Family skiing on a budget

A snowHead

Hi
Apologies if this has been asked a million times.
Based in the north of Scotland we are looking to ski for a week next year with our 2 teens without breaking the bank. We are a mix of advanced and cautious intermediate skiers. We have skied together in Scotland and Bulgaria (great on a budget and with a family) but would like to Spread our wings with a bigger resort. We did PDS this year without the teens but have a reduced budget next year.
Is it possible to do family on a budget?
What countries/areas suit lower budgets and all abilities?
What is the best time of year to go on a budget if we can choose?
How can we keep costs down ourselves? Are packages best or DIY?

Thanks for any help you can offer

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Hi, I always try to ski on a budget but this does usually mean some compromises need to be made. It depends what you have in mind in terms of km of piste, transport, type and size of accommodation, etc.

In terms of companies I have used in the past, include skiweekends (they also do weeks - coach or fly), rocket ski and sunweb. I often tend to DIY as it usually comes out cheaper than the big companies like Crystal.

Flights can be had for under £100 if you book early and don't fly during school holidays (not sure if this is a possibility with teenagers?). Skyscanner is good for quickly comparing flights.

I often stay in self catering apartments, these can be pretty small and require some people to sleep on sofa beds or cabin bunk beds. It may be worth paying more for a slightly larger apartment so everyone has their own bed. I've often used pierre vacances if in france, or look on homelidays, airBnB, holiday lettings, booking.com, etc.

Smaller, lesser known resorts tend to be cheaper than the big resorts well marketed in the UK. Places I've enjoyed with plenty of skiing for all abilities but with a sensible priced lift pass and food include Vars/Risoul, Valloire/Valmeiner (or other Maurienne valley resorts), Montgenevre/Sauze d'oulx (or other milky way resorts), Serre Chevalier, Livigno, La Thuile/Le Rosiere. All of the above resorts have at least 150km of piste to have a go at, some have considerably more. There are plenty of other resorts that would fit the bill too.

In terms of best time for budget, I'd say January or March, but check when the local or nearby European school holidays are. Easter time can also be good value, longer sunny days, but pick your resort more carefully as warm sun = spring skiing/slush depending on altitude and aspect of slopes.

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as a student I used to find the cheapest week was immediately after New Year.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

What age are your "teens"?

Lift passes can be a material and non-variable price of a ski holiday which don't vary by peak/off peak and thus the % of total cost goes up as the total cost comes down.

Thus finding a resort with ski pass discounts for your teens might save you much more than trying to knock £50 off an apartment rental.

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sunweb.co.uk

Self-catering accommodation with ski passes included. Often the total bill including the accommodation is less than the ski passes would be if bought from the lift company.

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Sunweb or Snowtrexx

Unbeatable on prices i'd say.

If you can get cheapish flights and transfers, you're laughing.

After all it is free

Don't overlook catered chalets - you can get some pretty good deals - we did a week in La Plagne, fully catered with unlimited 24hour access to beer and wine and it cost around £400 each - saved an absolute fortune on meals and beers. Company was IceandFire. SleazyJet flights were about £80 each booked about 10 months in advance or as others have said you can just get in the car and drive, then just your lift pass and ski hire to sort.

Time of year makes a big difference :
January and late season prices can be much lower for lift passes and travel. Both of these are significant components of overall cost.
Travel can be filthy cheap in January (I paid £50 for a return flight to austria this year).

Another factor may be age criteria for lift passes - in ischgl it's 17 and saves over £50 on adult.

However you spin it, if it's cheapness you want, self catering, particularly if you drive and can take stuff, is tough to beat. Even by having sandwiches at lunchtime 3 times in a week can save £150 if there are four of you.
Kit hire x4 is a lot over a week. In my experience France is much cheaper than austria for this (for example, I'm not sure about other countries). You can easily check this out using one of the online equipment rental companies.

When you're multiplying by 4, everything is expensive, but if you can save £50 per person on one particular component of the holiday you've save £200, so the benefits soon add up.

DIY will almost always be cheaper. Expecially if you need to book a bit in advance and can't take advantage of last minute TO offers.

Does travelling from the north of scotland impose particular restrictions on where you can fly to?

So much to consider !

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Not fun to drive from north of Scotland and back.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Especially with two teens in the back

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I don't want to open the whole driving vs flying can of worms but northern Scotland to the Alps is a very long way to drive.

Another suggestion if you don't mind a bit of driving s to see if your school holidays are different from England. If so it may be worth looking at flights from a northern English airport. Friends lived in Edinburgh but often book package holidays from Newcastle as it was term time there.

You know it makes sense.

@skiseekers, Have a look at this trip report. A couple of years old but still some useful info. http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2714956&highlight=family+budget#2714956

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I'd really do the sums on some of the suggestions here, as I would almost give the opposite advice:

1. Driving is rarely cheaper once tolls/vignettes/winter tyres/extra time off work... and overnight stops have been factored in. Budget flights are really incredibly cheap when coupled with shared transfers.
2. Self-catering can be cheaper but remember resort mini-markets are expensive, and factor in wastage unless you plan taking all you half-eaten packets and bottles home.
3. France is often more expensive when it comes to lift passes (if you don't get a deal) and on-piste expenses such as drinks (sandwiches lunches are definitely the way forward!).
4. You pay a premium for ski-in ski-out, whereas being near a good ski bus can give you a free ride to many different lifts. Accommodation price goes down massively out of the resort centre, so you can save loads if you're happy to use buses and make your own nightlife.
5. You can often get great deals taking the last couple of rooms in a catered chalet with another group.
6. Take advantage of chalet deals with equipment suppliers.

The cheapest weeks I've had have been in catered chalets where they've offered lifts to and from the piste. It feels like it shouldn't be the case with other people running around after you, but it's hard to beat their economies of scale when they shop at wholesalers for food and pay much lower rents.

A snowHead

There are good deals in Austria late season (late Mar to Easter) with skipass inclusive deals.
Try DIY with accom from local tourist boards including small family places with no UK TOs and budget flights to Munich or Salzburg. Zillertal, Skiwelt, Some Skiamade (and others) are accessible by train which can be much cheaper than transfers. Bayernticket (munich) and group day ticket (austria) are very cheap options. At that time of year there is usually a good variety of on piste(pretty much everything open) but off piste is limited (unless you are very lucky)

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Thanks for all the great advice people.
😃

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Don't completely ignore the TOs ........

Looking at deals the other day there was a S/C apt in Selva, from EDI, flts/tfrs/accom 7 days £251ea, leaving late Mar (which IMO is one of the best times to go anyway, conditions depending). NCL also throws up tranches of cheap deals if you check daily.

Hard to beat that, by any comparison ......

As mentioned Sunweb is always worth a look for accom/pass combos, just add flts/tfrs and stir.

From your location driving would be my very last option. JMO

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Flights to Oslo £400 (4)
Car hire (i paid £90) for the week
Trysil cabin (£1000) but is £500 out of half term
Passes hire for 4£1000
Cost per person £500 ish

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easyjet (started last year) fly direct from Aberdeen to Geneva, which can be a big help for costs.

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After all it is free

We have done budget holidays for years now. Those who say that driving is not cheaper then flying for 4 forget to factor in costs of airport parking and transfers on the other side. Having a car also means staying out of expensive resorts eg staying in Bourg St Maurice where accommodation is a fraction of what it would cost in Les Arc, La Plagne, St Foy, Tignes etc all of which are within 25-30 min drive. If you prefer northern parts of the alps try the Giffre valley for grand massif eg Verchaix for Morrilon or Chantermerle for Samoens or other village that are not walking distance to town centers. By driving you also dont need to shop in resorts eg for Tarentaise you could do all shopping in Chambery or Bourg St Maurice and for Giffre Valley in Cluses. Prices in Carrefour are often better then at home. For a weeks stay we used to freeze bolognese sauce and a of pot stew which would then save us having to cook on 2 nights. Frozen lump of sauce/stew easily survives an overnight stopover that you would need to make traveling from scotland (Rember to pack a box with Olive oil/balsamic vinegar/salt/pepper etc so you dont have t buy these on your trip). Same arrangements can be done in Italy eg staying in Aosta or Chaversnod for Pila.
Alternative strategy if you have the b*lls is to book your crossing but not your accommodation until the day before you leave. The Friday you get on the internet and start calling catered chalets because at that point in time you have a fantastic bargaining power as people have overheads and staff to pay. Our best deals were £500 for 4 fully catered chalet in La Plagne in 2009 and £1000 for 4 in Samoens in 2012. Again this is only possible if you are driving as it makes no difference where you are going until you are approaching Dijon.
There is no debate, driving is cheaper overall as long as you pull your finger out and put in the effort to milk everything that having a car allows you.

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@pp
We bring our wine and food.
Out parking was £60 forb8 nights including a night in hotel which all got refunded due to a glitch.
We could not have driven to the alps or similar cheaper than what we paid for flights. £400 and £90 for car.
We wiuld need an overnight a ferry and fuel that would not be cheaper

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@vjmehra, challenge (as per OP question) is not how to get there on the cheap but how to ski for a week on a budget and that is what i explained in my post.

@warbis66, all prices quoted are for half term and as above. £1000 lift pass and hire (£250 per person) for 600m vertical and 75km of piste sounds like bad value for money; how much do they charge for ski lessons i wonder? Prices i gave you are for resorts with vertical drops of 2000m and 200km of pistes. If you like to ski small resorts try Pila in Aosta with 70km of pistes and 950m vertical pass is €160'ish, kids under 8 don't pay and you get to ski in mountains and not on a hill. Half term 2 double bedroom apartment 7 min drive from a free in resort car park is €410.

You know it makes sense.

Chalet Chardons is excellent value for money.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

As I fly regularly to Glasgow, I notice that Scottish school holidays are slightly out of kilter with English schools.
A few work colleagues have driven to say Liverpool or Manchester & flown from their during Scottish school holidays and saved a lot on flights.

A snowHead

Yeah and Scotland dont get half terms

A snowHead

@ibexag,
Your points may be true away from peak season, but otherwise:
1. Driving to the Northern Austrian Alps at half term, no tolls or vignette are needed, total cost for 4 inc. 2 stops , breakdown insurance, tunnel, petrol = £800. How much would flights, airport parking and transfers be in school hols?
2. You can find self catering apartments from about £450 for 4 people. What is the minimum you could pay in peak season? I think you definitely save a lot self catering. Plus if you are driving you can bring some things with you (marmite). The shops in Austria are used by locals year round here, I don't find them that expensive.
3. True, these things are far cheaper in Austria.
4. True, and again, if you have a car you can try a new resort every day if you want.
5. Dunno
6. Dunno, I used Slopefox this year and saved about £100 from what I was going to pay by using a small out of town rental shop.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

what is the argument that flying is as cheap is driving. I don't get it. I would it out to be roughly half the cost. Family of 4. Flying is £250 each for airfares. £100. A tank of diesel is £70. I can 600 to 700 miles on a 60L tank. Being wastfull 5 tanks of fuel on the trip. £350 plus ferry from dover to Calais cost me £115 in January. £1000 - £465 . Driving was a 50% saving for us (just for the travel aspect).

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Flights £100 each
Car hire £88 how can that be cheaper than driving? Very Happy

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I can offer a recent direct drive v fly DIY comparison.

New Year just gone our booked DIY to Courchevel flying was:

BA Flights 452.44 for 4
Car hire 247.97 7 seater 8 days
Fuel est 40.00 LYS-courch return
Tolls est 20.00 LYS-courch return
Accom. 863.64 apartment
Last night hotel 63.64 to enable 7th day skiing
Heathrow parking 87.50
Car hire excess insurance 17.01

Total 1,792.19

That was booking almost a year in advance so getting pretty low BA fares to Lyon and a low price for a 7 seater. It was a similar price for a family estate. Couldn’t have got away with a compact with a family of 4 plus luggage plus skis and a snowboard.

Unfortunately BA cancelled our flights at 5am on the day. We ended up getting in the car and driving as it was the only way we were going to get there the same day. We paid:

EuroTunnel 268.00 booked on the day so significantly more than normal
Fuel 300 1.13 265.49 we filled up 5 times avg EUR 60 a time.
Tolls 162.8 1.13 144.07
Accom. 863.64 same accommodation obviously
Last night hotel 63.64 we are able to use the same hotel in lyon after 7th day skiing and drove home from there.

Total 1,604.84. So 400 pp. for a peak week, for travel & accom.

So direct comparison driving was almost 200 cheaper than flying. Fuel was pretty high as we were in an xc90 so not the most economical. The tunnel was £100 more than normal as we booked it that day. Normally a return is about 168, so had we originally booked to drive then it would have been 300 cheaper driving.

Obviously you can argue an allowance for additional wear and tear, and tyre wear. We already have snow snocks. They’ve now done 3 trips and never yet needed to be put on. It’ll be the 4th driving trip at easter, so the cost per trip average for the snow socks is now negligible.

It wouldn’t be much cheaper to drive on a non peak week, accommodation would be cheaper obviously. I doubt you’d get flights and car hire much cheaper on a non peak week either. However you can pick up bargain packages on non peak weeks.

This is from Surrey. Obviously if you are in Wales/Scotland/Cornwall/ the extra fuel, time and faff factor throws things out.

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For the OP being in Scotland, if it's a peak week (school hols) I'd suggest booking way in advance (as far as possible) and trying to do DIY with flights but bagging flights as soon as they are released.

If you don't have to go school hols look for out of season bargain packages OR book flights & car hire as early as possible - out of season flights for 100 pp should be do-able.

EDIT - if you have to go in school hols and are DIY, easter is probably the cheapest out the school hols.

After all it is free

@Gazzza, Interesting numbers, but would you not agree that £450 for 4 flights including baggage is unusually cheap for New Year? Good on you for being organised enough to sort this (albeit BA screwed you!).

Out of interest, was the flight cancelled? If not, perhaps you were bumped as you'd paid the lowest price for the ticket...

Yes good point @Badbobby, it was cheaper than normal largely because of the way new year and christmas hols fell this year.

NYE was the Saturday, but schools started back the middle of the following week, so there was no natural New Years full week sat-sat or sun-sun holiday in school hols this year, so demand was lower. Our school kindly threw inset days in that first week hence we were able to do it. So I guess on a normal New year week, where its full school hols I expect flight prices would be considerably more. Maybe not quite Feb half term levels but certainly a fair whack more ? 50% to double at at a guess which would make the saving on driving even more considerable.

For 2015 Feb half term I got decent London to Munich flights on Lufty booking around a year advance. We paid around 130 pp for those flights too then drove into Austria. Car hire and accommodation was similar ish to those costs above. I tried to do the same for 2016 half term but I was trying to book a week after flights had been released and they were already over 200 pp (and BA to GVA was over 400 pp!).

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Regarding flights, I always travel peak weeks (have no choice) and NEVER pay more than about £100 for return flights. I book as soon as they are released, yes I'm slightly manic when booking this but the savings are worth it. I tend to try and fly BA as then my ski carriage is included. This year I've paid £90 for my flight this half term coming.

Driving can work out cheaper, although from Scotland this becomes less likely. However, I much prefer to fly over spending 16 hours behind the wheel.

I look around for ski transfer deals and as long as there is a sensible number of you (4 people), then a private minibus transfer is often good value. I've going from Salzburg to Saalbach for £50pp return (Salzburg taxi). I'm lucky there are good public transfer links to the airport so will get the train (£20pp) although airport parking would have been cheaper if I'd been organised and booked early.
So cost pp for the flight, journey to UK airport and transfers is £160pp. Even if it was more than this, I will leave my house in the morning, fly at lunchtime and be in resort late afternoon.

I'm not saying flying is always cheaper, just that is can be done if you are super organised and a cheap skate, like me!

Help!!

Family skiing on a budget

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