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Country · French Alps

France

Destinations3
Holidays4
RegionFrench Alps
France
France · French Alps

Why France.

The French Alps are where we run our summer and winter holidays in France. Three destinations across the Isère and Savoie, all at altitude, all with a BeyondBeach team on the ground in season.

3
Destinations to pick from
4
Holidays to choose from

What makes France special.

  • 01Three destinations in the French Alps — Vaujany, Val Thorens and Meribel
  • 02Summer and winter programmes, June to September and December to April
  • 03High-altitude snow in the Three Valleys and the Grand Domaine
  • 04300 days of sunshine a year across the Vaujany summer season
  • 05Kids club for children from 6 months to 16 years old (summer Vaujany)
  • 06Catered chalets and half-board hotels, no mega-resort anonymity

Summer in Vaujany is a traditional alpine chalet with home-cooked food, 300 days of sunshine a year and a full programme of activities: mountain biking, road cycling, white water rafting, climbing, canyoning, paragliding and a kids club that takes children from 6 months to 16 years old.

Winter is catered chalets in Val Thorens and Meribel — two of the snowiest, highest-altitude resorts in Europe — plus door-to-lift skiing in Vaujany on the quieter Alpe d'Huez lift system. Small chalet sizes, friendly hosts, proper family skiing.

Pick a spot in france.

Every BeyondBeach destination in France, pinned on a map so you can see how the line-up sits across the country.

Pick your france spot.

Each destination has its own character, its own activities, and its own best moments in the year. Here's the full line-up.

Val Thorens
1 holiday

Call the team on 01548 288459 Mon-Fri 9am-6pm or Sat 9am-1pm, or send an enquiry from any holiday page. We talk you through availability, dates and extras, email a written quote, and you confirm with a deposit. No online cart , every booking has a human on our side of it.

Deposits are typically 25% of the holiday cost at time of booking, with the balance due around ten weeks before departure. Flights pay in full at booking. Your written quote spells out the exact figures and dates before you pay anything.

Flights are quoted alongside the holiday rather than bundled, so you only pay for the routing that works for you. We'll match flights to your preferred dates from your preferred UK airport, or if you'd rather book your own flights we can work around your schedule.

Yes. Our weeks run Saturday to Saturday by default but we can extend, combine two weeks back-to-back (flotilla followed by a beach-club week is a favourite), or add a pre- or post-holiday night somewhere. Mention it when you enquire and we will build the itinerary.

UK debit and credit card (no surcharge on debit), bank transfer, or Trust My Travel for protected payments. We do not accept cash. Card payments are processed by Stripe and never stored by us.

Yes, and we rarely charge for it if there is time before departure. Name changes, room upgrades, adding a child, swapping a cabin , tell us what you need. Some supplier charges (flight name changes, for example) are unavoidable but we'll quote those upfront.

Most BeyondBeach guests fly from Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham or Edinburgh. We work with British Airways, Jet2, easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air across our three countries. Regional options depend on season so ring the team for live availability.

Geneva to Val Thorens is around 3hr 45min, Meribel around 2hr 45min, Vaujany around 2hr 30min door-to-door when roads are clear. Saturday peak-season traffic adds 30 to 60 minutes. We arrange private or shared transfers on request.

Yes. The Eurostar Ski Train runs weekly from London St Pancras to Moûtiers, which is a 55-minute transfer to Meribel or Val Thorens. Eurostar + TGV via Paris to Grenoble covers Vaujany. Rail is slower but a lot more relaxing and greener.

Direct flights to Kefalonia (EFL) run May-October from most UK airports, typically 3hr 45min. Off-season or last-minute you can route via Athens or Preveza and our team handles the transfer up to your bay.

In-resort transfers (airport to beach club, or airport to chalet) are included on the vast majority of our holidays. Some flotilla and yacht charter arrivals self-transfer from the airport to the marina (a 20-minute taxi), and we always note which model applies in your written quote.

Yes, and families are a big part of what we do. Beach clubs have free kids watersports from age six, the Alpine Family Club runs a kids club from 6 months to 16 years, and ski school programmes teach in English from age three. Cots, high chairs and interconnecting rooms are available on request.

Absolutely. Singles Sailing is purpose-built for solo travellers (no single supplement , you'll share a cabin with another solo sailor). On beach club weeks, yoga and BlitzFitness are especially popular with solo bookers, and we waive the single supplement on most weeks outside July and August school holidays.

Yes. Intro to Sailing is designed for complete beginners , no experience needed. Every beach club has coached clinics included daily and RYA-qualified instruction at the watersports centre. Ski school teaches English from Day One green-runs up. We'll match you to the right level on arrival.

Yes. West Coast Flotilla and Yacht Charter are aimed squarely at sailors with miles under the keel. Val Thorens and the Three Valleys cover expert-level off-piste with a guide. We'll discuss your experience at the quote stage so the week matches your expectations.

No. Our clubs are all-inclusive but not all-you-can-eat , a lot of guests use one activity a day and spend the rest of the time reading by the pool. The programme is a menu, not a timetable. You decide what you do.

Yes. All our holidays are ATOL protected (ATOL 6306) and we also hold IPP insolvency insurance as an extra layer of protection. Your booking is financially secure from the moment you pay your deposit.

We strongly recommend travel insurance with cancellation cover, medical cover (including winter sports for ski holidays, and water sports for sailing), and baggage cover. Ring the team and we'll point you at comparison sites that suit your trip type.

Cancellation terms vary by holiday and by how close to departure you cancel. Your written quote spells out the specific policy for your trip at the point of booking , typically the deposit is non-refundable, with increasing charges as departure approaches. This is why we recommend travel insurance with cancellation cover from the day you book.

If we have to cancel for operational reasons (weather, airline failure, supplier issue) we'll offer a full refund, a transfer to a different week, or an alternative holiday at the same price, whichever you prefer.

Val Thorens typically opens in late November and stays open until early May thanks to its altitude (pistes up to 3,230m). Meribel opens early December and runs until late April. Vaujany runs mid-December to mid-April. Snow is reliable from January onwards across all three.

Not by default. Lift passes and equipment hire are bookable alongside the holiday so you only pay for what you need (e.g. small children skip the pass). We get resort-direct rates and pre-book everything so you're ready to ski on arrival.

Yes , it's our summer programme in Vaujany, June to September. Kids club from 6 months, lift-assisted mountain biking, guided walks, canyoning, paragliding, swimming in alpine lakes. No skiing, no snow. Completely different from the winter proposition.

Val Thorens is the highest resort in Europe (2,300m) with guaranteed snow and lively après. Meribel sits at the heart of the Three Valleys with wall-to-wall intermediate terrain and traditional chalet feel. Vaujany is quieter, family-first, on the Grand Domaine (same lifts as Alpe d'Huez) with shorter transfer and lower altitude.

No. Every chalet has English-speaking hosts, ski school teaches in English from age three, and resort staff in all three destinations speak English. A few phrases go a long way for the bakery run but you'll be understood without them.

Ski school is bookable alongside the holiday but not bundled , different guests want different lesson levels and we'd rather charge you for what you actually use. English-speaking group or private lessons book directly through resort ski schools; we can pre-arrange based on ability at the quote stage.

Val Thorens and Meribel sit inside the Three Valleys lift network (600km of piste on one pass). Vaujany is on the separate Grand Domaine (250km) which lift-links to Alpe d'Huez. If the Three Valleys is a must-have, book Val Thorens or Meribel; Vaujany is a quieter alternative with different but equally extensive terrain.