We spent eight days between Geneva and Chamonix in January, skiing, exploring little mountain towns, eating way too much cheese, and exploring a winter wonderland.

This trip felt like stepping into a snow globe, and Chamonix ended up being one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever visited.

Where’s Mom?

Oh… she’s skiing Mont Blanc and popping into Italy for pasta.

There’s something wildly satisfying about skiing in Europe in this season of life.

No squeezing it into a school calendar. No packing five separate sets of ski gear. No stuffing snacks into every pocket “just in case.”

Just mountains, heated ski lockers, and the freedom to ski until I’m tired – stopping for lunch when the view calls.

And if you feel like changing countries for the day? You take a bus through a tunnel and have duck pasta in Italy.

In January, we spent eight days between Geneva and Chamonix on a ski-adventure – and one of our sons and his wife came along for the ride.

Even with the less-than-perfect snow, it’s a trip that we will happily do again.

Here’s what we did.

Flying into Geneva & The Drive to Chamonix

We flew into Geneva and stayed one night at the Crowne Plaza near the airport. It was simple, clean, and convenient. When you’re landing in Europe before heading straight to the mountains, proximity matters. They have a free shuttle to and from the airport.

The next morning, we scheduled a transfer with Mountain Pickups to Chamonix. (We were waiting for our daughter-in-law to arrive, but you could easily fly in and head straight to Chamonix the same day.) They waited for us to be ready and drove us in a private bus to Chamonix, though they also offer shared shuttle options.

We checked into our hotel and got organized for the week. We brought our own boots and ski gear – comfort matters for those long ski days – but rented skis and poles right in the hotel lobby. It made travel easier, and it was fun to try out different skis throughout the week.

Dinner that first night? La Caleche — and raclette.

We had to be shown how to use the cheese heater, but we figured it out quickly and ended up having a really fun night.

After dinner, we walked around the town and started making our plans for the week.

Where to Stay in Chamonix

For six nights, we stayed at Héliopic Hôtel & Spa — and this is where the trip really got exciting.

I chose it for the walkability to town, easy access to the ski bus, a ski shop right in the lobby, and the spa.

And it delivered.

The ski lockers had heated vents to dry boots and gloves. There was free hot chocolate at all hours, free crepes at 5pm, and a full breakfast spread with lots of variety. There’s also a cozy lounge with a chess table.

And then there’s the spa… steam room, sauna, cold plunge, snow room, hot tub, and pool. After skiing, the spa became a part of our daily ritual.

I would stay here again without hesitation – and that’s about as strong of a recommendation as I give.

Chamonix is not beginner-friendly everywhere — that became very clear, very quickly.

Day 2: Brevant

We walked a couple of blocks from our hotel to the ski bus, which is included with the Ikon pass!

The buses are well marked, and routes and times are posted in the ski shops and at the bus stops. The bus also drops you right at the gondola!

Lunch that day was at the panoramic 360° mountaintop restaurant, which you can only get to by taking the most terrifying gondolas.

But it was worth it.

The ski down ended up being one of our favorite runs of the day, and it was one of those meals where you stop mid-bite just to look around.

There was a variety of runs here, mostly reds and blacks, with some blues.

One thing to know: the European ski system is different than the U.S and Canada. It goes green, blue, red, black – so a red run is similar to a black, and a black is closer to a double black.

Mont Blanc felt close enough to touch!

After skiing? The spa. It was a perfect time to relax and we enjoyed the variety of the steam rooms and cold plunges.

Dinner at Rose Pont — Just the atmosphere made it so fun and the excellent desserts were literally icing on the cake!

Day 3: Grand Montets

We grabbed some cheese and a large baguette from a local shop and packed a little picnic for the mountain that day.

The bus routine is the same – same stop for all of the mountains, just a different bus.

In one word… this resort is steep! Definitely advanced terrain, with incredible panoramic views.

There’s a mix of fast gondolas, high-speed quads, and some random, very old two-seater chairlifts that make you question your choices a little…

But all of them come with amazing views for days.

Dinner at Le Monchu for fondue.
And yes, we ended up at the casino afterward.

Day 5: Courmayeur, Italy

This ended up being one of our favorite days.

We booked round-trip bus tickets online the night before to secure our seats and rode under the mountain into Courmayeur, Italy. It wasn’t very busy when we were there, but I could see it filling up during peak times. (About 15 euro per person round trip.)

Bring your passport — you’re crossing countries.

The bus picks you up from the same areas as the other ski buses. They’re large, comfortable buses, and they drop you right across the road from the gondola. The drive was about 40 minutes.

This mountain had a great mix of runs, and we had a lot of fun here! With incredible views the whole time of course.

At the very top, there’s a smaller gondola where we had to wait in line. They actually have markers showing how long the wait will be. We waited around 20 minutes, and it ended up being worth it.

We were able to ski fresh tracks off-piste, which made the whole trip over feel even more worth it.

We skied the Italian side and had lunch at a quaint little mountain restaurant. We ordered the duck pasta and the chocolate cake- both were incredible.

The snow was better in Italy that day, and backside views of Mont Blanc were stunning.

Dinner back in Chamonix that night was at Coco Chamonix — good, but not a standout.

Day 6: Flegere

Flegere had beautiful terrain – still not beginner-friendly.

We decided we would rather ski over than spend more time on the bus, so we got off at the first stop (Brevant) and skied over to the gondola that connects to Flegere.

There was a race track that we ended up doing multiple times. You can race your friends, it’s timed, and you can enter your info to get a free video or picture, which was actually really fun!

At the top of the mountain, there’s a rope tow, which usually means beginner terrain. This was NOT that.

Instead, it had one of the best views of the valley and led into a really fun run.

Lunch at the lodge was simple, nothing special. There were probably better options but we didn’t bother looking. In hindsight, we should’ve taken the gondola back to Brevant where there were better food options.

The hotel held our luggage and even had a changing room for us after skiing before heading back toward Geneva – small details that make travel so much smoother.

We ended up back at Rose Pont for crepes and did some last-minute shopping before arranging our ride back to Geneva. We used Mountain pick ups again for the return ride. It was about 200 euros for the 4 of us.

Beyond Skiing

This wasn’t just a ski in, ski out trip.

The Glacier (Day 4)

We took the cogwheel train up to the glacier – (be sure to buy tickets ahead of time.) We could have taken the bus to the starting point, but we walked 20 minutes through town instead and boarded the train from there.

The train takes you up the mountain, and from there a gondola descends down to the glacier entrance.

It’s surreal.

Lunch that day was pastries from Chalet 4810 – simple and perfect. There is an upstairs that you can sit an eat at a table.

Aiguille du Midi

We also took the gondola up Aiguille du Midi which is not included on the Ikon Pass, so we bought tickets separately.

It goes to the very top of the mountain!

You can ski off the back side with a guide – you’ll see people doing it with harnesses and avalanche packs, which is pretty wild to watch.

There’s a glass box you can step into — it’s free, but we waited about 25 minutes. They have markers along the way that show how long the wait will be.

The elevation is no joke. We definitely felt it!

Was it worth doing? YES.

Would I spend all day there? Probably not.

Afterward, we did some shopping in town and checked out some French skincare at the pharmacies.

We had Dinner at Big Horn Bistro it was highly recommended, but to us it was just an okay burger place.

Ending in Geneva

We finished the trip back in Geneva and took the train into downtown.

We visited the Saint-Pierre Cathedral and climbed the bell towers for the view. I think it’s only worth visiting if you take the stairs all the way up.

We wandered through a few shows, including a stop at Coop Pronto and a chocolatier called Rohr.

They had chocolates shaped like little trash cans and cobblestone streets that were absolutely delicious – and funny stories behind the shapes, which made it even more fun.

We also visited the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, which is kind of free, you just pay whatever you want.

One stop i wasn’t sure about at first was the Patek Philippe Watch Museum, but it ended up being really interesting!

Dinner that night was pizza, and they gave us scissors to cut it with… which honestly felt kind of brilliant.

That night we stayed at the Mövenpick Hotel Geneva. It has a free airport shuttle and they gave us a transportation card for the city, which was nice to have. We didn’t actually end up using it, we just hopped on and off the trains and buses – but it was still good to have.

The hotel itself wasn’t our favorite. The restaurant felt dirty and didn’t smell great, and the food wasn’t very good. It was also difficult to get housekeeping on the phone.

The location was really the only upside and I wouldn’t stay here again.

One practical tip:

Geneva Airport has both a Swiss side and a French side. Make sure you’re on the correct side — especially if you’re doing tax rebates.

The tax office doesn’t open until 6:30am.

And yes — the wake-up time for our flight home was brutal.

Final Thoughts

Skiing Europe in this season of life feels different.

It’s less rushed. More intentional. More about choosing experiences because you want them – not because you squeezed them into a window of time.

Chamonix challenged us. Italy surprised us. And the spa spoiled us.

And even without perfect snow, it was the kind of trip that reminds you why you say yes in the first place.

If you’re in your next chapter and wondering whether to book the ski trip? Do it.

There will always be reasons to stay, but this chapter was made for going.