Poster: A snowHead
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Good afternoon all,
few weeks ago i came back from Tignes, its official i got the white stuff bug.
As far as i know this year snow session is almost over but i am making it a target for myself next winter to have a short few days in the snow every month to try and get the most amount of days out there.
The idle thing to do will be to leave late Thursday and be back Monday, basicly do a long weekend of boarding once month.
has anyone here did such a thing before and have experience in booking cheap and most efficient way to achieve the above ?
Ta
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 10-04-15 11:11; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Booking Thu - Mon is perfectly feasible most of the season though more difficult during the peak weeks. But you'd probably want to avoid them anyway. People have actually done day trips on the train! But the more regular is simply to get budget flights to Geneva, Zurich and the like, book a Hotel or other accommodation a short transfer away. There are threads on here describing the process in more detail.
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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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@gnave, lots of specialist weekend TO's around http://www.skiweekends.com/ or http://mountainsunltd.com/short-ski-breaks/ are two that I've done a few times.
Mountainsun do 3 day pre and post season trips that are very good value too.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 29-04-15 9:19; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Ski weekend type companies are good, although some might argue expensive for the time on the slopes.
Do you have a group you can share with?
I organise a weekend trip every year with people of varying budgets. We hire a chalet (well apartment) on owners direct, the girls go Sat - Tue (first flight out Sat, last flight back Tue) and get 3 days on the piste. The boys go Tue - Sat and also get 3 days on the piste, albeit with 1 extra night, for which they pay slightly more towards accommodation.
All in, flights (book ASAP for cheaper fares), hire car (go through an online broker) & accommodation come to £350 for girls and £395 for boys - the cheapest I can find anywhere for Val D'Isere.
We've just booked March next years trip, something to look forward to already!
Just an idea
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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 just get myself a sleazy-jet or similar flight, book a car and somewhere to stay, then get on with it. I wait and see where the snow is first.
If I'm not working I'm not getting paid, so the biggest cost is "opportunity" for me.
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As @philwig has said, DIY is cheapest. I have just (on Tuesday) booked flights, hire car, hotel and car parking for today-Saturday (with two full days skiing) in the Sierra Nevada for around £ 550.
There was 15 cm of snow overnight too. Nice.
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Joy Zipper wrote: |
As @philwig has said, DIY is cheapest. I have just (on Tuesday) booked flights, hire car, hotel and car parking for today-Saturday (with two full days skiing) in the Sierra Nevada for around £ 550.
There was 15 cm of snow overnight too. Nice. |
£550 (not including food, drinks, lift pass or equipment) for 2 days skiing is shocking value!
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@trainee snowboard jedi, that's quite a neat idea for the right group of people.
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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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From what i see its never going to end in less then £500 + consider i eat for family of 2
The group thing is def something i would have gone with.
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@Ray Zorro, flying from Edinburgh with late flights to give two full days skiing somewhat reduced my options. We don't all live within a drive the London airports you know !
It could have been cheaper, but I booked into a nice hotel and hired a decent sized car as I'm taking my own skis.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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How much is the cost of the car and parking ? would it not been better to arrange a transferrer ?
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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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£78 for the car and £ 16 for parking at Edinburgh Airport. Happy to pay that rather than hanging about for transfers.
Breakdown :-
Car parking £ 16
Flight out £ 176
Car hire £ 78
Hotel £ 163
Flight back £ 108
Total £ 541
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What resort are you flying to ?
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You know it makes sense.
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@Joy Zipper, My point is that you can't say DIY is cheaper than TO when you pay that price. I've never paid that much for a TO trip.
My last TO short trip this season cost a total of £350 for 2.75 days skiing including (flight, transfer, half board accommodation, lift pass, equipment) everything except lunch on the mountain and bar bill.
I've done about 30 short trips of varying duration, most were DIY but many TO as well. Don't rule out TO, the two companies I mentioned are specialists and (on the whole) good value.
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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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gnave wrote: |
How much is the cost of the car and parking ? would it not been better to arrange a transferrer ? |
Transfers can be really expensive - as much as the flights sometimes.
Car hire can be cost-effective depending on how many go. And you should be able to get to the resort quicker by car - and time is of the essence.
My last trip the hire car was £140 for 4 days and I spent about £40 on fuel for 5 of us.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Sierra Nevada @gnave.
Fair point @Ray Zorro, but if I were more flexible with my times/airports I could have saved money.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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(That typo on "you're" threw me for about a minute. "Cheep" didn't work the same way.)
Car hire - perhaps it depends where you go. I hired a car in Barcelona the other month for a fiver a day. I've hired cars in BC for significantly more cost per day just for a second driver. Shopping around sounds good.
Tour operators:
"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person’s lawful prey."
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just to jump on the band wagon...we have our early booking discounts on at the moment if you know when you want to go. We do sometimes have last minute deals but because we work with the low cost airlines and they tend to be most expensive last minute we struggle to offer cheaper deals late. Hence, the earlier you book the better. Although we do offer short breaks to Val d'Isere they are often more expensive because of the hotel costs there and transfers are further so less time on the slopes. If you're after low prices then how about Morzine which is only an hour from the airport so more snowboarding?
Visit Skiweekends.com
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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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@Ski Weekends, Do the price off trips by coach changes too ? or those are fixed and based on availability ?
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Wed 29-04-15 20:23; edited 1 time in total
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@Ski Weekends, your outbound flight/transfer times need looking at - for quick 'n' dirty trips it doesn't make sense to lose the day travelling.
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I agree with @red 27, Travailing by Flight should be more efficient then coach. Sure the flight option gives you a night in the hotel bed rather then on the coach. but at the same time you lose two days or work when selecting the flight option.
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