Guide
Changeover Saturday: what actually changes, and how we plan around it
Why an entire valley changes hands on the same day, what that means for your transfer, and how we build the day around your flight rather than around a timetable.
Almost every chalet and apartment in the French Alps is let by the week, and that week begins on a Saturday. Properties are handed back in the morning and re-let in the afternoon. The consequence is not a busy day — it is a complete changeover: an entire valley swaps occupants between breakfast and dinner.
On the road, that produces two flows running against each other. In the morning, departing guests come down towards the stations and the airports. In the afternoon, arriving guests go back up. In between, valley roads absorb in a few hours what they normally spread across several days, on sections where overtaking is not an option and where a single incident propagates to everything behind it.
What this means for a private transfer
A private transfer does not remove the traffic. What it removes is everything else: waiting for a vehicle to fill, being dropped last after a tour of three other resorts, meeting at a collection point with your skis and cases, and renegotiating your time slot because the flight was late.
What can genuinely be managed is the departure time and the direction of travel. Going up in the early afternoon is not the same journey as going up late morning, and coming down to the airport early is not the same as coming down after the wave. Those decisions belong to the booking conversation, alongside your flight number and your resort — not to the moment the car arrives.
What we take care of
- Setting the time. We start from your flight or your train, not from a departures grid. If the time you suggest carries an avoidable risk, we say so beforehand and offer the alternative.
- Tracking the flight. Your chauffeur knows your real arrival time. A delay moves the pick-up; it does not cancel it, and it is not renegotiated by phone in the baggage hall.
- Delivering to the exact address. Chalet, residence or hotel. Some resort addresses carry genuine access constraints — a pedestrian sector, a road that cannot be driven up, a delivery window. Those are checked before departure, not at the barrier.
- The journey home. This is the most exposed leg of the trip, because it has a deadline. We set the margin against your check-in, not against an average journey time.
If your party does not fit one vehicle
A group beyond a single vehicle’s capacity is not turned away. Depending on the party, the equipment and the date, the answer may be a larger vehicle, a second vehicle, a dedicated luggage van, a partner operator, or a combination of those. Where the configuration cannot be resolved automatically, we prepare a framed quotation and call you, rather than leaving you to work it out.
Should you avoid Saturday?
No. Saturday is when most lets begin, and moving your holiday to dodge it usually costs more than it saves. What can be managed is the day itself: the direction, the timing, the margin, and not adding the uncertainties of shared transport to those of the road.
Send us your flight, your resort and your address. We will organise the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Why does everyone arrive on the same day?
Because Alpine accommodation is let by the week and that week starts on Saturday. Properties are handed back in the morning and re-let in the afternoon, so a whole valley changes occupants in a single day.
Is a private transfer faster than a shared shuttle on a Saturday?
It does not escape the traffic. It does remove waiting for the vehicle to fill, the drop-off tour of several resorts, and the collection point — which is where most of the difference lies, not in speed.
What happens if my flight is delayed on a changeover Saturday?
The flight is tracked and the pick-up moves with it. The vehicle is yours: there is nothing to renegotiate on arrival.
Is it better to arrive in the morning or the afternoon?
It depends on the direction of travel and your resort. We discuss it when you book, starting from your flight — it is a decision to take in advance, not on the day.