Poster: A snowHead
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We would like to visit Sweden and after some advice as to where to go. This is for Feb half term (if the finances stack up!) 2018.
We are family of 4 and next year our girls will be 8 & 11, and will have been skiing for a number of years by then. We are all piste skier's only.
Thinking of self catering apartment but would be good if somewhere, bur would like to have access to meals out on evenings.
Any advice very welcome as we have never been there before.
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi @NickyJ, assuming Easyjet do the route in 2018, then Gatwick to Åre/Ostersund would be perfect for you. Check the skistar.se website for transfers, accomodation, lift passes, ski school etc. Note changeover day is Sunday. Alternatively for Åre you can look for flights to Trondheim.
Alternatives are fly to Stockholm and drive 5-6 hours to Sälen, Idre Fjäll, or Vemdalen.
Or fly to Stockholm and change to fly further north beyond the arctic circle with Nextjet to Hemmavan Tärnaby (mountain is next to Airport). Or Vilhelmina Airport and pick up car and go to Kittelfjäll. Trouble is Nextjet don't release flights to 3 months or so out, and the really cheap tickets go quickly.
Do you know which week half terms falls on? In Sweden, half term (or "sportlov") is weeks 7 to 10, with week 9 being the most expensive as its Stockholm half term. Week 9 in 2018 is 25 Feb to 4 March 2018.
Sweden is all self-catering, but lots of good value lunch places (or grill your own). Every place has places to eat in the evening, although the choice may be limited. Staying in Åre village (Åre By) would give you the most choice.
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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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What @Themasterpiece says. Are is a great place. And not that expensive for half term if you DIY and don't eat out much. Are By would give the most choice, but for cheaper places to stay, head out to Duved (few miles from Are) - bit quiet though. If Easyjet still flies to Are/Ostersund and you book early, you could have a relatively inexpensive holiday.
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@NickyJ, I only have experience from Sälen, which is very family-friendly. OTOH, I would expect all resorts in Sweden to be family-friendly anyway. It is quite spread out, so moving between mountains may require a bit of patience. Some of the accommodation are also quite far from both slopes and restaurant, so check the location well, lest you find yourself wanting a car. But if you drive from Stockholm, that might not be an issue anyway.
In addition the the "grill your own", at least Sälen has huts where you are free to bring your own food and they even provide you with microwave ovens to heat it. (Don't bring your own alcoholic drinks, though!)
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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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Are is a great little resort. We enjoyed a week there last February half term. Very simple to book everything through the skistar site. Good choice of self catering and generally at a high level of quality. There doesn't seem to be a big price jump for half term. We stayed in the dromstugan cabins near the lake. It was about a 10 to 15 minute walk in from there but we drove in each day and parked up near the lift of our choice. Parking all free. We were lucky with the weather (not too much wind and quite a bit of sun) but I understand that it can be very windy at times and temperatures can plummet. We've skied Norway in the past when it was -25 with wind chill on top. Ouch!
We flew into Trondheim and hired a car. About a 2 hour drive along one main road with no traffic issues.
Would definitely go again.
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@NickyJ, for the Skistar resorts at least, a week skipass gives you 8 days skiing, so you can both Sundays for no extra cost if your travel plans allow it. Also, at Sälen you get a day in Trysil included - it's about an hour's drive across the border into Norway and well worth the trip. Bear in mind that many of the Swedish resorts are several separate areas and individually they can feel quite small compared to the resorts in the Alps; you may need to drive or catch the bus to get between them. The skiing can be excellent though, and there is often lots of easily accessible, relatively safe off-piste if you do fancy venturing off the sides.
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I can vouch for the cold in Trysil, Norway, we had a -21 day there 2 years ago (although most of the week was just single figure minuses) although the air is so dry it didn't feel too bad, we just wore an extra mid layer to normal and made sure there wasn't much face exposed between buff and goggles. As long as your body is warm, your extremities tend to keep warm too. I think if your body starts to get cold it pushes less blood around the extremities which is when your hands and feet suffer.
It did make for excellent snow conditions though.
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@Themasterpiece, sorry for delayed response. Half term weekend is 10th / 11th Feb.
Thanks all for the info. Really useful!
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