25 bus timetable in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Les Gets, France
Here's the Cluses to Les Gets and Morzine winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Les Menuires, France
Here's the Moutiers to St Martin, Les Menuires and Val Thorens winter 2025-26 bus timetable - in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Les 2 Alpes, France
Here's the Grenoble - Les2Alpes winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at Transaltitude.

Les 7 Laux, France
Here's the Grenoble - Les 7 Laux winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.

Meribel, France
Here's the Moutiers to Meribel Les Allues, Centre and Mottaret winter 2025-26 bus timetable - in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Montgenèvre, France
Here's the Oulx - Montgenevre winter 2025-26 bus timetable (French).
Book tickets at SNCF Connect.
Here's the Briancon - Montgenèvre winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at SNCF Connect.

Morzine, France
Here's the Cluses to Les Gets and Morzine winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Sainte Foy
Here's the Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Sainte Foy 2025-26 bus timetable in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Serre Chevalier
Here's the Oulx - Serre Chevalier winter 2025-26 bus timetable (French).
Book tickets at SNCF Connect.

St Martin de Belleville, France
Here's the Moutiers to St Martin, Les Menuires and Val Thorens winter 2025-26 bus timetable - in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Tignes, France
Here is the Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Tignes winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Val d'Isere, France
Here's the Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Val d'Isère winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Val Thorens, France
Here's the Moûtiers to St Martin, Les Menuires and Val Thorens winter 2025-26 bus timetable - in French.
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Valmorel, France
Here's the Moutiers to Valmorel winter 2025-26 bus timetable (French).
Book tickets at altibus.com. 

Vaujany, France
Here's the Grenoble to Vaujany winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at Transaltitude.

Villard-Correncon, France
Here's the Grenoble - Villard-Corrençon winter 2025-26 bus timetable in French.
Book tickets at Transaltitude.

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How near is your Altibus stop to your accommodation? 

We've made a YouTube video showing you how to use the Altibus website to see how close the Altibus bus stop is to your accommodation. 

It's also worth checking with your hotel, chalet or apartment provider as to how close the bus stop is. They might have a particular recommendation or offer to pick you up from the bus stop. 

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Taxi transfers

Taxi transfers from Moutiers stationPhoto: Daniel Elkan

How much do taxi tranfers cost?
If you want to go by taxi from the train station to your accommodation, it's cheaper to book with a local taxi service than an airport transfer company.  Most airport transfer companies aren't set up to serve train stations, so they’ll charge more (we're keen to hear of any exceptions to this rule).

Local taxi prices typically vary from €45 to €115 one way per taxi, depending on the destination. Taxis can take up to eight skiers with luggage, including skis and snowboard bags (some taxis prefer a maximum of seven people if you’re bringing skis). It's normally a sliding scale in price depending on how many people are in your group. For example, if there are only two of you, you may pay less than the price for a four-seater; if you’re a group of five, you won't pay as much as for an eight-seater.

How to book taxi transfer
Taxis can be booked by phone, email or online (company dependent). At popular train stations like Bourg St Maurice, Moutiers, or Grenoble, you can usually turn up without booking and find taxis at the taxi rank outside each station. However, we’d definitely advise reserving in advance, unless you’re a small group and wanted to see if you could share a taxi with other people to reduce the cost (and save the world some petrol too).

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Table of taxi duration and prices

Below you'll find a list of taxi transfer durations and average prices for popular French ski resorts.

We've compiled these by researching the taxi companies' fares for each resort (where available) and calculating the mean average. 

Please bear in mind that actual fares will vary by provider, while tending towards the prices listed below.

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Chalet transfers/pick-ups

If you’re staying in a catered chalet, they’ll likely offer a pick-up service from the local station, either for free or for a reasonable charge depending on your time of arrival.

Generally, chalets prefer guests to come by train as it’s a more reliable mode of transport, requires a shorter transfer time, creates less pollution, and because guests arrive having had a more relaxing journey. Many chalets offer free train station pick-ups to encourage this.

Most chalets will write something on their 'Getting Here/Travel' page about transfer services, but if in doubt, just ask them. 

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