 Poster: A snowHead
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Just hoping for help with booking our ski adventure end of March 2024. We're a party of 10. Kids of ages 4-8, and couple of second season beginners who lack confidence.
Question 1 - is it always a stress book a budget ski holiday!! Or am I over thinking it!! Basically trying to keep costs down.
I have found a great chalet in La Plagne 1800, but I feel there are mixed reviews on here regarding suitability for beginners. Stayed at Les Coches last year and enjoyed the area.
Our other two options are in Vallandry and La Tania. We don't care about apres - happy just hitting the wine in the chalet  . Is there much to chose between them for beginners?
I'm struggling with cost of transfers - Benbus is by far the cheapest but doesn't go direct to the resort. Anyone have advice to get to and from Moutiers to La Tania (potentially early hours of the morning on our return), or Bourg St Mourice to Vallandry - is a taxi the only way and does anyone know the cost. Any other low cost transfer options?
Thanks in advance! Apologies for the long post! Ali
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We paid €350 for return taxis for 10 from Moutiers to La Tania.
Depending on where you are in the UK and when you're going, you may find that going by train works out as convenient and good value. Geneva is still ~3hrs from La Tania etc in a transfer bus; Moutiers is about 4hrs20 from Paris by direct train.
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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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Thanks for the speedy reply.
That's definitely more than I expected.
I hadn't considered a train from Paris, will have a look.
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@Ali in the alps, Have you considered driving over? It's probably the best budget option. Loads of advice on here about driving to the Alps. I've done it for the last 40+ years including in groups of 16 and taking my kids from the age of 3 months. Erna Low were our self drive operator of choice and then we got brave and did it all on our own booking each bit separately and have done every since. The drive down with an overnight stop becomes part of the holiday and then one early start and back home same day.
You can of course add or take away costs as your budget allows, we always used BB Hotels or Campanile / Novotels
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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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Hmm...I considered it but 14hours seems a treck with kids....but breaking it up with an overnight stay makes sense and sounds fun. Is it frowned upon to sedate them? Certainly, it would keep cost down
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@boredsurfin, any suggestions for stopping over half way. What do you tend to do?
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I live in LP 1800 and bens bus drops at the top of resort. Not really more than a 5 min walk to anywhere in resort. Where is the chalet an I can let you know exactly how long it will take to get to your accommodation 
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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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@Ali in the alps, long time since I stayed there but from memory it's not easy to ski back to Plagne 1800 for a novice. No real beginners area in Vallandry either from memory, the easier skiing is higher up with only blues and reds directly back to Vallandry.
La Tania/Courchevel would easily be the best for beginners. There is now a dedicated beginners zone at resort level in LT with two free magic carpet lifts. You've got a green all the way back to resort from the top of the LT gondola and a green into C1850 which also has an excellent beginners area off the Jardin Alpin lift. You can take a bus to and from C1850 if you prefer or people are stressed out/tired.
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@Je suis un Skieur, these are "second season beginners" so my guess is the blues down to Vallandry would be easily within their grasp, perhaps needing to take their time. I never remember which of the La Plagne bases is called what so I am not sure about Plagne 1800, but the area has an abundance of blues that are really rewarding for early-stage skiers so it is also a reasonable option.
The transport links could be the clincher.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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LaTania would get my vote.
I've been driving to LaTania (and many other resorts) for the last 27 years - from when my kids were 18 months old.
If you are going end of March (not Feb half term thank goodness) try to avoid driving the last part of the journey on a Saturday from mid day onwards.
If you can leave on a Friday and do an overnight stop as close to resort as possible - it really does make a huge difference. Or drive on a sunday.
Loads of places to stay for an overnight stop from cheap and cheerful upwards.
Plenty of decent roadside services on route.
Or, depending on how far you are from Eurotunnel or Ferry do the drive in 1 day - very possible.
On a good run can easily get from Calais to LaTania in 10 hours.
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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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@Timg60, thanks... it's chalet Becoin.
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@Ali in the alps, Chalet Becoin if it’s the one I know is self catered
https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/chalet-le-becoin-chalets-pour-12-personnes-654.en-gb.html
It is an easy 5 mins walk down hill from the bens bus stop.
Depending on whether you arrive within the resort bus times 8.40am to 11pm you won’t have to do any walking either way as the chalet is right next to the resort bus route stop.
A couple of mins walk to the ski lifts. It’s in a good location.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Ali in the alps, booking any holiday is always stressful and booking one for a large party is very, very stressful.
When our son was young we always drove overnight. He'd sleep all the way from the end of our street until we got to Albertville, if we got the tunnel that is. It was generally much easier and far less stressful than flying. The old snow train used to work well as well.
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No real beginners area in Vallandry either from memory, the easier skiing is higher up with only blues and reds directly back to Vallandry.
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Vallandry is an excellent beginner area. One of the best I have seen. You take the telecabine up to 2000m plus where the snow is good. There is a very wide beginner area with some excellent blue runs to pracice on and then if you don't fancy the long and winding road called foret (a run I dislike) or the rather nice Barmont you can always get the telecabine back down. It has been set up specifically for beginners.
There are no greens in Paradiski all the easy runs are graded blue. I assume that the second week skiers will be in lessons and the instructor will take them down the appropriate runs. @Ali in the alps,
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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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@johnE, there are short greens for beginners in most Paradiski villages. What there aren't are any longer greens - because they are correctly graded blue!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@ecureuil, These are areas marked as green for beginners rather than pistes. They used to be zone mauve. Even very gentle pistes such as Traversee 1 are classed as blue
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Ali in the alps wrote: |
| Hmm...I considered it but 14hours seems a treck with kids....but breaking it up with an overnight stay makes sense and sounds fun. Is it frowned upon to sedate them? Certainly, it would keep cost down |
The comment about sedating children was a joke, right?
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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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@Mike S, thanks for that, helpful link, very handy website. I used it to find the La Tania chalet that we like.
I'm toying with both Geneva and Lyon..can you tell I'm not very decisive.
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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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@Owls101, I'm a vet, so....
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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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@Timg60, thank you. That's very helpful indeed. I couldn't work out the distance from the particulars, and sometimes a company's idea of a short walk differs from mine!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@johnE, I am increasingly tempted by the driving idea. I reckon we can buy an in car dvd player with the saving from flights and transfers!
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Thanks so much for all the replies. Anyone know a budget way to get from Bourg to Vallandry?
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| Ali in the alps wrote: |
| @Owls101, I'm a vet, so.... |
So what? I'm concerned and confused now
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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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Ali in the alps, forget the DVD player. Get Audible (audio books).
Just William stories read by Martin Jarvis. David Walliams stories. The first Harry Potter read by Stephen Fry.
My kids were younger than yours when we started driving to Nendaz, but we did overnight ferry to Caen/Le Havre and then all the way in one day.
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@Owls101, you get it's a joke, right?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Ali in the alps, clearly not that's why I asked. Glad that bad sense of humour is all that you are guilty of!
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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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Oh sorry! I probably should have added a laughy winky emoji. Don't panic...we'll stick to audio books
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My son and daughter have both driven to the Alps with their kids several times. The kids endure it, rather than enjoy it. Audio books are fantastic - dvd players will make some kids sick. My two local grand-daughters, now aged 11 and 13, have driven since they were quite a bit younger. They adore their ski holidays, and know it's the only way they can be afforded, and they suck it up. They listen to Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter, but 4 is a bit young for that! They have some sweets, know they won't get any more, and spend a lot of time working out how many kms between sweets, if they want them to last the journey. They are both good at mental arithmetic and it keeps them looking out for road signs on the autoroute.  Yes, I know it's not good for their teeth but they're not allowed sweets normally so it's a novelty. They don't enjoy the journey but they're proud of their ability to endure it and are always read the riot act about bickering.
There is simply no easy way to do it. As for sedation, some travel sickness remedies are pretty sedating. But they can have some unusual side effects too, so worth experimenting beforehand. As a vet you should have no problem finding the optimum formulation.
On our last family holiday, at Easter this year, one grandson, 10 years old, needed picking up from Genoa. My son suggested he flew down and brought him up by train, and I could travel down with my daughter in law and two very lively girls aged 2 and 5. I thought for about 12 seconds and suggested instead that I drive down to Genoa, bring him up to the northern French Alps, take him back at the end of the week then drive home from Genoa. In my own car, mostly on my own, with my own choice of music and audio books and no moaning kids. No-brainer!
When my own kids were younger they were adamant they didn't want to travel three in the back of a car so we went several times by coach. Which was cheap, albeit tedious, and gave us two extra days skiing. But you don't hear much about that option these days.
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You know it makes sense.
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| johnE wrote: |
| Vallandry is an excellent beginner area. One of the best I have seen. |
Don't agree at all. Vallandry is an excellent intermediate area. Ideal slope to learn carving on. It's too steep for second week skiers "who lack confidence" and the runs back to base are steeper still.
I'd quite happily argue that the two best beginners' areas in the whole of the Savoie are Courchevel 1850 and Meribel Altiport. Both miles ahead of anything in the Paradiski or Espace Killy for size, variety and steady progression on to increasing gradients. Of the two, Courchevel has the easier blues to move on to.
The gentlest blue gradients in Vallandry are steeper than the entry blues in Courchevel, let alone the greens.
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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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@Je suis un Skieur, We disagree then.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Je suis un Skieur, you don't have to ski down to the bottom, though. As @johnE says, you can get the gondola back down. Getting the gondola down is a good option for beginners (and others who don't like cut up runs full of people who maybe shouldn't be there) in many resorts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@sugarmoma666, of course they can download. It's not the point though, is it? The OP's question was which area is better for beginners. Courchevel beats Les Arcs for beginners all day, every day.
One of the key goals for second week skiers who lack confidence should be to give them some confidence by enabling them to feel like they are "proper skiers". If all their group ski down and they have to download because they're not good enough to ski the same run down with them, all that does is reaffirm that they're low level skiers. And then the doubts come in as to whether they'll ever be good enough to actually enjoy a ski holiday. I've seen way too many adult skiers do one or two holidays and decide that skiing "isn't really for them" and I often think this kind of scenario is a key contributor. They go on holiday in a group because they like the idea of being "in the gang" but as soon as they're on the hill it's painfully obvious that they're not in the gang at all. Being able to ski home gives that first sense of control over their own ski destiny and they can make a conscious choice of what to do.
And uploading/downloading still doesn't address the point that there's only really one gradient in that section of Vallandry and it's much steeper than Courchevel and La Tania's beginners' areas. So if they get up there and can't cope, where are they going to go that's less steep? Home?
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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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Thanks again for all the help so far. The Vallandry chalet is pretty much ski in/out, so it's helpful to appreciate that some of the party may struggle. I suspect they'd be happy to take the lift back.
Anyone know a budget way to get from Bourg SM to Vallandry?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Je suis un Skieur, also disagree, Foret run goes from top and winds it’s way down to Vallandry and is as gentle as they come. My kids were skiing down it on first week of lessons aged 6
As stated if tired there is also the newish gondola which is really easy to use. All the beginner runs are now in Vallandry bowl as well
It’s also easy to use Foret mainly and alternate with slightly steeper runs between sections of Foret
As for driving with kids, it’s easy with a bit of planning. Plenty of advice on here. We’ve been doing it since our twins were 18-months. Now they’re 23 
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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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@Boris, any suggestions for a stop over along the way?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Ali in the alps, lot depends on where your start point is. We’re near Banbury so (give it take) 3-hours to Eurotunnel. Initially we always stopped at Nuit St George but as kids have got older we have pushed on and stopped at Macon. This is about 8-hours, comfortably with stops, from Calais.
This gives a 4-hour drive the next morning to Vallandry, which gives us time to shop, collect passes and even ski in afternoon.
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@Boris, that's amazing, really helpful. We're in Norfolk, so similar distance from the tunnel.
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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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Bourg SM to Vallandry via funicular and free shuttle bus. This was the timetable of 2023 so gives you an idea: https://www.seelesarcs.com/buses
Personally we've driven every year (and mainly in Feb half term). The driving is part of the trip rather than just the journey. Kids are happy watching films in the back. We use Phenergan for the travel sick one and it's fab. Makes him a little bonkers but nothing bad (better than being sick!). They are teens now and used to the drive being part of the holiday.
We always do an overnight stop both ways to break things up. Troyes is usually the area of choice and a very popular one! Family rooms in hotels are great. We use B&B hotels, Ace hotels mainly.
Driving (while we find cheaper than any other method) also means a slightly cheaper supermarket shop in the valley rather than in resort. Plus I bring back lots of wine!!!
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