Planning A Chamonix, France Trip
Where to stay in Chamonix? Deciding on a hotel is always my most difficult part when planning independent travel. We prefer a hotel, either two-star or three-star depending on the rates, with half pension/demi pension, for several reasons:
- Dinners in Europe are expensive in relation to what you get. An entree ranges between 15-25 Euros and when you add an additional 35% (value of Euro against the Dollar), this is expensive. Half pension dinners usually include an appetizer, a choice of entrees, salad and dessert for the same amount; and
- We are just too tired after sightseeing or hiking all day to begin looking for a restaurant at dinner time. Much easier to return to the hotel, relax, bathe and come downstairs for an apertif before dinner.
You can book online through the Chamonix website but I prefer contacting many different hotels via e-mail to ask about WI-FI, salad bars, breakfast buffets, choice of entrees, etc. I then go back and forth, driving myself crazy for a few days (or weeks) trying to decide where to stay. Finally, settled on Hotel de L'Arve, in the heart of Chamonix. Their restaurant will be closed a few nights during the 10-day stay but that beats looking for a restaurant every night. Family owned, part of the Logis de France chain, and close to the train station, center of town and bus stops.
We also needed a hotel for one-night at the Charles de Gaulle Airport before flying home the next day. A great advance rate at the Ibis Hotel, located by Terminal 3. Extremely convenient.
Air? Air is the easy part of planning since we fly United Airlines (our carrier of choice) 98 percent of the time. I usually make it a tad more difficult and fly Chicago-Washington, DC-Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport because that routing gets us into Paris several hours earlier than the non-stop Chicago-Paris flight. If that flight isn't delayed, it gives us a chance to catch a 9:30 a.m. TGV to Lyon direct from the airport instead of taking the RER into one of the downtown Paris train stations. Check out Visit BookingBuddy.com, Air France offers free stopovers in Paris
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Transportation? It was less expensive to buy a 3-day train pass through Rail Europe then individual tickets. TGV seat reservations (compulsory) cost less to buy in Europe but we've experienced several vacations where 2nd Class was completely sold out by the time we touched down in France. Bit the bullet and purchased from Rail Europe.
TIP:: Don't forget to notify both your bank and credit card company that you will be out of the country or risk a block on all transactions. They've tightened up considerably because of identity theft. Your first transaction may go through, but prepare to hear "denied" on the second unless you've notified them.
What to Bring? The most important items - hiking boots, and our 3rd and 4th legs, hiking/walking poles. Along with an ATM card, and credit cards, we never hike without them. Everything else was the usual hiking/walking apparel - waterproof jackets and pants, fleece, shorts, plastic water bottles, etc. A minimum of casual clothing for all else. Most European restaurants and hotel are very casual both summer and winter.
