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Is a long weekend worth it?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
A friend has suggested a long weekend trip towards the end of March, I know it's Easter but investigation seems to confirm my belief that it's not? The added cost to get to a week seems tiny?

Any long weekend experience to share? Am I wrong in that long weekend compared to a week is good value?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The difference between a week and a long weekend is in minimal in cost but if u get the flight times right u can ski 3.5 days for 2 days of work I love them
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If you are time poor then a long weekend is the way to go.
If you have the time then go for a week.
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I think after driving down there a week is too short, so stay for two and tell everyone I've got much better value for money Blush

Guess I'm not the right person to offer advice on this topic Very Happy
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I think @Ray Zorro is right.

When I was self employed 3 days skiing for 1 - 1.5 days off work was a good deal. I could have 6 days skiing for the loss of a maximum of 3 days income, saving 2 days income which more than offset the increased cost of travel and lift pass.

If you have the time/holiday then a week is probably better value for money
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charlie26 wrote:
The difference between a week and a long weekend is in minimal in cost but if u get the flight times right u can ski 3.5 days for 2 days of work I love them


If you get them right over Easter you can get 6 days for 2 days off work saving 3 days towards another week.
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We do them quite frequently. The key thoughts we have in mind are:

- faff-minimisation (we want to spend our time skiing)
- dependency mitigation (as little reliance on others as we can contrive)
- avoiding times/places where popularity creates pressure on capacity

In practice this translates into:

-avoiding the main school holiday times
-an early flight out (preferably scheduled/major carrier/major airport) with hand luggage only
-a short transfer (pre-booked car hire gives control and flexibility)
-a resort we've skied before (so we know where we're going)
-convenient catered accommodation (preferably a half-board hotel next to a lift/piste)
-as much as we can pre-booked (lift passes, ski rental, any lessons/guiding)
-an evening flight back (ski the as much of the last day as is possible and travel in the dark)

This - particularly the flights - is obviously incompatible with cheap! So I would say that long weekends are great value if you are time (or holiday allowance) poor, but not so great from a cost perspective.

Places that we have made work really well include:

Les Gets (via Geneva)
Sestriere (via Turin)
Selva (via Innsbruck although return flight departure times are sometimes not so great)

When it works it is great!
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IanTr wrote:


So I would say that long weekends are great value if you are time (or holiday allowance) poor, but not so great from a cost perspective.



I think that sums up the whole 'weekend trip' debate pretty accurately.
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I've got 2 trips away this season, a long weekend in Chamonix (3 full days boarding) and a week in Morzine (6 days boarding). I've managed to get the long weekend for pretty much half the price of a week so pretty happy with that! I've cut out some additional costs mind you for the weekend, like only taking a board bag and hand luggage, not a hold bag as well, got a self-catered apartment etc. but that's all you need for a weekend anyway. Find some cheap flights at decent times, to an airport within short transfer to a few decent places (Geneva in my case) and build your weekend around them would be my advice. Fly out Friday evening and back Tuesday midday so only having to take 2 days off work was a result too!
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I did a long weekend with my 8 year old in early December. 06:30 flight from EDI to GVA. Picked up hire car and drove to Tignes in 2.5 hours (including a stop at McDs in Bourg). A bit of faffing in the hotel but that is to be expected with an 8 year old. On the slopes just before 14:00 and did our last run just after 16:30. Two full days on Saturday and Sunday and then headed to GVA on Sunday night. 10:15 flight back to EDI and my son made his school Christmas party.

We were very fortunate that it wasn't too expensive. Flights were £62 for the 2 of us plus bags. Car hire was free as I had a free weekend voucher from Europcar. Add to that a great deal on a hotel in Tignes and we did the whole weekend for around £500 including lift passes.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. We had a great time. We are doing a week in Val d'Isere in March so the weekend was just an extra trip.
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@Gaza, those were very cheap flights indeed. Like £15pp each way. How much extra did the checked in bags cost?
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IanTr wrote:
We do them quite frequently. The key thoughts we have in mind are:

- faff-minimisation (we want to spend our time skiing)
- dependency mitigation (as little reliance on others as we can contrive)
- avoiding times/places where popularity creates pressure on capacity

In practice this translates into:

-avoiding the main school holiday times
-an early flight out (preferably scheduled/major carrier/major airport) with hand luggage only
-a short transfer (pre-booked car hire gives control and flexibility)
-a resort we've skied before (so we know where we're going)
-convenient catered accommodation (preferably a half-board hotel next to a lift/piste)
-as much as we can pre-booked (lift passes, ski rental, any lessons/guiding)
-an evening flight back (ski the as much of the last day as is possible and travel in the dark)



Should be stickied as rules of thumb for short breaks

I haven't skied for a week in I don't know how long. To be perfectly honest, I LOVE skiing, am fanatical about it, and am reasonably fit, but 3 days hard skiing is as much as I can take without being tired. Used to think four, but three if I'm honest. Mitigating down to two and a half but we'll stick to three plus the half I get on the day out if I take an early flight.

It definitely isn't economical in terms of cost per day skiing averaged out, but if you take it that an average days skiing is going to cost you E200 per day, maybe leaving out the other 3 - 4 days saves you money?

The other great advantage is you can go last minute when you know conditions are good
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
We've booked flights on the Wednesday 23rd March to Barcelona. Fly around 6pm land at around 930. Should arrive into andorra around 12.30am Thursday. Fly back late on bank holiday Monday I think around 10pm. 5 days skiing for 1 day holiday isn't too bad
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
We've done it before our son was old enough to join us skiing. Three nights is much easier to ask grandparents to babysit then seven! And I suspect we got as much skiing done in three full days of just us then six half days of faffing with kids club etc. And then we still have our AL to use on a family holiday.
But now he's 5 were going for 10 days skiing!!!

Another thing is that I suspect weekend breaks work much better from london where there are more flights each day. So you can go out on an early flight and return on a late one. From our local airport it's basically one flight a day to geneva.
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I've done a fair few. Flights are cheaper on weekdays and if you book last minute there are good deals to be found in hotels etc.

But you're right, for not too much more you can do a week.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Depending on your level of disposable income, all opportunities to get in the mountains and ski are worth it aren't they?

Often the cost between a week or long weekend is pretty similar, but if you're time poor, its still worth while. I typically get a 1 or 2 weeks plus 2 or 3 long weekends per year. I can normally be on the slopes by lunch with ease on the first day and ski till 4/5pm on the return. I normally use a private transfer (alps2apls) to maximise my ski time.
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RichClark wrote:
Depending on your level of disposable income, all opportunities to get in the mountains and ski are worth it aren't they?

Often the cost between a week or long weekend is pretty similar, but if you're time poor, its still worth while. I typically get a 1 or 2 weeks plus 2 or 3 long weekends per year. I can normally be on the slopes by lunch with ease on the first day and ski till 4/5pm on the return. I normally use a private transfer (alps2apls) to maximise my ski time.


Rich is spot on. When my children were infants heading off to the snow for a week with my friends was not on the radar of possibility. However, a long weekend Weds - Sun was agreed 'do-able' so I grabbed the opportunity. Yes, it cost nearly as much as a full week. Yes, there is a bit of faffing and DIY booking to arrange. Yes, my friends would have preferred a week, but as chief geek I book all our trips away. Yes, we had less choice of resorts and flights etc. Would I do this every year if it was my only option? Absolutely! Several days on the slopes is worth the effort and expense.
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Quote:

-avoiding the main school holiday times
-an early flight out (preferably scheduled/major carrier/major airport) with hand luggage only
-a short transfer (pre-booked car hire gives control and flexibility)
-a resort we've skied before (so we know where we're going)
-convenient catered accommodation (preferably a half-board hotel next to a lift/piste)
-as much as we can pre-booked (lift passes, ski rental, any lessons/guiding)
-an evening flight back (ski the as much of the last day as is possible and travel in the dark)

I sort of agree, but I prefer to get a late flight out the night before. I am off to Les Arcs next weekend - flying out Thursday evening, pick up a hire car at Geneva, a 2:30 drive to Les Arcs getting there shortly after midnight. That way we are at the lift office at 9:00 the next morning fully refreshed. Set off back about 16:30 on the Sunday evening. 3 days skiing for 1 and a little bit days off work. IIRC the flights come in at about £100 return and the car hire about £100 between 3 of us. The parking at the UK airport is a not insignificant part of the cost.
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Before we bought our apartment we would occasionally drive down to Stanstedafter work, find a travellodge, then get the first flight out to Turin and be in Serre Che by 12.30 and on the slopes for the afternoon. Ski on Sat Sun and Monday, get 10pm flight out of Turin and drive back from Stansted. We've done it Newcastle-Geneva before too, but timings always worked best with that Stansted trip.
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Frank Lundy wrote:
We've booked flights on the Wednesday 23rd March to Barcelona. Fly around 6pm land at around 930. Should arrive into andorra around 12.30am Thursday. Fly back late on bank holiday Monday I think around 10pm. 5 days skiing for 1 day holiday isn't too bad


Doing exactly the same but to Meribel not Andorra. Gotta love Easter this year being so early.
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@johnE, If you've still old an old lift pass, they're normally rechargable online, that'll save you the queues at the lift office.
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Would you think those on short-breaks tend to cram more time "on ski's" than those who are out for the whole week?
First & last lifts and less time on breaks and lunch, leading to an intense 3-4 days, rather than a more relaxed attitude if your their for a whole week "holiday".
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@jezza123, for me , personally, no - stopping for hot chocolates, beers and lunch on the mountain is all part of the expeience that I love. I don't change my approach when I do a week or long weekends. Time of first lift is dependant on many factors, typically weather related, as is my return back to resort. On a blue bird day, I'm going to ski first to last (with breaks) regardless.
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@Levi215,

weeks are better value in money but not holiday allowance - you do weekends to do more skiing without sacrificing your summer hols
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@RichClark, I cannot recall a queue in the lift pass office in Arc 1600. Except occaisionally behind me as the ladies in the office love to talk and I like to listen.
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Quote:
you do weekends to do more skiing without sacrificing your summer hols
Summer hols?? Shocked Er, shouldn't that be posted on the sister 'Sandheads' website? Or amended to read "You do as many weeks and weekends of skiing as possible and only have a few days left for summer hols"Toofy Grin
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@jezza123, Yes. When we ski for 3 days we tend to start early and finish near lift closure. On week long trips there is a tendency amongst some of the group to start après earlier.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
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@Mike-H, felt the same myself, bit more duvet time first thing also
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
For a short weekend there's always the Snow Train, for £99 return through LastMinute. You only get a day of skiing and two very long nights "sleeping" on the train, but if you do manage to get some sleep in on the way out on the train, it's not that bad.

You lose no days off work, any children don't miss school and it's the cheapest way to have a go on real snow outdoors. Downside being if it turns out to be a crappy zero visibility day with high winds it's a bit of a wasted trip. We (my 8 year old daughter and me) did it last March and had a bluebird powder day - it was brilliant!
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@sparklies, I've not seen that offer repeated this year. Shame, as I would do it if it were possible.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
johnE wrote:

I sort of agree, but I prefer to get a late flight out the night before.


Agreed. Quite doable if you're flying to one of the airports that has business traffic (hence evening flights from the UK) and is close to the mountains. Geneva and Turin work well. Innsbruck has few if any flights landing after dark, which is a shame as its a great location with easy access to many resorts.

Can anyone add to Geneva and Turin?
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IanTr wrote:

Can anyone add to Geneva and Turin?


I think that Milan is one of the best served cities with some very attractive prices.
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Ray Zorro wrote:
IanTr wrote:

Can anyone add to Geneva and Turin?


I think that Milan is one of the best served cities with some very attractive prices.


For Foppolo or Champoluc? Probably 2 hours+ transfer... I guess that's ok if you accept one late night (we would). Might not be fun driving up the hill at that time if it's snowing though!
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Quote:

I think that Milan is one of the best served cities with some very attractive prices.

Make sure it is Malpensa and it is only a 2 hour drive or so to Gressony. There appear to be more late flight to Milan than Turin.

For some reason I cannot find any convenient flight to Lyon. There used to be some good ones once upon a time.
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Quote:

Summer hols?? Er, shouldn't that be posted on the sister 'Sandheads' website? Or amended to read "You do as many weeks and weekends of skiing as possible and only have a few days left for summer hols"


some of us have inconvenient families who like a holiday in summer Very Happy
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@IanTr, there are loads of resorts within striking range of Milan Malpensa. https://www.j2ski.com/ski_resorts/Airports/Ski_Resorts_Near_Milan_Malpensa_Map.html
I would think that you have to drive like an Italian to make some of those places in the times they suggest though! Chamonix in 2.5 hours would be going it some!!
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@jedster, Yes my family like a summer holiday as well - 10 days rock climbing in the Dolomites and another 10 days trying to climb glaciers in the Vanoise (but we usually end up just doing via ferrata and sport climbing)
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Ray Zorro wrote:
@sparklies, I've not seen that offer repeated this year. Shame, as I would do it if it were possible.


Oh, that's a shame! I thought it was excellent value for money and a great way of getting some skiing done with no time off at all!
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Ray Zorro wrote:
@IanTr, there are loads of resorts within striking range of Milan Malpensa. https://www.j2ski.com/ski_resorts/Airports/Ski_Resorts_Near_Milan_Malpensa_Map.html
I would think that you have to drive like an Italian to make some of those places in the times they suggest though! Chamonix in 2.5 hours would be going it some!!


Thank you. I hadn't realised that Malpensa was 60km closer to the skiing. I've added that to my mental database!
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Thanks for all the replies, on the flight front I think it's far easier from London than up here due to the amount of scheduled stuff going out.

I haven't managed to ascertain whether my friend is time rich, (I don't believe she is) but she's also interested in value for money which should make for an interesting discussion Wink
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