Airport shuttle buses offer fast and cheap transfers from GNB to many French Alpine ski resorts including Alpe d’Huez, Les 2 Alpes, Courchevel and Les Arcs.
Shuttle buses generally offer the best transportation options from Grenoble Airport (Aéroport de Grenoble-Isère) in the French Rhone-Alps (Rhône-Alpes) region to popular winter sport resorts in the Alps. Grenoble Airport is busiest on Saturdays and Sundays, when skiers arrive from all over Europe on charter flights and especially from Britain on low-cost airlines, making early reservations of shuttle bus transfers and car hire advisable for skiers traveling to the slopes. Cheaper flights may arrive during the week but transportation options are more limited and may carry a higher surcharge than on weekends.
Driving to Grenoble Airport (GNB)
Driving to Grenoble Airport (GNB) in the small village Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs around 40 km (25 miles) to the northwest of Grenoble is easy. The airport is just off the Autoroute A48 connecting Lyon and Grenoble, with easy road access to French ski resorts in the Alps.
From Autoroute A48, use exit 9 (Rives / Grenoble Airport), and continue around 10 km (6 miles) on the D119 to the airport. Driving times from the airport are around 30 minutes to Grenoble or Lyon airport (LYS) and an hour to downtown Lyon, Annecy, Chambéry, and Albertville.
Avis, Europcar, Hertz, and National / Citer have car rental desks at Grenoble Airport (GNB). The airport is small and traffic flows rather concentrated on weekends making advance reservations for car hire usually essential.
Taxis are very expensive. Suntransfers quotes for advance reservations from Grenoble Airport to Grenoble downtown around €100 and close to €250 to ski resorts such as Les 2 Alpes.
Grenoble Altitude Bus to Grenoble Airport (GNB)
A Grenoble Altitude bus connects Grenoble train and bus station with the airport in 45 minutes. Bus schedules are coordinated with scheduled flight arrivals and departures. In contrast to other bus and shuttle services, this bus service operate year round and not only during the ski season.
Tickets may be bought on the bus when traveling from the airport and from the ticket counter when traveling from downtown Grenoble. Reservations are not necessary.
From downtown Grenoble, TransAltitude ski shuttle bus services are available to many winter sports resorts area including Belledonne (Chamrousse, Collet d’Allevard, Prapoutel – Les 7 Laux), Chartreuse (Saint Pierre de Chartreuse), Oisans (2 Alpes, Alpe d’Huez, Alpe du Grand Serre, Auris en Oisans, Oz en Oisans, Vaujany, Villard Reculas) and Vercors (Autrans, Lans en Vercors, Méaudre, Villard de Lans – Corrençon). Reservations are often required.
Shared Transfer Shuttle Buses from Grenoble Airport to Ski Resorts
Several shared transfer shuttle bus services are available from Grenoble Airport to nearby ski resorts. Advance reservations are generally essential and open as early as September for the ski season that usually last from a few days before Christmas to mid-April. Return tickets are often slightly cheaper than two singles. Children over two years old need an own seat and usually pay full price.
Grenoble Altitude Direct Buses to Les 2 Alpes & Alpe d’Huez
Grenoble Altitude has a direct bus service from Grenoble Airport (GNB) to the popular ski resort areas Les 2 Alpes and Alpe d’Huez. Buses are timed according to scheduled flight arrivals and departures to limit waiting times. Traveling time to the resorts from the airport is around two hours. Reservations are recommended.
Grenoble Altitude buses are generally the cheapest way to travel between Grenoble Airport and Les 2 Alpes or Alpe d’Huez.
On Ben’s Bus from Grenoble Airport (GNB) to Ski Resorts
Ben’s Bus offers several ski bus transfers from Grenoble Airport to nearby ski resorts. The service is most frequent on Saturdays but travel is possible any day of the week but at a small surcharge.
Ben’s Bus service from Grenoble Airport offers regular shared shuttle ski transfers to Aime (transfer to La Plagne), Alpe d’Huez, Les 2 Alpes, Bourg d’Oisans, Bourg St Maurice (transfer to Les Arcs), Chamrousse, Moutiers (transfer for Courchevel, Les Menuires, Meribel, Val Thorens), Oz en Oisans, Tignes, Val d’Isere, and Vaujany.
On Saturdays, Ben’s Bus can offer luggage storage in Alpe d’Huez and Les 2 Alpes for early morning arrivals / late afternoon departures to allow for a full day of fun on the slopes.
Private Transfer Shuttles from Grenoble Airport to Ski Resorts
Shared transfer shuttle bus services are generally the cheapest way to travel from Grenoble Airport to nearby ski resorts. However, these shuttles run only a few times per day with waiting times depending on flight arrival times.
Private airport transfer shuttle services are available but generally needs to be reserved well in advance. Prices can vary widely making it sensible to compare different service providers before making reservations. Shuttles offered by low-cost airlines are easy to book but often not the cheapest deal available.
The main attraction of Grenoble Airport (GNB) is the cheap flights offered by low-cost airlines such as EasyJet, Ryanair, and Transavia. The airport is small but modern making it easy to use with generally short queues, especially when traveling during the week. However, major airports such as Lyon and Geneva generally offer a wider variety of services while other regional airport such as Annecy and Chambéry are closer to the slopes.
See Also:
- Ski Bus Transfers from Geneva Airport to French Resorts
- Transportation to Grenoble
- Top Sights to See in Grenoble
- Novotel Grenoble-Voreppe – Midscale hotel with swimming pool and family rooms sleeping four.
- Buses and Trains from Geneva Airport to French Towns (including Grenoble)
- Transportation from Chambéry Airport (CMF)
