Private transfer from Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport to Val Claret, Tignes

Val Claret sits at around 2,100 m, the highest and most purpose-built of the Tignes villages, above Tignes-le-Lac and Le Lavachet. It's the departure point for the funicular up to the Grande Motte glacier, which links into the wider Espace Killy area shared with Val d'Isère. Skiers come here from December to early May, and the glacier keeps a short summer skiing season going, which is unusual in the Alps. The resort is compact and almost entirely ski-in, ski-out, with apartment blocks, bars and ski-hire shops clustered around the main square. It draws serious skiers, groups and families who want lifts on the doorstep rather than old-village atmosphere — for that, visitors head down to Tignes-le-Lac by the lake.

From Lyon-Saint-Exupéry the route runs on the A43 and A430 motorways towards Chambéry and Albertville, then follows the N90 up the Tarentaise valley through Moûtiers to Bourg-Saint-Maurice. This first part is fast and mostly dual carriageway. Beyond Bourg-Saint-Maurice the road climbs sharply with a long sequence of hairpins up towards Tignes, passing the huge concrete arch of the Tignes dam and the lake above it. The final approach is genuinely mountainous and slow, especially in snow. Reckon on roughly three hours in good conditions, longer on peak Saturdays when the whole valley heads to the resorts. The scenery shifts from flat Rhône plain to steep alpine terrain in the last forty minutes.

Val Claret is partly car-free and arranged on several levels, so tell your driver which residence or chalet you're staying in — the main square, the Val Claret parking area, and the upper levels have different drop-off points, and some apartments are only reachable on foot with a luggage trolley. In winter, allow extra time: the climb from Bourg-Saint-Maurice can require snow chains and may be held up by weather or lift-traffic. Saturday is changeover day for most ski weeks, so morning flights and early transfers avoid the worst congestion through Moûtiers. There's no fuel or large supermarket once you're above Bourg-Saint-Maurice, so stock up there if you need to. Ski passes and hire can be sorted on arrival, but pre-booking saves queueing on your first morning.