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should i book now for Skiing in 2022 (Jan, France)

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
completely torn on what to do.

thinking of doing a roll-your-own ski trip in Jan, easyjet flights, private transfer, independent catered chalet, i've tried to do a rudimentary risk assessment on potential financial loss based on a few possible scenarios, lockdowns, self or Government quarantine, lifts not running, FCO advice etc and worked out the possible loss for each as best i can using refund policies stated by each supplier (of course they may not stick to their promises!) the flight would be into GVA, that way if France or the EU as a whole bar us for any reason we could potentially switch to CH at a push.

of course not booking is zero financial risk however with this option comes a possibility of either no availability due to (pent up?) demand or the price rocketing. at the moment the pricing is not far off what what we've paid in previous years.

is booking now daft beyond belief?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Mr_frosty, your call. I am not booking yet.
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I've booked a Snoworks trip to St Anton in Jan but not booked the accommodation etc yet. Deposit only paid, that is refunded if COVID prevents travel and the balance is only payable in December when I hope the presence/absence of a winter wave is known. Will book the accompanying flights/accommodation later but make sure they are exchangeable/refundable.

That trip is pretty much sold out so I guess I am not the only one!
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We have booked for March - The agency has a policy that our booking is secure and if for any Covid related reason we cant travel, we can cancel (for a 25 euro fee) or rearrange.

Flights will be able to be rearranged as usual.

Under those circumstances? Why not.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I am waiting to see whether skiing can be done without numerous expensive Covid tests. Crystal have cheap testing - but not for skiing atm.

If booking, make sure it can be cancelled cheaply, or postponed beyond the coming season (in case the worst happens).

Make sure you can access Insurance that adequately covers Covid.
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The way I would do it is book the flights and lock in the low price fully accepting that you may have to move it

I would then go onto bookings.com and book accommodation that is cancellable, preferably really close to the departure date.
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Shop around and you should be able to find most things with good cancellation policies at the moment - as they are more desperate for your business than worried about the odd random (i.e. non Covid-based) cancellation.

I've already got the critical parts of a few trips booked for the 21/22 season, but all are free to cancel at the moment and usually until about 6 weeks before travel. I haven't done flights or transfers yet as these are something you can book much closer to the time outside school holidays without looking at £1,000 each way tickets.
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I'm waiting to see where I can go, if anywhere
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DrNo wrote:
....December when I hope the presence/absence of a winter wave is known....


yes, this is my worry. i'm sure they'll be a uptick in cases come the winter, its a question of what action may be taken to suppress travel.
i'm willing to reluctantly accept some pain, PCR test costs and even self quarantine on return if need be.
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Mjit wrote:
I haven't done flights or transfers yet as these are something you can book much closer to the time outside school holidays without looking at £1,000 each way tickets.


A reason to book flights now is that many current policies allow fee-free changes or cancellation. Once some semblance of "normality" returns, I doubt the airlines will provide the same booking flexibility on cheap tickets.

This doesn't just have to be COVID-related; there's many other reasons (work, family, snow conditions etc.) why it might be useful to be able to change your flights.
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@Mr_frosty, even if it's busier than normal in January there should be plenty of accommodation available even last minute.

Would lock flights in asap though. Rare for them to get cheaper.

I am planning to go at Christmas, haven't booked anything yet but we'll be driving so no flights.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@snowdave, agree about the flights but am changing jobs in August so want to make sure that week is OK with them before committing to flights but will probably book those and refundable accommodation in August time.
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We're planning to book for January - as we did for this year - both the tunnel, overnight stop and apartment had a cancellation and full refund option so nothing lost.

Will do the same this year
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Mr_frosty, I have 8 trips booked in next season all independently organised. Flights are all refundable or rebookable, or both. Car hire free cancellation until 24 hours before. Accommodation all free cancellation until week before in most cases. Have spread my bets across 4 or 5 different countries and two continents. So confident something will come to fruition. Have taken full advantage of the rock bottom flight and car hire rentals - for example return flights to Innsbruck - including skis and hold bag for £110 - 9 seater minibus 7 days for £270.
Make hay, man!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Snowsartre wrote:
@Mr_frosty, I have 8 trips booked in next season

Leave something for others you bug-ger Laughing NehNeh
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Mr_frosty, I think you’ll be fine. Even if France gets stroppy there is no way CH won’t be letting Brits in by next January
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Think I read CH is open to double jabbed Brits from 26 June and without quarantine.
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Snowsartre wrote:
Think I read CH is open to double jabbed Brits from 26 June and without quarantine.


Just need a second mortgage to afford the cost of everything once you get there!! Shocked Laughing
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Snowsartre wrote:
Think I read CH is open to double jabbed Brits from 26 June and without quarantine.


Not tourists though
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Snowsartre wrote:
@Mr_frosty, Flights are all refundable or rebookable, or both. !

Out of interest which airline(s) have you used? And in your opinion who is offering the best conditions for refunds or exchange
EasyJet have their protection promise but I read it’s only for flights up to the end of sept this year.
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Ive booked austria for dec. france for march. Everything but cheap flights cancellable.
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@luigi, fair but some parts of CH are far more affordable than others
@holidayloverxx, I have an email stating from Swiss tourist information stating, "Good news: Switzerland reopens its borders for fully vaccinated people without quarantine from the United Kingdom as of June 26, 2021. It is not too late to start booking your trip for this summer or autumn. Find here the inspiration or advice you seek."
@Mr_frosty, My Innsbruck flights are with sleazy and I lucked out when rebooking Munich flights as managed to change airports at no extra cost. Lufthansa have been superb and refunded in full 6 different flights this season and I think flights I have booked for next season have same protection. BA have offered the same, the only caveat is you have to pay the difference in prices should you need to rebook. Air Canada I have option of refund, rebooking or voucher (valid for two years if memory serves correctly). Don't know if this is also the case with Ryanair, but I would never travel with them anyway! Toofy Grin
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I'm about to press launch on a Vrbo apartment in France with a host we have dealt with before; and who is wise enough to offer 100% cancellation up to 20th December on a 3rd January arrival. We'll book the Chunnel on flexi tickets, and get the GM season pass mid-December. What can possibly....?
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@Snowsartre, there are other posts on here which suggests it's not for tourists. In on my phone...do a search
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Booked Austria for Feb/mar. Like @Mr.Egg, everything but flights can be cancelled up till shortly before.
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luigi wrote:
Snowsartre wrote:
Think I read CH is open to double jabbed Brits from 26 June and without quarantine.

Just need a second mortgage to afford the cost of everything once you get there!! Shocked Laughing

You can holiday on a budget in Switzerland, and you can spend a fortune. Just like anywhere else. Renting a 5* lux chalet in the Hameau in Verbier is no more or less pricey than hiring a 5* chalet on-piste in Courcheval 1850. I'd admit that you can't get a cheap catered chalet holiday based on underpaid Brit gap-year students like you could in France. But thanks to Brexit and Covid, these will disappear next season anyway.

@holidayloverxxx It's official - just look at the end of the adjacent Switzerland thread. The Federal Office of Public Health has announced that from tomorrow, UK nationals explicitly only need a full vaccination certificate to enter Switzerland, without quarantine or tests. Moreover, children of parents with full vaccination certification won't need tests or vaccination:

persons who have been vaccinated or who have recovered do not have to produce a negative test even when travelling from countries where the Delta variant is widespread (such as India or the United Kingdom) and do not have to quarantine on entry.

The big hurdle for us isn't going to be entry to Switzerland, it's going to be whether we can get travel insurance while the FCDO still designates it as a 'recommends against travel to Switzerland' status. And yes, you can get covid cover, but not if you're over-60. The FCDO designation stymies getting cover for oldies. I suspect that a lot of people are booking holidays who think they'll be covered but aren't. And I'm not talking cancellation refund here -I'm talking stuff like medical flights home, payment of cost of convalescence etc. - all the things that aren't covered by the GHIC.

What might be more expensive re CH (when/if you can get proper travel cover) is travel insurance, as thanks to Brexit, the GHIC is not valid there any more. So it's more like travel to the USA and any country outside the EU27 - feedback from other SnowHeads indicates that it'll be 10%-15% more to get cover for CH than an EU27 country. Something that visitors to resorts that span the CH:F and CH:I border (like the Portes du Soleil or Cervinia-Zermatt) will need to be aware of if they wander into CH and have to be treated there. And although unlikely, if they fly into GVA, hire a car, and have an auto accident and are taken to a CH hospital. Or just fall down the stairs at GVA etc.
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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.
Mr_frosty wrote:
completely torn on what to do.

thinking of doing a roll-your-own ski trip in Jan, easyjet flights, private transfer, independent catered chalet, i've tried to do a rudimentary risk assessment on potential financial loss based on a few possible scenarios, lockdowns, self or Government quarantine, lifts not running, FCO advice etc and worked out the possible loss for each as best i can using refund policies stated by each supplier (of course they may not stick to their promises!) the flight would be into GVA, that way if France or the EU as a whole bar us for any reason we could potentially switch to CH at a push.

of course not booking is zero financial risk however with this option comes a possibility of either no availability due to (pent up?) demand or the price rocketing. at the moment the pricing is not far off what what we've paid in previous years.

is booking now daft beyond belief?


First time I've heard "roll your own" used in that context.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
LaForet wrote:

What might be more expensive re CH (when/if you can get proper travel cover) is travel insurance, as thanks to Brexit, the GHIC is not valid there any more. So it's more like travel to the USA and any country outside the EU27 - feedback from other SnowHeads indicates that it'll be 10%-15% more to get cover for CH than an EU27 country. Something that visitors to resorts that span the CH:F and CH:I border (like the Portes du Soleil or Cervinia-Zermatt) will need to be aware of if they wander into CH and have to be treated there. And although unlikely, if they fly into GVA, hire a car, and have an auto accident and are taken to a CH hospital. Or just fall down the stairs at GVA etc.


I am surprised by this, most (but not all) European policies have always covered countries outside the EU including the EFTA, North Africa, Turkey etc. My understanding is that Europe is generally mainland Europe west of the Urals. Not sure why CH should suddenly be excluded just because it isn't part of the GHIC system. Is there any citation for the increase and which companies we should be wary of?
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@tarrantd I think we're on the same page inasmuch as yes, many policies do regard mainland Europe as a contiguous area in terms of the scope of cover e.g. I think Turkey would usually be included. I'm assuming that pre-Brexit, insurers simply spread the cost of claims from outside of the GHIC across all policies, for simplicity.

Pre the latest lockdown, when I came to renew, my cover with LV= had gone up about 12% and my conversation with the rep was that much of this was down to having to extend the same cover I got before, when costs couldn't now be reclaimed from Switzerland, Lichtenstein +2 others. So we were covered, but they'd added a small uplift because they could no longer reclaim GHIC costs.

So what I'm saying is just the people should check that they are covered for CH by their policy. Especially if it's a cheap one that comes free with something else. To make it cheap, an insurer might treat CH like they treat any other country not in the GHIC zone. So, worth a check to avoid hassle and cost if you weren't covered.
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@LaForet, yes we are in agreement and people should read the small print if travelling to CH to ensure it's included. Very Happy
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Quote:

is booking now daft beyond belief?


No. I have booked for next Easter. But, so far this consists of a private chalet with free cancellation up to a week ahead and return flights for four booked using Avios. My total irrecoverable outlay so far is £4 for the return flights to GVA. Ski school is going to be the big problem as I will need to commit actual money to that at some point. I'll figure transfers out later.

I'd give this a 50/50 chance of all falling on its butt at some point in March. I'm only committing money I can afford to lose right now. In this case that's about the price of a pint.
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I've booked the bare minimum that can be cancelled and refunded one month before arrival (Feb 2022). Normally do accommodation privately but gone through Abritel for cancellation policy, saver rates for hotels en route (driving) replaced by flexible/cancellable, Eurotunnel crossing can be moved to summer.

Not planning to do anything else until much nearer time (eg Jan) which is a shame.

But, to give a head's up, I've just had 2 weeks in France and it was major stress to leave/return due to testing and paperwork (bit in between ie the holiday itself was fab). Tests = more costs to what is already an expensive ski holiday. Was easier to get into France than return to UK and I'm double jabbed. Map of France currently shows high infection rates in popular tourist spots but no extra French regs or UK travel changes yet. But this is summer, when all typical infection levels are lower.

My guess - ski resorts are going to do their best to make the coming season work having lost 2021. But there's a fine balancing act with making it work and keeping guests happy/spending. We were going to go high early April 2022 but pulled forward to Feb just in case.
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We have booked the prebirthday and the birthday bash as well as our rescheduled week sjiing in ischgl the week after easter.

Also planning to ski somewhere in Austria the first two weeks in december but nothing booked yet.

We are also thinking about adding on the week before easter, possibly st. Anton or the oetztal area.

No transport booked yet, will do that nearer the time snowHead
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I'm looking at a last minute booking in January, driving out and if necessary stay just outside resort, although I'd be very surprised if there is no low season accommodation available in resort.
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booked tentatively Christmas with cancellation 30 days before arrival - will be making a call then and booking the tunnel if going.

Not holding my breath though.
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Of course it'll happen, we can travel now that shouldn't change there's no way lifts won't be turning this winter you might have to take to odd test though. Get it booked up.
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We've booked as part of a group of 16 between Christmas and New Year in Italy. When you've got other considerations like school holidays to thread around as well as everything else going on, then you've got to commit early and hope.
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Have booked April next year at Tignes. Have managed to score an apartment with cancellation the day be fore we arrive and we plan to drive, so the only outlays if it all goes awry is the parking cost. Going to leave ski lessons, hire and lift passes till as late as possible, the latter two literally the day before.

Am thinking about a weekend as well, but just don't want to commit - want to see what the post Summer, cooler weather brings.
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Another possible argument for booking early - car hire prices at Geneva seem unusually good at present. £500-1k for 3 weeks, ranging from Polo through to Skoda Kodiak 7 seat 4x4.
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Thinking of booking for Easter 2022 in Austria but not quite committed to it yet. We'd be taking our motorhome so could get away with just a deposit for a campsite, possibly the ferry or tunnel crossings (tunnel would be the financially safer bet as we'd use Tesco Club are vouchers, but I hate the drive south of Birmingham so Newcastle or Hull ferry would be preferable). The uncertainty of the vaccination situation around our 14yr old doesn't help.

Both my wife and I are secondary school teachers and only 4 days back into the start of term we already have 4 confirmed Covid cases in my school and 1 in hers. Almost certainly contracted out of school prior to the restart, but watch this space...
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