Electric Vehicle drive to the Alps

Hundreds of ski hotels are kitted out with chargers for Tesla and/or other electric vehicles – and the number grows every time we check. Staying in one gives you free charge on tap, whenever you need it. No having to sit around in a car park or service station necessary - let it get to work while you enjoy the comforts of your lodging. Use the search panel at the top of this page to find accommodation with EV charging that suits your travel dates and preferences or see our list of the best Eco Ski Hotels for the cream of the crop. Get us to double check that charging continues to be offered when you book.

Some resorts have their own electric vehicle chargers, and again this is on the increase. Last time we checked, Les Gets had two at the Télécabine du Mont-Chéry – one for all vehicles (11KW AC-TRI) and the other for Tesla (11KW AC-TRI). They’ve also been known to offer ski pass discounts when you show your reg document… Arosa has charging at the Brüggli underground carpark and in Flaine there are SYANE public charge points at the entrance to Forum. Tignes has 3 in Parking du Lac and Chamonix at its Saint Michel, Mont Blanc, Entrèves, Corzolet and Allobroges car parks. Ski resorts/towns with Tesla superchargers include St Moritz, Kitzbühel, St Anton, Innsbruck, Whistler and Aspen, with Cortina and Bardonecchia soon to join the party. A lot of these destinations are on our list of the world’s best Eco Ski Resorts for a green ski trip all round.

If you haven’t already, double check the charging capabilities of your car before setting off – with enough time to get hold of the necessary adapters if need be. Last time we checked, it was handy to have the following connecters for these countries:

France
Type 3C cable
CHAdeMO adaptor
Tesla adapter for domestic sockets in France

Italy
Schuko inversion adaptor
CHAdeMO adaptor
Type 2 cable
Tesla adaptor for Italian domestic sockets

Austria
Type 2 cable
Reversing lead for Schuko domestic sockets

Switzerland
Tesla adaptor for Swiss domestic sockets
CHAdeMO adaptor
Type 2 cable

We keep this page updated as much as possible but it’s always a good idea to check the official guidelines for your car make. For Tesla drivers, the company’s connectors page is invaluable.

While you can get around most of the UK road network with nothing more than the Ecotricity app on your phone, driving on the continent is helped by membership of the most common charging networks over there. Generally speaking, you’ll need to login using an app, key-fob or RFID card so, for seamless access to motorway and service station charging on your journey, definitely get organised long before you travel and register with these providers ahead of time. Choose which networks to join depending on which country you’re going to drive through.

EV charging networks in France include:
Kiwhi Pass Card (for Type 2, Type 3, Combo/CSS, CHAdeMO & domestic chargers)

EV charging networks in Italy include the Gruppo Hera Network (for Type 2, Type 3a, Schuko, CHAdeMO & Combo/CSS chargers)

EV charging networks in Austria include:
SMATRICS (for CHEdeMo, Type 2 & Combo/CSS chargers)

EV charging networks in Switzerland include:
EVPASS (for Type 2, CHAdeMO, Combo CCS & domestic chargers)

In a few cases, the application system isn’t set up for entering a UK delivery address. If you don’t know someone who’s address you can use in that country, we’ve heard some have wangled it by entering the network’s HQ as the address, then emailing the company their UK delivery address. You can contact the network directly for assistance.

Multinational EV charging networks

PlugSurfing (UK, France, Germany, Austria, Italy and more) – for CHEdeMO, Type 2, Combo/CSS chargers

Chargemap (UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy and more) – for Type 2 (incl. cable attached), Type 3a, Combo/CSS, Italian & EU domestic chargers

New Motion (UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy and more) – for Type 2 (incl. cable attached) – for CHAdeMo, Combo/CSS, Type 1, Type 2, Type 3 & domestic chargers

As you can see, the Plug Surfing, Chargemap Pass and New Motion memberships would cover you for lots of EV driving in Europe if you join all three, and you might get away without even these if you’re in a Tesla and check that the key Superchargers on your route are up and running. If you pick a ski hotel with destination charger, there’s a good chance you can plan a route that avoids the need for a foreign charging membership.

You’ll want to get your head around your route to the alps whichever type of wheels you’re behind - even more so if you need to factor in stops where you can charge as well as grab a good coffee and stretch your legs.

It’s worth having a couple of back-up stops lined up in case you can’t access the chargers at your preferred points. Plugshare’s trip planner lets you map your route to resort and flags up the nearest charging stations along the way. If you’re driving a Tesla, their nifty route planning tool does the same thing.

We used this to plan a trip from SNO HQ in Putney to Chamonix, France. It required just 3 stops, though we found we could have driven a tad faster having plugged in at the Channel Tunnel while waiting to board - the Aire d’Urvilliers 65-minute charge would’ve come down a lot too, so each stop would have been just 30-40 minutes. For this journey, the estimated fuel saving was a whopping £183 (or over £200 if you normally drive fast on the motorway). Of course, if you get some or all of the supercharging for free, the savings are even better!