 Poster: A snowHead
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After boiling half to death in Turkey this summer we fancy a holiday in the Alps next summer
Looking at flying over and renting a car and a vrbo apartment
I’m half thinking about a nice catered chalet but do these exist in summer?
We aren’t loaded £wise and don’t fancy cooking every night so we’d rather go out but are the summer prices any less than winter.
I could see 10 or 11 nights being very expensive if we go it alone
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@up4it, The Alpes have been pretty hot this year - in the 30s in the valley.
We tend to rent a car from Venice and drive to the Dolomites. We base ourselves at the Ciclimino in Sala but have the odd night out at mountain huts.
The Dolomites are very popular in the summer and hotel prices and availabilty show this, especially August which IMHO is very expensive in places such as Wolkenstein.
Apartments in French ski resorts are more or less comparable to the cheepest weeks in the winter. Restaurants are about the same prices.
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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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The best way to get a low cost holiday in the French Alps is to go in June, before the main holiday season. Or in Autumn, when it's very beautiful. But be aware that by no means everything will be open, as it will during the main school holidays.
Car hire can be surprisingly expensive, and air fares are not as cheap as they used to be, either.
The most economical holiday plan would be to drive your own car and visit some lovely spots on your way to and from the Alps.
That way you could also take some essential ingredients and, if you are a family, the food the children most enjoy.
Cooking needn't really be a chore if you have a well stocked shop nearby and have done a bit of planning. Something very simple, washed down with a bottle of wine at supermarket prices, is all you need when you are sitting looking at the mountains. But yes, eating out in a restaurant every night for ten days would cost a lot!
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@up4it,
What would you be planning to do when in the Alps - walking, mountain biking, swimming, sailing, climbing, skiing etc?
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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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@Kenzie, Yes but not bothered for summer skiing, general outdoors stuff, hiking, biking, on the water, mayne paddleboarding
Been hiking on the Lycian Way this week in Turkey in 40c, been up the mountains, paragliding, swimming, eating and drinking!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
I’m half thinking about a nice catered chalet but do these exist in summer?
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Yes
Although many/most will be aimed at mountainbikers, and the price seems to be pretty much just like in ski season.
Was in Morzine myself the other week (just before the Tour de France), doing just that, in a catered chalet. Although it seems that 2 nights off for the chef is now a thing, so needed to book restaurants for them.
Think next year is when the Harley Davidson have their big convention in Morzine, so make sure to check the calendar before you book. Got a free Toto concert out of them the last time  , but the noise of the bikes got a bit tedious after a week, especially as our previous trip coincided with their Aviemore convention!
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If your going for more than a week drive and mix it up possibly with a short stay in Annecy or pop over to Aosta valley in Italy for a couple of days . seriously if your going for more than a week driving a car will be cheaper than flight and car hire . I love the Alps in summer and I think Morzine nice and busy in the summer with some Catered Chalet companies still operating for the summer season .
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@up4it, we love the Alps in summer and have had 14-day-ish holidays in Morzine, Les Gets, Morillon, Samoens, Chamonix, St Gervais, most more than once. We’ve always driven and made the drive part of the holiday, stopping en route for a night, in both directions. We also (when our children were younger) surprised them with a day at Disneyland Pais, staying overnight in one of the dormitory towns on the train route. The alpine weather is more palatable for us when tied to the summer holidays in July/August but we’ve also had some spectacular thunderstorms. Accommodation, even in high summer season is significantly cheaper than in winter and if you’ve got a car, you won’t be tied to the more expensive resort food shops, with Lidl etc., often located just down the hill or in valley towns.
If you’re looking for catered, try posting a request on www.chaletsdirect.com on the Summer Solutions board; self-catered will also be available via there. Good luck, I’d never hesitate to have a summer holidays in the Alps 
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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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The first summer we had our apartment - 2002 - was the year of the "canicule" when grandparents were dropping like flies in Paris. I sat planning walks, with the topo map, working out where we could get the car to the highest spot and walk at altitude (tip - the Col du Joly, driving up from Hauteluce Valley, is a good bet). Albertville was ghastly. I have never paid money for a beach holiday in the Med and am not about to start. Though my present tentative plan for the Outer Hebrides in September........ 
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Am doing a week at end of August with a chalet in Morzine....
My observation is also that the chalets are much less expensive in summer than winter. Most of
the companies that have their chalets catered in winter do them self-catered in summer for 250-350
euros a person for the week. Our 14 person chalet is 4000 euros, ensuite bedrooms, in town, etc.
Of course the catered chalets are the nicer ones, you can probably do something for even less.
Then you can hire a freelance chef for a catering package, and they will do 6 or even 7 nights of
a full standard chalet catering package if you want. Some of the management companies have
a list of chefs on their websites. There's also a company hu.ski which will deliver frozen meals.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just on way home after 9 days in Morzine. There are so many food options from restaurants and cafés/ casual dining, to good takeaways (Kamado kitchen my favourite) to meal delivery services (nothing against Hu.ski but better local options available - Wild Beets/ Bon appetite alpes). We cooked maybe 3 times.
It is awesome in Summer. I prefer it to winter. We also have the multi-pass scheme so we had lots of days out with picnics.
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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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We head home tomorrow, came out 1st July and it has flown by, If you’re coming for more than 10 days bring your own car & bikes.
Try and stay up the hills rather than in the valley floor.
Make sure you find a lac to swim in if your accommodation doesn’t have a pool.
I’ve always found that there is more events on in July and August is just too busy and hot.
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Just had 16 nights in Chamonix - two bed self catered apt in the middle of town, garden with furniture etc and just behind a supermarket.
Apartment was about €2,900 for the 16 nights and could have fitted more people (we have two small kids). Couldn't recommend it enough.
Lots of takeaway options, but had a kitchen and cooked some stuff ourselves, which helped a lot, especially with lunches. Lovely breakfasts out in the garden at our own pace.
Loads of stuff on in Chamonix - world climbing championships, Tour de France just down the valley in St Gervais (thanks to snowheads for their travel advice!), festivals in local towns. Free train travel up and down the valley - found our favourite hiking in Les Houches but there are so many trails available.
The buzz in the town is amazing - real mixture of sightseers, hikers, (more and more) mountain bikers, climbers, trail runners. We've been in July and August - definitely quieter in July as the French holidays seem to be concentrated in August.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
Apartment was about €2,900 for the 16 nights
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Isn't that quite expensive for July?
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
Apartment was about €2,900 for the 16 nights
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Isn't that quite expensive for July? |
Not really in central Chamonix. Two bed with a garden - actually relatively spacious. I'd done a lot of research to find somewhere suitable for two smallies - our criteria were probably a bit stricter than some, so there would be cheaper options without garden.
We stayed in a much smaller two bed place the last two years, a Pierre et Vacances place, and it was a little cheaper, but not much.
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Poster: A snowHead
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So, I think we’ve decided to drive and take the bikes, can get 2 in the back of a Q5 with the front wheels off.
Planning a week in Morzine, 4 nights in Chamonix and then another 4 nights somewhere nice and southerly enough to be warm on the way back to break up the journey
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