Been there, done that, need a new destination

A snowHead

Hello hive mind - need some inspiration please! 2 adults, 2 teenagers, have driven to Flaine for Feb half term skiing for the last 5 years, now we're ready to go somewhere bigger. Needs to be high (min 1500m ideally), probably self-catering to keep costs down. Looking at 3 vallees, Les Menuires looks like a good option but without having been there, it's hard to know which part of the resort to stay in. Anyone been and have any feedback? Also open to suggestions of other resorts - doesn't have to be France, we can get by in German and French so Austria/Switzerland could work but driving time might exclude those? Thks for any hints/tips

A snowHead

If you liked Flaine, you might like nearby Avoriaz. Fairly similar slopes, terrain, scenery, altitudes...

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

Avoriaz is at 1800m and is 95% self-catering, and at the centre of the largest linked ski area in the world.

Switzerland is only a few chairlifts away too.

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@ct1801, not a fan of the Les Menuires skiing so would choose VT. Ski in / ski out, high, good variety in VT itself and Mottaret and Courchevel easy to access for variety. What about the apartments they use for the EoSB if you want something nice?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Avoriaz probably worth a look, guessing the ski area is much larger? Will have a look at the piste maps tomorrow. Out of interest @BobinCH why don't you like the Les Menuires skiing? I thought it would be a decent access point to the 3Vallees ?

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@ct1801, La Masse is good but the runs above Les Menuires village are choke points and don’t do it for me. VT has more varied ways up and back and I prefer all of them - especially tête ronde and Boismint.

While it may look like the PdS is a bigger area than 3V it is not as well linked, the skiing is lower (= icy pistes) and personally I don’t think it compares for quality of skiing.

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3V. But it's v ex too!

After all it is free

Cervinia? Must you drive?

@BobinCH, indeed. Also PdS is much smaller than the 3V in terms of km of pistes.

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I'm sure you would enjoy Les Menuires. True as @BobinCH says that access up the valley to Val Thorens is a slight pain, but on the plus side it has better connections than VT to the other valleys.

Porte de Soleil bigger on paper, but those choke points are everywhere.

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Avoriaz isn't as good as they promote it to be. There isn't much skiing above the town (itself 1800m) and the availabilty of wider area skiing is overstated and overrated if the weather is warm, because you have to ski down through crap snow and rain to really low lifts into other valleys.

I loved it for a the few days we were there but anything below the 1500m freeze level was grim. You're effectively trapped in a mountain top island.

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@Csb123, I don't think height is so important in mid February. The risk of rain / poor snow is low - I would say no greater than the risk of going to a higher resort and finding lifts closed for a day due to high winds / or having to brave poor visibility in a treeless landscape.

Personally I favour lower ski areas / areas with trees in Jan, and higher areas in March. February is more closely cut.

What time of year did you go to Avoriaz?

@definella we were in Avoriaz early March 2018. Don't get me wrong, the snow above 1500m was epic. But below was dire. Everyone from Morzine etc. headed up to eacape the rain. Edit: Think might have been second week of 2018. And the runs down to the Lindarets are awesome, as are the runs over by the Swiss Wall, just not much else to tbe place.

You know it makes sense.

Nothing wrong with Les Menuires as long as you don't mind a more French orientated resort (you may consider this a benefit!). Far cheaper than all other high areas of the 3Vs. Often has the best snow anywhere around 11am as the south facing slopes soften and the top half of La Masse is often the best full stop in a poor snow year. Much more sheltered than VT when the wind comes in and February should be very good there.

The Reberty/Bruyeres area is the best for access out in the mornings and only one lift home if you're in the Folie in VT. It's also the more modern area with nice stone and wood buildings rather than the 70s high rise blocks that are elsewhere and which lead to LM's much maligned architectural reputation. Couple of very good value quality restaurants in Reberty too (La Ferme & L'Ours Blanc).

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

@Csb123, fair enough. It sounds like you were a bit unlucky (if it was early March than that would have been even more unlucky!). Early January can indeed be a bit dodgy, both low down (lack of snow) and high up (bad weather). We had a bit of a disappointing trip to Alpe d'Huez even in mid January 2015, where the higher slopes were mostly closed due to wind and many of the lower slopes had insufficient snow.

A snowHead

Thanks all - in response to the various comments, yes we must drive due to the cost of flights, we can only ski on a shoestring budget! I have concerns re Morzine as I know that skiing back down to the village can be problematic and even on our meagre budget we are looking to stay somewhere that won't include getting a bus back (Flaine Foret v good for this if anyone's interested). I think I may look again at Avoriaz and Les Menuires and all the tips have been very valuable - thank you. Out of interest, has anyone been self-catering in an apartment in either Austria or Switzerland? Thks

A snowHead

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

We have several times self-catered in Switzerland - we found it competitive at British half term because they don't raise their prices nearly as much as the French. You won't want to eat out too much if you are on a budget though.

If Lenzerheide/Arosa is a possibility, you could try contacting Jason of Snow Motions (British guy who married a Swiss and runs his own little chalet/apartment company) he was very helpful for us. info@snowmotions.com.

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2 letters for you - EK, ok then 2 words - ESPACE KILLY. Probably the best ski area in all of France.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Half term - Dolomites. Somewhere on the North side such as Ortisei, Selva/Val Gardena

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La Tania in the 3V or Selva or La Villa in the Dolomites

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PDS is great, avoriaz is ugly but central, another place to consider is La plagne, huge area and if you get the paraski pass you can do les arcs as well, not the best road up though, I have stayed in Reberty which is better placed than les menuires, we have been lots of time with a company called peak retreats, they have places in many resorts and are great value for money

After all it is free

Hi All

Have skied in all the resorts. Val Thorens in March/April is excellent, as u have the benefit of height in resort, and quick access to Salure via Meribel, is also tru ski in and ski out, although if a whiteout can be abysmal. Also if weather is warm the runs into Meribel can be slushy (athough that was in late April, and u would probably stick to VT if weather warm), when it was warm Les Menuires was poor quality and some runs were shut. Have stayed in LaTania, and it is well placed to get into Meribel or Courchevel, only issue can be if it is warm, end of day run can be tricky, and depending on where u are staying may not be ski in ski out, Pub Le Ski Lodge is really good tho, although town is small. Have skied in Morzine and wasn't so impressed, buses around town, and lack of lift connectivity was an issue. Have skied La Plagne and Les Arcs, both good resorts, but preferred 3 Vallyes, due to the variety and volume of skiing across all centres, whereas in Les Arcs/La Plagne u need to cross a valley to ski the full area...... Overall, if u want an open bowl with good accessm, then it needs to be Val Tho. If u want tree lined skiing and don't mind not having direct front door skiing to a large area I would stay in La Tania as it may be cheaper.....

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Hi All

Have skied in all the resorts. Val Thorens in March/April is excellent, as u have the benefit of height in resort, and quick access to Salure via Meribel, is also tru ski in and ski out, although if a whiteout can be abysmal. Also if weather is warm the runs into Meribel can be slushy (athough that was in late April, and u would probably stick to VT if weather warm), when it was warm Les Menuires was poor quality and some runs were shut. Have stayed in LaTania, and it is well placed to get into Meribel or Courchevel, only issue can be if it is warm, end of day run can be tricky, and depending on where u are staying may not be ski in ski out, Pub Le Ski Lodge is really good tho, although town is small. Have skied in Morzine and wasn't so impressed, buses around town, and lack of lift connectivity was an issue. Have skied La Plagne and Les Arcs, both good resorts, but preferred 3 Vallyes, due to the variety and volume of skiing across all centres, whereas in Les Arcs/La Plagne u need to cross a valley to ski the full area...... Overall, if u want an open bowl with good accessm, then it needs to be Val Tho. If u want tree lined skiing and don't mind not having direct front door skiing to a large area I would stay in La Tania as it may be cheaper.....

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I'd choose Les Menuires over VT every time. Very easy to get to anywhere in the 3V and over many trips to the 3V VT has consistently the highest proportion of dangerous out of control Be Nice please!

I've seen.

You know it makes sense.

Soldeu.

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

La Plagne

A snowHead

Thanks all for the helpful suggestions, I'll do some browsing and come up with a shortlist. might be back at a later date with more questions !

A snowHead

Serre chevalier has awesome cheap self-catering options is the right height and is 250kms of piste

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Just got back from VT yesterday and had some great skiing. As said above, it is very high up so guaranteed snow, amazing for ski in / ski out and has some very good skiing close by. The downsides are that it can apparently be very bleak in bad weather and has a very young crowd!! We found that the links to other valleys from VT were excellent - two quick lifts to Motteret and one more to get to Courchavel (where we skied a lot!). Back from the other end of Courchavel took only around 45 minutes if you stayed high (avoiding Meribel itself). The other great advantage to VT is it's proximity to Orelle (the hidden 4th valley). Not a massive ski area itself but some lovely quiet runs in a beautiful setting!

Personally I love the Courchavel valley though and last year, we stayed in La Tania which was very well located. It is in the Courchavel Valley but doesn't command Courchavel prices, it is a lovely location although nightlife is limited and nothing after about 11pm! The runs down are great and well sheltered from the sun so, although a bit lower, the snow stays in good condition if things are warmer! You have good access to Meribel and the remainder of the Courchavel area which has some amazing skiing!!

I have also skied Val D'isere which is great for advanced skiers with loads of off piste and lots of amazing runs. Links with Tignes are really quick and simple plus night life is very good and suits all ages well. Tignes itself (although I haven't stayed there) has some lovely skiing for all levels and interests so this might well be one for consideration.

I have also spent a couple of holidays in Les Arcs which were really good! It is linked with La Plagne but via a cable car across a valley however there is a lot of skiing in Les Arcs alone - high glacier runs, big open bowls and also a lot of tree level skiing as well!

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For a DIY budget trip Austria could be an option, it would be a bit different as well. Remember that being North and East makes the climate colder. 1000m in Austria is high and snowsure in Feb equivalent to at least 1500m in SW alps. For self catering there are less big blocks but lots of small places, try tourist board websites or even resort pages on here, there are several SHs with apartments. If Flaine feels small you would need one of the big linked resorts, most have cheaper options among the linked villages, Saalbach Hinterglemm (Leogang may be the budget option) and Kitzbuhel (staying in Kirchberg) spring to mind. Travel to Tyrol is only just over the German border so a little bit more distance than Flaine but not much farther than 3V.

Help!!

Been there, done that, need a new destination

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