From Airport to Slope: How to Reach Canazei, La Plagne and Gudauri
How long the transfer takes from the airport to the hotel in each of the three destinations, which road you travel and why, what happens at the mountain passes in winter, and what you should keep in your carry-on on transfer day.
From Venice to Alba di Canazei the drive is about two and a half to three hours, from Lyon to La Plagne about two and a half hours plus a half-hour climb, and from Tbilisi to Gudauri about two hours. In all three destinations the transfer is included in the package and our staff accompany you, so all that's left for you is to know what you'll see along the way, why the drive takes the long route rather than the short one, and what to pack in your carry-on. "How long from the airport?" is one of the first questions in every phone call, and here's the full answer.
In brief:
- Canazei: land in Venice, about 175 km, 2.5–3 hours, via the Brenner Autobahn and not via the Fedaia Pass
- La Plagne: land in Lyon, about 195 km, 2.5 hours plus 24 hairpin turns, on Sunday and not on Saturday
- Gudauri: land in Tbilisi, about 120 km, about two hours on the Georgian Military Highway
- In your carry-on: passport, water, a snack, a warm layer, sunglasses, motion-sickness medication
Canazei: From Venice to the Dolomites
Flights land in Venice, and the bus continues to Alba di Canazei, about 175 kilometers. There are two routes, and only one of them is good in winter. On the map the short route passes through Belluno and Alleghe and climbs to the Fedaia Pass at the foot of the Marmolada. In practice the Fedaia Pass is closed for weeks every winter because of avalanche danger and snowdrifts; last winter it closed at the end of January, again in mid-February after cars got stuck in snowbanks, and again in mid-March. That's why the buses take the long, safe route: the Brenner Autobahn north, exit at Ora, and from there through Val di Fiemme into Val di Fassa. Most of it is a wide valley road, and the mountain stretch is short.
What you'll see: after an hour of flatland the scenery begins to climb. Val di Fiemme is a broad valley of alpine villages, and then, as you enter Val di Fassa, the vertical cliffs of the Dolomites appear: the Catinaccio, the Sassolungo, and finally, right above the hotel, the Sella massif and the Marmolada. Verona and Innsbruck are also about two and a half hours from the valley, Milan and Munich about four hours.
La Plagne: From Lyon to the Tarentaise
The Passover holiday in La Plagne opens with a direct flight to Lyon. From Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport the drive is about 195 kilometers, almost all of it on the motorway, via Chambéry and Albertville and along the Tarentaise valley to the town of Aime, about two and a half hours. And then the climb begins: from Aime, at 660 meters, the La Plagne mountain road rises, about 20 kilometers, twenty-four hairpin turns, and about 1,300 meters of climbing up to Plagne Centre at about 2,000 meters. Half an hour of continuous switchbacks, strikingly beautiful, and not recommended for anyone reading on their phone.
And why we travel on Sunday. All the Tarentaise resorts, La Plagne, Les Arcs, Les Trois Vallées, Val d'Isère, turn over on Saturday, and they all pass through a single bottleneck: the town of Moûtiers. On peak-season Saturdays more than sixty kilometers of traffic jams have been measured on the motorway from Lyon, and the Savoie police close exits to prevent shortcuts. Our transfer is on Sunday, when the road is clear, and that saves hours in exchange for giving up a Saturday. (La Plagne page)
Gudauri: From Tbilisi Up the Georgian Military Highway
The flight to Tbilisi is short, about two and a half hours, and the drive from the airport to Gudauri is an attraction in its own right. Gudauri sits about 120 kilometers north of the capital, at about 2,000 meters, on the Georgian Military Highway, the historic road that crosses the Caucasus. About two hours.
Along the way: you leave the city, pass ancient Mtskheta, and then the road follows the Aragvi River. After about forty minutes the turquoise Zhinvali Reservoir appears, and above it the 17th-century Ananuri Fortress, the classic photo stop of the drive. You continue through Pasanauri, the road climbs, and the village of Gudauri appears just before the Jvari Pass, the highway's high point at 2,379 meters.
On winter closures: the stretch that sometimes closes in storms is the one above Gudauri, toward Kobi and Kazbegi, on the other side of the pass; it closed for days this past January and February. The stretch from Tbilisi to Gudauri itself usually stays open, so the transfer doesn't depend on it. A new nine-kilometer tunnel beneath the pass, the longest in Georgia, is in its final stages. (Gudauri page)
What Matters on Transfer Day, in Every Destination
- Winter tires and chains are the law: in Italy on all mountain roads from mid-November to mid-April, in France the "mountain law" from November to the end of March, for buses too.
- Carry-on: a water bottle, a snack, sunglasses (the snow dazzles already from the bus), one warm layer, and motion-sickness medication for anyone who needs it, before the mountain stretch and not after. What else to wear on the plane.
- Nausea on the turns: sit forward, look at the road and not the screen, eat light beforehand. For children, conversation or music helps more than anything.
- Altitude: the hotel in Canazei is at about 1,550 meters, in La Plagne and Gudauri about 2,000. On the first day drink more than usual; the slightly heavy head of the first evening is gone by the next day.
- The passport stays in your carry-on until the hotel. Check-in needs it.
- The first meal at the hotel is dinner. Bring something small for the flight and the bus.
The luggage, the bus and the hours on the road are our business. Yours is to look out the window. A question about your flights or about your week's transfers? Talk to us at Har Tayarut.
How long is the drive from Venice to Canazei?
About two and a half to three hours, around 175 kilometers, via the Brenner Autobahn and the Val di Fiemme valley. The short route via the Fedaia Pass is closed for weeks every winter.
Which airport is closest to La Plagne?
Lyon, about 195 kilometers and around two and a half hours to the foot of the mountain, plus a half-hour climb over twenty-four hairpin turns. Geneva is a similar distance but with a border that's busy on weekends.
How long from Tbilisi to Gudauri?
About two hours, around 120 kilometers on the Georgian Military Highway, via the Zhinvali Reservoir and the Ananuri Fortress. The winter closures are on the stretch above Gudauri, not on the road to it.
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