New Year vs Half-Term for family trip...?

A snowHead

Hello Snowheads, some advice needed....

I normally organise a multi-family trip in Feb half-term but due to various issues that has fallen through this year so I'm now looking at options for me & wife & 3 teenage boys.

Schools aren't back till 7 Jan after Xmas so I'm wondering about five of us going over New Year. Pretty flexible on exact dates as we drive & also don't need ski school as kids are all good skiers/boarders.

We've skied all the French mega-resorts and would happy to return to any of them, but prefer shorter journey (i.e PdS/Cham over Paradiski/3 Valleys). Would also consider smaller/more obscure resorts too as long as not too far off autoroutes.

We do like our food so catered options preferred, I guess we may have to join a larger chalet/chalet-hotel.

Any general tips on New Year vs half-term re: prices, crowds, traffic, weather etc? I appreciate there will be less daylight!

realise this is all rather late so all suggestions welcome, thanks

A snowHead

head_like_a_rock, your dilemma reminds slightly of the choice between drowning and being burned at the stake. Neither are ideal - but you know this already...

Having been once at NY i would never go again - although that was to Les Deux Alpes which is most peoples least favourite resort at the best of times and at NY descends into hell as mad, violent Italians invade for some odd reason. The slopes were also super-crowded and I saw so many accidents is was horrific.

My advice would be Dolomites / sella ronda (Selva, Arabba etc) at HT - fly to Innsbruck

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Austria is great at New Year - and not much more of a drive than the French resorts. Zell am See, Saalbach, Ski Amade, Bad Gastein are all good choices for family skiing and the midnight fireworks on New Years Eve need to be seen to be believed. 'Elf & Safety would have a fit. But you're probably too late for this coming New Year as most accommodation will have sold out long ago.

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head_like_a_rock, www.booking.com brought up quite a few options in Champoluc (which will not be as bothered by NY hordes as France, typically)... Not much more of a drive

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

head_like_a_rock, I'd choose a high resort in April over either of those options.

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Thanks for replies so far. Can't do Easter as sons #1 and #2 have A levels & GCSEs looming & son #3 is on football tour!

Last few half-terms have not been as hideous as some are making out....Morzine, Les Arcs etc seem to cope pretty well with the crowds & the conditions have been great. Just trying to establish whether New Year would be a better option...

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

head_like_a_rock, logically new year is likely to be worse as pretty much every body is off for new year.

After all it is free

head_like_a_rock, much greater chance of poor snow at NY

head_like_a_rock, Between the two I would go for half term this year if you are going to France as I think it will be slightly less busy than New Year. Nearly everywhere is booked up in our village for New Year and a lot of the local property owners who don't rent out come to the village just after Christmas so it is usually the busiest week of the season.

Half term this year coincides with the first of the four weeks of French Winter holidays so , although it will be busy, I don't think it will be as busy as New Year.

Also the snow conditions are more likely to be better at half term than New Year and the days are longer.

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pam w, New Year is in April next year? Brilliant.

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head_like_a_rock, we've (apartments in Chamonix) been fully booked for half term for at least if not longer than NY... single datum point but still...

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Well it will the new Financial year.

We go at New Year as it is slightly cheaper then (Mostly Austria). Back to Mayrhofen this Year, there is still some availability, I found rooms for my brother and wife last week in Maryhofen via tourist office website. TOs still have flights and beds available. Like Quinton said, you have to see the Austrian approach to fireworks.

You know it makes sense.

We are also restricted to school holidays with 2 teenage sons and always ski at Xmas or New Year & half term. Everywhere is busy, but if you plan your skiing, avoiding ski school starts and peak lunch time you can still find quiet pistes. Last New Year we stayed in Bettaix close to Les Menuires/3 valleys. Great location away from the hordes, just had to be smart and avoid the end of day runs back into Les Menuires, although around Meribel the runs were very crowded. We always ski through peak lunchtime and eat mid afternoon, as a result often had 'Jerusalem' run to ourselves, fantastic!

We've skied PDS over New Year, staying in both Chatel & L'Chappelle d'Abondance. You would need to be prepared for lengthly lift queues and busy runs. We didn't stay ski in/out so had to drive to the lifts, horrendous traffic and finding parking spaces could take a long time or mean a long walk from the lift! Wouldn't recommend!

We always drive, but do the bulk of the drive on Friday & find generally you can just keep ahead of the traffic, getting to resort 1/2pm. That way we avoid the long queues up the mountain on Saturday afternoons.
We leave 4am ish on the return Saturday and again stay mostly ahead of the traffic.

Have you considered going over Xmas? (if you can find availability) Def cheaper and not so busy.

New year is a great time to ski, fantastic fireworks, nice festive atmosphere & have always had good snow, but can be very cold, so you need to layer up. Ski out/in accommodation is the best option if you can find it, then you'll have no hassle with resort traffic and parking at the start of the ski day. If you stay S/C would suggest you book a restaurant for New Years eve well in advance.

We generally ski Les Arc for half term and follow the same 'rules'. We've found little difference between New Year and half term, with prices usually much the same.

Don't exclude Austria, we generally find it quieter than the big French resorts and the drive is easy if you share the drive. This year we are driving to Warth in Austria for Christmas, having driven to Obergurgl previously and the drive was easy with an overnight stop en-route. But you'll need winter tyres.....plenty of snowheads discussion about that!

Maybe take a look at CGH-Residences (they have apartments available for new year) self catering but good quality and plenty of space for 3 teenagers. Or if you like catered, we've always found Skibeat very good and they also have availability over New Year.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Last time I was away over Xmas and NY was 2009 in La Rosiere. There were no queues-ever. This leads me to believe if you pick the correct resort correctly it won't necessarily be mobbed during this period.

A snowHead

We usually ski in early December then either New Year or Half term, then April outside the holidays.

If the only time you can ski is half term then you do get used to the horrendous queues and everywhere being full up.

The problem is that skiing out of season spoils you for being able to just walk onto any lift with no queue at all. Having decent service everywhere and generally everything just a lot quieter.

But you do get used to the hurly burly after a day or two.

Saturday skiing, early Decmber, January and March is the nirvana.

A snowHead

Thanks all, some good stuff here.

allthegearnoidea, sounds like you plan your journeys & skiing times the same way as me. Take your points re: traffic/parking in PdS, I'm looking at places that have transport to/from lifts. Don't think the Mrs will allow us to go away for Xmas. Realise it will be cold but having survived half-term 2012 (-13 at Calais and -20 for the first three days in Morzine) I think we'll survive. Hadn't really considered Austria, looks a very long drive on Google Maps...any recommendations re: best resorts/routes?

I've found a few French options in the 'not quite as big' resorts; Samoens, Alpe d'Huez, Les Contamines. Don't know any of them so any expert views on likely New Year experience most welcome. I am tempted to wait a few more weeks to see how early snow looks but of course that may reduce the choices even further.

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We skied in la Tania last new year and was pleasantly surprised by the shortness of the queues. Yes there wee queues compared to low season but with such a large ski area and good snow last year it all spread out in terms of skiers on the slopes. head_like_a_rock, I would avoid alpe d'heuz at new year. Friend of mine was there last year and said the lift queues we're really long partly due to the design of the slopes and the lifts where many people ski back to roughly the same point. Samoens is a lovely village with some decent skiing but when we were there last in 2009 the lift system was a bit slow in places and thee were some long queues because of it.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

The Austrians really know how to do New Years. I say go then- if you can find accommodation wink

After all it is free

quinton, Via Michelin is not as reliable and it often shows long diversions for no reason. Plenty of people here who do the routes on a fairly regular basis who can give you the benefit of their experience. wink

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imho, New Year in Paradiski is not as busy as Half term,
But the roads back on the Saturday will be hectic with a combination of skiers going home and the general return to work make the journey busy for the whole distance.

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Thanks all, looks like the half-term trip has un-fallen through & we'll be in Morzine (again)!.

Thanks to a well-timed school staff training day & some flexible accommodation we can even do the drive down on Friday & back on Sunday, hence skiing two extra Saturdays...a right result IMO.

Help!!

New Year vs Half-Term for family trip...?

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