 Poster: A snowHead
|
| queen bodecia wrote: |
| I'm a graphic designer. 2 separate weeks would be easier to negotiate with work but one fortnight's trip wouldn't be impossible if I gave enough notice. However, I think I prefer the idea of 2 separate weeks, although I'm sure it adds considerably to the cost factor... |
I'm with you on that one... I prefer two separate weeks, despite extra cost. The huge advantage is not having to wait a whole year till your next trip 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Deffo have two holidays instead of one big one fortnight hol. Plus, `i don't think my smoke-addled lungs would manage 14 days on the trot!!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
queen bodecia,
If you have some ski friends who you dont want to share a room with but get on reasonably well getting an appartment together and DIY'ing can work out reasonably cheaply, if you do actually self cater rather than eat out.
Sharing the cooking over a glass of wine can be quite relaxing, has to be with like minded folk though.
Driving out I did a rough calculation on one thread and reckoned you could get ferry, petrol costs, accommodation and lift pass in the Mauriennne valley for less than £300 per head and that was fairly high season.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Here's my advice/thoughts on the topic:
Time off:
I've done 5 holidays in a year in the past whilst only using about 13 days of holiday. I did a Ski Weekends bus over Easter (no days off work), 2 long weekends (one over the first May bank holiday) using 3 days between them and two whole weeks. Depending upon what you do for a living, work out whether or not you have the scope for Time off in Lieu for extra hours, unpaid leave etc. Many (but not all) employers will at least listen to you if you say, can I work 10 hours a day Mon-Thu and 10 hours a day Tue-Fri the following week to allow me take a 4 day weekend in the middle.
Money:
Shop around for specials with tour operators. E.g. Crystal's currently got a whole load of £200 special offers (flights, transfer and accommodation) or be careful about how you do it yourself. With DIY trips, it is often the transfer that is the big hidden cost (unless you are in a big group). So find somewhere with a cheap train transfer (e.g. Zell am See is about £12 return from Salzburg)
Also - be prepared to go early or late season. Top resorts are often cheap if you go in December or April and if you leave it late to ensure the snow is good you'll prob be better than just blindly booking a random resort for February in advance.
Subtract the cost of living in the UK anyway:
If you spend £600 going skiing for a week, you need to consider that you would have spend at least X staying in the UK in terms of food, drink, petrol etc
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
i saved hard, cut back on the cigs/ booze
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 10-12-08 23:41; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
blades, welcome to snowHeads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| queen bodecia wrote: |
Paulio, tell me more...
I find I need about a grand to do a ski holiday. Cost of hotel room is usually about £350-£500 for a week, flights/transfers about £150-£300, lift pass £175, ski hire about £75, spending money £150. Priced up the DIY equivalent but TO usually seems cheaper. Haven't managed to find self-catering without massive under-occupancy supplement... |
this is just what we've done the last 3 years hope this helps,
what weve done the last three years in order weve been breckeridge,serre che chamonix this year first of all time of year try go with friends when self catering or 2 ppl when catered chalet/club hotel
always in all resorts late and early season is always cheap and from roughly the 5th jan till the end of jan seems to be relatively cheap i think purely because of xmas
then canada/america always cheaper in jan as there just so cold!
so once we have decided when were going we book it off work then when it comes to 8 weeks before we start looking at deals, we always make a short list where we havent been where we want to go,
seems with tour operators there limit before deposit can be taken is 10 weeks after that they have too take full payment.
so after this 8 weeks before your leave date they seem to start going down in price.
then its just to take the time looking set a price you dont want to go over and wait you will find something weve booked on a thursday for a saturday leave before,
we go as cheap as possible self catering and half board/catered chalet
for example if we were going catered chalet the most we would go to is £350 catered with transfers ad flights,
with self catering/ when we drive we like to keep it £180-£200 each for the apartment and travel
Chamonix this year quick breakdown
4 of us going apartment + flexi eurostar is £120 each
petrol and tolls total = £65 each
chamonix full pass is about £175 each
we always take coffee,tea,our own cereals, and a few bits of rice ,pasta, sauce, mars bars etc, start collecting these as and when you go shopping.
Total £385 -minus your alcohol which depends on yourself we like a drink and 4 meals out prob pizzeria in our case!
and heres a few of the places we use
www.teletext.co.uk
ern low
snowstar
fasttrackski
Cheers Andy
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
I do 3 trips a year and each costs a total of approx £7-800. Last year we went to Are in Sweden for £450 inc flights, transport, apartment and lift pass. I also have a motorbike and lots of other hobbies such as climbing, shooting, mountain biking, photography etc. Guess it helps being a single guy who has never grown up 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Rubbash! One is never too old to ski... 
Again, thanks for the continuing suggestions people. I'd definitely consider self-catering with a group of people although I do have horrific memories of some of the apartments in France in the 80s (ugly tower blocks with six people in one room, two cooking rings, bunk beds in halls, etc.)...
Unfortunately I can't do the time off in lieu thing where I work, I'm just a humble salaried employee, not on an hourly rate (shame, 'cos I work rather long hours!)...
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| queen bodecia wrote: |
Paulio, tell me more...
I find I need about a grand to do a ski holiday. Cost of hotel room is usually about £350-£500 for a week, flights/transfers about £150-£300, lift pass £175, ski hire about £75, spending money £150. Priced up the DIY equivalent but TO usually seems cheaper. Haven't managed to find self-catering without massive under-occupancy supplement... |
I don't manage two holidays a year - mainly because my wife has absolutely no interest whatsoever in skiing, or even coming with me to the mountains in winter.
But this also means I always travel as a single, and I have never spent that much.
I agree that TO's usually seem to work out about the same price as DIY whenever I have priced it up, so I tend to go with the TO, on the basis that it will usually guarantee somebody I can talk to in the hotel (DIY you might end up as the only English-speaker in the hotel), and usually somebody to ski with for at least part of the trip.
But I have always gone in January, and almost always booked within 7-8 weeks of travel, sometimes less than that, and I have my own equipment.
My last three trips, the package (flights, ski carriage, transfers, half board accom) have been:
£415 to Campitello (Dolomites) - Thomson , with flight BRS - Verona
£275 to Neiderau (Austria) - Crystal, flight BRS - Innsbruck
£361 to Zell am Ziller (Austria) - Crystal, flight BRS - Innsbruck
On top of that is just insurance, ski pass, lunches, and anything I spend on drinks etc. As you can see, I usually find the TUI group TO's to be cheapest when booking late-ish for a single.
I've just checked the Crystal site now for the week of 3rd Jan, and they are a bit more than last year, but you can do Kirchdorf for £400, Soll for £430, or various smaller places for a bit less. So adding in your lift pass/ski hire/spending money as above, you are looking there at about £800, rather than the £1000. And the odds are the same or very similar will be available for less in a couple of weeks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
alex_heney, Totally agree... if you shop around you can organise your trip without drinkie spends for well under £500. If you don't mind a YHA bunk you could do a hell of a lot cheaper than that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
I would have to say that unless you can get a good last minute offer, a DIY apartment trip will probably be the cheapest way to go, especially if you chose your destination carefully. ( Although from this years experience you can get a very reasonably priced trip to resorts most people seem to think of as expensive ).
In January 4 of us went on a driving DIY trip to Ischgl, although I didn't keep a record of everything I spent the costs each added up something like this
Tunnel - £25
Diesel - £50
Tolls - £5
Lift Pass ( 8 Days ) - £160
Apartment - £130
Total without food & beer £370 each
We ate out every evening & ate at a mountain restaurants every lunch time and I didn't spend any more than £650 total, probably slightly less.
If we had cooked our own evening meals and not drunk as much as we did  the total cost would have been well under £600 each.
I except that not everyone will want to drive 900 miles to go skiing, or will have a suitable group of people to go with but it does show what can be done.
Hope you manage to get another trip in next year.
Mike
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| Mikeg36 wrote: |
I would have to say that unless you can get a good last minute offer, a DIY apartment trip will probably be the cheapest way to go, especially if you chose your destination carefully. ( Although from this years experience you can get a very reasonably priced trip to resorts most people seem to think of as expensive ).
|
NOT FOR A SINGLE TRAVELLER.
| Quote: |
In January 4 of us went on a driving DIY trip to Ischgl, although I didn't keep a record of everything I spent the costs each added up something like this
|
For a group of 4 or more, I agree you are usually going to be able to do it cheaper SC - although for it to actually end up cheaper, you do have to self-cater, rather than eating out every night.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
queen bodecia, have you thought of how you can get better value out of your biggest asset (and cost), that is your house? We pay for our apartment in the Alps from the rent paid by a delightful woman who rents part of our house which we converted into a sort of granny annex/studio flat. You can earn around £4000 tax free by renting a room in your house. This arrangement has now been going on for 7 years and is the only thing that makes it affordable for us to ski for many months a year.
We have also made it affordable by running a low-depreciation vehicle. We are a couple, but have only ever had one income, really, so it was essential to decide on priorities and stick to them. Any single person, or couple, living in a sizeable house has plenty of choice available to them, in reality.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
alex_heney, queen bodecia, you could save all this solo traveller angst by going together.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
alex_heney,
| Quote: |
Mikeg36 wrote:
I would have to say that unless you can get a good last minute offer, a DIY apartment trip will probably be the cheapest way to go, especially if you chose your destination carefully. ( Although from this years experience you can get a very reasonably priced trip to resorts most people seem to think of as expensive ).
NOT FOR A SINGLE TRAVELLER.
|
But Mikeg36, is a "single traveller". It's just he got together with me and MrsS, and another "single traveller" from the Norwich Ski club to make it economical. This winter we have recruited yet another "single traveller" to join us to make a group of 5 in a people carrier to an apartment in Selva, and for New Year we have found 4 singles for a trip to Paradiski. In fact we are still looking for another singleton to join us for a Nendaz trip in March, as we want to fill the car and apartment to get best value.
I am sure you can get good deals for single travellers, but why not get together with like minded people and arrange more economical group trips?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Lizzard, ha ha, you may need to buy a new hat !
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
queen bodecia, I wouldn't go for a student, that's for sure.
I'm not clear what your worry about last minute booking is. A hotel, an apartment, or a chalet, which has a room left is likely to have a double/twin room. At the worst you pay a single supplement similar to what you'd have paid if you'd booked eight months previously. At best part of the "deal" is waiving the single supplement. Looking at DIY a small studio in an off-season week is very, very, cheap.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No mortgage, no kids!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
| Quote: |
No mortgage, no kids!
|
No social life, and nothing else to do with my leave.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ought to clarify really, this season I'm not technicially a 'single traveller' although I always have been in the past. I met some very like-minded people in Kitz last season and we have kept in touch via email over the months and agreed to go to the same hotel, same week this season...
However, it doesn't save us any money, they've booked their rooms, I've booked mine. I guess it only saves if you share a room and they're all couples and I'm not like that. Snigger...
But hey, it will be nice to have ready-made ski pals to socialise with for once...
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
queen bodecia,
| Quote: |
I guess it only saves if you share a room and they're all couples and I'm not like that.
|
If you book direct with hotels you can usually find hotels that have single rooms with no supplement (i.e. the single is half the cost of a double).
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Tried that, but sadly all the single rooms were booked already. However for once the sole occupancy supplement wasn't too bad. I'll definitely shop around for better deals in the future...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As a family, to ski together the cost mounts up. We tend to holiday over Christmas and Easter,(cheaper) but self cater and drive to keep the costs down. We always take frozen casseroles which will stay frozen during the drive down, and will stay frozen on your balcony. Pop jacket potatoes in the oven before apres ski, and put t he casserole in the oven too. (Having defrosted it) Come back to a warm appartment which smells good!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
I'm more limited by time off than by funds.
I'm in the same situation as queen bodecia. I can't have leaves back to back. I need to have a reasonable gap between these week long holidays. But fortunately, I've "discovered" spring skiing. The temperature is warm, the snow is soft and the day is long... But most importantly, the price is low just about everywhere I go!
So, by booking time off (a big fight in the office in my current job) once in Janurary and once in April, I shouldn't be noticebly missed in the office. Perhaps for you, doing two trips, one in Janurary and one in April, you could quite easily match the price of just one trip in Feb/March.
I found choosing WHEN to ski wisely yields considerable saving over hours and hours of online searching during peak season.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
snowcrazy, lifestyle change is a few years off yet, at the moment I'm kind of tied down by mortgage and career, but in ten years or so I hope to shake off these shackles and escape...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
We can now just about manage 3 trips a year by doing things economically, but not YHA stylee bunhouses etc.
We can be flexible with dates so normally pay £100 or less for a flight.
Accommodation for example for 7 nights in an Austrian studio apartment at £20 pppn (depends on two travellers though) = £140
Lift pass = £150
Train transfer is about £30 return each, but we sometimes get a car
Own equipment
So we are looking at around £420 ish s/c for a week, assuming we are not staying in our own place (as it is usually rented out). We find s/c cheaper when we are on a really tight budget as we can eat in, and more importantly, drink in, when we really need to. With a group it can be just as sociable in as out.
I think there are a number of things that make it cheaper. For example, you mention Kitzbuhel, which is not a cheap resort, especially since the russians moved in. It's great fun and we have had fab hols there, but we couldn't afford to go there 3 times a season. By contrast, the resorts in the Ski Amade region are much cheaper, but still have masses of skiing, and in the case of at least half a dozen of them, plenty of nightlife too. However, if you have met lots of Kitz junkies then I guess it is worth it for the sociability. As an example though, our March group trip to Schladming is costing £250 per person less than it would in Kitz (I priced up both as I do love Kitz and wanted to go back, but it wasn't worth the extra for our group).
I guess on the whole though, our style of trips wouldn't work for a single traveller.
D
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Don't know if its been mentioned already but after grouping together with a few mates got a weeks package (acomm. and lift pass) for £99 with snowtrex.co.uk, booked cheap flights and to the bus up to Chamrousse - cost £180 per head in Easter week which I thought was pretty good. If you can't find a cheap deal with a TO, the best way is to book a smaller resort. Lift passes, accommodation and on hill prices are a lot cheaper. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Some resorts seem to have more single rooms than others, I only pay a supplement if it just can't be avoided and think I've only paid one in the past 9 years. Nobby Nomates skiers can get by without spending a fortune, I always stay in cheap bed and breakfast places; booked one in Mayrhofen over New Year for £560, which is not bad for what's probably the most expensive week of the season.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
mickyd87, welcome to snowHeads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B&b or self catering is not cheaper than a good catered chalet deal as I like to eat & drink without the hassle of shopping & cooking. Does food & drink comes into the equation ? I would eat & drink if I was at home so filling up with chalet wine & food must rate as a saving & if I eat & drink enough I would be in profit 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lechbob, I tend to eat a largish lunch and then go to a pizza place or eat a snack in a bar in the evenings. You're probably right about the catered chalet being cheaper but I've never stayed in one. Might try it, sounds like good value, especially if you eat and drink a lot. Just noticed your little footnote and am now imagining you being like Victor Meldrew on skis. You're probably just misunderstood. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
Lechbob, I like the way you're thinking... Get the Value
It's a serious point though, when you add up all the costs that you're NOT incurring back in the UK (Petrol, Elecy, ..er.. Gas, ...er... Newspapers etc) should we be asking "Can you afford not to go skiing 5 times a year?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That is a good point. I probably spend £60 per week (£30 on getting to and from work, £30 on food and other stuff), then a couple of times a month I spend an extra £60 on going out! So by taking £150 spending money on holiday (I go catered usually) I'm actually only really taking half that. I like it a lot...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
