 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi we are a family of 6 with 4 teenagers, all intermediate skiers. We have 4-5 days in the first week of Jan to ski and not sure where to go.
we would ideally like to fly to Geneva as cheapest option for us; we don't want a long, Tignes-style transfer as pressed for time.
we are piste skiers, so the off piste quality not important, and also don't need a very lively apres scene, but some reasonable restaurants would be good.
We like Morzine, but not sure of the snow base that early on
would love some advice - thanks a lot!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Beegee, any particular type of accommodation in mind (apt, hotel, chalet, etc)? Package with transfers/food included, or DIY self catering? Where could/would you fly from?
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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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Easy access to Avoriaz or Flaine would seem to be what you want.
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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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hi re accommodation either self catering (or less expensive chalet). flying from heathrow, or Birmingham. We stayed in Morzine last year when there was no snow there but enough in Avoriaz; we were in a chalet then though and so driven to Avoriaz, which worked well. There is a lower budget this year (!) and we don't really want to spend every day on a bus if possible
There is a lot more accommodation in Morzine than Avoriaz from my search but also wondered if people had advice about different areas close to Geneva?
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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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Verbier.
Chamonix.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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St Gervais or Combloux might suit. Some parts of the Chamonix valley too.
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@Beegee, The high-end resorts will be full of Russians in that week so might be better to look at somewhere other than the honeypots
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| Whitegold wrote: |
Verbier.
Chamonix. |
How have you managed to get 8k posts just replying Verbier to every thread?!
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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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If you want budget skiing you could try somewhere like Thollon-les-Memises
40km from Geneva and just an hour by car.
I don't know what the snow will be like anywhere in January.
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@Beegee, How about Montalbert, or La Plagne? I’d definitely avoid Morzine that early in the season.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Book the flights to Geneva and hold off until December to book your resort accommodation. There are a series of great resorts along the Geneva -Chamonix valley axis and where you will go will depend on the snow cover.It only 90 minutes drive( or an easy transfer) from Geneva to Chamonix. look at the Ski Club of GB website to see what resorts take your fancy. Avoriaz, Samoens Flaine, St Gervais, Chamonix or even Courmayeur if the conditions are good south of Mont Blanc.
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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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YOu don't say where you're flying from but an alternative to GVA, worth at least a cursory investigation, would be Saltzburg. There are often cheap flights going in there and there's some pretty epic skiing well within an hour away - 45mins, easy.
Lots of guest house style accom that is happy with a few nights rather than booking by the week.
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@admin, I second that suggestion.
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You know it makes sense.
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You didn’t say where you were flying from...
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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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There are also UK flights direct to Sion with Powdair (mainly regional UK) and Swiss (Heathrow and London City). Sion is closer than Geneva to big resorts like Verbier and Zermatt/Saas-Fe as well as satellites. Even from Geneva, you might consider Verbier (http://www.verbier.ch/en/index.htm?respp=9&val_33=200065&hide_data=33;200065&tri=1026&Tri=1026), as it has easily enough skiing area for a short break. You can get there by public transport (see https://www.sbb.ch/en) or the usual hire car (under 2h including pickup etc.). If you have under-25s in the party, you can get a 1-year pass for the Verbier (4 Vallées) area for CHF400 (http://www.verbier.ch/en/liste-news-3/news-763/). Alternatively, you might consider staying in a thermal resort like Saillon (https://www.bainsdesaillon.ch/en/) in the valley and doing day excursions to Verbier, Crans-Montana, Diablerets etc. or even further afield to Chamonix. One advantage of a thermal resort is that even if the weather is terrible you can still enjoy a day in situ doing a bit of 'wellness' spa etc.
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Poster: A snowHead
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thank you all so much for your replies - I am so sorry I didn't realise how to check back on replies, so its looks like I have rudely ignored all your advice! thank you all its very much appreciated
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Why limit yourself to Geneva?
There's well priced tickets to Turin, Girona and possibly Perpignan too, and the cost of accomodation and food in Piemonte and Andorra are much lower. And the skiing is great!
Turin > Sestriere, Monterosa, Bardonecchia
Girona (Barcelona) > Pas de la Casa, La Molina
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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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As @Onnem, Look at Turin to fly too - cheap flights and you have the Aosta Valley and Cervinia/Zermatt within 1.5hrs of Airport.
Snow in Cervinia is already building up beautifully and shop the resort be shut due to high winds up top, as long as you have car hire you can ski at some of the local lesser know resorts for free! Car hire for a week with those numbers is circa £550 - not cheap but I suspect with the family you are getting close to that with a private transfer, not sure how much bus transfers are.
Plenty of self catering accommodation in Cervinia too, plus you get the bonus of popping over to Zermatt!!
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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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| PaulC1984 wrote: |
As @Onnem, Look at Turin to fly too - cheap flights and you have the Aosta Valley and Cervinia/Zermatt within 1.5hrs of Airport.
Snow in Cervinia is already building up beautifully and shop the resort be shut due to high winds up top, as long as you have car hire you can ski at some of the local lesser know resorts for free! Car hire for a week with those numbers is circa £550 - not cheap but I suspect with the family you are getting close to that with a private transfer, not sure how much bus transfers are.
Plenty of self catering accommodation in Cervinia too, plus you get the bonus of popping over to Zermatt!! |
As a general rule, hiring 2 smaller cars is often cheaper than a 7-seater or minibus. With 6 people, fold the seats flat in one car and fill with larger luggage items, 6x 20kg bags is still less than the weight of 2 adults. The other 4 can go in the other car with the hand luggage. The car with seats folded can also serve as ski transporter while you're there, enabling you to stay in better value accommodation a short drive from the lifts. Win, win!!
Venice or Treviso have cheap flights and access to the Dolomites with impressive snowmaking, most resorts were fully open last Jan during the snowdrought. Although this year there has already been a good snowfall across the region, as long as it doesn't go really mild & rainy, there's a good base. Think Alleghe, Falcade/Passo San Pellegrino or San Martino di Castrozza, all medium-sized ski areas with access to each other and within about 90 mins of Treviso or Venice. You can even do a day in Venice at the end if you have evening flights.
https://www.bergfex.com/civetta/
https://www.bergfex.com/passo-pellegrino-fassatal-falcade-trevalli/
https://www.bergfex.com/sanmartino-di-castrozza/
It will still be fairly busy in most places in Europe if it's the week up to 7th Jan as it's School Holidays just about everywhere that week. A lot of Italians will ski New Year weekend and go home on the 2nd Jan though.
http://www.zigzagski.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Calendrier-vacances-scolaires-2017-2018.pdf
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