One writer for France Today swapped the airport queue for a coach seat and made it from London Victoria to the ski slopes of Alpe d'Huez — Paris, an overnight bus to Grenoble and a taxi up the mountain included. The whole thing cost £24.99 for the main leg, and it worked out faster than you'd expect once you factor in the full airport routine.
The route is simple. A Flixbus from London Victoria crosses to France via the Dover ferry in about four hours to Calais, then continues to Paris Bercy Seine. From there, an overnight coach runs to Grenoble, where a taxi covers the final stretch into the Alps. A clever budget hack from the trip: paying an extra €10 to book the neighbouring seat doubles your space for sleeping on the night bus — worth every cent, plus there's free Wi-Fi and charging points on board. There's an eco argument too: coaches emit roughly 27.8g of CO2 per passenger per kilometre, against about 101g for flying.
Arriving early, the traveller dropped bags at the PopAlp Hotel, grabbed the included breakfast and picked up ski hire at Henri Sports — meaning a full first day on the slopes without paying for an extra night. That's a genuinely useful tip for anyone arriving on an overnight service.
Alpe d'Huez itself packs 250km of slopes and suits all levels, with beginners able to use a large chunk of the resort. Confident skiers should aim for Sarenne, billed as Europe's longest black run, which opens in February — the views alone justify the early alarm. Off the pistes, the options get more inventive: mountain karting sends you racing down snowy winding tracks on low-slung gravity-powered karts, and a parapente flight offers views over Les Deux Alpes and Mont Blanc without a drop of jet fuel.
The standout evening is a group snowshoe hike — around 4 to 5km at a gentle pace — timed for sunset, ending with dinner inside an igloo reached through an ice tunnel. Think charcuterie, fondue, wine and a sky full of stars on the walk back down, with zero light pollution. For a sweet fix, the Cabane à Sucre sugar shack puts a local spin on the Québécois maple taffy tradition by using honey instead, served with rainbow sprinkles and rum-infused tea.
Why it matters: with flight cancellations and fuel prices causing headaches, overland ski trips are having a moment. Alpe d'Huez works especially well for this because the coach-and-train route is straightforward and the transfer from Grenoble is short compared to many alpine resorts. It suits travellers who'd rather watch the French countryside roll by than kill hours in a terminal — and who want the journey to feel like part of the holiday. Just don't panic, as the Hitchhiker's Guide would say.
