Getting across the Channel
| Crossing | Time at sea or in the tunnel | Frequency (operator figures) |
|---|---|---|
| LeShuttle, Folkestone to Calais | 35 minutes | Up to four departures an hour |
| DFDS, Dover to Calais | 100 minutes | Up to 30 sailings a day |
| DFDS, Dover to Dunkirk | 2 hours | Up to 22 crossings a day |
LeShuttle says boarding starts about 25 minutes before departure, and that if you arrive early or late within a two-hour window you may be offered the next available departure at no extra charge.
How long is the drive from Calais?
LeShuttle publishes these drive times from its Calais terminal:
| Destination | Drive time from Calais |
|---|---|
| Chamonix | About 8 hours 30 minutes, via the A26, A5 and A40 |
| Les Gets | About 8 hours 50 minutes, via the A26 and A40 |
| Tignes | About 9 hours 30 minutes |
| La Rosière | About 9 hours 30 minutes |
| Val Thorens | About 9 hours 30 minutes, the last stretch up from Moûtiers |
| St Anton | About 11 hours |
These are clear-road times. They do not allow for a Saturday queue in the Tarentaise or for fitting chains on the final climb.
What does French law require in winter?
France's Loi Montagne II rules apply from 1 November to 31 March. In the communes listed by each préfecture, cars must either have four winter tyres or carry snow chains or snow socks that fit at least two driving wheels. The rule is set by decree 2020-1264 of 16 October 2020.
- Which tyres count: since 1 November 2024 only tyres marked 3PMSF (the three-peak mountain and snowflake symbol) are accepted in place of chains. Tyres marked only M+S no longer qualify, so with those you also need chains or socks on board.
- Where it applies: in Haute-Savoie and Savoie, the préfectures apply the rule to every commune in the département, which covers every Savoie and Haute-Savoie resort on this site. In Isère it applies to listed communes, and the list has grown, most recently in 2026. Signs mark the start and end of each zone.
- Which vehicles: cars, vans, motorhomes, lorries and coaches. Vehicles on studded tyres are exempt.
- Penalties: the planned penalty is a fourth-class fine of €135, with possible immobilisation of the vehicle. The government told the Senate in February 2026 that the rule had so far been applied as education, without penalties, because the decree setting the penalties could not be published in 2025. The obligation itself stands whether or not a fine is issued.
Snow at resort level is normal at Christmas in the higher resorts. On the site's Christmas Snow Report, the Tignes weather station at 2,080m had 30cm or more on the ground on Christmas morning in 26 of the last 30 years, and Val d'Isère's village station at 1,854m in 25 of 30. Practise fitting chains or socks at home before you need them on a mountain road.
Winter tyres, vignettes and tolls in Switzerland, Austria and Italy
Switzerland
Switzerland has no legal obligation to fit winter tyres. The Touring Club Suisse points out that if an accident is blamed on unsuitable equipment, your insurer can reduce its payout or pursue you for negligence. Chains are compulsory where a sign says so. Swiss motorways need a vignette costing CHF 40, sold as a sticker or as an e-vignette linked to your number plate. Each one runs for 14 months, from 1 December of the year before the one printed on it to 31 January of the year after. A 2027 vignette bought for Christmas 2026 is valid until 31 January 2028.
Zermatt is car-free. Drivers leave the car at the Matterhorn Terminal in Täsch, which has 2,100 covered spaces, and take a 12-minute shuttle train into the village.
Austria
Between 1 November and 15 April, cars up to 3.5 tonnes may be driven in wintry conditions (snow, slush or ice on the road) only on winter tyres on all four wheels, or with snow chains on at least two driven wheels when the road is covered. Tyres marked M+S, M.S., M&S or with the snowflake symbol count.
The 2026 motorway vignette for a car costs €106.80 for a year, €32.00 for two months, €12.80 for ten days and €9.60 for one day. The 2026 annual vignette runs to 31 January 2027. From 2027 the vignette is digital only. A digital vignette bought online as a consumer is valid only from the 18th day after purchase, because of EU rules on the right to withdraw from distance sales. That delay does not apply at physical sales points. Driving without one leads to a substitute toll, and to penalties of €300 to €3,000 if it is not paid.
Italy
On the Brenner motorway (A22), which serves the Dolomites, winter tyres or chains on board are compulsory from 15 November to 15 April, even with no snow on the road. Fines run from €80 to €318. The Aosta Valley starts a month earlier: for 2025/26, Anas required chains on board or winter tyres on the main state roads from 15 October until 15 April 2026. That includes the SS26dir from Pré-Saint-Didier to Courmayeur and the Mont Blanc Tunnel, and the SS26 to the Little St Bernard Pass above La Thuile.
The Mont Blanc Tunnel costs €55.50 one way or €69.20 return for a car under 2 metres high from the French side in 2026. The return must be used by midnight on the seventh day. There is no long closure in autumn 2026, but the tunnel is closed each night from 22:00 to 06:00 between 14 and 17 December 2026.
Which days are busiest over Christmas 2026?
French schools in all three zones break up for Christmas on Saturday 19 December 2026 and go back after Sunday 3 January 2027. Bison Futé, the French government's traffic service, published its forecast calendar for 2026 in March. Zone 4 in the table is Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, which includes the Savoie and Haute-Savoie resorts.
| Day | Towards the mountains | Away from the mountains |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 18 Dec | Difficult in zones 1–4 | Normal |
| Sat 19 Dec | Normal | Normal |
| Wed 23 Dec | Very difficult in zones 1–4 | Normal |
| Thu 24 Dec | Difficult in zones 1–4 | Difficult in zone 5 |
| Sat 26 Dec | Difficult in zones 4–5 | Difficult in zones 2–4 |
| Sun 27 Dec | Difficult in zones 4–6 | Difficult in zones 1–4 |
| Sat 2 Jan 2027 | Very difficult in zone 4 | Difficult nationally, very difficult in zones 3–4 |
For comparison, Bison Futé rated Saturday 27 December 2025 red for departures in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and advised avoiding the A43 from Lyon to Chambéry between 10:00 and 21:00. It also expected very heavy traffic on the approach to the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Bison Futé updates its forecasts before each holiday weekend.
The Tarentaise on a Saturday
The RN90 runs up the Tarentaise from Albertville to Bourg-Saint-Maurice and carries the traffic for most of the valley's ski resorts. At busy times the Savoie préfecture runs RÉCITA, a regulation system with a traffic light just before Moûtiers and at the Siaix tunnel. Its advice is to stay on the RN90 and not to follow your satnav onto side roads, which may be closed and reserved for emergency vehicles.
Timing the drive for 19 or 26 December
- Arriving on Saturday 19 December: the national forecast is green, with the heavier traffic on Friday 18 December. Driving down on the Friday means sharing the road with French school departures.
- Arriving on Boxing Day: Saturday 26 December is forecast orange for departures in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Sunday 27 December is orange in both directions. If you are driving home on 2 January 2027, that day is forecast red towards and away from the Alps in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
- Before you set off: buy the Austrian vignette at a sales point, or online at least 18 days ahead. Check the Bison Futé forecast in the week of travel, and check Mont Blanc Tunnel times if your route uses it.
For chalets that suit a self-drive family, see family Christmas chalets and ski-in ski-out chalets.
Sources
- LeShuttle — 35-minute crossing, up to four departures an hour, boarding about 25 minutes before, two-hour window
- DFDS — Dover–Calais 100 minutes, up to 30 sailings a day
- DFDS — Dover–Dunkirk 2 hours, up to 22 crossings a day
- LeShuttle — drive times from Calais to Chamonix, Les Gets, Tignes, La Rosière, Val Thorens
- LeShuttle — St Anton about 11 hours from Calais
- Préfecture du Puy-de-Dôme — 1 November to 31 March; decree 2020-1264; only 3PMSF tyres from 1 November 2024
- Préfecture de la Haute-Savoie — all communes, chains/socks or four winter tyres, vehicles covered, studded tyres exempt, signage
- Préfecture de la Savoie — all communes and roads in Savoie, 1 November to 31 March (via search summary)
- Préfecture de l'Isère — listed communes, additions in 2026, M+S tolerated until 1 November 2024
- Sénat — €135 fourth-class fine and immobilisation; government answer of 12 February 2026 that the rule has been applied without penalties and the penalty decree was not published in 2025
- Touring Club Suisse — no legal winter tyre obligation in Switzerland; insurer may reduce payout
- Federal Office for Customs and Border Security — Swiss vignette CHF 40, 14-month validity, e-vignette
- Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn — Zermatt car-free, 2,100 spaces at Täsch, 12-minute shuttle
- oesterreich.gv.at — Austrian winter tyre rule 1 November to 15 April in wintry conditions; chains alternative; accepted markings
- oesterreich.gv.at — 2026 vignette prices, validity to 31 January 2027, digital only from 2027, 18-day rule, penalties
- ASFINAG — 2026 prices; digital only from 1 February 2027
- Autostrada del Brennero — A22 obligation 15 November to 15 April even without snow; fines €80–€318
- Aostanews24 — Anas obligation in the Aosta Valley to 15 April 2026 on the SS26, SS26dir and SS27
- Regione autonoma Valle d'Aosta — Aosta Valley obligation starts on 15 October
- ATMB — Mont Blanc Tunnel 2026 car prices €55.50 one way, €69.20 return valid seven days
- Nos Alpes — no long closure in autumn 2026
- Trans.info — night closures 22:00–06:00 from 14 to 17 December 2026
- Bison Futé — 2026 forecast calendar for December 2026 and January 2027; French school holidays 19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027; zone map
- Bison Futé — 27 December 2025 red in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes; heavy traffic to the Mont Blanc Tunnel
- Ministère de la Transition écologique — avoid the A43 Lyon–Chambéry 10:00–21:00 on 27 December 2025
- Préfecture de la Savoie — RÉCITA regulation on the RN90, lights before Moûtiers and at the Siaix tunnel, stay on the RN90
- APRR — the RN90 continues the A430 towards Albertville and serves most Tarentaise ski resorts