UK to Alps 9-seat minibus hire.

A snowHead

Vans for Bands have 9-seat vans that are available to be hired in the UK and driven to the Alps. Rates are provided for a 10-day hire, including winter tyres, chains, insurance (over 21) and European breakdown cover. They have 'standard' vans and 'luxury' vans available, the 'luxury' vans include leather seating and entertainment systems. All vans provide spacious seating and exceptional amounts of luggage space. Rates between £1330 and £1810 for a 10-night rental. They have over 50 x vans available for rental.

This may sound like a commercial announcement and (in many ways) it is. However, the vans are offered in an attempt to offer UK skiers something that doesn't seem to be readily available - a large vehicle or minibus that can be taken abroad, with winter tyres, chains and insurance all included in the price. Hopefully, this post will be allowed to remain on this forum as interesting information from an independent company rather than blatant corporate promotion. We've had a number of enquiries for the vans from skiers this year, we think this is probably due to the Covid situation. As such, we thought we'd try and make the vans more widely available as they might be useful for keen skiers struggling with Covid protocols and the potential of late airline cancellations and uncertain airline cancellation policies. Further, we can offer a fair cancellation policy if conditions dictate - who really wants some voucher from an airline that will never be honoured? Vans for Bands are an established company with 15 years' experience servicing the music and entertainment industry with transport solutions. Get on tour with Vans for Bands and hit the Alps in 2022 in one of our high quality 9-seat vans.

If you want to escape potential Covid disruptions and airline cancellations, create your own 'ski bubble', then have a look at the following link. Or search 'vans for bands'. Also, any feedback that members of this forum are able to provide would be appreciated. With one of our vans, we think a group of 8 should be able to get to a European resort and back to the UK for between £2000 and £2500 in total and including van rental, fuel, tolls. We think that's fair value, especially so for peak season and half-term dates. Thanks again.

https://www.vansforbands.co.uk/winter-holidays

Edit - 02/01/2022. Since the original post, we've created a price list of sorts. Below are the rates for various durations. Rates include winter tyres, chains, insurance and European VW/Mercedes 24hr breakdown cover.

Luxury 9-seat van (all dates) - 6 x days £1236, 8 x days £1548, 10 x days £1860, 12 x days £2172.
Standard 9-seat van (all dates) - 6 x days £1056, 8 x days £1308, 10 x days £1560, 12 x days £1812.

Luxury 9-seat van (January) - 6 x days £1092, 8 x days £1356, 10 x days £1620, 12 x days £1884.
Standard 9-seat van (January) - 6 x days £948, 8 x days £1164, 10 x days £1380, 12 x days £1596.

The vans could be good for a transport to the Alps this year as soon as Covid restrictions allow. In the long-run, the vans provide flexibility and could be ideal for trips where the resort is chosen at the last-minute when you know for certain where the best snow (and sunny weather) can be found. Also, the vans do lend themselves to visiting different resorts (with or without lift-pass sharing arrangements) parking up in the car park and skiing a different ski area each day. If anyone's interested, please get in touch. Thanks again to the SnowHeads forum for allowing this post to remain. That's probably it for shameless self-promotion!

A snowHead

Peak season? I''ll beat £250 ppn return!

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

Many thanks for posting this. It's very useful, especially in say Feb half-term, and you want to fly return to Salzburg and that will cost you £500+ per person. Then you have to add getting to and from the airport and transfers at the other end.

Could be a good solution for folks.

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@YellowAndBlue, thanks for posting and think its a good idea but a tad expensive with channel crossing and potentially overnight accommodation on top. A group of nine is more likely to go all inclusive with a tour company. Those prepared to drive are likely seasoned drivers and will use their own cars. We normally have 2 families that travel to PDS in feb in 2 cars and cost per car probably around £800 all in.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks for posting replies and for the feedback. Plenty to think about. Also, I appreciate that this post has been allowed to remain on this message board. Price is always difficult, but the vans are really very spacious and a group of 8 or 9 will not have any trouble getting all their kit into one of them. I just think that Covid makes self-drive a sensible option (for a number of reasons) as a means of transportation to the Alps this year, and the vans could be ideal for some but not everyone.

Thanks again for the feedback. And the comparative pricings are very useful too - thanks.

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good idea, but would probably need roof racks/luggage box as well.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@YellowAndBlue, I think you guys have been very hard hit by Brexit, because artists touring in Europe is now much more complex. Is that correct?

In any event, well done for searching out new markets for your product.

After all it is free

@zikomo, bag of fag packet calcs for return journey from London to Chatel (via Comte and Swiss):

Return crossing: £300
Tolls: £120
Diesel: £300
1 night on hotel: £80

I dont worry about maintenance as car needs to be serviced annually regardless of milage. Depreciation is unavoidable in any case and I have relatively low milage at <30k miles in 4 years.

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Thanks again for the replies.

We don't think you'd need roof racks of luggage boxes with the vans. Each van has a lot of luggage space, they're designed for bands on tour with all the kit they need to take with them (drums, amps, guitars, personal belongings etc.). They're mainly long-wheelbase Mercedes or VW vans. If they were set out in a standard minibus configuration (like a school minibus) they'd have about 14 seats. However, they've been specially built to have just 9 seats and a large hold space. The resulting 9 seats are more spacious and provide more comfort than in a normal minibus, and the extra space in the back provides a very large luggage space. The 'luxury' vans have also got leather seating (almost airline style with armrests) and TV screens and entertainment system. They are quite nice and, we think, perfect a large group to go skiing in. With just 9 seats, it also means they can be driven on a standard driving licence.

With regards to Brexit, I don't think that has been the real disruption. Instead, it's Covid that has had a significant effect. Without the Culture Recovery Fund it's unlikely that the vehicles would still be on the road - and it's only right to acknowledge the role it has played in keeping us going. Saying that, there were times last summer when all 50 x vans and 12 x sleeper coaches were out on the road with bands and live acts touring (mainly the UK but some in Europe). What's more, bookings are very strong for next summer - maybe a bit of a 'bounce-back' with people keen to get back to concerts and festivals? And the truth is that we have had a number of enquiries looking for a different way to the Alps, so we thought we try and publicise it a bit more and quite grateful that this post has been allowed to remain.

I just think that Covid makes self-drive a very sensible option for travelling to the Alps this year, whether that's in one of our vans, someone else's minibus/MPV or even just using your own car. My guess is that ski resorts will, largely, be open and have lifts running - but you might need to be flexible to get there and be prepared for a quite different type of holiday to that you are used to. Just my guess, of course. Thanks again. The different costings are useful to make a fair comparison - thanks.

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@YellowAndBlue, welcome to sH's. Sometimes when done right and honestly (not passed off as prime cuts) spam can be quite good. Sure it'll be useful to some.

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@zikomo, a lot depends on how you run the numbers - depreciation is based on car age as well as mileage, so you can either look at my 2000 mile round trip to Austria as being 10% of my annual mileage and apply 10% of the depreciation to the journey cost, or you can say that it is 8 days out of 365 and apply 2.2% of the depreciation. If the car sat in my garage for a week, would it magically stop depreciating? Obviously not, but of course much of the depreciation happens when registration plates change rather than on a daily or weekly basis, so a 21 plate car depreciated in one big jump when the 71 plate came out, and will again when the 22 plate arrives. Between those events, it depreciates much more slowly. In any event, my car is a 16 plate, and has effectively lost 75% of its initial value already. It's pretty close to bottoming out, and over the last year has actually increased in value slightly.

The car is insured whether I drive it or leave it at home. The cost goes up if I exceed 25000 miles, but not otherwise. I get a free green card from my insurer on request.

Maintenance costs are similar - my car is serviced annually because the service interval is 20000 miles and that's about what I do each year, so is 10% of the service cost added to my trip of 2000 miles, or would that cost be the same if the car simply sat in my garage for the week? I cost this as zero - the service cost is essentially the same. Ah, you say - what about the extra brake wear from the extra 2000 miles? My answer to that is that 2000 miles mainly at motorway speeds and with minimal braking is less wear than it gets from normal driving. At one point of my regular journey my satnav instructs me to "Continue on A8 for 190 miles" - that's probably the equivalent of 5 miles of town driving in terms of brake wear. Same for engine, gearbox, clutch, etc - this is easy driving, and those components are good for 80000-150000 miles on my car.

I have winter tyres on steel rims, which get fitted in mid December and removed in mid April each year. Each change costs £40, but I'm making that change anyway - not specifically for a skiing trip. A set of reasonable tyres is about £500, plus a one-off cost for a second set of tyre pressure sensors and the steel rims of about £100 in total, and the tyres last me about 3 years (i.e. one year in total on the car). On that basis, is the £500 cost assigned wholly to my skiing trip, or to 3 trips, or is it 3 weeks in a year of usage? I get the benefit of the winter tyres on untreated fen roads for 4 months each year, which accounts for about 25% of my annual mileage, so I think it's the last of those options = 5.8% of the full cost for one skiing trip - £29.

So now we have the obvious stuff - fuel at about £280 per trip due to a cheaper fill in Luxembourg in each direction, overnight stop (£45) near Dover on the way out to ease the journey, Eurotunnel crossing paid for on Tesco vouchers for £50, dinner and an outbound overnight stop at about £120, lunch and dinner at about £30 on a non-stop return journey. Breakfasts are included, lunch on the way out is sandwiches eaten on the move, and the only additions are coffee, travel sweets, and €0.35 per toilet stop so somewhere around €30 in total.

I make that about £550, for a family of 4.

You know it makes sense.

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@ousekjarr, Ok we are not going to agree on this. And I know you are not alone in applying zero cost for your car and maintenance when comparing cost of journey, many (even most?) people do this.

The fact remains that you drive a certain number of miles reach year and there is a true (standing) cost to acquire and maintain your car. Those costs on average come out to around £3000/year based on average milage of 7.5k miles. You can work it out more exactly for your individual circumstances quite easily as most of the costs are fixed.

I guess one way to look at it is that you see the trip to the alps as "free" therefore your regular driving in the UK is subsidising it. You say you do about 7k miles per year of which the ski trip (1250 miles) is free. So your cost per mile for regular usage will be £3000/(7000-1250) = £0.52. You have those costs either way, whether you choose to apply then to all journeys or not. Of course your costs may be greater or lesser based on what car you drive, how much it cost, etc. - but you sound like you have a fairly average car of fairly average age and do fairly average milage so a good approximation.

A snowHead

A snowHead

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@YellowAndBlue, One thing to consider is that the skis may fit bu sliding under the seats. I quite often rent a 9 seater and pretty much always find that I can slide the skis along the floor from the back and under the back row of seats.

As an aside I think you are offering quite good value!

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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@zikomo, I think you're coming at this from an accountancy angle where you look at the 7-8 day trip and cost in everything, including the purchase of the vehicle and its subsequent depreciation based on a simple formula. I'm looking at a wider view, where the car is already bought and the depreciation has already happened, so the difference between a ski trip and the daily commute is purely down to the number of miles and the extra costs of the journey like accommodation. I usually eat three meals a day, so counting the full cost of lunch and dinner while travelling doesn't make sense as I'd have to eat anyway - there's an extra cost, clearly, due to motorway service prices and hotel menus but if I usually eat out on Friday night and in this particular case it happens to be in Bavaria, is that actually an additional cost of the trip? You'd probably say yes, and I would say no. My bank balance is unaffected by the location of the spend.

By comparison, for a half term self-catering trip I would get one day less of skiing and would pay at least £1000 in flights, £150 for ski carriage for two pairs, £50 in transport to the airport and back, £80 in parking fees, and £200 for either car hire or a shared transfer at the far end - £1480 in total, or almost 3 times the cost. With my own car, I can carry more stuff, in more comfort, and then when I'm there I can go to the supermarket and stock up without 3-4 people having to traipse around with multiple bags on icy paths. Beer is heavy wink

- but I get to fill any available space with some more on the way home

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@ousekjarr, I get the benefits of driving, and agree it can make sense for some. My only point is no matter how you look at it, it costs money to have a car available to drive to your ski holiday. It is never "free".

And in reality, cars don't ever really fully depreciate from a household budget perspective. Not least as there is a replacement cost as the car is a necessity for most. An example is the 11 year old truck with 120k miles on it that I use for fishing and shooting, I bought it from new and I view it as now essentially worthless (fully depreciated). But it costs me increasing amounts in repairs and maintenance. And when it finally breaks I will have a cost to replace. So in realty there is a constant cost to me regardless of the age of the car.

After all it is free

@YellowAndBlue, welcome to snowheads!

It's a really interesting option, I'm glad you posted. Your prices seem reasonable too - it's something I'd consider with the right number of people.

Really interesting to hear about your experience with bands touring too - please do hang around and join in with the community, there are a number of live music fans here too snowHead

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We used to hire minibuses on family camping trips, 5 people plus big dog, loads of kit.
We did it a couple of times in are own vehicle (Landy 110 with roof rack etc...) but it made the journey much nicer in the minibus as there was more space, we didn't need to lug heavy stuff on and off the roof, it was quieter, faster, more economical, 3 people could sit in the front, the driver was further from the dog when he farted etc ... all in all better than our own vehicle.
We've also hired RVs to pootle round France in, and it feels much more like a holiday when you're not driving the car you drive everyday.
The rates seem incredibly good value IMHO, especially as they are all set up with winter tyres, chains, insurance etc..
The other benefit is that if you choose to go out somewhere that requires driving you only need one dedicated driver to stay off the sauce and not 2 if you had your own cars.
Were I to be organising a trip for more than 5 people, then this is certainly something i would consider.

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Another option given the crazy wold of chip supply and used vehicle prices could be to club together, buy a van between you then sell it afterwards. Suspect you'd not lose money.

You know it makes sense.

I dont know why anyone really req the need for a flexi plus ticket for Eurotunnel. Due to the French fisherman threatening to blockade the tunnel on Friday, we left earlier than normal for a 19-20 booking. We got there at 15-08 and without hesitation she put us on the next one at 15-50 Cant ask for better service than that.

Maybe not knowing exactly what day maybe, but nothing else.

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

@jafa, flexiplus is great on a very busy day such as last day of holidays but only on return journey from France. Can save a lot of queueing time through the overflow queueing system

A snowHead

@YellowAndBlue, great idea this. It's something I have considered in the past but always seemed a lot of hassle and have had concerns about winters/chains, insurance, etc. But you seem to have put it all together. Definitely something I will be looking into.

A snowHead

If I can just add to this (genuinely, for me) interesting discussion, I think this is the important bit

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@YellowAndBlue, great idea - something we'd looked at half heartedly earlier in the season, but for the nine of us (how appropriate!) would have required two vehicles, not having access to your layout. So decide on train instead.

We did find in 2019, by hiring a big minibus from GVA ( NOT cheap!) and basing ourselves in Bourg to travel to a range of different resorts we had a fantastic trip, and everyone was/ is keen to do it again. Are you likely to continue to next year do you think? - because if so, put me down for one here and now.

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If they are LWB, what is the gross weight?
I think licence changed about maximum weight 20-25 years ago

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Thanks for all the feedback. I can't work out how to do the @someone thing to provide direct replies so will just reply to some of the points raised below.

We think the hold area in the vans almost certainly have space for skis. Planning on double-checking this weekend, but the website has diagrams showing the measurements of the hold area and, top to bottom, it seems to be 1.91 metres on most of the vans. Have a look at the link below for photos and hold dimensions. This is interesting because I presume 9 x sets of skis on a plane would cost, what, £400?

https://www.vansforbands.co.uk/splitters/luxury-splitter-van

The different costings provided by various people give good comparisons with self-drive and air travel, and that is good to know. Glad to hear that a number of people think the rates are reasonable. And as mentioned previously, the fact that this post has been allowed to remain on the message board is greatly appreciated.

The vans could be great for travel to and from a resort, but I do think they could be used for something a bit more 'niche' and that is where you might get the best use from them. To me, booking a van and a crossing, and then deciding on a resort at the last-minute makes a lot of sense. That way, you can be sure of hitting the best snow conditions that Europe has to offer. And the vans would be great for driving to different resorts each day, as Artic Roll has mentioned. January and early February could be perfect for finding great snow and excellent prices for accommodation.

Thanks again. The vans aren't cheap, but they are good-quality and I think they offer fair value - especially for large groups. And I reckon you could use them for a quite different type of ski holiday - snow seeking, perhaps? Get on tour with Vans for Bands and hit the Alps in 2022!

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That's a good point. I believe the gross weight is 3500kg - so at full capacity you do need to consider the weight of occupants and their luggage. Below is the wording used on website. This is all very useful, helping to check if all things have been considered.

Driveable on a normal driving licence, each 9-seat luxury splitter van has a permissible gross weight of 3.5 tons - it is the hirer's responsibility to observe this.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@YellowAndBlue, 190cm sounds good. Are there straps or netting of some sort to secure the skis vertically?

After all it is free

@YellowAndBlue, only from the Oxford site? I’d be interested in hiring from your Bristol depot (mentioned on your site but no map Puzzled

)

With the skis we're going to have a good look at the vans this weekend or early next week and check how the skis go in. But netting is a good idea, or some sort of racking might well make sense. Well look at it, but pretty much certain they'll go in comfortably.

With the Bristol site I will need to check. We were basing these rentals as from the Oxford site, but will check.

Apologies if these are not definitive answers, but we're working out the finer details. Pretty sure we can sort most things though, if there is general interest in the vans for ski/snowboard holidays.

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@YellowAndBlue, you really do seem to have a good idea here. I hope you can get some press publicity, it would make a great article with the 'travel like a rockband' angle. Do your van's stereos turn up to 11?

BTW, you get the @[name] just by clicking on the person's name in the thread, and you quote their text by highlighting it and then clicking 'Quote selected'

Help!!

UK to Alps 9-seat minibus hire.

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