Skiing in Europe

[Challo]

Hi Guys,

Looking at a cheap skiing trip over New Year in Europe. Mixed group of abilities from people that have never been before to regular skiier's. We inital looked at Les Gets but at over £1000 pp its a little bit pricey.

Is there any options out there thats a bit cheaper, and give enough scope for beginers to learn, and experienced people to go off and do their own run.

Happy to fly, or even take a road trip.

Thanks

[Ranger 6]

It's an expensive sport - We've just returned from a week at half term and at high season prices our total spend was just under £3k for the four of us.

That includes absolutely everything - skis, lessons, lift passes, food & drink, apartment etc. IMHO self catering is a good way to go from a budget perspective, use off-resort supermarkets for supplies a couple of times in the week and stay away from lunches/meals up the mountain.

Breaking it down a bit - for the basics:
Apartment - £850
Tunnel - £170
Fuel - £310
Tolls - £120
Adult lift pass: £150
Adult skis: £75 (no boots inc)

Up to you how you get there but our travel was £600 - worth it to have the car to use during the week as relying on ski buses is a pain and that cost is less than flights and a hire car would've been.

I know I haven't given you advice on where - there are others with more experience of resorts than I have, all I would suggest is look at options on renting a chalet for a group - some big places work out relatively cheap when costs are split and 4 in a car is an easy thing to do - 8 hrs from Calais to apartment for us.

[Challo]

Thank you. That certainly helps on some of the costings, and where we could save money. I think a Chalet and self catering would be a good bet, so will certainly bear that in mind.

[//j17]

So, a cheap ski trip in Europe during two of the most expensive weeks in the ski year...

If you go New Years you're looking at a 50-100% price hike over the weeks either side. A £650 B&B package becomes a £1000 B&B package for New Years at one of my favourite haunts.

[Ranger 6]

Good point - I should've mentioned our £850 apartment becomes £495 out of Half term and Christmas/New Year....

[Cheib]

If someone has got a car that can transport you all you will say a decent amount of cash driving.....probably £100 a head or more.

As others have said though...it's basically the busiest week of the year. The only way you'll get anything cheap in my mind is to sort your transport out now and leave it til the last minute for accomodation. If you can be flexible the week before Xmas and the week after New Year are the two cheapest and quietest of the season. The other thing is the resorts are so busy over New Year that you spend a lot of time in lift queues.

[Challo]

Thanks all. We where thinking of driving to make it more of a road trip, so just the accomodation to find. I will speak to the group and have a think about being flexible on dates to get a cheaper price.

[The_Doc]

Challo said:

Hi Guys,

over New Year in Europe.


Happy to fly, or even take a road trip.

Thanks

Cheap skiing:
drive with full car,
to Europe ideally France,
if you're going to fly then book way, way in advance and fly not on a weekend,
book the ski passes and boot/ski hire way,way in advance online,
If you like skiing then buy skis and boots, don't hire
Rent small apartments direct from owners not through travel agents as you're only really in them for a meal and sleeping

Expensive skiing:
New Year or Christmas weeks or HalfTerm
Flights on Saturday
Swiss resorts
Whole pistemap passes when you only ski 50% of it
Hotels
Eating up the mountain (packed lunches)


I pay about £50pp for flights Thurs-thurs and stay at my parents' place in the French alps, use my dad's season pass, get lifts to and from the airport with the seasonaires and leave my boots/skis out there in the cave.

not fair eh?

[russy01]

I don't budget less than £1k per person skiing, slightly cheaper if you have your own gear.

[ClaphamGT3]

Skiing for under £1000 a head at that time of year is a truly budget experience. Because lift passes, and, for the beginners, ski hire and lessons are a fixed cost, you have to drive down costs on accommodation and travel. Look to get a cramped, dated appt and drive or fly budget to somewhere no where near your resort. This is fine if you're a passionate skier but doesn't endear beginners to the sport.

As a guide, we are going to Courcheval for Christmas and the New Year to an ok chalet. My wife and I won't need lessons or any kit hire and its still costing us about £11k for the 4 of us.

[russy01]

ClaphamGT3 said:

Skiing for under £1000 a head at that time of year is a truly budget experience. Because lift passes, and, for the beginners, ski hire and lessons are a fixed cost, you have to drive down costs on accommodation and travel. Look to get a cramped, dated appt and drive or fly budget to somewhere no where near your resort. This is fine if you're a passionate skier but doesn't endear beginners to the sport.

As a guide, we are going to Courcheval for Christmas and the New Year to an ok chalet. My wife and I won't need lessons or any kit hire and its still costing us about £11k for the 4 of us.

Yup certainly isn't cheap!

We actually have a bloody cheap trip booked to valdisere in the first week of April.

£6k for a 12 birth chalet (its decent) - 500 each.
Flights are £80 return to geneva pp
Private taxi return is £100 pp
Hire booked In advance £120pp
Pass £200

So there's the £1000, but remembering that's not including any food, drink or après ski.

I always say £1000 for the trip and at least £500+ food and drink per person. We like to stop morning and afternoon for a hot choc or a beer and always eat up the mountain. We quite often take snacks (Harvest bars or something) to eat through the day.

And remember this is an off peak week!! The same chalet at new year is 50% more at £9000.

[a311]

NY is THE most expensive week in the European ski calendar. It's a while since I've bene over NY for a holiday we went out on Boxing day in 2009 as one of our group was a teacher. Not everywhere will be mobbed if you chose carefully.

I've never been to Bulgaria and TBH what I hear about it doesn't want to make me go but it's more a case that it doesn't offer much in terms of the level I'm at but it may work for you if you're on a budget. Consider staying in a proper town as opposed to on the hill in resort.

Have a look at Aosta, you have direct access to Pila by a 15 min gondola ride. Aosta is quite a large town with plenty of budget accomadation. Pila as a resort is small but interestingly varied-you can also go to several other resorts on the same pass. Namely Courmayeur, Chamonix, and Cervina (access to Zermatt). Pila great and has great contrast of blue to blacks-some nice tree skiing and off piste too.

If you're totally new to skiing I would recommend time at an outdoor slope, or one of the fridges which are dotted around. With the right attitude you can come along way in/outdoors without having to waste time in resrot sliding on one ski.

[Ranger 6]

The_Doc said:

....use my dad's season pass...

Have heard of folk falling foul of the lifties actually watching the screen these days to see if the photo on the card looks roughly like the person going through the turnstile. Talk of confiscation and fines - how true is it??

[The_Doc]

Ranger 6 said:

The_Doc said:

....use my dad's season pass...

Have heard of folk falling foul of the lifties actually watching the screen these days to see if the photo on the card looks roughly like the person going through the turnstile. Talk of confiscation and fines - how true is it??

Yup, it's true and the lifties are paid commission on the passes they confiscate. -> go through in a crowd,

If my dad's not using it, and he paid for his bum to be on the lift then....

I also eat my packed lunch outdoors at the restaurants, although usually after buying a beer from them, and I lift up the piste marking orange fencing thingy and ski/board off-piste

real middle class rebel I am.

[VoziKaoFangio]

The answer is Bosnia.

During the recent half term week, I took my family of four for a week's skiing there. £2.5k all in, flights to Sarajevo (a Winter Olympic venue in 1984, remember) via Belgrade, transfers by minibus (25 minutes to resort from airport), accommodation in a brand new 4 star spa hotel, including breakfast and evening meals, lift passes for the whole resort, ski and boot rental, and personal tuition for all of us, every day. Evening drinks and stuff are also included in that total. The lift passes for all four of us for the week were about 150 pounds (no, not 150 pounds each, 150 pounds for a family of four). The huge, unlimited buffet breakfasts were enough to keep us going until dinner time, no need to stop for lunch.

The snow was excellent, the weather pretty good, the accommodation and food was top notch.

No one I've told who has been skiing in the alps believes me. But it's true.

[Challo]

Thanks for all your responses. Its seems our original budget of £1000 seems very unrealistic at this time of year. On further discussions i think we are going to push the holiday back a month or so and go when the kids are back at school, and hopefully the prices will have gone down slightly.

Never considered Bosnia but will give it a look and see how the costs compare. I think the Alps is still number 1 choice as I fancy the roadtrip and enjoy some of the scenery on the way.

[Ranger 6]

The_Doc said:

...real middle class rebel I am.

Excellent!

[VoziKaoFangio]

Challo said:

Never considered Bosnia but will give it a look and see how the costs compare.

Look for the resort called Jahorina. Don't expect any wild night life there.