Summer activity holidays in mountains, Haute Savoie, Grand Massif, Morillon, Samoëns, Verchaix, French Alps. Chalet to rent. Summer family holiday rental self catered Chalet for walking, hiking, mountain biking, mountain climbing, paragliding, swimming, white water rafting, zip wire, golf, mini golf, horseriding, tennis activity holidays.
Chalet in Verchaix, Morillon, Samoëns, Flaine, Giffre Valley, Grand Massif, Rhone Alpes, France
Summer family accommodation in self catering holiday Chalet to rent for summer activities; paragliding / parapenting /parascending, hang-gliding, white water rafting, mountain biking, walking, kayaking, canyoning, horse riding, pony and donkey trekking, roller boarding, mountain climbing, potholing, hiking, swimming, zip wire, tennis, golf, mini golf, archery and other family activity holidays. Sleeps 2 - 10 in 4 bedrooms.
email: sally@chaletlavalentine.com Telephone / Fax : 00 44 (0)1325 378319
English / Français
Chalet in summer View from the chalet 200m from Chalet towards Samoëns
Chalet la Valentine is located on the sunny south facing side of the Giffre valley, at the base of Verchaix village in the Haute Savoie region of the French alps, 80 meters from the river. The chalet offers accommodation in an ideal location for a wide range of summer activities in a self catering chalet in the Alps. During July and August the proximity of the Chalet to all the local attractions means it is not a chalet to sit in the garden to get away from it all. The surrounding area is just too busy. The chalet is best for activity holidays and getting out and about. In June and September, it is a lot quieter, but the weather is usually still warm and sunny.
The minigolf is just 100 metres from the chalet. It is open every afternoon in high season. Out of season there are a couple of putters and golf balls in the chalet.
The park’s café offers ice creams, a bar and restaurant service. White water rafting is available across the road from the park.
It is easy to hire ponies from the park both for a short 15 minute ride for a little one or treks into the woods and mountains for the experienced rider.
Contact Cheval ‘Rando’ 04 50 90 05 04 or 06 80 68 69 65. 5 mornings of two hour pony lessons for 125€, horse riding for the day for 70€, half a day 43€, 10 days 135€.
You can also go horse riding at Samoëns: contact Ferme Equestre des Sages Samoëns 74340
Tel 04 50 34 18 74 or at the Cirque Fer à Cheval, see www.sixtferacheval.com For riding in a carriage, horseriding and trekking with ponys see www.lionelsport.com/hippo.htm. Walking with pack donkeys is popular, around 25€ for adults for the day and 18€ for children. www.anesduhautgiffre.com
For more on riding around Mont Blanc and some stables in Bonneville providing trekking in July and August click on the links.
More outdoor swimming is available at a fantastic complex of pools with a picnic area in Samoëns 
open all summer until the beginning of September: a good family day out. The swimming pools close early September to prepare them for winter. Archery, tennis, a golf driving range and pitch and putt are available
near the pools in Samoëns. There is a large Indiana Park next to the lake in Samoens only 1 km from the chalet for more Zip Wire, Paint Balling etc. www.indianaventures.com Tel 04 50 74 01 88
There is an indoor aquaparc 15 minutes from Evian with swimming pools with waves, giant water slides and outside beach with access to the lake and more. www.aquaparc.ch
www.altituderando.com/Lac-de-la-Vogealle-2001-m, www.altituderando.com/Les-Cretes-de-Flaine-et-la-Tete-de For other walks www.altituderando.com and http://randos.en-savoie.fr and www.haute-savoie.info
New from 2007, take a guided nature walk, to find local fauna, flora and what is edible from summer to winter with Suivez la trace. La Falconnière, 74340 Samoëns. Mobile 06 18 63 67 08 or 06 80 87 52 79. www.suivez-la-trace.com or contact lafalconiere@free.fr
www.neige-montagne.com. There are 4 lifts open July to August taking bikes and walkers onto the plateau above Morillon. See www.ot-morillon.fr and www.savoiehautesavoie.com/index.php?Rub=1
There is roller boarding at Morillon Les Esserts. You can hire all equipment.
www.icicle-mountaineering.ltd.uk
For mountain activities and climbing throughout the haute savoie and savoie see the following link: 
www.prazsurarly.com/en/guide_decouverte/guide_escalade.php
Potholing is also available with some of France’s and indeed the world’s deepest caves. The Jean Bernard hole (currently the 5th deepest in the world) is 1602m deep, and is located just above the Refuge de Foly; the Mirolda hole which is a little deeper is above the Criou chalets. The deeper caves may be flooded in summer due to glacier melt water and are more accessible at colder times of the year.
http://membres.lycos.fr/samoens/pagesamgouffre.htm
Profeel in Morillon www.parapente-morillon.com www.neige-montagne.com
Hot Air Ballooning see www.lescarroz.com
White water rafting is suitable for all the family (minimum age 8)
Indiana Rafting www.indiana-rafting.com
Haut-Savoie Nature-Adventure (opposite adventure park just 5 minutes from the chalet)
Other gardens in the area are
The Jardin Secret http://www.jardins-secrets.com
Jardins de l’eau http://www.precurieux.com
Jardins des cinq sens http://www.jardin5sens.net
Some of the interesting places to see within a short drive in the Haute Savoie, Savoie area.
See the following website for photographs of Bonneville and nearby monastery and castles.
http://home.comcast.net/~jpolos/photos/france/savoie.html
For more details on some of the castles photographed in the previous website see:
For the gorges de Fier www.gorgesdufier.com/present_gb.htm#
For details on the Arve valley and help in locating some of the local attractions:
www.technicvallee.com/uk/arve/02.php
For the Aravis Massif between Annecy and the chalet see the following websites:
http://www.aravis08.com/?c=63464
www.sivom-borne-bargy.org/site/index.php
The Portes du Soleil area www.portesdusoleil.com The Swiss Chablais area of the Portes du Soleil: www.chablais.info
Talloires and Annecy and webcams www.talloires-lac-annecy.com/webcam_fr.html
The Chamonix valley and Mont Blanc www.chamonix.net
You can take the train up the alps to view the scenery and explore www.chamonix.net/english/transport/train/valley_trains.htm
For more on the Montenvers railway up to a height of 1913m where you can visit an ice grotto at the top, see the following page www.chamonix.net/english/sightseeing/mer_de_glace.htm
Thermal springs near St Gervais www.st-gervais.net
and many delightful villages, small towns, mountain chalets, castles and museums www.sav.org
For the chateau / castle of Saint Menthon St Bernard open May, June and September weekend afternoons, and every afternoon in July and August (7€ adults, 4€ children) see www.chateau-de-menthon.com
For more to do with the family in the region
www.az-loisirs.com (try page www.az-loisirs.com/pages/sortir_102.html)
For exploring the alps, mountains, lakes, and things to do see www.savoiehautesavoie.com/index.php?Rub=1
and for photos of the region http://haute.savoie.ifrance.com
Click on the following link for some of our photos: CHALET DAYS OUT
To see more of Morillon and the Grand Massif and webcams, follow the links.
For your summer weather forecast for the next 10 days : Meteo maps and 10 day forecast for Morillon
For todays weather
For the sort of weather you may expect in Morillon, Samoëns, Flaine, Grand Massif and the Haute Savoie during the summer, click on the following link: Weather and then click on “Bulletins Climatiques Mensuels Dpt”. For “Départements disponibles” click “Haute Savoie” (under “S” in the list), and then the dates you want to look at month by month under “Echeance”. If you want to look at rainfall, temperatures, and hours of sunshine over a 12 month period click on the link WEATHER again and this time click on to the map of France just below “Dijon”. This is the “Rhone Alpes”. Click on “Bourg St Maurice” which is the closest weather station to Morillon and is also a similar height above sea level. Then just click on the year you want to look at.
If you want to look at animated satellite maps showing approaching weather for the next few days click on the link.
http://france.meteofrance.com/france/accueil
In Morillon you can normally expect an average day time temperature of 25 centigrade with 10 to 11 cm of rain per month in July and August. In June and September the maximum day time temperature averages 20 degrees centigrade and this in an ideal time to go to the Alps if you want a quiet summer walking or biking holiday. Even when it is raining it is a delightful place to be. The wide Giffre valley allows the sun to reach the valley floor for the majority of the day all summer long.
In 2008, the sun shone in mostly cloudless skies from June 18th to August 8th with day time temperatures reaching 35ºC. Then the weather changed and although still warm (25ºC maximum day time temperatures) clouds built up during the day with evening thunderstorms, and a few days it rained all day. The rest of august and early September were wetter than normal. This weather pattern persisted until 12th September, when the sunny weather returned with a maximum temperatures of 18º - 20ºC and chilly nights. The weather remained good with sunny days and glorious autumn colours up until October 17th.
Mountain Golf
Morillon is in the centre of a group of mountain and lakeside golf courses. Prices for a round vary from 25 - 100 euros. There is a driving range in Samoëns. See next page.
If the week you want is taken please try the following link 