Champéry Ski Transfers – Private Airport Transfers to the Portes du Soleil

Champéry is a single long street of wooden chalets under the Dents du Midi, and it has been receiving visitors since the nineteenth century — long enough that the village looks the same in photographs from 1900. It is the Swiss end of the Portes du Soleil, the twelve-resort circuit that runs across the border to Morzine, Avoriaz and Châtel.

The skiing is reached by a cable car from the village to Planachaux, and from there the circuit opens up — including the Swiss Wall at Chavanette, the run that most people photograph and fewer people ski.

Which airport for Champéry?

Geneva (GVA) — 128 km, about 1 h 45

The natural choice: motorway around the lake to Monthey, then 15 km up the Val-d’Illiez. Flights all week from most European cities, and a drive with no col at any point.

Sion (SIR) — 58 km, about 50 minutes

Much closer, and a genuinely short transfer, but with almost no scheduled service. Private aviation only, in practice.

Zurich (ZRH) — about 253 km, 3 h 20

Long-haul connections and flights all week, at the cost of a three-and-a-half-hour drive across the country.

Milan Malpensa (MXP) — about 230 km, 3 h

Through the Simplon and down the Rhône valley. Worth comparing for flights from Italy and southern Europe.

Champéry at a glance

• Village at 1,050 m under the Dents du Midi, with a cable car to Planachaux at 1,800 m.
• Part of the Portes du Soleil — around 600 km of piste across twelve French and Swiss resorts on one pass.
• The Swiss Wall at Chavanette, on the link to Avoriaz, is one of the steepest marked runs in the Alps; there is a gondola beside it for everyone else.
• Morgins, Champoussin and Les Crosets are the other Swiss villages on the circuit, all within 20 minutes by road.
• A village with a railway station: the Aigle–Champéry line runs to the Rhône valley main line.

Crossing the border, or not

Champéry is in Switzerland; Morzine, Avoriaz and Châtel are in France, on the same lift pass. Skiing across is routine and needs nothing beyond the pass. Driving across is also straightforward — both countries are in the Schengen area — but carry your passport or identity card, and remember that Switzerland requires a motorway vignette, which our vehicles carry.

Winter, luggage and booking

The valley road is a cleared cantonal road with no pass, which makes Champéry one of the more reliable Swiss arrivals in bad weather; our vehicles carry winter tyres and chains regardless. Ski and board bags travel free, child and booster seats are included and fitted before departure. Book early for the February half-terms, when the whole Portes du Soleil fills on the same Saturdays.