 Poster: A snowHead
|
Bit of a plea for help! The wife is a teacher and so we can only go skiing at half term, Feb 14th 2015 for 7 days. Obviously, and it really winds me up the prices are extortionate in comparison to the week before.
So has anyone got any tips for cheap deals? I'm happy to leave it till 2/3 days before to book, it's just me and the wife and she'd rather France although I'm sure I could persuade her otherwise. Both been skiing for 4 or 5 seasons and are intermediate level. Any tips genuinely appreciated
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 7-02-15 10:42; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
@bexman, the impression I am getting is best way to get good deals for half term is book a year in advance....
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
"Half-term" and "deals" are not two words that are normally in the same sentence. As @NickyJ says, the best bet is to book a year in advance and probably book a DIY trip as you may be able to get the sum of the component parts for less than a TO will charge for a package. Most major airlines (excluding the low cost brigade) normally release flights 355 days in advance. Ryanair and easyjet don't have a set timeline but you can register on their websites/facebook page for advance notification.
I (almost) have the same problem as you as Mrs Gaza is a teacher. However, the reason I say 'almost' is Mrs Gaza is non-skier and has no interest in going skiing so it is just me and Junior Gaza. Thankfully they don't fine you in Scotland so junior and I are off on Sunday to Belle Plagne.
I would guess your best bet for a deal is to keep trawling the TOs websites and not be too fussy about departure airport, accommodation or resort and just hope they are looking to get rid of inventory.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
@bexman, Easter?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
That is good! Not sure how similar Half term compares to last minute deals for New Year but there was a 12 person chalet cancellation in Alpe D'huez at half price... only hitch was there was very little snow so we decided not to go for it. It would have been paid for in full with only a week to go so I doubt it was cancelled due to lack of snow. As there are only 2 of you I am sure something last minute will come up, whether it's as cheap as you had hoped is another matter. But I am getting a few half term deals through none the less.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Have you looked at Scotland, seen some deals.
Loads of snow.
Also £800 to stay in a borstal and spend 56 hours on a coach is obviously some one pulling your leg.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Boris wrote: |
| @bexman, Easter? |
Good call. Especially as teachers must want to get away from groups of children, half term skiing is kid Central.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, easter, specially if she wants to go to France, where half term coincides with PARIS holidays. Go at easter, DIY, rent an apartment which will be €1200 at half term for €450.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
I'm doing my first half term skiing this year.. I found doing DIY was MUCH cheaper, although I am seeing some deals on crystal website for that week.
I just booked flight, car and accommodation and probably saved about 400 between three of us.
usually I book couple of days before I go so paying these daft prices is a new experience..
second trip this year will be a fair bit cheaper 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
[b]@bexman[/b, I'm off to Austria next week ( with the kids ), but if you take them out of the equation, flights to Munich were £400 for the Missus and I, and I got Half board accommodation for under £600. Ok, we need a hire car from Munich ( which is £250, but you could get a much smaller car if there only 2 peeps, or a cheaper transfer perhaps ) Given that lift passes and ski hire are 'fixed' costs that you need everywhere, I think Half term skiing for c. £1200 is a pretty good effort
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Timberwolf wrote: |
| [b]@bexman[/b, I'm off to Austria next week ( with the kids ), but if you take them out of the equation, flights to Munich were £400 for the Missus and I, and I got Half board accommodation for under £600. Ok, we need a hire car from Munich ( which is £250, but you could get a much smaller car if there only 2 peeps, or a cheaper transfer perhaps ) Given that lift passes and ski hire are 'fixed' costs that you need everywhere, I think Half term skiing for c. £1200 is a pretty good effort |
same here but flying to Salzburg then drive to galtur, mind you only b+b
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
good work @mugen, that's quite a drive though isn't it ????
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| Timberwolf wrote: |
| good work @mugen, that's quite a drive though isn't it ???? |
three hours by the looks of things, but to be honest quite looking forward to it.
through Germany, sit in traffic jam near Kufenstein , then onward to galtur.
had booked flights before decided where to go in austria
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
@Bartezki, you're right. Crystal seems to have quite a few places available in France - very little elsewhere. The Crystal website was showing some places in the US at £8000 per person last night....
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
moving to the Easter hols this year with the kids. Half term is just too much agro. Plus I get really ****ed with the holiday companies profiteering from children.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
I reckon apart from half term, Xmas & New Year you can probably do better with Ski Op deals but I'm sure DIY is the cheapest way to ski at half term (though maybe not at such short notice). You have to persuade her not to go to France though because Italy is sooo much cheaper & quieter for that week. Loads of flights to Milan for half the price of Geneva, dirt cheap car hire & a choice of great resorts within 2 hours drive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Half Term and New Year and the 'bend over this is gonna hurt' weeks. Trust me I know. DIY will work out cheaper. Yes you will find a few late deals but do not expect to get the pick of the property. Idiots like me will have already coughed up for those 12 months in advance. I've already booked Easter 2016. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yep I've consistently done some real good DIY visits over half term. Often flying out on the Friday (for some reason its only a half day on the last day) to keep the travel cost down...
MY favourite if any one is interested is fly to Memmingen (Ryanair), hire a car and drive to Damuels in Austria. Easy travel, and a pretty quiet resort even during half term, plus the opportunity to drive to a couple of other resorts..
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Mike-H wrote: |
| Half Term and New Year and the 'bend over this is gonna hurt' weeks. Trust me I know. DIY will work out cheaper. Yes you will find a few late deals but do not expect to get the pick of the property. Idiots like me will have already coughed up for those 12 months in advance. I've already booked Easter 2016. |
Yep same here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We booked quite late (nov), got the type of property and location we wanted but my wallet is still stinging from the deal. Probably costing the 4 of us more for one 2 days than some people spend on a week.
Still it's only money and it is skiing and in 9 days we will be skiing so it's not all bad news.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
If you're fixed to the half term rather than Easter can you get away relatively early on the Friday night? If so, we've got space for a short break in our Chalet Campanules from Friday 13th - Sunday 15th and we could do a last minute deal for £199 pp fully catered. . . .
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yep I'm not privy to TO FP&A either. However, Generally selling at a loss is going to be down to;
Poor perception of quality and value offered by the seller, during non peak periods. I certainly see little value from TO, and usually go DIY (summer and winter).
Inability to secure an effective or competitive cost for resale (flight, fuel, accommodation).
Got the marketing wrong.
Yes the government and educational authorities have a part to play. I'm all for a wider period for standard holidays, would certainly make life easier.
Does the government trust us to be responsible parents??
Not sure on the tax provision for aviation fuel, but I bet is a lot lower than regular petrol, therefore I would expect to see a reduction in flight costs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| Quote: |
Does the government trust us?
|
Don't be so ridiculous!
Fuel costs for flights maybe bought forward so price reductions in crude not worked their way through the contracts yet (certainly the case for Ryanair).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Don't be so ridiculous!
I don't trust them either 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Hope I'm not hijacking your post as I too need to find a weeks deal during half term week, so posted in Solos and Groups forum before seeing your post. However:
We have four children and although the youngest is now about to be 18, obviously over the years we have always had the problem of not only the higher prices tied to the half term but the number in our family.
I don't know if it still applies, but a number of years back we did achieve a great ski holiday in Italy by booking all the elements our selves and using a scheduled airline. The bonus was the Italians didn't have their school holidays at the same time so hotels were cheaper, their ski passes gave 'children rates' to a higher age group than the French (this might not affect you though ) and the scheduled airline was cheaper than the Ryanairs of this world, as ultimately they didn't charge for all those add ons that Ryanair do and baggage and also skis/boots were free.
Having said all that, I am looking for just two of us now and it doesn't seem to apply at the moment as even scheduled airlines tickets are high that week and possible there's less capacity everywhere compared to a few years ago, but comments may still be useful for somebody with a younger family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
We paid £1000 for fights to Turin and £700 for an apartment for 5 this half term. (3 bedrooms!) £90 for the car.
£1800 for 5 people for half term if you DIY- even late deals from the TO cant get close.
If you want to go at half term you have to try all ways round- try odd airports and odd days (if you can find the accommodation).
We're going from an airport 5 hours drive from home which saved £1000 over the nearest airport.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Yes. DIY cheaper than TO at half term (generally)...if you book your flights and accom. sufficiently far ahead. You'll probably have problems this close to half term getting reasonably priced flights. Some of the TOs have capacity in France at reasonable rates.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Unless you book flights well in advance for DIY trips they will be expensive at half term - regardless of whether the destination also has school hols at the same time.
We're teachers and nearly always go at Christmas and Easter. Both are generally good weeks to ski - although Christmas this year conditions were far from ideal. Last year we couldn't go at Christmas because the OH had just had an operation. We went at Half Term instead but only 4 days of skiing. Travel Tuesday-Sunday. We skied We'd, Thurs, Fri & Sat. Cost £1,600 for three of us including lift passes and ski hire. Had to travel on the Snowcoach and stay in their hotel... Neither of which were as bad as we were expecting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
wow, amazing response! Thanks guys, looking at every post now 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Same problem. This year resolved by flying Sunday to Sunday as it was a 3rd of the price of Friday eve or Saturday flying, BensBus to Alpe D'huez and then renting a private apartment. The difficulty was finding an apartment that lets you book Sunday to Sunday, but they are about. Were SC this year but we managed to get 2 adults and 1 child for the price of 1 adult FB in a decent hotel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bexman, we've gone in the past at half term because we have kids. Out of interest I just had a wee google to see what was possible this year cost-wise.
I quickly concluded that the price of flights to the main airports serving the alps is going to make it £££..
However ... and depending on what you're looking for...
I just quickly priced up a holiday to Jasna Chopok in Slovakia. Flights to Poprad/ Tatry from Luton with Wizzair: £339 for you together, return.
Half-board in 4 star Wellness HOtel Grand Jasna comes in at £1060 for the two of you. If I was looking at half-term, I'd be looking at going somewhere like that as cost-wise it is not bad at all. I am sure you could get much much cheaper accommodation than that as well, if you weren't bothered about everything being super duper flashy.
Disclaimer, never been skiing in Slovakia. It could be crap but it is increasingly appealing to me for future trips owing to its cost.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My advice would be DIY and book early. Try to secure flights to an airport that is not just associated with skiing and try for scheduled flights as these fluctuate far less than charter / lowcost flights so for example get a flight to Munich, hire car and rent an apartment in Austria (I can recommend Ski Amade) Alternatively fly to Barcelona and drive up to Andorra. Finally if you really want to go to France and both drive consider self-drive oprtions and book an apartment in a smaller resort.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
If you can get to Glasgow/Edinburgh Crystal have plenty of chalet/hotel holidays for between £600-£800 for flights, transfers and HB/catered chalet.
Factor in another £100 each for return flights up here and it's not too bad for half term? Alternatively you may be able to book accommodation only through crystal and arrange your own transport for less.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We booked on boxing day - family of five. Manchester flights to Milan £700, hire car to Sauze £150, gear rental and lift passes £900 and s/c accommodation £700. Seeing as there's no such thing these days as Kids prices, or so it seems, doesn't seem too bad. Average it out and you could do two people for less than a grand (granted, food on top, but Sauze comparatively cheap).
Book well ahead (unlike us!), DIY an there's plenty choice. Our biggest issue is having three kids, just makes everything a bit more awkward..... But seeing as we can't decide which one to leave at home, we're stuck!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
