France this year

we've decided to try Megeve and La Clusaz this winter, instead of going to the big name big money resorts. Does anyone have any info on these ski areas? I believe neither one is known for its steep/tough stuff but i heard la Clusaz has some great off piste - can anyone provide more info? tx in advance!!

They are quite famous resorts and Megeve use to be a very expensive place. I don't know now.

La Clusaz it's nice. They are doing a good job on architecure, and if i recall well, slopes are good.

I have skied Megeve several times.Plenty of OP there, if you are sufficiently skilled. Many guides bring groups there from Chamonix, if the weather is bad.

As for the big money, last time I was there, there was a Casino, Polo matches, rich Russians, had arrived in large numbers, I saw several HummerH2's in the supermarket carpark, and I saw a dressing gown in a shop window for 850 Euros. It was very a nice dressing gown though ) 2 very nice cups of coffee at the top of Mont D'Arbois was 9 Euros (ish).

La Clusaz will be cheaper, but invariably less chic :D

We drive every year - 8 of us - 2 cars.
Is by far the best way both practically and in terms of cost.
We book a self catering apartment, buy food and booze at a super U or similar on the way, pre-book skis and lift pass and each year the whole things including diesel and tolls works out at under £400 a head.
Bargain.
Can understand people breaking up the journey with a hotel stop but we wire up a laptop and by the time the people in the back have watched 2 dvd's and we've played a couple of games of I spy (usually the answer is snow) we're nearly there. A 7.00am crossing on the train, hit the road in Calais about 9.00am local time and we're in the alps for about 6.00pm.

We do both: Fly for short trips and drive for longer ones. We stay overnight down but do it in one go home, as you gain an hour, and psychologically, if you're within 4 hours or so of Calais/Boulogne you generally feel like pressing-on anyway. Doing it in one go is better if you have 3+ drivers. It isn't as expensive as you'd think to add people to your car insurance for just the trip period. Best way we've found is to insist on changing drivers every 2 hours, even if they don't feel tired - they will later. While 'taking a nap' en route works in the summer - it doesn't in the winter as the car quickly gets too cold. Bear in mind that if it's foggy/snowy/raining then it's much more tiring and you may wish you'd stayed somewhere overnight.

It may seem silly at first, but think about getting winter tyres: these aren't just for snow - they have a shorter stopping distance as the temperature falls below about 7C - up to about 25% better once you're at -5C or more, which is useful in the UK. In theory of course, they don't cost any more if your summer tyres are in the garage, but you have to budget £50 or so for swapping them. But if you have a relatively expensive car then £100 year for swapping tyres may be reasonable.

Snow chains really are for the most extreme conditions and the problem in the Alps is that everyone else is on winter tyres while you are on either semi-slick English summer tyres. Chains are not good for mixed tarmac-snow-tarmac conditions. Moreover if you do opt for them, make sure that they actually fit - a lot of Engligh cards have lower-profile wheels and tyres than European ones and the chains foul the suspension /steering. Look at your handbook or ask your garage: on my car the 17" wheels fitted as standard in the UK haven't got enough inside clearance to take coventional chains, compared to the 15" ones fitted to Alpine versions.

:D hi,driving down to La Plagne need not be a nightmare if you are prepared,i would advise you to get a service (winter) for your car before going,you will also need by french law the following ,snowchains,a full set of spare bulbs,headlight beam adjusters( these can be purchased from any car shop and fit onto the lens to either block the bright spot or divert the full beam to the otherside of the road,these come in the form of sticky backed patches and have instructions on the back and come in different shapes for differetnt makes of car),and a warning triangle.the drive from calais is straight forward -calais-reims-troyes-dijon-macon-lyon-chambery-albertville-moutiers-aime-la plagne.Also if you have someone to share thedriving with this is also helpfull as with multiple drivers the trip can be done in 9hrs with a couple of quick stops,but with just one driver around 12 - 14hours would be better as this will enable the driver to get some much needed rest,alteratively you can break the journey up by stopping overnight enroute although this will eat into your holiday skiing time.
As for fly driving if you fly to either grenoble or chambery and hire a car from there (autoeurope 0800 169 9797) you can get a flight for around £50 -£60 per person and a weeks car hire will be around £140 - £200 depending on the size of vehicle,and will take about 2 hrs to drive to la plagne.
many regards
jonG.

:DThanks for all the replies .When do you know when to put the snow chains on. ??????

:D hi, on the alpine roads there areas every so often which are signposted with a car tyre with snow chains on ,a good indication that they may be needed is that if you arrive at one that has car occupants putting on chains then you should follow suit,also these areas sometimes will have a police officer attending and they will direct you into the laybye
many regards
jonG.