Chalet Etoile

Chalet Etoile is located in Chinaillon (map of Chinaillon) in the Haute Savoie region of the French Alps.  Just one hour from Geneva Airport.  Chinaillon is in the heart of the Aravis chain of mountains, just a few minutes drive from La Clusaz. 

It is easy to reach Le Grand Bornand by car or plane.

Traveling by air:

Geneva Airport is approximately one hours drive  from Chalet Etoile, and is serviced by a large number of airlines.  

    fly from several UK airports including, Stansted, Luton, Gatwick and Bristol. 

     fly from Heathrow and Gatwick and London City.

     fly out of most UK airports to Geneva.

    fly out of  Heathrow and London City Airport (it is worth checking the prices out of City Airport,  they can be surprisingly competitive).

Several airlines including bmibaby.com and Jet2.com fly out of Manchester.

For a selection of cheap flights and different airlines, try Skyscanner (which searches various airlines) for the cheapest tickets.

 There are local taxi services that can collect you from the airport, or it is easy to hire a car.  For a transfer from Geneva airport or a taxi in an around Le Grand Bornand you can try Eric Bastard  (we have used Eric several times -but be warned, he know the roads very well and is known for driving very fast!), or Taxi-Grand Bornand.  For airport transfers you can also use Geneva-taxi , or Mel at Aravis-tours .  Our agent in France, Emma (see booking/availablity page) can also arrange a transfer for you.

Driving from Geneva Airport to le Grand Bornand is incredibly simple and takes about one hour (obviously in rush hour this can take longer).  When leaving the airport from the car rental car park, it is very easy to reach the motorway to France.

 Car rental at Geneva Airport - The most important thing to remember, when hiring a car from Geneva Airport book it in Switzerland not France! (If booking on the internet, when you type Geneva Contrin Airport into the pick up location, they will give you the choice of France or Switzerland - choose Switzerland)  The airport is situated in Switzerland, and the quickest way to Chinaillon is going on the Swiss motorway - for this, you need a special permit.  Cars hired in Switzerland already have this permit.  When you leave through baggage collections and customs, you exit right by the Swiss car rental companies.  Cars are marginally cheaper to hire in France, and it is possible to get out of Geneva without using the Swiss motorway, but if you do stray onto the wrong road you will be charged to buy a swiss permit.  We have used  National Car Rentals  and Europcar they have always been competitively priced, reliable, and efficient, and with no queues.  Cars hired from the airport in winter will always be equipped with winter tyres and snow chains, but you may be charged a supplement.  We have recently found a company called auto-europe  who will search various car hire companies and offer you discouted rates.  They give you a voucher to take to a specific car hire company.  At peak times they can seriously undercut the prices of going direct.

Once your paperwork has been done at the approriate car hire company,  you will need to get a shuttle bus to "Car park 51".  This car park is only about  5 minutes walk away.  In peak season it may be quicker to walk.

If you are renting a car, book well in advance to get a good price, the prices go up as supply becomes short, and it is known for every single car rental company at Geneva Airport to sell out of cars for busy periods!!

Driving from Geneva to Chinaillon

You have two choices, you can use:

• The A40 motorway to Chamonix and leave at the Bonneville exit and follow signs to Le Grand Bornand.  or
• The new A41 to Annecy, leaving at the Annecy Nord exit and following signs to Thones and then Le Grand Bornand.

For detailed directions to the chalet from the UK or Geneva airport please contact us.

Pre booking a car parking space at Luton or Stansted Airport can save you up to 30% off the the standard drive up fare.  Just give them your dates and times and they will give you a price option in each of their car parks.  

Driving from the UK:

The drive from Calais to Le Grand Bornand takes approximately 8 hours, and is easy to do in one stretch.  Eurotunnel is the simplest way to cross the channel, the best alternative is P&O Ferries.  Again beware Eurotunnel can get sold out at peak times, so book ahead.  Bison Fute is a very useful advisory website produced by the French Government giving up to date information on the road network in France, including all roadworks and anticipated problems.

If you want to break your journey about half way, we have found Le Val Moret is a good place to stop, just 100 yards from the motorway junction (exit 22 of the A5) just beyond Troyes (approx 4 hours from Calais) it is almost exactly half way between Calais and the Alps.  Rooms are motel style, clean and comfortable and approx 80 euros for a family room.  The food there is fine, but a bit pricey. There is a playground for the kids.  Most of the cheaper hotel chains, Ibis, Etap, Myriad, Formula 1 etc. have hotels in Bourg en Bresse which is much closer to Le Grand Bornand.

 Please note: If driving your own car during the ski season, it is a legal requirement in the  Alps to have snow chains in your car.