Here 4 the Apres

While Val Thorens is a small walkable mountain town, it is not without the essential services of any larger bustling ski town. From convenient baggage storage solutions to babysitting services, medical care, well-stocked pharmacies, easy-to-find ATMs, a reassuring police presence, and efficient postal services, Val Thorens has it all.

Bag Check in Val Thorens

If you’re staying at hotel, you can just have your hotel hold your bags for you. But if you arrive early into Val Thorens before your apartment allows check in, or if you have to vacate your apartment in the morning, but your bus isn’t leaving Val Thorens until the afternoon, Val Thorens has a great reliable check bag service right at their Val Thorens bus stop. It is very easy to find, just walk through the double glass doors at the bus stop. If you’re leaving on Saturday, it will be a mob of people at the bus stop. I would recommend having cash because their card reader was really slowing down the service. I wanted to ski a bit before I left on the 2pm bus. I took the Val Thorens shuttle bus from my lodgings because lugging my heavy double ski bag and boot bag is tough in the snow and with the hills in Val Thorens. They charge 3 Euros per item, but since it was a ski bag and boot bag, they only charged me once. Even though it was a huge double ski bag, not a ski sleeve. When I got back from skiing they even let me grab my change of clothes and shoes from my bag, go the restrooms to change, and repack my bag. I left my bag there without being charged again when I went to go grab lunch at the nearby fast food joint.

Enjoying Val Thorens with Kids: Babysitting Services

While I don’t have kids, I’m always trying to convince my friends with kids to join me on my ski adventures. If your kids are old enough, I would say dump them in ski school. Prices for ski school are so much more reasonable in France compared to the USA. In Val Thorens they have ski school designed for 2-3 year olds for one hour a day at 33 euros an hour, which includes skis, boots, helmet. But if your kids are older, 5+ years, there are lessons up to 3 hours a day for 43 euro per day.

There is also babysitting options at Val Thorens for those too young to join ski school or for the hours they’re not in ski school.

Meribel looked to have better options for ski school and childcare. There is a Club Piou-Piou that accepts children between 18 months and 4 years old, which has a combo program of ski school and childcare so you can enjoy your skiing without worrying about picking up your children until later in the day. They open at 9am with dropoff until 9:30am and end of day pick up is 4:45-5pm. Prices vary by age group but at peak season for the oldest age group is 449 euros for 6 days which includes snacks, lunch, ski school, and daycare for 8 hours a day, which makes it less than 10 Euros an hour. Sounds like a value to me!

Medical Center in Val Thorens

For those of you accident prone, or illness prone, there is a Medical Center located in Val Thorens located in Peclet. Hours are 9am-6pm everyday, with a doctor on call outside of those hours. If you are American, just be aware that your medical insurance doesn’t normally cover you when you are abroad. So this would likely be out of pocket. Ever since Covid, I’ve been making it a habit to pay for travel insurance, which has coverage for sickness and injuries when I am skiing internationally.

Looking for a Pharmacy in Val Thorens?

Pharmacies are easy to spot in Europe, they have the very distinctive green cross. There is a pharmacy in Val Thorens very close to the Medical Center, also opened 9am-7pm everyday. They carry everything from cold remedies, pain medication, tampons, and face wash. But my friends couldn’t find Lactaid … the French must not understand the concept! I had to ski over to the pharmacy in Meribel-Mottaret to find it.

Cash in the Mountains: ATMs in Val Thorens

Ever since COVID, I feel as though more and more places have set up the ability to accept credit card, which gives the best exchange rate as long as your credit card doesn’t have a foreign transaction fee. And yet still most of the popular apres ski and nightclubs in Val Thorens do charge to use the restroom. Actually many public restroom in Europe in general do charge some change to use their facilities, so it is convenient to carry some Euros while traveling. There are four banks and ATMs in Val Thorens on google maps all located on the east side of town. Usually withdrawing money from an ATM gives the best exchange rate after using a credit card (cash exchange at kiosks at the airport is notoriously the worst), but you’ll have to take into account your bank’s fees for non-network ATM withdrawal fee, foreign transaction fee, and the foreign bank’s fee for non-network ATM use. Also when you withdraw money, make sure to use your home country’s currency. The exchange rate the foreign bank will give you in euro will be much worst.

Police Presence in Val Thorens

I have always felt safe in Val Thorens. Even when I traveled there alone in 2023, walking home from Wild and Savage past 1:30am. But it does give extra peace of mind that there is a police station located on resort right next to the main Val Thorens bus stop near the Sports Center.

Post Office in Val Thorens

If case you want to send any packages or postcards from Val Thorens, there is also a post office on Grande Rue not more than a 5 minute walk from the Val Thorens bus stop.