Ben’s Bus – New Cross Paris Ski Shuttle Service to Ease Rail Travel

Popular Alpine transfer service Ben’s Bus have launched a new cross Paris ski shuttle service in order to help those travellers that prefer the train over the plane.

Now, everyone knows that ski holidays can be the best weeks of your year. The journeys there and back? Not quite so much fun. Perhaps, (like me) you’re a nervous flyer and try as you might you just can’t get excited for a holiday until you’re safely touched down on the ground. Or, maybe you don’t like the early morning airport waits, sleepy security queues, debatable legroom, and all this before you’ve even thought about the dreaded task of attempting to find your rep and your coach amongst all the other tour providers.

Unsurprising then, that lately many people have been avoiding this way of travelling to ski resorts altogether, opting instead to take the train. The best way to do this is to get one of Eurostar’s direct services from London to the Alps. However, these tickets often fly off the shelves, and many travellers opt to take alternative routes that give them a much larger choice of ski destinations, such as changing at Paris to a TGV service.

However, there is one aspect that can be a bit of a pain. The London – Paris Eurostars arrive at the Gare du Nord. The TGV trains that whisk you off to the Alps depart from Paris Gare de Lyon. Hmm. It’s never ideal when you realise that you’ve got to drag your suitcase, ski bag and boot bag across Paris (or risk the Metro) on a crowded Saturday afternoon. This is why popular Alpine transfer company Ben’s Bus have decided to bring their transfers down from the mountain this year.

If you choose to use this service, you will be met off your Eurostar by a Ben’s Bus rep, driven across and popped on a train at the Gare de Lyon easy as pie. “A Paris shuttle service specifically for skiers has never existed before,” says Daniel Elkan, founder of rail-ski guide Snowcarbon, who helped devise the service. “This will help many more skiers to have a smooth and sustainable journey by train. There are plenty of fantastic resorts you can reach via Paris, and lots of skiers discovering the benefits of rail travel.”

Indeed, the demand for rail travel to the mountains is increasing year on year. Mary Walsh, director of communications at Eurostar says: “High-speed rail is the ideal way for winter sports enthusiasts to travel, with plenty of space to relax on board, and a generous luggage allowance.” 

Rail travel is not just beneficial for the skiers themselves; it is also incredibly important to the future of sustainability in the Alps. Even the founder of Ben’s Bus, Ben Keown, admits that while this new foray into the city isn’t likely to be their most commercially successful (they are an airport transfer service after all), it is highly important. “We’re delighted to be able to draw on our transfer expertise to bring skiers this exciting new route. While it’s not going to be a big money maker for us, it’s a contribution that we can make towards Alpine sustainability” he says.  

The service will run every Saturday from February 3^rd to April 7^th 2018 this winter, with plans to run it every week of the 2018-19 ski season. A return transfer costs £22 and a one-way transfer £14, with 10% discounts for children and for groups of four or more.

Bookings open on Wednesday 15^th November 2017 at 9am.

To find out more, visit https://www.bensbus.co.uk/ski-transfer/paris-ski-train-transfers

Or, to learn more about how you can travel to the mountains by train this winter, head to our page here.