 Poster: A snowHead
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LIAMJ, TBH I can't remember what we paid, but that doesn't sound far off. The Marriott is very comfortable and idelaly located so it's worth paying a bit more for.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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AxsMan, Tks,will try and sweet-talk the missus this w'end! it'll be our 1st ski trip to the States and is a bit more than we're used to paying for Europe,but does include all ski hire and passes,so fingers crossed 
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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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LIAMJ, Go for it - we had the best weeks skiing yet. Snow was superb, and 'trails' practically empty never queued for more than a minute all week.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yup! Its finally remembered how to snow at Kirkwood - think this might be the first meaningful dump of 2007 for the Tahoe Resorts! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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AxsMan,
Where did you stay? Still considering a trip this season or maybe in December to meet up with a mate who is in San Fransico.
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AxsMasn
sounds perfects 
Did you fly home directly from Vegas, or go back to San Fran?
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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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I think Vegas is a far longer drive than SFO from Tahoe. May be possible to get a connecting flight form Reno but most of these route back to SFO or further east.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but there will be 3 basic components to that holiday being flights, car hire and accomodation (assuming the price quoted doesnt include skis/lessons)
You can look at all of these separately to price check.
Flights to San Francisco from London are likely to be in the £400- £550 category in economy. If you want direct you probably pay towards the higher end, you can shave costs by going a route with a stop. Virgin will sell you their own direct flights. If you want to wait for the next BA seat sale (BA also fly direct) you may get lucky. When we were looking in March last year it was £419 from Scotland via Heathrow (for a while) and cheaper if you went direct from Heathrow with no feeder flight.
Car hire depends on what you get but will be £300- £400 per week I imagine. You may want to get a 4wd vehicle if you are driving from SF to Tahoe. If it snows they can get quite picky about letting you drive on without 4wd or chains. You can book direct with any of the large American car hire firms. We usually use Alamo
The Marriott vacation resorts can be booked direct off the Marriott website. You dont need to go through a tour operator.
Going DIY means no tour operator etc so there will be more to do yourself, up tp you whether that is worthwhile in any cost saving etc.
There is a ton of rental accomodation all around Lake Tahoe (some of it no doubt not as spiffy as the Marriott) but I would guess that you could get a good holiday cheaper than your figure if you were prepared to research it etc and surf the web. Try epicski.com for recommendations on accomodations etc. They have a good few Tahoe skiers.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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GillJ,
On the way out we flew into San Francisco, stayed there one night. Then we hired a car (Not a 4X4, just a 'Town & Country, which is what we drive over here) and drove up to SLT. The drive is about 3.5 hours. We stayed at the Marriot appartments, but there are lots of other (and cheaper) options available.
Our return was a bit more complicated. Drove back to SF (through a blizzard, had to fit chains!), and then flew from SF out to Vegas. Stayed at Vegas for three nights, spent one day at the Grand Canyon, then flew back to SF, before flying from there back to the UK.
it was all fairly easy to arrange and we didn't bother with a tour operator. Enjoyed it hugely and hope to do it again in a year or two. 
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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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| malcolm1 wrote: |
Car hire depends on what you get but will be £300- £400 per week I imagine. You may want to get a 4wd vehicle if you are driving from SF to Tahoe. If it snows they can get quite picky about letting you drive on without 4wd or chains. You can book direct with any of the large American car hire firms. We usually use Alamo
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You do not actually need a car once you are there. Heavenly, Sierra, Kirkwood & Squaw are all available without a car and will keep you occupied for a fortnight. One way rental will be cheaper. There are often good deals to get from Tahoe back to San Francisco. You can get chains fitted en route should the need arise. You need a bigger company for one-way on this route - Hertz and Avis, not Budget, National etc.
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Been to Tahoe a fair bit over the last 10 years or so, all bar once independently which is the best way to go IMO. You need a car because the whole point of the area is to visit a bunch of different resorts. I really wouldn't recommend staying in South Lake Tahoe more than once - its ok but its in the wrong place for the best resorts.
On the south side of the lake you have: Heavenly, which is great obviously, but if you do more than 2 or 3 days out of 10 skiing there you're missing out on the other resorts. Sierra is ok for a day and Kirkwood is great but only really after a dump.
The North shore has Northstar, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and Sugar Bowl none of which you should miss, as well as Diamond Peak for an easy warm up day plus Mount Rose and Homewood if you get the chance.
If nightlife is key then stay in South Lake Tahoe but if you're there for the snow then stay in Incline Village or at a push Tahoe City and drive to a different resort every day. Its not like driving to a European resort, all the Tahoe resorts are very very well set up for cars, you'll walk less from your car to the lifts than you would from most (non ski-in, ski-out) accomodation to the lifts in Europe.
As for flights, winter is off-season to San Francisco so you should get a flight for £350ish. If you want to take the Tahoe/Vegas route then fly into San Fran and out of Vegas, you can't sort it out on the web but if you call BA you'll find its the same price as doing a return via the same airport i.e. Lon-SFO-Lon is the same price as Lon-SFO, Vegas-Lon. You can fly to Vegas direct from Reno which is only 45mins drive from Tahoe, for about £100 with America West.
Don't book your Vegas hotel until you're in Tahoe as there will be loads of offers in the Tahoe casinos etc for Vegas hotels.
For car hire - Dollar is the cheapest but beware if you're flying Virign as you'll be behind all the Virgin package holiday people in the queue unless you get to the car hire desk quickly - its very easy to get there via the monorail in the airport. Ignore what they tell you on the desk - you don't need a 4x4 (SUV in the States) in Tahoe - but you will need chains, you can get them at any petrol station on the way up there for £30. They're way easier to put on than European ones, a totally different design. However if you book a midsize car you should be able to get an SUV for the same price if you ask at the desk, if they say no - try again at the office where you get your key in the actual parking garage.
One final thing - don't drive up there on the day you arrive, I have a few times and its a nightmare - have a night in San Francisco instead and drive up the next morning, you'll be awake at 5am because of the time difference anyway.
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You know it makes sense.
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As of 5 mins ago on the BA website a flight from London to San Francisco with BA, midweek, in March 2008 was £298.40
Outbound - Wednesday 5 Mar, 2008
Flight 10:30
5 Mar 13:25
5 Mar Heathrow (London) San Francisco International BA0285
Inbound - Wednesday 19 Mar, 2008
Flight 17:15
19 Mar 10:30
20 Mar San Francisco International Heathrow (London) BA0284
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FAQ
. If you are still thinking about it, we stayed 
