I've done around 650 miles a few times in France (not overnight) in one go (inc breaks, etc) and that is about as far as I would want to go as a single driver.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Frosty the Snowman,
Sorry for your confusion. The part of Essex which makes the trip to Toulouse close to 1000 miles....
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?
Fogliettaz wrote:
Frosty the Snowman, Calais to the Tarentaise is 900km which in old money is approx 562 miles which can be driven in 9 hours with a couple of breaks. Where do you get a 1000 miles from?
Unfortunately many of us do not live in Calais. We live 330 miles from Dover, sperated my the busiest roads in Europe.
I get the 1000 miles from
TotallyBoard wrote:
then divide it by approx 2,000 miles gives me a price per mile of about 15.7p
I have happily driven Zeebrugge to the Dordogne, not very pleaseant but like some 650 would be enough for me in a day.
Frosty the Snowman, the rules and regulations are there to apply to all cases. I'm not Superman but I am more than capable of managing that drive, I agree that some people however are not capable. I don't need someone to tell me how long it is safe for me to drive because I know my limits (some people don't). If I do get tired my other half can take over if needs be, never had to look to the bench before now.
btw HGV drivers can do 2 x 10 hour days in a weeks driving IIRC. Oh and you aren't comparing apples to apples, having regularly driven 7.5 tonne trucks for a living I can tell you that 10 hours in a truck is a *lot* more tiring than driving a mini mpv for 10 hours.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Fogliettaz wrote:
Boredsurfing, So can I but unfortunately my bladder cannot!
Catheter
After all it is free
After all it is free
Never pick up a full lemonade bottle by the side of a busy main road
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.
TotallyBoard, Don't know why it says 8 hrs ist should be 9 and 10 twice a week. I find driving a truck far more relaxing than a car. High position, nice relaxed speed, roomy environment etc. Now you didn't mention that the other half drove
A court may see thing differently; Gary Hart got 5 years in jail and the butt end of one of the largest motor insurance claims on record for falling asleep and causinmg the Great Heck (Selby) rail crash.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
TotallyBoard wrote:
...... If I do get tired my other half can take over if needs be....
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.
I live in the south and we always do a trip within a day... including crossing and therefore door to door in around 14 hrs..
That is still a long day..even for adults
Most of our trips are by car and it is a great way for us to travel...
Would I feel the same way about it if I lived in Leeds..? probably not but might explore it in terms of cost... but the thought of doing another 4 hrs once back in Blighty wouldn't appeal much at all....
I begrudge the 20 mins it takes now..
But it depends how it all works for you... our trips are great, IMO.. but a lot of that is down to geography
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
Basil wrote:
Not sure if I missed the point here but has anybody actually answered the question?.
We (3) travelled to Les Carroz from Wiltshire via Portsmouth/Le Havre last Easter hols. Costs obviously depend on accom but we went self catering.
Ferry: LD Lines, day crossings, with cabin £240.00
Hotels: One night each way for an F1, £90.00
Tolls: Approx £50 each way.
Fuel: Including runs from resort to Cluses for the supermarkets = 4 x fill-ups to around £200 with enough when I got home for a couple of commutes (do not fill up on motorways).
Well done Basil for being the first to answer the question!!
Last year for a family of four flying to Geneva via Easyjet inc 2 pairs of skis cost me £330, driving from Leeds is going to cost me an awful lot more than that as far as I can see.
Cheers,
Greg
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
kitenski wrote:
Last year for a family of four flying to Geneva via Easyjet inc 2 pairs of skis cost me £330, driving from Leeds is going to cost me an awful lot more than that as far as I can see.
how did you get from Geneva to ski place ... and how much did that cost ?
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
masmith wrote:
kitenski wrote:
Last year for a family of four flying to Geneva via Easyjet inc 2 pairs of skis cost me £330, driving from Leeds is going to cost me an awful lot more than that as far as I can see.
how did you get from Geneva to ski place ... and how much did that cost ?
Free transfer with the company our accommodation was with (last minuteish booking)
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Going back to the OP's question - from Leeds I budget £600 to Chamonix for Hull-Rotterdam boat with cabin, fuel and some allowance for motoring consumables (tyres, discs, pads etc). Service intervals of 18k just allow 4 trips a year without an extra service and the truck will be worth bobbins after 6-8 years when I get rid but will have done about 20 alpine runs to spread any additional depreciation over (so very little cost per trip). No tolls to pay when you drive Netherlands/Germany/Switzerland. Leave friday after work, arrive saturday evening after a steady (legal/economical speeds) drive of 650miles that day.
Alternatively several 'mid week fix' trips last year cost £35-£70 airfare and £200 car hire/tolls/fuel for a monday to friday.
So - which is better/more economical?
Easy - both - 3no fortnights with car full of family to justify cost & 3or4 'escapes' with mates (to share the hire car costs).
Anyone spotting a hole in my logic please report it to me so that I can twist their arguement in such a way that it justifies going more often.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
cheers midgetbiker, that ferry get's in about 6am doesn't it, does that then mean you drive to Chamonix in one hit?
Regards,
Greg
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?
kitenski,
A pit stop prior to the channel will sort you out ...might even sort out a ferry ticket as well..
£250 fuel and tolls from Calais plus say a £100 for a crossing, ballpark...
£800-1000 for a chalet and a few other bits and bobs...
Last year for a family of four flying to Geneva via Easyjet inc 2 pairs of skis cost me £330, driving from Leeds is going to cost me an awful lot more than that as far as I can see.
how did you get from Geneva to ski place ... and how much did that cost ?
Free transfer with the company our accommodation was with (last minuteish booking)
OK (well done!) but without that you're probably looking between £50-£80 p/person for most (return) transfers by minibus or car rental
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
midgetbiker, that price looks good for ferry from Hull - when I've looked it's always been around £800 return just for the crossing (that's for 2 adults and 2 kids btw) - are there special offers knocking around for this route ?
HUZE with family cabin, 2 adults and 2 kids and breakfasts only, around £415.. mid Jan 2010
There isn't so much flexibilty of crossing times. so you need to get this right.. and book well in advance..
Zeeb is a better landing that Europrt and closer so you could add another hr onto French driving times...if you go further east into Germany then you save on tolls..and the journey isn't that much longer...and can be done under 10, IME..
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
JT, thanks - they must bump their prices during peak weeks then ?
After all it is free
After all it is free
kitenski, off the boat and rolling by 8am generally, easy drive to Chamonix (650 miles) takes us 12hrs at 70 miles an hour with a stop every 2 hrs plus additional "daddy I'm 3 and need a pee now" stops. A group of adults in a half decent car (as opposed to my pick up) would do it in 8 to 10 hours.
masmith, £800!! the most I've ever paid is £400 plus meals in the summer school holidays. Xmas, feb hols & Easter 2010 have all priced up at sub £300 for 2adult 1child in a cabin for 4. I do have some wringles which get me 5% off and 4% cashback (PM me for details). Also I'm going to ring about the frequent sailing fare (it's £990 for 5 returns for 2 adults, but you have to call for prices for bigger groups) so I'll keep you posted.
JT, ZE is closer but the check in time in Hull and ZE is significantly earlier so it's harder after work on a friday, and puts you under more pressure on the way back up IMO. Prices HUZE or HURO are about the same whenever I compare them.
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.
midgetbiker, £800 is a figure retrieved from a dim and distant memory cell. I may be in need for a transplant - just checked for the week we are travelling at Easter (flights arlready booked so purely for comparison) - £411 inc standard 4 bunk cabin and brekky both ways - that's not too bad.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Frosty the Snowman,
Quote:
It is for a very good reason that drivers of vehicle of over 3.5tonnes GVW can only drive for 8 hrs a day (9hrs 3x week) and have to have a minimum of 13 hrs continuous rest between daily driving periods.
If it was that critical surely it would apply to your local bus driver as well? 10 hours a day driving, with minimum 8 hour breaks, 4 or 5 days in row, maximum (I believe) 96 hours per fortnight is considered acceptable. It's what my wife does before we drive to the alps. Then when we go to the alps she doesn't drive for safety reasons, but myself and one other driver can easily do it in less driving hours than would permitted by law. After driving through the night Friday night we get to ski all day Saturday as well. For us driving means skiing both Saturdays, so we get 8 days skiing instead of 6, so that in itself makes it far better value than flying.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
masmith, Like transport operators they use multi fare explorer modules which accentuates supply and demand and prices to suit..
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.
Well, this thread is going into 4 pages!!!
For those of you who stop part way and spend a night on the road, do you get to ski the day you arrive at the resort? Or do you leave home on Friday evening so you can get to the resort on Saturday?
The reason I ask is for some of us "younger" folks, we would like to maximize our time on the slopes instead of spending it on the road. So depending on where you live, the extra day each way NOT skiing may or may not be important to you...
I'm technically self-employed, and bill my clients for every day I'm "at work" (even if I'm just posting to snowheads ). So spending a day driving means a day I don't get to bill my client! That's almost ALWAYS more than the cost of the flight!
My situation probably isn't typical. For me, time is valueable and can be used to generate more income. So saving money must be balanced with lose of income. For others, that equation maybe exactly the opposite.
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
Interesting thing about the prices is that if you book from UK all prices will be set in advance so the costs will be fixed. If you drive, depending on the exchange rate, the cost will vary as you pay in Euro's. Our Easter trip had the Euro at around 1.10/£ if the rate improves the costs will fall. Seeing as my Easter rate was poor then things can/should/hopefully get better (yeah right!).
And I really like having my car with me. And I am reducing my carbon footprint (probably not). And I can buy stuff (booze) to bring home. And I can lady's front bottom the irritating kid behind me kicking my chair (cos it's my kid) (if I have to) (but never have had to cos she don't kick my chair but you know what I mean).
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Not sure that ladies front bottom describes what I meant. I wanted to say t**t, in the clipping around the ear context.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
midgetbiker, can't think why that should be... that have all day to load the thing...
Might be a local 'custom' in that they prefer to get the ships loaded early on... but I would expect them to be able to check-in upto an hour, easily' before sailing if they wanted to..
Apart from cabin allocation, there isn't much more in it than the Channel ships would have to contend with... and in less than a years time, there will be 49,000 tonners doing DOCA anyway..
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
JT, the HUZE boat sails 2hrs earlier (either the route is longer or it's because of the boats being the 2 older ones refitted) so therefore the check in shuts 2 hrs earlier. So thats a 5.30 last check in as opposed to 7.30 for HURO, like i say a push from work to Hull when leaving and a rush up through Europe on the return (well do'able but not at the snails pace I drive my gas guzzler [got my eye on an X6 for the economy (sic)]).
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
poo-poo I forgot to budget for these -> http://www.rocketfuel.uk.com/powershots.html I tend to get about a dozen of them (6 each way). Do I have to work out a cost per mile for them
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?
Missed the RO to Hull boat once (few years ago before the 'new' boats pushed back the sailing time) - roadworks on the autobahn - this is NOT to be recommended as it's 24hrs to wait for another!
If the ship sails at 1900 CET...then even closing checkin an hour before sailing is taking the pee...IMV
No wonder they don't make any money...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
After all it is free
After all it is free
altis, lol
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.
kitenski, I did this thread last year. Didn't turn into as much b*llocks as this one. We drove this year for first time and much referred it to flying and will drive down twice this year (hopefully). I don't think driving is as cheap as people make out but as some have pointed out here, who cares, each to their own.
Car;
£230 in fuel, (diesel mondeo from glasgow)
£110 tolls
£60 ferry (norfolk line)
Around £400 there and back for up to 5 people.
Flights, around £80 (easyjet Edinburgh-Geneva) + £30 ski carriage
Hire car for 2 weeks £300 (Citreon C1 or similer)
2 weeks car parking at Edinburgh £30.
Plus fuel Glasgow-Edinburgh and fuel for hire car to get to resort £50ish.
Around £580 for the 2 of us.
If I was only going for a week, I'd fly as it's far cheaper but going for 2 weeks or over then it makes more sense to drive as I'd get to drive my own car and bring lots of stuff with me and not worry about being restricted to 20Kg each. Also I quite like the driving and sharing it with my OH, its quite easy. We'll do around 2hour stints each and the miles fly by. We did it in 21Hours (including ferry time) door to door in April this year leaving from the south of Glasgow to Les Contamines. I'm 2 miles from the start of the M74 and the next time I turn off the motorway it's at the La Fayet turnoff of the Autoroute Blanche.
All this argument about tyre costs and stuff is just a bit silly. If you were concerned about the relatively small sums involved you wouldn't be involved in a fairly expensive hobby like skiing
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
Never pick up a full lemonade bottle by the side of a busy main road 
ist should be 9 and 10 twice a week. I find driving a truck far more relaxing than a car. High position, nice relaxed speed, roomy environment etc. Now you didn't mention that the other half drove 
(last minuteish booking)
