This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Getting to & from the Raid Alpine (S-N)
Start & End Points
Hotel Campanile, 2317 Ch de St Claude, 06600 Antibes Tel 0033 493748001
Hotel Cotes Sud Leman, 6 Rue de Pamphiot, 74200 Thonon Les Bains. France. Tel: 0033 (0)4 50 70 36 70
Airport Transfers
We offer included airport transfers to and from Bilbao and Santander Airports at the start and end of this holiday and there are a wide range of flights available to and from UK regional airports – see the trip Essential Information pdf for all the details.
Air Travel
There are many flights into Nice Airport and out of Geneva Airport from international destinations so regardless of your starting point, you are likely to find it fairly easy to get to and from this holiday. Obviously we are not able to list all the options here. You have the option of flying direct into Nice or going via the UK. If you are not able to catch a flight that fits in with our airport transfers then you will need to make your own way to and from the start and end of the trip (see below)
Getting Independently from Nice Airport to Antibes
This is an easy taxi journey (taking approx 30mins).
Getting Independently from Thonon Les Bains to Geneva Airport
The easiest thing to do is to catch our transfers from the end hotel to Geneva Airport as public transport from Thonon to Geneva is clumsy at best!
By Taxi:
If there are a group of you, it may be cost effective to use a taxi.
We have used the following English speaking company in the past: AlpineCab ( [email protected]), SARL Alpinecab, Chalet Les Iris, La Beunaz, ST Paul en Chablais, 74500 FRANCE, Tel: 0033450731938
2014 prices from Geneva to Thonon were as follows: 19 seater minibus: €320, 9 seater minibus: €185, 5 seater €150. You would need to contact them to explain how many bikes you have etc so as to get an accurate and up to date quote.
Travel by Train
If you decide to travel to Geneva by train then the information here should assist you. At the end of the Raid your best bet would be to use Trieste Train Station which is conveniently located about 300m walk from our hotel. It is a 2 hour direct train journey to Venice, or there are Eurostar links from Trieste station to Milan and Rome. 
We recommend that you look at The Man in Seat Sixty-One, which is full of advice and links about rail travel. Rail Europe have produced an excellent interactive map of all the Rail links in Europe, but it is currently not easy to find timetables on their website. For timetable information we suggest DB Rail website (German Rail network in English) – it is currently not possible to purchase tickets from their website, but you can give them a ring once you have worked out which train you want to travel on! Alternatively, tickets can be purchased by ringing Rail Europe on 08708 371 371 (UK number)
NB: – Timetables and ticket purchases are only available 3 months before travel- If you buy your tickets exactly 3 months before travel you can get some good deals so it is worth being organised.
On the train with a bike
The French rail network (SNCF) are trying to promote travel with a bike and have put together an excellent website – VeloSNCF ( external site in French but still useful!. Basically if your bike is in a bag or box it is fine to take on a train. If it is simply as a bike, then you normally need to book it a place and pay a nominal charge – have a look at the links on the VeloSNCF. If you are traveling from the UK with a bike, try to change trains in Lille as opposed to Paris (in Lille you only need to change platforms, in Paris you normally need to take a short underground journey).
Driving can also be a very pleasant option if you have extra time available, or are part of a group on this holiday who wish to all travel together. It can mean savings on costs of transporting bikes, and can relieve worries about taking your bikes on a plane.
Train Travel in France
Train Travel in France is easy, cost effective and environmentally friendly. It should consequently be considered as an alternative to flying on all of our holidays. Most of our holidays start and finish in towns with railway stations so you easily links to anywhere in France and Europe.
Driving
Taking your car to Antibes is certainly possible, but there is no parking available at the Hotel de l’Etoiles, which would mean leaving your car in airport parking at Nice Airport, and either meeting one of our transfers or following the instructions below to get to the Hotel independently.
Getting from Nice Airport to Antibes
This is an easy taxi journey (taking approx 30mins). Alternatively, to use public transport, there is a regular bus service (2 per hr) from Nice Airport (both Terminal 1 and 2) that drops you at the Railway Station in Antibes (300m from our start hotel).
The bus is ‘line 250’ and departs quai 0 in Terminal 1 and quai 2 in Terminal 2. The journey takes 38 minutes and costs €9 (one way). Tickets are purchased from the Bureau de Bus. Trains leave regularly with 2 per hour – for timetables, please see the Airport website. It is possible to take boxed / baged bikes on the bus.
At the end of the trip, you would need to catch one of our transfers into Geneva to travel by train or plane to Nice to be reunited with your car.