 Poster: A snowHead
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Driving for the family trip is not really practical due to timings and our vehicles . Plus we like fully catered for our feb half term family trip and do like the big resorts with 4/5 star benefits.
Oh and the £2k+ doesnt include lessons, private transfers or lift passes.
We/I do cheaper stuff throughout the rest of the season but Feb half term is always going to be the money trip!
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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 think you'll find the schools with hols on 19th March are private
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No, the end of term for state schools in Warwickshire is 18th March - don't know how many other counties this applies to (if any).
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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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| Tatman's Tours wrote: |
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I think you'll find the schools with hols on 19th March are private
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No, the end of term for state schools in Warwickshire is 18th March - don't know how many other counties this applies to (if any). |
We were lucky in northants to have a similar situation a few years ago, saved about 40% due to being able to the following (or previous i can remember) week to the majority of lea's
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Sounds like selling up and moving to Warwickshire is the answer to all our problems! 
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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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Yeah, but seriously, what are the chances of that actually happening for good kids with good attendance that aren't flunking everything?
I just can't see it happening tbh.
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I've just posted in "the piste" about a new option from BA that works out relatively cheap at half term, as long as you travel twice in a 12 month period... Makes it potentially £200 return including baggage.
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My wife and I taught for twenty odd years so it was always half term Easter or New Year
Italy is the cheapest option if you don't want Bulgaria or Andorra which will be horribly busy.
You can drive, but Italy is a far bit further but it's cost effective and can get you to much cheaper accomodation if you don't mind driving five minutes or so to resort. We did La Clusaz for our family of four once and the apartment cost us £200 for half term week - 3km down the road from the skiing. It cost us £400 to get the car to the Alps and back so quite a cheap ski holiday for half term.
If you're flying then Ryanair to Turin or Treviso is the cheapest way of getting to the Alps and hire a car if there's a few of you.
Turin is good for the southern French Alps too - Pra Loup, Serre Che, Risoul, Montegenvre all within drive.
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As illustrated here there are loads of options. But if you insist on flying to the Tarentaise at half term you're going to pay through the nose for crowded restaurants, busy pistes and lift queues. Obviously some people love it. I think they're bonkers but at least they leave the other 98% of places for the rest of us.
And anybody who thinks they will go to prison for taking their kids on a week's holiday in January just hasn't bothered to look at the authoritative guidance. 
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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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But if you insist on flying to the Tarentaise at half term you're going to pay through the nose for crowded restaurants, busy pistes and lift queues. Obviously some people love it. I think they're bonkers but at least they leave the other 98% of places for the rest of us.
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Pam,
I think there is also a bit of exaggeration here, i have spent many weeks skiing in half term, and out of it and at various resorts. Absolutely half term and other peak weeks are busier but if you know the area its bottlenecks at lifts can be avoided or minimised. The same goes for restaurants and pistes in general. Absolutely they are likely to be busier but a blanket 'it will be carnage' just is not the case. I can categorically state that my longest wait in a lift queue was not in a peak week.
Prices we cant avoid as we have to go in school holidays if we are going as a family, and we will pay a premium because we like the big resorts with ski in/out spa facilities in house and lots of mileage available.
But half term (and other peak weeks) does not mean guaranteed piste mageddon.
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I quite agree ansta. I get a bit tired of the mantra that people who go in half term are rich/misguided/heading for carnage. I am a teacher with 3 kids and I actually like breaking up the winter by going in Feb.
We have skiied half term for the past 3 years. Austria was the busiest by a long way, Italy was nearly spoiled because the Italian piste bashers also took a holiday and France, with its fast lifts and huge milage, was the best of the 3. This year our return flights to lyon for half term Saturday were £150 each.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@nem, Hi nem, can I ask how long ago you booked those flights and with which airline? Is it just a case of booking a long time in advance to get a reasonable airfare?
(BTW we went to Val Thorens 3 years ago at half term on a late deal and it was fine. Reasonably busy but not annoyingly so)
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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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Do look at trains.
If you don't mind changing in Paris you can get to most of Europe in a not unreasonable time. It might be longer than flying, but for my money is a lot less stressful.
The Eurostar part of the journey has been open for a couple of months, so some of the best prices have gone on the busiest days but for other parts of the journey the tickets are not yet on sale.
A website that I find very useful is: http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-travel.htm .
A couple of years ago we went to Milan on a sleeper train.
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You have to be very quick to book half term flights (or any other school hols) at reasonable cost but driving costs no more. Snowheads is full of details of very reasonable half term trips driving to some of the quieter resorts. teachers are the only ones who are really stuck. My daughter and SIL are both teachers and in different LEAS so I know the problems. No way could they afford to spend £2k a head on a week's holiday.
I find the tarentaise resorts too busy even in mid January, personally. No significant queues because lift systems are so good. But pistes busier than I like. Personal choice, obviously, and as I said, some people will only go to the tarentaise. Just not my cup of tea, especially at half term. But there are loads of alternatives.
Complaining about high flight prices at peak times is pointless. As said above, how else could folk expect return flights for £60 at other times?
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You know it makes sense.
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No way could they afford to spend £2k a head on a week's holiday.
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We can, at the expense of other holidays, as an example our summer holiday in the south of france, drive/diy villa probably cost in the region of £3k all in, inclusive of food spend and travel.
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As said above, how else could folk expect return flights for £60 at other times?
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So that is an acceptance that those that have no choice to take holidays in peak periods are in effect subsidising everyone else?
I have said before, fully aware of how supply and demand works and thats the way of the world and i accept that.
Blatant profiteering however, as with centreparcs as an example (not necessarily all ski holiday providers) is just plain wrong.
No doubt those who are able to take holidays outside peak weeks would be in uproar if the companies 'balanced' their prices out a little and would complain that people without children are being penalised.
Ducks and runs for cover.
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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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@pam w, I agree about the flights- I run a holiday let in this country and I certainly charge more for peak weeks!
@SlipnSlide, we are going easyjet Bristol to Lyon. Car hire will be £180 and the 3 bed apartment was £1000. But yes, I'm afraid I did book on the day the flights came out back in may/June. Would love to go back to Austria but the Innsbruck/saltzberg flights from Bristol have not been affordable for the last couple of years.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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And I see no reason why those who travel mid January should subsidise those travelling at half term. everyone has choices. Teachers have fewest but they still don't have to ski at half term
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But to take the extreme reverse position, its by extrapolation that you are comfortable that those who do go at half term, either by choice or otherwise subsidise everyone else?
And to further examine your point...
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everyone has choices. Teachers have fewest but they still don't have to ski at half term.
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So as the husband of a teacher, i can ski at christmas, new year, easter. None of which are the cheapest, quietest or invariably the most snow sure, and thats not accounting for any other issues such as putting our dogs with sitters etc?
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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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@ansta1, nothing stopping YOU skiing at other times 
Being a teacher really does seem to suck for skiing, unless you're single/don't have a family and can just head to the Andes/NZ for 6 weeks every summer.
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@clarky999, trust me nothing stops me skiing at other times.
And as for 6 weeks in ths summer... Wife is a teacher, i am self employed.... If i wasnt self employed we couldnt afford a week away and because I am i cant afford any more that 2 per year..
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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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@ansta1, sorry, but you do have choices. I assumed that because you could afford 2 expensive holidays a year. You weren't both teachers. You choose a super expensive half term week, which you clearly enjoy, but there are other ways of spending that money. Flights on a Tuesday in January are rarely full; are you seriously suggesting those flights should cost more? Folk would just choose another destination, a different airline
It's a pretty good approximation of a perfect competitive market.
Are you a closet fan of a command economy?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@pam w, i can go whenever i wish, however as a family we are limited to non term time and realistically feb half term is the only option. I am not suggesting that anyone subsidise 'non profit' making flights, but i would wager that just about every friday, saturday or sunday flight to Lyon or geneva between 3rd week of december and the 3 week in march is pretty full.
We don't choose a super expensive half term week, we choose an expensive holiday which is double the price and therefore super expensive during half term. Not complaining about our choice or our price per se.
Where was the 2 expensive holidays?
1. Skiing, will absolutely grant you.
2. Self drive via ferry to a €1200pw villa (which was €750 the following week btw) is hardly extravagant or expensive in real terms for a family of 4.
Yes i could book an apartment for the season and travel out with the family often, but that wont work, either with my work or my wife's workload, or when it comes to it finances.
We generally have one family ski holiday, its a week, we like to enjoy it and relax. Hence nice accomodation, nice flight times, private transfers.
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Either way, whether we agree or disagree , back to the main topic of the OP i'd suggest.
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@ansta1, a £3k holiday isn't exactly super cheap, is it? As for flights, there are far fewer than a few years ago, when you could fly frequently to Geneva from East Midlands, for example, with a choice of two airlines. They couldn't get the bums on seats to keep the services going. Excess capacity.
The OP doesn't seem terribly interested......
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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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@pam w, never said it was super cheap, but ferry was £600 (school holidays so didnt have much choice other than swim), add on villa, petrol circas 2000 miles of driving, food (dinner out on 2 evening only) it soon adds up.
eldest, she with the bent arm, is 14 so is adult price pretty much everywhere.
Hey ho.
I know we could do more often, for less, but in our case less is actually more.
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I presume that ferry wasn't Dover Calais? We take that route often and pay £90-£120 ish depending on date and time, not £600.
£3000 for a summer holiday for a family is not cheap by any of my measures, and I am sure I am not alone in this.
....and the Appartment with garage at Morzine centre we rent for a week in summer to MTB is 700euro. Not the cheapest we could find, but location and garage are worth it.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@JanieS,
It does not have to be really expensive at all. Ferry £90-130. Very nice s/c apartment in Austria for three at 500-600 Euros. Loads of resorts in Austria that tick your boxes - try Pillerseetal area. Drive through Belgium, Germany and Austria, no tolls except a vignette (which I keep forgetting about.) You have your petrol costs to add. You will need your ski passes and equipment and/or lessons. I reckon that you get a very good holiday at a very reasonable cost self-catering in Austria. Drive is rubbish from Munich though. DIY is very easy indeed now. I would not go to Chamonix unless I was skiing some big off-piste stuff. I would not say Chamonix is a family ski area. Checkout http://www.kitzbueheler-alpen.com/en/ Fieberbrunn would be a good place to have a look at, you could then drive to loads of resorts in the area (if you fancied it.) I hope this helps.
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