 Poster: A snowHead
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It appears that Crystal aren't doing these resorts this year, so who is?
Went to Campitello di Fassa last winter and stayed in Vigo this autumn so seems like overkill to go to the Fassa valley this winter.
Skiing is only a possibility rather than a certainty so would be good to know where to stalk for late deals.
Quite happy with half board, the more authentic the better and not fussed re apres (dinner followed by zzz)
Definitely want full package incl flights and don't want to hire/drive as pricy for 2 plus chains etc complicated and had total mare getting fuel on way back from summer holiday. Basically want catching plane to be someone else's stress for winter mountain holiday!
Ideas much appreciated
Ta..
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Total and Neilson in the Val Gardena Valley.
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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?
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Inghams do Selva & Corvara. We used Neilsons who were cheaper for Arabba.
Colletts have 3 chalets in Covara & Badia. You have book your own flight to Venice or Innsbruck & they arrange the transfer. Hardly difficult.
Snowheads also do a week at Kronplatz & a week at Arabba but you need to book your own flights & transfers + I gather it was a little stressful getting there last year. 
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Not difficult but if snowmageddon hits and flights are separate from the holiday it's our problem to get new flights, full package is tour op's problem. ..
More relevant for Arabba/Corvara than Val di Fassa as IIRC high avalanche risk passes are unavoidable from airports, roads can be closed overnight so the flight home is easily missed. Yes insurance might help but willing to pay to delegate the headache.
Dire autocorrect (having changed it back at least twice) in title- sorry!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I get your point but it limits your options. Last year was an exception, they rarely get massive snow depths. Crystal were not much of help to us in 2010 when our flight diverted from Chambery, we had to sort it out ourselves - it was most annoying trying to get information from them to see if & when they would sort it. Crystal are doing Selva.
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Not entirely relevant, but a bit. We stayed with Colletts in Corvara this summer (Self-catering in a 2 bed apartment) and had a very good experience. Both of Colletts staff in-resort - all of whom were very good, and the apartment (In a block called Alpi) that was nice.
We like Corvara too.
Needless to say "I have no connection etc, etc.)
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We have booked 2 trips to Selva with Crystal, and 1 to Arabba with Neilson. 
Just got mid January, Hotel Serena £808 half board from Bristol with Crystal
Agree about letting tour ops have the hassle, got stuck in Egypt when the volcano went bang, it was heartbreaking to see independent travellers being mercilessly ripped off by the locals.
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I can assure anyone worried about avalanche risk etc etc that we weren't in any way ripped off anybody during last year's heavy snowfall. Dolomiti Star transfers found us the accommodation we stayed in, and arrived at the end of the week to collect us as planned to catch our return flights. They provided a couple of coaches earlier in the week for those willing to risk the conditions and get to Arabba. Only if you had decided to abandon your holiday would you have been left to your own devices.
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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.
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and last year's snowmageddon was a once in a life time event, not once in a decade or once in an el Nino / la Nina cycle.
more chance of sunburn and running out of sun cream.
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| Quote: |
It appears that Crystal aren't doing these resorts this year, so who is?
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Crystal are doing Selva.......also Ortisei.
They're also featuring San Vigilio (Kronplatz), which IIRC, from the bottom of Picolino is about 20 mins away from Corvara on the bus.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Bartezki,
"....Just got mid January, Hotel Serena £808 half board..." That Hotel is in a brilliant position !
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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.
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Ok so their search function sucks. Looking down the Italy options on the website I could see fassa and Ortisei but no Arabba.
At this point in life the return journey worry - not so much Snowmageddon as strike, fog or crash (or snow in Venice!) can miss a flight just as well as too much snow in resort. Tour op coach late for their own flight it waits. Public transport or car fail and you're at the mercy of the airline. . In a past life 25 of us just caught a plane at Treviso because the fog also delayed the plane. Fog + strike took all the reasonable looking contingency time as a 1 hour drive took 3 hours.
Hence preference for package holiday making it a proper holiday without unnecessary paranoid worrying. Probably less contingency required and designed to meet your flight so not exactly less time in bed. If self organising transfer I'd be looking to arrive 3hrs before flight plus room for stuff ups.
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| I can assure anyone worried about avalanche risk etc etc that we weren't in any way ripped off anybody during last year's heavy snowfall. Dolomiti Star transfers found us the accommodation we stayed in, and arrived at the end of the week to collect us as planned to catch our return flights. They provided a couple of coaches earlier in the week for those willing to risk the conditions and get to Arabba. Only if you had decided to abandon your holiday would you have been left to your own devices. |
+1. Staying at Alleghe was not what we planned, but the locals were very friendly and fair with their prices - and we had a heck of a week. Glad I went.
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You know it makes sense.
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Randomsabreur, -- if you are referring to Crystal/Thomson - they don't do Arabba (pulled out several years ago)
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
Probably less contingency required and designed to meet your flight so not exactly less time in bed.
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I entirely understand why you want to do a TO trip - but they do seem to allow HUGE amounts of time on transfers, and often have antisocial flight times too. I'd be very surprised if you got more time in bed with TO transfers.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I'm crazily paranoid about missing flights. Too many near misses in London days following paranoid father in childhood. Never yet felt too early on TO transfer. Generally straight from coach to queue for check in to queue for security to gate. Probably says more about my attitude and the size of the queues.
Long motorway journeys (coach or car) make me most careful. Local routes with options are less stressful. Used to leave 4 hrs to drive from Devon to Bristol airport aiming for check in open at 4hrs. Once was necessary once was ridiculous and then the flight was 3 hours late...
For ski flights outbound I prefer early flight times (lunchtime flight to Chambery was hell, GVA not much better) and inbound is usually the return from the outbound so more civilised barring regional flights. Can sleep on coach as once aboard catching plane isn't my problem!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've had some absolutely absurd flight transfers where we've left at 6 am for an 11am flight with 90 minute transfer! It really puts the downers on the holiday.
The last time I went with a tour operator, our beyond early transfer was delayed because they said the coach had been driven into a hotel wall in a resort an hour away. They then took us into a small minibus to go 30 metres down the road, where they left us to wait in the cold for over an hour. The comedy thing was when we finally got on the coach, the rep handed out the customer surveys!
I went to Selva with Inghams and stayed in the Oswald. Skiing is amazing around there but it's a really old age resort. I'm only very early thirties and I would often be one of the youngest people in the bar or restaurant by a distance.
There's an ice hockey arena in Selva and our hotel gave us free tickets.
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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?
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Colletts. Arrange your own flights to Venice Marco Polo (more reliable weather-wise than Innsbruck or Treviso). We prefer BA for their 23kg baggage allowance.
Colletts will look after the transfer. They really are an excellent company - search the forum for plenty of examples. They mainly do catered chalets but can also arrange half-board at hotels.
http://www.colletts.co.uk/winter/skiing-holidays/
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| madlondoner wrote: |
I've had some absolutely absurd flight transfers where we've left at 6 am for an 11am flight with 90 minute transfer! It really puts the downers on the holiday.
The last time I went with a tour operator, our beyond early transfer was delayed because they said the coach had been driven into a hotel wall in a resort an hour away. They then took us into a small minibus to go 30 metres down the road, where they left us to wait in the cold for over an hour. The comedy thing was when we finally got on the coach, the rep handed out the customer surveys!
I went to Selva with Inghams and stayed in the Oswald. Skiing is amazing around there but it's a really old age resort. I'm only very early thirties and I would often be one of the youngest people in the bar or restaurant by a distance.
There's an ice hockey arena in Selva and our hotel gave us free tickets. |
11am flight, airport 3 hours before = 8am. 90 mins transfer = 6.30. Bit of time for faffing and there's 6am.
So transfer timing has never bothered me!
Recent flight to Venice leaving Birmingham at 7.30am. Approx 90 minute drive. Aim to leave 3am, actually leave 3.15, enough time for breakfast at Wetherspoons and get on plane.
Return journey 11.40 flight, own car for transfers, approx 2.5 hr transfer, leave 5.30, arrive at airport and queue pretty well whole time before flight- check in ( no bag drop active), security and passport control.
Crystal seemed perfectly organised last year and my one horrible travel experience has taught me not to bother with Chambery on a Saturday in winter. Nothing the TO could have done, apart from flying to an airport with more than 1 set of stairs and buses...
Colletts could do with proofreading their website a little IMO...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I try and get the airport just over an hour before takeoff so I spend as little time as possible there. 3 hours before is just horrific; it's a short haul flight!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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With that approach it would have been a painfully tight run thing. From Venice only bag drop saved us from going straight from check in to security to passport control to the plane. Security queue was massive. Not mad on running through the airport - been there, done that, tedious, prefer my book on a seat...
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Randomsabreur - Inghams cover a lot of the dolomite resorts, went with them last year to Colfosco, couldn't fault their organisation, lovely resort with stunning scenery and direct access to the Sella Ronda (and their prices were quite reasonable)
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