 Poster: A snowHead
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For a quick scratch-the-itch weekend on the slopes travelling from London, what is the cheapest way??
Rules: Decent lifts are imperative, no transfers over 2 hours, must cater for intermediates
Things to consider
Flights
Transfers
Lift Pass
Ski rental
Accommodation
Soooooooo let the challenge commence!
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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'm not going to cost all this out but I find accomodation the most expensive bit so I find the Swiss Youth hostels really good and cheap. I've stayed at the one in Davos a couple of times. Very nice but at the top of a killer hill. Plenty of cheap flights into Zurich, transfer by train, about £30 I think from memory, lift pass and ski rental aren't that cheap as its Switzerland but you are in a good resort for not huge amounts of money. Thinking about it, my group of about 10 mates once stayed in a convent there that was very good value. The nuns put on a fab breakfast.
There's a hostel up by the SPAR past the station in Bad Gastein that is very cheap - right at the bottom of the run into town. Flights into Innsbruck or Salzburg are never cheap though. BG is also accessible by train so transfer is easy.
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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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Handluggage only sleazyjet from Gatwick or Luton to Geneva (or possibly Innsbruck/Salzburg). Price of flights varies so impossible to definitively say which days.
I've found the cheapest and most convenient transfers to be hiring a citi-car and driving, however if you're prepared for a transfer>50mins (including fitting in with someone else's schedule) then a shared taxi/minibus
Lift pass is a tricky one. I like to roam, so always end up buying a pass for a LARGE area. If you're happy sticking to the same 10 lifts for the weekend, then any village-only pass would be cheap.
Ski-rental using the dodgiest discount code for the skankiest ski company. (Search for my Trip report in Morzine 2014 for the "fun" of shattering a binding at 11am only to find the rental shop closed until 4pm. 1 day lost skiing all because I got cheap/old kit to save a bob or two).
Accommodation: Self catering studio-apt sharing a sofa-bed. Eat pot noodles that you buy from the SPA in the resort.
(I feel dirty just typing all of the above... let alone actually DOING it!!!!)
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Thanks DG, surprise one there as Switzerland is not the obvious first place you think of for value! But yes I can imagine hostel accommodation is harder to come by in less developed resorts
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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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Almost certainly easyjet to Geneva.
Booking.com for hotels / SolutionsRoom for Chalets
Probably French PdS/Chamonix Valley/Grand Massif for cheapest and fastest transfers.
Lift passes are what they are.
All else entirely up to you.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Fly to Geneva Easyjet hand baggage only. Rent small car, stay in Ibis Budget hotel in Sallanches and drive to Flaine, Chamonix or Megeve.
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cheapest flight I could get friday even coming back sunday late was Ryanair - London Stansted to Treviso - £66.98 return leaving on 26th Feb. Car hire for the period with Ryanair - £18+ £20 fuel
Booking.com gave - http://tinyurl.com/ju42m6z
Assuming there's twof you that's 66.98+19+37 for flights, transfer and acoomodation - no baggage.
Lift pass 88 Euros = £65 quid.
Ski hire http://www.skiset.co.uk/ski-resort/alleghe/booking/catalog/. 36Euro? £27 quid.
So all in about £215 for flights transfer, B&B, lift pass and ski hire.
You could have halfed the flight price by bookin a month ago.
In Italy you'll pay far less for a beer and food than you will in France.
If you fly out on the 0620 Saturday flight you will reduce accomodation cost and car hire costs but only get one and half days skiing in rather than two.
Lots of other Dolomites resort would offer similar accomodation deals - Alleghe is the nearest - and it's lovely, with no queues.
You may get a better deal with Ryanir to Verona or Turin and choose a different resort but I doubt it.
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Always found the grand massif great value for a weekend. €85.50 for a happy days pass which is 1 week day and 2 weekend day passes. That's for the massif area and can upgrade daily if needs be. Cheap sleazyjet flight to Geneva and you'll be comfortably on the slopes within 2 hours. Booking.com or airbnb for a cheap room
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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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| cath2006uk wrote: |
For a quick scratch-the-itch weekend on the slopes travelling from London, what is the cheapest way??
Soooooooo let the challenge commence!
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You didn't say what our fee would be for doing all this work for you?
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24 minutes on the train from Euston to Hemel. There's a Premier Inn a mere couple of miles from the skiing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| swiftoid wrote: |
| 24 minutes on the train from Euston to Hemel. There's a Premier Inn a mere couple of miles from the skiing. |
And if you squint... Hemel could easily look like Flaine or Avoriaz in a rainstorm 
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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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I'm going on my DIY trip tomorrow. I've mentioned it already, but here goes in case you haven't seen it :
Flights : £78 - Gatwick to Geneva (including luggage)
Accom (S/C) : £160 - La Chapelle d'abondance
Transfers : £60
Ski and boot hire £60
Lift pass : £120 - Chatel area (bought in advance).
Total £478. Could feasibly have got it down to £360 if I had someone to share the accommodation with (i'm going alone), booked slightly inferior ski's, and travelled with hand luggage only.
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| mikeycharlton wrote: |
I'm going on my DIY trip tomorrow. I've mentioned it already, but here goes in case you haven't seen it :
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How many days/nights?
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You know it makes sense.
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Ryanair are currently selling seats to Memmingen (Germany) from Stansted for £18 return including tax!
You'd be mad not to go.
I would, if I wasn't already in Austria for 3 weeks! 
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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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| Bergmeister wrote: |
Ryanair are currently selling seats to Memmingen (Germany) from Stansted for £18 return including tax!
You'd be mad not to go.
I would, if I wasn't already in Austria for 3 weeks! |
You can get Treviso for about the same price but putting in weekend dates bumps things up a bit. Car hire is also ridicously cheap - £18 for a four seater for the weekend.
We're all mad to not be going somewhere at least monthly
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Themasterpiece wrote: |
| mikeycharlton wrote: |
I'm going on my DIY trip tomorrow. I've mentioned it already, but here goes in case you haven't seen it :
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How many days/nights? |
7 
completely missed the rather important word in the title (Weekend).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hmm, just tried this for myself, fri night to Sun night to Andorra.
Flight €120 to El Prat, arr 2230.
Car hire €70
Accom €120 in Canillo which I don't know, €150 in El Tarter which I do (ease of navigating at 1am, ski hire etc)
Plus ski hire and lift pass.
I won't get much change out of €500 
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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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@Orange200, not the easiest transfer
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Orange200, how's the snow in Andorra?
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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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@pam w, but Chamonix and Megeve are soooo expensive!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Folgaria is marginally closer than Alleghe. Lift tickets seems a bit cheaper too.
Looking at other suggestions I think Stansted Treviso is by far the cheapest option - flight times are also very convenient - Friday evening and very late Sunday night giving a full weekend's skiing.
The other option is stansted Oslo. Ther are quite a few resorts within range of Oslo, depending on conditions. I think have to drive for a few hours if you want anything with significant infrastructure. Scandinavia is not teh place for you, however if you're on a budget and alcohol was part of the overall hapiness plan.
Finally, I see Raise is up and running. I guess the Lake District will take lnonger than a flight to the Alps and doubtless cost a lot more on the train
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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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The thing with cheap weekends is you really have to book the flights the moment they're released.
I think the best we did flight wise (we have our own properties) was £15 return to Turin with Tryanscair.
I think at the time the family had 4 free season passes.
So all we paid above that was a tiny car hire (we all kept kit in resort) and entertaining.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Orange200, bearing in mind €500 is about £380 I don't think that's a bad deal at all. I'm doing similar weekend at the end of Jan for a similar price - transfers are long at about 3.5 hours but for the quality of hotel, promiximity to the lifts (couple of mins walk), and size of ski area, I struggled to find anything else to come close.
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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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A lot depends on how flexible you can be on departure and arrival times, whether you want a full 2 days of skiing, and how much sleep/relaxation you need. A couple of other options:
1. Fly to Krakow (WizzAir and Ryanair both fly there) for the Tatras mountains. All in country costs will be a lot less than the alps. Similarly you could try Slovenia (fly to Ljubljana), though I doubt there are so many flight options
2. Drive to Scotland and sleep in the car on Friday night, so you only need to pay for Saturday accommodation. Or kip in the car both nights if you really want to push it
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Fly to Bergamo,
half board in 2-3 * Italian hotel from 50e PPPS
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You know it makes sense.
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We've arranged a weekend trip to Ellmau, Austria on 28th January. Well, we fly Thursday afternoon, return Monday afternoon, (4 nights, 3 full ski days) not strictly a weekend and not strictly on the tightest of budgets (its our only trip this season and its for our 30th birthdays, we'll also be leaving our 1 y/o daughter at home - hence the fact its a short break!)
Airport parking (Manchester) £30
Flights (including one checked bag) £148 return (Munich)
Car Hire (inc fuel, excess waiver) £120
Accommodation (B&B) £220
Ski hire (no boots) (2 person) £80
Lift Pass £190
Après & food £350-400
Just over £1100 for two, for 3 days skiing and a 4 "nights out"
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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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So looks like I win the challenge. Do I get a T-shirt or something?
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Poster: A snowHead
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@cath2006uk, Welcome to snowHeads 
My current thinking is that flights to Milan are coming up cheapest at the moment (and there are good timing options from London airports). I've just come back via Malpensa and car hire was also very cheap (VW Tiguan £105 for 4 days (other options much cheaper still)) and there are some good accommodation prices on airbnb (obvs you can save even more if you are happy to stay out of resort...)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@dublin2, where would you ski close to Bergamo?
@cameronphillips2000, timely thread for us. I'm not planning a weekend away, but applying similar ideas for a half term trip for a few days (Sun-Thurs). Initially planned to fly in to Ljubjana and head to Austria, but the Ljubjana flights have gone up in price. Lots of flights to Italy are reasonable at half term. Edging towards Folgaria, how busy is it at half term? I understand it is popular with school groups.
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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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@hammerite, Aosta resorts, Milky Way. Italy much cheaper too
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@moseyp, I'm being fairly selective! Been to Italy a few times, wanting to try somewhere quiet-ish (for half term) and a bit different. It's just the OH and I for a few days as Jnr is skiing all week with school. Milky Way will be fairly busy, quite popular with Brits. Aosta and Milky Way are a fair trek from Bergamo too. If we did those we'd fly into Malpensa. Pila is full of school groups, Cervinia has no availability for a reasonable price, and we don't fancy driving too high either (ruling out Monterosa too) - we want a low(er) risk drive as we only have a few days.
The Treviso flights work well for us, hence being interested in Folgaria.
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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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| hammerite wrote: |
@dublin2, where would you ski close to Bergamo?
@cameronphillips2000, timely thread for us. I'm not planning a weekend away, but applying similar ideas for a half term trip for a few days (Sun-Thurs). Initially planned to fly in to Ljubjana and head to Austria, but the Ljubjana flights have gone up in price. Lots of flights to Italy are reasonable at half term. Edging towards Folgaria, how busy is it at half term? I understand it is popular with school groups. |
Depends on if you are looking at Forgaria or Folgarida.
Folgarida is linked with Madonna and is popular with school groups. It's a fairly well interlinked resort
Folgaria is much closer to Venice and lower/much cheaper for a lift pass. I've never skied there but current webcams are showing good snow and lots of it being open. Having
an inexepensive lift pass and being close to the major cities may mean it's very busy at half term but I don't know.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just looked at Folgaria webcams and the pistes took a battering from yesterday's rain. Forecast is very cold now so snow making may get them back where they need to be.
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Thanks @cameronphillips2000, definitely Folgaria - not Folgarida - due to it's proximity to Treviso. I wondered if you had been there on a school ski trip!
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No but I might pop in a week on Friday for an afternoon ski on my drive up to Bolzano.
Seems quite low but their website is shoing a lot of slopes open - far more than Alleghe where we're all going for the week.
Zoldo alto, the other side of the mountain from Alleghe as about the same distance, a bit higher and offers night skiing on Friday and Saturday night. I reckon it woud make a cracking weekend's skiing.
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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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@hammerite, I skied Santa Caterina Valfurva, Bormio and Livigno after hiring a car from Bergamo airport last March.
Drove past Madesimo, Chiesa in Valmalenco and Aprica which are all closer.
Had a great time at all the places I skied with lots of sun and cheap food & drink. Would recommend a visit to a very underrated region. Had a couple of days around Lake Como which is lovely too!
Also flights from Gatwick to Salzburg either way are widely available at £29.90 for the next 3 months with Norwegian Air. http://www.norwegian.com/uk/destinations/ Only Saturday flights but could very useful with singles from other airlines.
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From Bergamo, and close to you have two small areas
A Carona, Foppolo and San Simone same left pass
B Piazzatorre , Pian de Bobbio
Small amount of ski-ing Carona, Foppolo and San Simone , covers 50-60km, so if you are a big mileage skier, not suitable
Hotels about 65euro pps, half board
However while these are small ski areas, 1hr 10min from BGY airport, meaning if you catch an early flight, you should be on skis at 12:30
On the way home, you can get a full days ski, and catch evening flight easily
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