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How to buy your Les Arcs ski passes this season 2017/18
Your guide to buying “forfaits de ski” in resort or online
Whether you rigorously plan each day of your ski holiday beforehand or like to leave much of the arrangements until you arrive, this is a simple guide to getting hold of (one of) the most important components of any trip to Les Arcs: the ski pass.
There are a wide number of passes available suiting every budget and everyone: pedestrians, beginners, occasional skiers, willing explorers and hardcore shredders who want to hit every piste from one side of Paradiski to the other. The various options available are explained in excellent detail on our Ski Pass Options page. Once you have decided when you want to ski, how long you want to ski for, and which area you want to ski in, then you will need to buy a pass. Fortunately, there are three easy ways of doing this: face-to-face at a ski pass office, at one of the resorts’ automatic machines, or on the internet.
The physical card itself is free-of-charge (there is not even a deposit) and is supplied with every ski pass purchase. These cards are reusable so you can recharge them with additional days, weeks, or even seasons at the offices or online. If you are not planning on reusing your card, there are drop-boxes throughout Les Arcs where you can leave spent cards for recycling.
Buy your ski pass online
Possibly the easiest way of buying your ski pass, which can save you time upon arriving in resort, is through the internet. The website is very straightforward and actually helps you to save money! You simply input where you intend to ski (Les Arcs/Peisey-Vallandry or the full Paradiski area), how many days you want, the start date you require and how many people of each age group are in your party. The site then automatically matches your requirements with the best possible deal available, applying any discounts and adding any bonuses to your basket.
Once you are happy with your selection, you have the opportunity to append Carte Neige insurance to individual skiers or the whole group. Next, you must indicate whether you already possess a physical Les Arcs ski-card; if so, once you have made the purchase, that card will be effective as your ski pass, otherwise you must choose to receive a new one (at no additional charge).
To complete the purchase, you must create an account and enter your contact details (name, address, telephone number, and date of birth). If you do not already have a chargeable ski-card, you then must choose whether to collect your ski passes in Les Arcs at one of the offices or automatic machines listed below or have them delivered directly to you (reasonably-priced at €2.50). Be aware that delivery outside of France can take up to fifteen days. You then input the names and birth-dates of the specific skiers and pay with a credit or debit card.
Although you do have to input some information, the website is very intuitive and, during office hours, an embedded chat application allows you to consult a member of staff with any questions that might arise. Furthermore, once you have bought ski passes through the online application, your details are retained, making it much easier in the future (keep hold of your ski-pass card to speed the process up even further.)
Visit a ski pass office
There are offices conveniently located in each of the Les Arcs villages, so you can simply “rock up” and pay in cash, or by card, over the counter. The lovely people who work at these offices typically speak very good English, so are able to advise on the choices available as well as just handing you a pass.
Bourg St Maurice
If you are arriving in resort by train (perhaps having taken the Eurostar direct from London St Pancras), visiting Les Arcs for a day, or are otherwise staying in Bourg St Maurice, the most accessible office is situated at the bottom of the funicular to Arc 1600. The desks are usually manned whilst the funicular is running, although we are still waiting for this season’s official timetable to be released. This year, if you buy a full Paradiski pass (6 days or longer), you get half a day before your pass starts for free; so, if you are arriving in resort via Bourg St Maurice you can use this free allowance to take the funicular up to Arc 1600, even if you have no plans to ski any further that day.
Arc 2000
In Arc 2000 there is one lift pass office situated adjacent to the ESF building in the main square (Place Olympique). On weekdays, it is open from 09:00 to 12:30 and, after lunch, from 14:30 to 18:00. On the weekend the staff must forgo their déjeuner with the office opening continuously from 08:30 to 20:30 on Saturdays and 09:00 to 18:30 on Sundays. If you happen to turn up during a meal break, take the free Cabriolet gondola down to Arc 1950.
Arc 1950
Arc 1950 has very clear signposting directing you to the office near to the Marmottes piste which is open non-stop every day from 08:30. However, be aware that the doors shut at varying times according to the day: Monday to Friday 16:00, Saturday 18:30, and Sunday 17:00.
Arc 1800
In Arc 1800 you have a choice of two ski pass offices: one in Le Charvet and one in Les Villards. The Le Charvet office is on the upper floor of the main shopping area and functions from 08:30 every day, closing at 18:30 on Saturday, 16:30 on Sunday and 16:00 on weekdays. At Les Villards, the building is close to the Transarc gondola albeit on the level below the snow-front.
Arc 1600
If you go to the Place du Soleil in the centre of Arc 1600 (between the Cachette and Combettes chairlifts) you cannot miss the lift pass office. It is open every day, with hours to be confirmed.
Plan Peisey & Vallandry
Plan Peisey and Vallandry have their own offices, each less than a minute from their eponymous chairlifts. The ESF building next to the Peisey lift also houses the lift pass office and in Vallandry the office is very centrally located (and super obvious). Both are open for business from 08:30 every day, shutting at 18:30 on Saturday, 16:30 on Sunday, and 16:00 weekdays.
Use an automatic ticket machine
If you cannot wait for the advent of robots and the replacement of human interaction with simple touch-screens, then there are three locations where you can buy your ski pass through a “quick purchase” machine. Once you have initially chosen an understandable language, buying your pass is a simple matter of choosing from the relevant options displayed and paying with a credit or debit card.
Two of these futuristic contraptions are situated in Arc 1800, one near to the Transarc gondola (operating from 08:00 to 20:00 every day), the other next to the Tourist Information Office in Le Charvet (08:30 to 16:00 Mon-Fri, 08:30 to 18:30 Sat, 08:30 to 16:30 Sun). The third is positioned next to the funicular station in Bourg St Maurice, and operates from 07:45 to 16:30 Monday to Friday, 07:00 to 19:20 Saturday, and 07:45 to 18:20 Sunday.
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