I've never been catered for so well

This trip was borne out of making contact with Daniel from Snowcarbon, as I wanted to see if we could do a ski trip without flying.  I'd heard the train gets you a closer to resort without the often-long transfer from the airport. Daniel put me in touch with Lee and Kevin from Chalet de la Vanoise – and from there the rest all fell into place, more or less!

Daniel suggested we use an agent to book the train travel (and gave us contacts) which was well worth it as we were a massive group of 21, of all ages and combinations. Having the agent made sure we got the best deal and didn't miss any details.

Part of our group in La PlagnePhoto: Olivia Holborn

The organisation for a group of that size was certainly multi-faceted! But Daniel, and then Lee (chalet host) helped in every way they could which made it a lot easier. Once we were at the chalet, Lee and Kevin – and their two amazing cooks – really looked after us, from ferrying the beginners around for their lessons to providing painkillers for those in desperate need towards the end of the week (one of our party broke his wrist). The food was incredible and, as a coeliac, I have genuinely never been catered for so well. It worked for all the families and they made it all so easy. Highly recommended!

Photo: Olivia Holborn

The region of La Plagne is huge and most of us only skied about half of it, the best part being able to take the Vanoise Express over to Peisey-Vallandry and Les Arcs to get the best of both worlds. We definitely want to return and do the rest.

I'm completely converted to getting the train and would highly recommend it. It was a bit hectic at times with all our luggage and kids remembering their various items when changing trains, but for me it still beats flying hands down.

Photo: Olivia Holborn