 Poster: A snowHead
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Struggling with the prices this coming season - they've gone REALLY expensive - even early January is coming in at high hundreds and that not including the flights.
Went to Banff last season at HT as it was cost effective - said to the kids we couldn't do it again in 24 but its looking like that the best options - even if it slightly more expensive, better value for money and that HT
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Gaz_H, have checked Sunweb?
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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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@Gaz_H, you need to be more specific on what you are looking at and that you are not comparing apples and oranges.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| NickyJ wrote: |
| @Gaz_H, have checked Sunweb? |
Yeah, I like Sunweb, but I find that either the properties are too remote or Manchester airport doesn't serve the area well
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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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| Gaz_H wrote: |
| NickyJ wrote: |
| @Gaz_H, have checked Sunweb? |
Yeah, I like Sunweb, but I find that either the properties are too remote or Manchester airport doesn't serve the area well |
I find it best to do flights completely independently then book hire car, using Sunweb for Accomodation and lift passes.
We have booked for 16th dec as kids break up on 15th giving me a full week pre-Christmas
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Got a quote for a 3* B&B double room in resort 270 Euros per night. AirBnB quality fully equipped apartment 10 mins down the road on free ski bus route 92 Euros per night, guess which way we've booked for next season?! 
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@Gaz_H, Inflation is as rampant across the EU as it is in the UK.
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@Gored, France 4.5% so not quite as rampant as 7.9
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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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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| @Gored, France 4.5% so not quite as rampant as 7.9 |
Inflation was very much protected because of energy prices, but France is only 1 country you can ski in the EU
There is also the knock on off Covid recovery of 3-4 seasons of lower than predicted earnings.
Most of the higher costs I am seeing from a DIY trip is down to the budget airlines prices going through the roof due to there being less scheduled flights.
Our £300 flight which includes luggage is now coming out at nearer £500.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| @Gored, France 4.5% so not quite as rampant as 7.9 |
I was certainly under the impression that Eurozone inflation, while high, has been consistently lower than that in the UK.
As well as dealing with inflation, I suspect the Ski resorts are also trying to claw back some of their Covid losses. They are also heavy users of Electricity and Fuel, so prices may reflect that in the cost of Lift Passes.....but the cost of power should be coming down as prices soften, though I doubt that will be reflected in L/Pass prices. Hasn't VDI indicated a 7% increase on an already exorbitant price?
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Wed 19-07-23 15:34; edited 5 times in total
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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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@Gaz_H, Which components of the holiday are generating the increase in prices? As I see it apartment rentals in France are about the same as last year. Food has gone up a bit. Fuel has gone down slightly. I haven't looked at tolls or tunnel/ferry prices yet, but overall I expect them to be only 10 or so percent higher. At the moment I don't know what price lift passes will be next season. I suspect a big increase, but that is only because Les Arcs cut the lift pass price quite a bit last year.
The area I expect a big price increase is insurance, but we'll see when I come to renew in October. Overall I imagine our Christmas trip to be just a bit more than last year.
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| johnE wrote: |
The area I expect a big price increase is insurance, but we'll see when I come to renew in October. Overall I imagine our Christmas trip to be just a bit more than last year. |
My insurance for a week certainly took a noticeable jump.
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You know it makes sense.
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The way prices are moving seems likely to make driving much the most economical way to go with two or more people. It's busy at half term, but then so are the airports and the transfer routes.
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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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As for UK inflation, I don't normally buy bread (I make it) but just having come back from holiday yesterday, and with son and grandson in the house, I had to plug some gaps. The loaf I liked the look of in M&S was £4! So it stayed on the shelf.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Old Fartbag,
The Eurozone is not the EU, its just the countries that uses the Euro.
However, every country is different & some countries will experience higher inflation than others. I think Hungary is around the 20% mark.
Netherlands has also had high inflation (higher than the UK).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
The first one? Can't be arsing about on buses!!!
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@dunc999, for 2k Euros i'll put up with the hassle for a 10 minute bus ride 2x a day. 
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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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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| @Gored, France 4.5% so not quite as rampant as 7.9 |
while the French figure is probably comparible with the UK it is probably equally bogus and underplayed with "real" inflation being much higher. Certainly "independent" studies have suggested double the official figures for things people actually buy.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Still not clear to me what price increases the OP is seeing and on what.
The best objective comparison would be: I booked Hotel ABC for these dates on this date last year and doing the same this year the price has increased from £x to £y.
As was done in stanton's "next year will be more expensive" thread over several seasons there is a myriad of variables and factors. And things will be very much an individual comparison given we all do different types of trip. As we drive for example plane fares don't affect us - but tunnel crossing and fuel prices do.
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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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I'm seeing increases but all fairly small i.e. Eurotunnel an extra £10 per crossing, lift pass a bit more each date, apartment was around £100 more but thats because I looks like the sister apartment block has been blocked booked for HT so they know they will be able to sell the remaining one for a bit more. So yes going up but wouldn't say it's majorly increased.
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Was looking at going to Banff for 2024, but the price for just a 6 day lift pass alone was over half the cost of a half-board week at a 4* hotel in a decent resort in Austria, including ski hire and lift pass for a huge slope area.
No contest. No jetlag either.
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@MajorQ, as I understand it (never been) nobody pays full price for lift pass in North America. There are various discounts, schemes, whatever that make it more reasonable though as I understand still more expensive than Europe in general. But there are other attractions (though not for me obv).
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| johnE wrote: |
@Gaz_H, Which components of the holiday are generating the increase in prices? As I see it apartment rentals in France are about the same as last year. Food has gone up a bit. Fuel has gone down slightly. I haven't looked at tolls or tunnel/ferry prices yet, but overall I expect them to be only 10 or so percent higher. At the moment I don't know what price lift passes will be next season. I suspect a big increase, but that is only because Les Arcs cut the lift pass price quite a bit last year.
The area I expect a big price increase is insurance, but we'll see when I come to renew in October. Overall I imagine our Christmas trip to be just a bit more than last year. |
i've noticed a big increase in lift passes for Ischgl next season.
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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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| Quote: |
@MajorQ, as I understand it (never been) nobody pays full price for lift pass in North America.
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True, nobody pays the day rates which are extortionate (vail is over $200 now). But for short trips n American lift passes are still expensive, the value is really for people doing more days (multi resort season pass like epic local is around 600euro, i.e. pays for itself with 3 days at Vail).
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@Gaz_H, 16th December is a good week to go to France next season as only uk schools are on holiday that week. However you’d need to book somewhere high for early season. I’d also suggest driving. We use peak retreats who offer self drive packages with Eurotunnel Flexiplus.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Here is an example of the price increase for the Elisabeth hotel in Mayrhofen for the same week in 2022 Vs 2024 with Crystal with all the same options.
2022.
2024
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@JimboS, Were those details priced at the same time of year?
Crystal's pricing can change fairly dramatically, as the date gets closer. Early booking prices can be €300/person cheaper for the same holiday....and if you time it right, get 2 Lift Passes for the price of one, which is basically an extra holiday discount and worth a lot atm
Interestingly, Crystal take a punt on what the L/Pass will be for the following season....but because prices have been flying up so dramatically, you can make a decent saving by pinning down this early price. In our case, that was a €44/person saving for E.K. for last season.
Having just checked - The price I paid for a Les Arc local area pass at the end of April, has already gone up €20 through Crystal.
This year, I felt early prices for next season, were similar to last season....but prices have certainly been creeping up.
Last edited by 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  on Fri 21-07-23 11:41; edited 4 times in total
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You know it makes sense.
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Whenever I look at the package prices, even for last year, I am shocked for a family of 4 during school holidays.
A DIY job saves literally thousands. And if you're prepared to drive then you shave off another grand at least.
Then you can even consider staying a short drive outside resort and save yourself even more.
So it can all still be done on a budget if you're prepared to put in more effort than booking a package, and the more compromise you make the more you save...you still end up on the slopes like everyone else 
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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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| Pyramus wrote: |
Whenever I look at the package prices, even for last year, I am shocked for a family of 4 during school holidays.
A DIY job saves literally thousands. And if you're prepared to drive then you shave off another grand at least.
Then you can even consider staying a short drive outside resort and save yourself even more.
So it can all still be done on a budget if you're prepared to put in more effort than booking a package, and the more compromise you make the more you save...you still end up on the slopes like everyone else |
I'm quite sure that T.Os keep prices reasonable in their Off Peak weeks, because these prices are heavily subsidised by milking Peak season weeks. The same holiday can be double the price if taken over school holidays - so I can certainly see that this is the case.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
Shocked at some of the prices for 2024
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Shocked at some of the prices for 2023 !
Just booked flights back to UK for approaching 2x what I used to pay.
DFDS ferry wanted in excess of €1200 for just car+driver. The cabin fee each way which is compulsory, for an inside (no window) bunk was basically the same price as both flights including the bonus baggage fee each way.
Would have been cheaper to drive and paying for 3 tanks for fuel at extortionate autobahn prices (€2.58/litre is the most I have seen so far).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@andy, ha yes, who pays for Autobahn fuel?!
The days of cheap flights to/ from U.K. are long gone it seems.
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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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Transfers have gone through the roof too, or at least they had two years ago. Lord knows what they would cost pp now.
This is where package holidays regain a little bit of value as the coach transfers are included in the price, Vs 'hubdreds of EUR PP on a minibus transfer each way
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Ryunis wrote: |
Transfers have gone through the roof too, or at least they had two years ago. Lord knows what they would cost pp now.
This is where package holidays regain a little bit of value as the coach transfers are included in the price, Vs 'hubdreds of EUR PP on a minibus transfer each way |
Yes they are a rip off from the popular airports. Transferred from Salzburg last season and it was extortionate.
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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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@Old Fartbag, no, the 2022 booking was made in October Vs now, July. I'll have another look in October for a better apples to apples comparison. However I normally do 3 crystal holidays a year and I have seen substantial increases over the last few years.
One caveat for this year is a fairly good crystal deal we got for Lech (normally very expensive) in Jan which was ~£3k for 2 Inc lift passes. Our late Jan boys trip has reverted to self arranging etc as we couldn't find a single good deal to anywhere we wanted to go to for under £1.5k each. Self arranging is coming out at about £1.2k Inc lift passes to Fiss half board from Edinburgh. Next Easter/late march we will leave to a last minute booking with Crystal as you can generally pick up something decent. Last March we got Galtur for £1k each Inc lift passes last minute.
All prices above are for HB, ski bag, board bag self selected seats, transfers and lift pass inc.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| JimboS wrote: |
@Old Fartbag, no, the 2022 booking was made in October Vs now, July. I'll have another look in October for a better apples to apples comparison. However I normally do 3 crystal holidays a year and I have seen substantial increases over the last few years.
One caveat for this year is a fairly good crystal deal we got for Lech (normally very expensive) in Jan which was ~£3k for 2 Inc lift passes. Our late Jan boys trip has reverted to self arranging etc as we couldn't find a single good deal to anywhere we wanted to go to for under £1.5k each. Self arranging is coming out at about £1.2k Inc lift passes to Fiss half board from Edinburgh. Next Easter/late march we will leave to a last minute booking with Crystal as you can generally pick up something decent. Last March we got Galtur for £1k each Inc lift passes last minute. |
I'm very flexible when I go, so I watch Crystal like a hawk and know when offers usually appear and when prices go up. It's partly luck and partly down to a fine art developed over the years.
I have the choice between Crystal UK from Belfast and Crystal Ireland from Dublin. It's usually much cheaper from Dublin, but if holidays to a particular resort or hotel are not selling, they can drop the price from Belfast.
Some years, certain Hotels are much better value - and that can change from year to year. Some weeks in late Jan/early Feb can actually be cheaper.
This year, Crystal Ireland put on a new Sunday flight from Dublin to Chambery (Yes I know!) - but it saved over €100 per person than on the usual flight to Geneva.
Next season, I am going on my own for the first time - and the underoccupancy charge of taking up a single room can be expensive - but found a hotel in Arc 2000 that was very reasonable. It also helped that I had a €100 loyalty voucher.
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Normally we go half board as it feels like it works out cheaper, but last Jan we went B&B to Der Siegler (Mike's sports bar (fantastic place)) in the Hof and ate out each night. We ended up spending a fortune, this year's it's back to HB, will be a much cheaper option in Lech.
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| JimboS wrote: |
| Normally we go half board as it feels like it works out cheaper, but last Jan we went B&B to Der Siegler (Mike's sports bar (fantastic place)) in the Hof and ate out each night. We ended up spending a fortune, this year's it's back to HB, will be a much cheaper option in Lech. |
I now always go H/B. I used to get the basic Holiday Price (Flight/Transfer/HB) to Tignes or Les Arcs, for €900 (plus any offers) - Now it's more like €1050 - €1150).
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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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| JimboS wrote: |
| Normally we go half board as it feels like it works out cheaper, but last Jan we went B&B to Der Siegler (Mike's sports bar (fantastic place)) in the Hof and ate out each night. We ended up spending a fortune, this year's it's back to HB, will be a much cheaper option in Lech. |
I always avoid B&B or room only. Self-catering or half board. Generally finding self catering much easier with fussy kids and intolerances.
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| Ryunis wrote: |
Transfers have gone through the roof too, or at least they had two years ago. Lord knows what they would cost pp now.
This is where package holidays regain a little bit of value as the coach transfers are included in the price, Vs 'hubdreds of EUR PP on a minibus transfer each way |
Well I've booked a return transfer from Munich airport to Lanersbach (further up the Zillertal valley than Mayrhofen, I'll be skiing for a few days at Hintertux early December) for a nominal price of €198 return per person with Four Seasons Travel, although since I've used them previously and had bonuspoints from previous bookings it only cost me €169.
@Pyramus, if you ever need another transfer from Salzburg it might be worthwhile checking out Four Seasons Travel transfer prices, as they also operate from Salzburg and several other airports. 
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FAQ
But its one of the largest skiing areas in Austria. i wonder how the tirol snowcard price gonna change, no info at their webpage at the moment. I would expect it will cost more than 1k next season 
