Travel to Chamonix from Turin and airports by car is the best and fastest choice.
Caselle to Chamonix by car
Car Hire. Renting a car out of Caselle is a smart idea, as the airport is on the north side of the city and on the autostrada (Motorway) network. No partial circumnavigation of Torino is required. Caselle is a medium sized airport and is well laid out.
Locating Car Rental bureaux in Caselle
On exiting the main terminal through Arrivals, walk out of the main exit, leaving the taxi rank on your left, and cross the waiting bays to the door directly opposite for car parking and Car Hire. There is one exception. Italy by Car (aka autoEuropa) has their desk in the Arrivals hall to the right of the main exit. All other car hire agencies are located on the ground floor of the parking complex. All the car hire vehicles are conveniently located in the parking area immediately after the Car Rental Agency desks. There is no requirement to walk any distance and all hire vehicles are located under cover.
On exiting Caselle airport by car, the route leads quickly to the Autostrada. Sign posting is greatly improved. For Chamonix, follow signs for Ivrea and Aosta.
The journey from Caselle to Chamonix will take about two hours. The Autostrada heads north, crossing the flat lands of Piedmont, passing Ivrea and on towards the foothills of the Alps that rise abruptly out of the plain. On a clear day, the dramatic alpine scenery that lies ahead is quite a distraction. The autostrada follows the route of least resistance, into the Aosta Valley. The narrow valley floor is shared with the rapid waters of the River Dora Baltea, twisting and turning its way down the valley, and many settlements, of which, Aosta is the largest. Some 70 minutes into the journey the road passes Aosta and heads on towards Courmayeur and the Tunnel di Monte Bianco. As the tunnel gets closer, the altitude increases gradually, until the final short and steep climb between Courmayeur and the Tunnel entrance.
Travelling through the Tunnel du Monte Bianco
From the Italian side, the entrance to the tunnel is at 1381metres above seal level. There is an Italian Immigration post and a Customs post. It is not always possible to find personnel at these posts. However, the ticket kiosks are always managed by at least one person. There is a parking area with great views down the Aosta valley, but this parking is not setup for a picnic stop. Pricing.
Car Hire out of Caselle
Heading for Chamonix or another resort in the Northern Alps?
Chamonix is two hours from Caselle by road.
This includes the relatively slow journey through the Tunnel di Monte Bianco.
Driving on the AutoStrada
Several sections of the Autostradas of northern Italy provide a welcome departure from the monotony of motorway travel. Tunnels and bridges penetrate the mountain terrain with feats of engineering almost as wonderful as the landscape and scenery they reveal.
It's smart to drive within the 130/110 (dry/wet) kilometres per hour (80/68mph) speed limits in force through much of western Europe. Do that, and the journey from Caselle to Chamonix takes a cruising 2 hours.
Forget ideas about travelling at high speed on the Autostrada. The days of burning the asphalt at 200+kph are long gone. Italy has embraced and is enforcing speed restrictions vigourously. Some may consider this surprising for a nation that designs and assembles an impressive line up of high octane vehicles; Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti and and Maserati are some of the better known supercar manufacturers; Ducati heads up the bike builders. A tough act to beat!
