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Skiing Price Per Person???

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Just as a guide may I ask typically how much do you pay person for a ski break in Feb Half Term and Start of April??? Prices this year seem ridiculous or is it just me???
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
£1200 pp plus equipment, ski school and pass.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Thanks Norrin. In April I have had it as low as £500pp but this year Feb and Apr are the same at £1500 pp.
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liam6913 wrote:
Just as a guide may I ask typically how much do you pay person for a ski break in Feb Half Term and Start of April??? Prices this year seem ridiculous or is it just me???

For what precisely?

What sort of transport/accommodation?
Which country and ski/resort?
Inclusive of what?

February half term is one of the most expensive weeks of the year.

April should be cheap if you book last minute.

From what I've read on here things are quieter than usual.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Flights, transfers, accomodation and lift passes for a week. Previously I have got it cheap last minute in April but only in Chamonix nowhere else. (£600 pp)
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If you go DIY and drive (4 in the car), you can go down to about £500/person.
I'll be paying about £100 more than that Feb Half term to stay within walking distance of the lifts.
That is without lessons, but including lift passes, ski hire, transport, 2 hotel stops, self catering acc, insurance.

That is in Austria. I think you could do it for a similar amount any country in the Alps except Switzerland.
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http://www.skibeat.co.uk/ski-chalet-holidays/half-term-ski-deals?gclid=CIi74N_pudACFRG6GwodKEoNHw

so £1100-£1500 seems the right price , catered, with flights.

or £350, self catering and driving.

User chooser.
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http://ski.sunweb.co.uk/france/la_plagne/la_plagne/residence_cassiopee.htm sorry the £349 link
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I can do a quick breakdown of our half-term skiing costs for a week in Val Thorens Feb half-term. This is pretty much as cheap as I could get it really.
- flights to Paris (lucky enough to have parents living there, so will stop over on Friday evening and train down on Sunday - cheaper and IMO easier than flying with long transfers): about £100 return with airport transfers included (or 70 for just the flights).
- train to Moutiers: 60 euros return. Got up at 5 am to book these when they went on sale, at 9 am they were already ridiculously expensive (the outgoing train down to Moutiers was over 100 euros per person).
- return bus ticket from Moutiers to Val Thorens is a bit over 20 euros, say £20.
- skipasses, booked early online for 3V area, are 279 euros per person. Carre-neige insurance is 16.70 euros.
- appartment in Val Thorens, for four people (shoebox) is 920 euros for that week. Will prob only be three of us, so 307 euros per person.
- ski and boots rental is roughly £100.

Total is about £790 at current exchange rates. You could save a bit on accommodation through looking at one of the satellite villages, or going somewhere smaller (also saves on skipasses).
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Half term should be cheaper that easter, because of the bank holidays at easter.

[EDIT]
Sorry I was wrong, I didn't check my assumptions. As peope point out below Easter is cheaper because its out of high season, and next year it's also quite late.
[/EDIT]


For best pricing avoid the uk TO's, especially for families, they heavily weigh their pricing around supply and demand. Scheduled flight prices fluctuate much less to destinations like Barcelona, Geneva and Milan so they are generally cheaper than a seasonal charter to Turin, Innsbruck etc. Use SkyScanner 'Whole month view' to see if you could go Fri-Fri, Mon-Mon, its normally much cheaper but only if you can get time off and accommodation to match. If you can drive this can also be a big saving especially with a family.

Also UK Feb Half term seems to have a North (18th-25th) South (11th-18th) divide so if you can travel to an alternate airport this maybe cheaper.

For accommodation try to book direct with hotel, same as above prices fluctuate much less. Some hotels have deals with lift passes, this can be a big saving. Self catering apartments can be cheaper for families but normally less flexible than hotels.

I got booked all this for Feb 18-25th for Andorra 2 Adults + 2 Children
Flights £500 LHR > BCN inc 3 bags and skis.
7 Nights 4 * Half Board inc Lift passes £1600
Car hire £150
£562pp


Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Mon 21-11-16 16:35; edited 1 time in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Many Thanks everyone. Mad for Chelsea, your plan looks good how long is train from Paris to Moutiers and then on to Val Thoren?
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Quote:

or £350, self catering and driving.

Pushing it a bit - a 7 day lift pass for Les Arcs will be 300 euro alone
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
johnE wrote:
Quote:

or £350, self catering and driving.

Pushing it a bit - a 7 day lift pass for Les Arcs will be 300 euro alone


http://ski.sunweb.co.uk/france/la_plagne/la_plagne/residence_cassiopee.htm?view=prices

That is the price quoted for 2 adults and 2 children in a studio with lift passes included.
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johnE wrote:
Quote:

or £350, self catering and driving.

Pushing it a bit - a 7 day lift pass for Les Arcs will be 300 euro alone

We paid 1100 Euros for an appartment and Paradiski ski pass for 2 adults and 2 children staying in Les Coches December 17th to 24th.

This was booked directly with a local letting agency via the La Plagne website.

You get discounts if you book an appartment and lift pass together. And for us for that week one child got a free lift pass.

Suspect Sunweb and others get similar discounts so £350 seems doable (they are pricing a 6 day lift pass as is usual).
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Those sort of "all in" prices normally exclude transport.

Quote:

Half term should be cheaper that easter, because of the bank holidays at easter.


Puzzled In France, Easter is low-season for accommodation. If you drive, bank holidays are irrelevant.
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liam6913 wrote:
Many Thanks everyone. Mad for Chelsea, your plan looks good how long is train from Paris to Moutiers and then on to Val Thoren?


Train from Paris to Moutiers is something between 4h and 4h30 depending I guess on how often you're stopping (it's shorter than to Bourg Saint Maurice), then the bus transfer is down as 1h15 but could take longer if it's snowing heavily (but then so would driving, getting a bus from the airport, etc.). I just find it a more relaxing way to do the trip.

A quick look on the sncf site suggests trains are still really expensive (over 90 euros for the trip down to Moutiers) unless you're prepared to take the very early one (at 6h49) which is at 58 euros: on the plus side you could get a sneaky afternoon of skiing in, on the minus side you'll be up stupidly early. They may put more trains on if those get booked out, but not sure.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Layne wrote:
johnE wrote:
Quote:

or £350, self catering and driving.

Pushing it a bit - a 7 day lift pass for Les Arcs will be 300 euro alone

We paid 1100 Euros for an appartment and Paradiski ski pass for 2 adults and 2 children staying in Les Coches December 17th to 24th.

This was booked directly with a local letting agency via the La Plagne website.

You get discounts if you book an appartment and lift pass together. And for us for that week one child got a free lift pass.

Suspect Sunweb and others get similar discounts so £350 seems doable (they are pricing a 6 day lift pass as is usual).


But that's based on 2 adults and 2 children, which presumably means you get the family deal on the skipass i.e. they're all priced at childrens prices - at least how it works for 3V, presume Paradiski is similar... So for adults you'd add maybe 80-100 euros per person. Still a good deal, mind.
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Quote:
Half term should be cheaper that easter, because of the bank holidays at easter.


Yeah, I missed that earlier. A strange statement and certainly not true. Even forgiving the fact Easter bank holidays are mid-April in 2017 when the OP stated "Start of April" I've never found the presence of the bank holidays had any effect.
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mad for chelsea wrote:
Layne wrote:
johnE wrote:
Quote:

or £350, self catering and driving.

Pushing it a bit - a 7 day lift pass for Les Arcs will be 300 euro alone

We paid 1100 Euros for an appartment and Paradiski ski pass for 2 adults and 2 children staying in Les Coches December 17th to 24th.

This was booked directly with a local letting agency via the La Plagne website.

You get discounts if you book an appartment and lift pass together. And for us for that week one child got a free lift pass.

Suspect Sunweb and others get similar discounts so £350 seems doable (they are pricing a 6 day lift pass as is usual).


But that's based on 2 adults and 2 children, which presumably means you get the family deal on the skipass i.e. they're all priced at childrens prices - at least how it works for 3V, presume Paradiski is similar... So for adults you'd add maybe 80-100 euros per person. Still a good deal, mind.

You still get a discount on the base price of the apartment + ski pass to buying them individually. If you search on the La Plagne website it tells you the base price of the apartment and then the price per person including lift pass. It varies a bit from agency to agency and some don't offer it at all. The point being that is how sunweb probably gets its £350 per person. They probably do the same as the agencies and negotiate discounts with the lift company. Just the way it seems to be set up in France.
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I have just booked up for a group going at Scottish half term rather later than usual as I did not think I would be able to get the leave.
Prices vary between individuals slightly as we are getting slightly different apartments and different people have different luggage charges.
But flights accommodation and share of car hire are about £500 per head, lift pass is around £250 per head. Decent looking accommodation in the dolomites self catering but spacious.
Accommodation and lift passes to be paid for later, so may vary a bit with exchange rates.
A lot cheaper than I could get with a package, downside is driving and non direct flight.
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I've booked for the later Feb half term week. Booked flights early for £80 with BA so no ski carriage fee (my one bag is board bag with skis and clothes), transfer bus£60, accommodation is nice sc apartment in central saalbach with ensuite bedrooms, ski in/out for £300pp. Lift passes look to be around £200. So approx £640pp before food/drink.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Many Thanks all this is so helpful!
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My first reply, registered this morning! We drove to Tignes Val Claret for the April Easter week last season Stayed self catering at Ferme de Val Claret. Driving got us x8 days skiing. All in inc. tunnel, fuel, an IBIS hotel each way, ski passes, kit hire, flat, booze and grub we (x2 adults x3 children) did it for £815 per head. Hope this helps.
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@liam6913, I've currently got some spare room in my apartment in the 3 valleys (Brides les bains) during half term as some friends have dropped out, and others will be avoiding half term like the plague! So if I can help anyone to make a ski trip viable, get in touch via PM.
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18-25 Feb (half-term week darn sarf) in Alpe d'huez.

Family of 5 (2 adults 3 children) £500 ppn including flights, car hire, fully catered accommodation, lift passes and equipment rental.
- savings made by flying to Marseille and booking inc car hire in BA sale and by having a season pass for 5 year old (4 when applied last month), and only renting 2 kids' boots and 3 skis. Includes lift passes at 820 euros though! Shocked Shocked
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
18-25 Feb (half-term week darn sarf) in Alpe d'huez.

Family of 5 (2 adults 3 children) £500 ppn including flights, car hire, fully catered accommodation, lift passes and equipment rental.
- savings made by flying to Marseille and booking inc car hire in BA sale and by having a season pass for 5 year old (4 when applied last month), and only renting 2 kids' boots and 3 skis. Includes lift passes at 820 euros though! Shocked Shocked
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Norrin Radd wrote:
£1200 pp plus equipment, ski school and pass.


Really? I manage less than that with single occupancy of an apartment and eating out every night. In Val d'Isere which isn't known as a budget destination.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Family of 4 (2adults, 2 kids) in Flachau last Easter, was around £2,700. Lufthanstha flights to Munich, car hire, SC accom right in town, lift passes, equipment, and lessons for kids. Couldn't go much cheaper than that.
Schladming this year, 17th -24th is around £3000 for the same, mainly due to the Euro being shi*e (was around 1.40 when we booked grrrrrrr).
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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liam6913 wrote:
Just as a guide may I ask typically how much do you pay person for a ski break in Feb Half Term and Start of April??? Prices this year seem ridiculous or is it just me???


Just out of interest how have you got on with your booking? I booked last April for Easter this year Les Arcs 2000 arriving 08/04 with crystal 1 adult + 3 kids (8, 13, 15). I haven't skied abroad for over 15 years and have never been to a large French resort - the cost of lift passes, hire and lessons is giving me palpitations (I haven't booked these yet as with crystal improver bundle is £490 each older children are classed as adults something else I failed to consider). I'm thinking ahead for next year and need to have a maximum budget of £3000.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
£3000 for 4 of you is pretty tight if that has to include lift passes hire and lessons, but you might get a good last minute chalet or apartment deal from a TO.

My "go to" for cheap week or weekend that doesn't feel cheap is Slovenia.

Ive been here 3 times with my kids and heading out for a weekend shortly with mates..
http://www.rekahisa.com/winter-activities/skiingandsnowboardingholidays
Food is ace, ideal for families are there isn't much apres, but it's socialable so you get other adults to chat to over dinner. The price you see include lift pass, equipment and transfers. Just need to add in flight on easyJet or wizz. Plus a days instruction for the 4 of you in your own group is only circa €120-€150 per day. You spend the week at various local resorts depending on weather etc. 20-45mins minibus ride at start and end of day, but you get a good variety of skiing, mostly cruisy reds and blues. Less km but much nicer than a crowded French resort.
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t44tomo wrote:
Ive been here 3 times with my kids and heading out for a weekend shortly with mates..
http://www.rekahisa.com/winter-activities/skiingandsnowboardingholidays
ideal for families are there isn't much apres, but it's socialable so you get other adults to chat to over dinner. The price you see include lift pass, equipment and transfers. Just need to add in flight on easyJet or wizz. Plus a days instruction for the 4 of you in your own group is only circa €120-€150 per day. You spend the week at various local resorts depending on weather etc. 20-45mins minibus ride at start and end of day, but you get a good variety of skiing, mostly cruisy reds and blues. Less km but much nicer than a crowded French resort.


Thanks for that. - I will look at Slovenia for Feb half term next year as tied to school holidays with the eldest doing GCSE's - I am going with a friend and her children this year - but may be on my own next year (husband can't ski - bad knees).
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@Gillap, have a look at the Arcs family lift pass bundle. Your team's ages make it viable for the next few years, and is a significant saving.



@Dorset Mogul, welcome to snowHead That's the sort of range work on... but tbh, rather too scared to look at the the big price, far better chunking it up and mislay the invoices!
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It seems that the flight prices are always the crux of booking an independent place at the February peak week.
Easter doesn't seem to be too much of an issue. London to Stansted with Ryanair can be anything around the £400pp mark for a sat - sat over half term.
This is now becoming a real thorn in our side as we can not compete as well with the package operators all down to the massive prices of the flights.
We are in the ball park of €420pp ish for a catered chalet styled week. Passes for adults are €250 and equipment about €100.
So accommodation, passes, equipment €770pp
Transfers if required are €50 but can be done on the cheap (depending on time).
....now chuck up to €400 on that per person for flights and it starts to compare to cheapo package operators. Mad Mad
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Salzburg isn't the best for cheap flights, but Munich is pretty good and combined with train, it makes for a slightly longer journey but not too bad, opens up quite a few resorts in Austria. I managed flights and train transfers into ZellamSee for around €250 per head for this coming half term, fri evening to Friday evening and a cheap overnight hotel at munch airport ready to hit slopes on lunchtime Saturday.
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Quote:

London to Stansted with Ryanair can be anything around the £400pp mark for a sat - sat over half term.

The train is probably a bit cheaper though. wink
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@liam6913, if you are near Gatwick then Easyjet fly to Ostersund/Åre, or Heathrow to Trondhiem with Norwegian air. You can put together a very well priced self-catering holiday in Åre as UK half term and Easter don't normally clash with the Swedish ones. Check skistar.se for accommodation, transfers, lift passes, ski hire, lessons etc.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
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I have just now booked 02/04 to 09/04 flying Manchester to Geneva, for skiing the portes du soleil ski area, staying in a self catered chalet in Morzine and have done for £2100 for the 3 of us, this includes flights, transfers, accommodation, ski hire, lift passes and 4 days of lessons.
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Obviously you can do it extremely expensive, or fairly cheaply. I'd guess that an average cost is around £1100pp.
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Snowsartre wrote:
18-25 Feb (half-term week darn sarf) in Alpe d'huez.

Family of 5 (2 adults 3 children) £500 ppn including flights, car hire, fully catered accommodation, lift passes and equipment rental.
- savings made by flying to Marseille and booking inc car hire in BA sale and by having a season pass for 5 year old (4 when applied last month), and only renting 2 kids' boots and 3 skis. Includes lift passes at 820 euros though! Shocked Shocked


Wow - that is seriously good value! Where are you staying?
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