 Poster: A snowHead
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Are there any good deals to be made if one booked a year in advance?
Ryanair is selling flights already - I just need to figure out suitable accommodation. Flexible on destination.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Don't be tempted by cheap midweek flights
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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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Depends if you’re doing a DIY trip with an apartment and car hire or going down the hotel and transfer route, midweek flights are fine IMO for the former. Added benefit of the hire shops and lift pass kiosks being quiet because you’re not on a changeover day.
IMO, half term is always a rip off in the “big” resorts, and best avoided, crowded and full of burke’s. Bargains to be had if you look at smaller or less popular resorts though, especially if you do a DIY trip, all depends what you’re looking for.
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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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| LDP816 wrote: |
Depends if you’re doing a DIY trip with an apartment and car hire or going down the hotel and transfer route, midweek flights are fine IMO for the former. Added benefit of the hire shops and lift pass kiosks being quiet because you’re not on a changeover day.
IMO, half term is always a rip off in the “big” resorts, and best avoided, crowded and full of burke’s. Bargains to be had if you look at smaller or less popular resorts though, especially if you do a DIY trip, all depends what you’re looking for. |
I agree. I found tickets out of Bristol to Turin, Friday to Friday. Is there a small resort around there you would recommend? I am taking my young daughters with me so blue/green is enough.
Tony
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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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@tonyfo, lots around Turin area. Bardonecchia, Claviere (part of larger Milky Way, but local slopes), head just into France up the hill from there and there's Montgenevre. Serre Chevalier, Puy St Vincent are a bit further still, but all within 2 hours drive. Through the Frejus tunnel into France and there's Valloire and Valmenier. Also you could go up into the Aosta valley but I've not skied anything there so don't know what they are like, but there's Gressoney and Champoluc.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@tonyfo, Pila, La Thulle and Courmayuer all in the Aosta valley, easy drive from TRN, hotels can be pricey, but SC is good value, Italy tends to be less crowded than France during half term, but it will be comparatively busy of course.
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Thank you both - those tickets are Friday to Friday. Would that be OK or do most accommodation weeks run from Saturday to Sat ?
And I am not keen on driving - I am guessing there are shuttles heading from Turin to those Italian resorts?
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| tonyfo wrote: |
Thank you both - those tickets are Friday to Friday. Would that be OK or do most accommodation weeks run from Saturday to Sat ?
And I am not keen on driving - I am guessing there are shuttles heading from Turin to those Italian resorts? |
Friday to Friday is fine for accommodation IF you are looking at self catered apartments rather than chalets or hotels. Otherwise it will be more difficult to find accommodation Friday to Friday.
If you’re going down the package route, transfers will be included but obviously Friday to Friday flights is going to make It very difficult to get the trip to work. If you want the trip to be “easy” then you’re probably going to have to bite the bullet and get your money out!
What is concerning you about driving? It’s going to add a great degree of flexibility to your trip and save you money in the process. I can’t speak for every resort mentioned above, but I’ve driven from Turin to Cervinia and numerous resorts in the Milky Way with very little issue. I’ve never had much luck with organised transfers outside of big resorts to and from GVA because they are generally expensive and inconvenient - getting to Milky Way via public transport for example is hideous.
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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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| LDP816 wrote: |
| tonyfo wrote: |
Thank you both - those tickets are Friday to Friday. Would that be OK or do most accommodation weeks run from Saturday to Sat ?
And I am not keen on driving - I am guessing there are shuttles heading from Turin to those Italian resorts? |
Friday to Friday is fine for accommodation IF you are looking at self catered apartments rather than chalets or hotels. Otherwise it will be more difficult to find accommodation Friday to Friday.
If you’re going down the package route, transfers will be included but obviously Friday to Friday flights is going to make It very difficult to get the trip to work. If you want the trip to be “easy” then you’re probably going to have to bite the bullet and get your money out!
What is concerning you about driving? It’s going to add a great degree of flexibility to your trip and save you money in the process. I can’t speak for every resort mentioned above, but I’ve driven from Turin to Cervinia and numerous resorts in the Milky Way with very little issue. I’ve never had much luck with organised transfers outside of big resorts to and from GVA because they are generally expensive and inconvenient - getting to Milky Way via public transport for example is hideous. |
Got you - which website do you use to find self catered apartments in the Milky Way? Sorry about the newbie question....
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| LDP816 wrote: |
Friday to Friday is fine for accommodation IF you are looking at self catered apartments rather than chalets or hotels. Otherwise it will be more difficult to find accommodation Friday to Friday.
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Is that really the case? I find that most apartments (as well as chalets) will only accept Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun for the busy weeks - otherwise by accepting a Fri-Fri, they risk not being able to get bookings for the week before as most people want Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun. I might be wrong, but that's the experience that I've had.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| tonyfo wrote: |
| LDP816 wrote: |
| tonyfo wrote: |
Thank you both - those tickets are Friday to Friday. Would that be OK or do most accommodation weeks run from Saturday to Sat ?
And I am not keen on driving - I am guessing there are shuttles heading from Turin to those Italian resorts? |
Friday to Friday is fine for accommodation IF you are looking at self catered apartments rather than chalets or hotels. Otherwise it will be more difficult to find accommodation Friday to Friday.
If you’re going down the package route, transfers will be included but obviously Friday to Friday flights is going to make It very difficult to get the trip to work. If you want the trip to be “easy” then you’re probably going to have to bite the bullet and get your money out!
What is concerning you about driving? It’s going to add a great degree of flexibility to your trip and save you money in the process. I can’t speak for every resort mentioned above, but I’ve driven from Turin to Cervinia and numerous resorts in the Milky Way with very little issue. I’ve never had much luck with organised transfers outside of big resorts to and from GVA because they are generally expensive and inconvenient - getting to Milky Way via public transport for example is hideous. |
Got you - which website do you use to find self catered apartments in the Milky Way? Sorry about the newbie question.... |
Vrbo (which I think was previously HomeAway) or Air BnB both work.
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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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| Handy Turnip wrote: |
| LDP816 wrote: |
Friday to Friday is fine for accommodation IF you are looking at self catered apartments rather than chalets or hotels. Otherwise it will be more difficult to find accommodation Friday to Friday.
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Is that really the case? I find that most apartments (as well as chalets) will only accept Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun for the busy weeks - otherwise by accepting a Fri-Fri, they risk not being able to get bookings for the week before as most people want Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun. I might be wrong, but that's the experience that I've had. |
I’ve booked numerous apartments to coincide midweek flights, for stays ranging from a few days to a few weeks and never had an issue, it does reduce down the amount of properties available but I’ve always got somewhere. I’ve not done it with big resorts (T/VDI, 3V or LA) but for other resorts (especially Italy) it works really well! Disclaimer would be that these trips are all in Feb/March but never half term week so YMMV.
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Just a heads up, when using AirBnB and VRBO searching for accommodation to take advantage of affordable flights for school holidays but avoiding a Sat / Sun change over, the search has returned a price, but when i have messaged owners, they have come back to say they don't accept the change over day i was trying for.
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You know it makes sense.
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| LDP816 wrote: |
| Handy Turnip wrote: |
| LDP816 wrote: |
Friday to Friday is fine for accommodation IF you are looking at self catered apartments rather than chalets or hotels. Otherwise it will be more difficult to find accommodation Friday to Friday.
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Is that really the case? I find that most apartments (as well as chalets) will only accept Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun for the busy weeks - otherwise by accepting a Fri-Fri, they risk not being able to get bookings for the week before as most people want Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun. I might be wrong, but that's the experience that I've had. |
I’ve booked numerous apartments to coincide midweek flights, for stays ranging from a few days to a few weeks and never had an issue, it does reduce down the amount of properties available but I’ve always got somewhere. I’ve not done it with big resorts (T/VDI, 3V or LA) but for other resorts (especially Italy) it works really well! Disclaimer would be that these trips are all in Feb/March but never half term week so YMMV. |
Fair enough - and yes, I've also done it outside of those busy weeks without issue. It's definitely a possibility - I guess the message to the OP is just be wary and make sure that you're certain the owner is 100% happy with it. The worse case scenario is that you book early, and the owner doesn't quite twig, then 3-4mths down the line they suddenly realise that they may struggle to get bookings the week before (which could be one of their most profitable weeks), and then cancel the booking. Leaving the OP back to square one, and any advantage in booking early gone.
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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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| NickyJ wrote: |
| Just a heads up, when using AirBnB and VRBO searching for accommodation to take advantage of affordable flights for school holidays but avoiding a Sat / Sun change over, the search has returned a price, but when i have messaged owners, they have come back to say they don't accept the change over day i was trying for. |
Yes 100% - which is kind of where I was heading with my earlier post. The search function will make it look like you can book any start/end day, but whether the owner will accept that when you try and book, is other question - especially in the period around half term.
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Poster: A snowHead
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This is the kindle if valuable information you can only get on a good forum like this one....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| tonyfo wrote: |
Thank you both - those tickets are Friday to Friday. Would that be OK or do most accommodation weeks run from Saturday to Sat ?
And I am not keen on driving - I am guessing there are shuttles heading from Turin to those Italian resorts? |
There are trains to Aosta (and just beyond), as well as coaches and a reasonable bus service in the valley. Certainly for getting to/from a resort you can do it. It's been a while though, so I wouldn't want to say how good the timetable is now, or how easy it would be. I have done a day trip to Turin from Courmayeur by train though. The last stop is down the valley a little so requires a bus/taxi the last few km. Same with Cervinia & La Thuile, though Pila's easily accessible from Aosta, so that works well.
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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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| Handy Turnip wrote: |
| NickyJ wrote: |
| Just a heads up, when using AirBnB and VRBO searching for accommodation to take advantage of affordable flights for school holidays but avoiding a Sat / Sun change over, the search has returned a price, but when i have messaged owners, they have come back to say they don't accept the change over day i was trying for. |
Yes 100% - which is kind of where I was heading with my earlier post. The search function will make it look like you can book any start/end day, but whether the owner will accept that when you try and book, is other question - especially in the period around half term. |
Yes, I have just had that problem with booking.com. To be fair, being an owner myself that uses vrbo, their systems are not always the friendliest things to navigate when setting things up.
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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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| skanky wrote: |
| tonyfo wrote: |
Thank you both - those tickets are Friday to Friday. Would that be OK or do most accommodation weeks run from Saturday to Sat ?
And I am not keen on driving - I am guessing there are shuttles heading from Turin to those Italian resorts? |
There are trains to Aosta (and just beyond), as well as coaches and a reasonable bus service in the valley. Certainly for getting to/from a resort you can do it. It's been a while though, so I wouldn't want to say how good the timetable is now, or how easy it would be. I have done a day trip to Turin from Courmayeur by train though. The last stop is down the valley a little so requires a bus/taxi the last few km. Same with Cervinia & La Thuile, though Pila's easily accessible from Aosta, so that works well. |
How about sleeping on Aosta town and boarding a ski bus to Pila everyday? is this reasonable?
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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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@tonyfo, No need ! there’s a gondola up to Pila from Aosta, it takes about 20 mins. There are lockers at both top and bottom so you can walk to the bottom in shoes easily. The main thing to be aware of is Interski do a lot of school trips to Pila, they stay in the valley and use the gondola, as long as your there before 9.30ish it’s not too busy. We’ve driven from Courmayuer for a day out the past couple of season and really enjoyed it, it’s probably one of your best bets for cheap week, there’s a decent selection of SC places in Aosta, and there a big supermarket next to the gondola so you can pick up that nights meal and beers!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| geoffknight wrote: |
| @tonyfo, No need ! there’s a gondola up to Pila from Aosta, it takes about 20 mins. There are lockers at both top and bottom so you can walk to the bottom in shoes easily. The main thing to be aware of is Interski do a lot of school trips to Pila, they stay in the valley and use the gondola, as long as your there before 9.30ish it’s not too busy. We’ve driven from Courmayuer for a day out the past couple of season and really enjoyed it, it’s probably one of your best bets for cheap week, there’s a decent selection of SC places in Aosta, and there a big supermarket next to the gondola so you can pick up that nights meal and beers! |
Thank you. How does this plan look to you:
1) Those tickets from Bristol to Turin https://tinyurl.com/Ryanairturin
2) Take a train from Turin Airport to Aosta Town (?)
3) Stay in this place for peanuts https://tinyurl.com/aostastay
4) take the gondola daily to Pila and back.
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All booked - thank you all for the great advice. About to have half term ski break for half price of what I am paying Crystal this year...
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@tonyfo, nice 
Suspect you will never want to go back to contraints of using a TO again after this..
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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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Well I am hopping to join a few bashes next year solo as well...
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Excellent news! Enjoy your trip, in my experience DIY is so much better, hope you find the same to be true.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I am sure I will. This forum is invaluable. I am now looking into "super-snowing" my head as well.
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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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| tonyfo wrote: |
| geoffknight wrote: |
| @tonyfo, No need ! there’s a gondola up to Pila from Aosta, it takes about 20 mins. There are lockers at both top and bottom so you can walk to the bottom in shoes easily. The main thing to be aware of is Interski do a lot of school trips to Pila, they stay in the valley and use the gondola, as long as your there before 9.30ish it’s not too busy. We’ve driven from Courmayuer for a day out the past couple of season and really enjoyed it, it’s probably one of your best bets for cheap week, there’s a decent selection of SC places in Aosta, and there a big supermarket next to the gondola so you can pick up that nights meal and beers! |
Thank you. How does this plan look to you:
1) Those tickets from Bristol to Turin https://tinyurl.com/Ryanairturin
2) Take a train from Turin Airport to Aosta Town (?)
3) Stay in this place for peanuts https://tinyurl.com/aostastay
4) take the gondola daily to Pila and back. |
Awesome! Nice view of the Roman ruins!! 
Aosta is a nice place, everything is normal price too.
There may be buses out of Aosta to other resorts for a bit of variety. Check out the cost of hiring a car, may not be a lot more than the train if there are a few of you. I visited Courmayeur, La Thuile, Cervinia & Champoluc when I stayed near Aosta.
Pila isn't huge and it was pretty busy with Brit kids on school trips when I was there at HT in 2020, just before Covid.
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@tonyfo, looks great, I’m looking at doing similar this March if I can, but I’ll be solo, if there’s a deal with a TO it may be better value.
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You know it makes sense.
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| geoffknight wrote: |
| @tonyfo, looks great, I’m looking at doing similar this March if I can, but I’ll be solo, if there’s a deal with a TO it may be better value. |
Happy to join you as a solo as well if you can figure something out. My aim is to ski at least 1 week a month between December and May.
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FAQ
