 Poster: A snowHead
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I am looking for a ski trip to the Alps for my family of four for February school vacation week (17-25).
My self and my two boys ( 14 & 18 ) are aggressive skiers and want to get in as much skiing/snowboarding as possible. My wife only wants spend a day or two skiing and the rest sightseeing. We have not skied in Europe before so we are looking for some kind of all inclusive deal or a trip that has easy transfers to the hotel. I would prefer not to rent a car/van and to have direct flights. I want to make this an easy, enjoyable trip (for me!).
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 1-10-06 14:35; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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East Coast, welcome to 
I'm sure you'll be inundated with replies soon!
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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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East Coast, welcome to snowHeads!
The all inclusive deal is pretty common for going from the UK to Europe for ski-ing. Not sure how you'd go about linking it to a trans-atlantic flight - try companies like Inghams (www.inghams.co.uk), Mark Warner (http://www.markwarner.co.uk/) and Neilson (http://www.neilson.co.uk/) - I've only used the first of these. Inghams certainly do non-skier programmes for the week and local tourist offices can be helpful.
Feb 17-25 is the peak of the European ski season - you should have no issues with snow surety, you'll probably find resorts quite crowded.
I don't have huge ski-ing experience (8 trips). Although I love the ski-ing in the 3 Valleys there's not much in the way of easily accessible sight ski-ing. If you were to go somewhere like Kitzbuhel then the town is fair sized and it's an hour or so train ride to a number of other interesting places.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Welcome to s East Coast.
Probably the biggest challenge will be your wife's requirements "sightseeing". Many European resorts rely on altittude, rather than latitiude, to get snow - so many resorts aren't great for non-skiers.
What type of things would your wife like to do?
Where have you and the boys skied before that you've enjoyed? And what type of stuff do you enjoy doing - cruising runs; off-piste; back-country; park;...?
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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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We have mainly skied north east USA & Canada. Had a few trips to Whistler. We are not picky on the "type" of Skiing being used to cold weather, ice & crud!
My wife wants to see some historic sites & shopping. We have not been to Europe on vacation in many years, so we want to make the most of it. The trip is for my son's high school graduation.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Welcome to East Coast, where are you flying into? The swiss railways do a fixed price transfer ticket which could work well for you if you pick a resort with good rail links, that would also allow your wife a few more options for sightseeing.
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| East Coast wrote: |
| ...historic sites & shopping... |
Somewhere centred on Geneva might be an option.
Verbier, Megeve, Morzine / Les Gets and Chamonix would put your wife within striking distance of the cities around Lake Geneva relatively easily - although they'd be 1-2 hours and she'd need a car (or very expensive taxi).
Or somewhere in Austria - maybe somewhere around Saltzburg - which is a beautiful place. Although I'm not good on Austria.
Do we have any Austrian specialists in today? 
Edit: have a look at this link
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Consider Switzerland - many places are geared for non-skiing activities as well as skiing and in reach of interesting cities for day trips by train e.g. Lucerne would make an interesting day trip for a US non-skier I think.
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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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East Coast, As folks above has said- in many parts of Europe the one you have chosen id the busiest and most expensive. Perhaps Saalbach-Hinterglemm or Kitzbuhel. Both handy for Salzburg, with Kitzbuhel having the nicer shops  but S-H more challenging skiing.
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Our Club “The World Tour” runs an annual February vacation week trip to Europe out of Boston & NY. This year our trip is to Aosta in Italy. We usually pick places that are good for both snow sports and sightseeing and Aosta offers both. We have singles, couples and families on the trip (mixed bunch) and kids the same age as yours.
We travel as a group and have a coach/bus transfer us from the Airport to the Hotel. We also have excursions during the week such as a trip to Milan, a tour of the Castles, etc. We put together a great itinerary for the week where you can ski eight resorts in three countries (Italy, France & Switzerland) in one week! We also intend on doing the famous Vallée Blanche run, an 11 mile glacier run starting in Italy and ending in Chamonix, France, and come back from France via the Mont Blanc Tunnel. You don’t need to rent a car our worry about transportation as it is all taken care of.
We did this trip February vacation 2005 and stayed in Courmayeur, and many of the same people will be on next years trip. We went to Innsbruck, Austria last year, It was great also. Check it out on our web site http://www.TheWorldTour.org under “Where Have We Been”
Our Aosta trip is February 17–25. It is $1,195 and includes round trip flights from Boston (NY Option), Airport transfers to/from the Hotel, 7 nights Hotel, Breakfast & Dinner daily. For more info check out our web site at http://www.TheWorldTour.org.
Note: This trip always fills way in advanced of departure and we can not get more slots once it is full.
I think this is the perfect match with what you are looking for!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Our Aosta trip is February 17–25. It is $1,195 and includes round trip flights from Boston (NY Option), Airport transfers to/from the Hotel, 7 nights Hotel, Breakfast & Dinner daily.
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That's a very good price (at least it is if converted to sterling) but going on a US-based trip might be less of a cultural experience? You haven't said what kind of budget you have, East Coast, but whilst being French based ourselves (we have an apartment in a French resort) we make a point of not being there in the peak February weeks as we don't do lift queues! I think the suggestions of Austria and Switzerland are good ones, as those countries may not be quite so busy, and if the budget allows (ours never did  )there are some wonderful hotels, especially in Switzerland, which others will no doubt suggest. Kitzbuhel in Austria is a beautiful town with glitzy shops and mountain restaurants full of beautifully made up women with lots of mascara and Chanel moon boots but the skiing is a bit scattered around and lowish altitude (though February should be fine). Zermatt has more beautiful mountain scenery and more dramatic and exciting skiing for your sons. Zurich, my son assures me, has fantastic shopping and there should be direct flights and a range of skiing within striking distance. Innsbruck is pretty and historic, though the shopping is limited, and there are plenty of ski buses going to the various and varied ski centres around. You may need to explore flights first, then decide whether the location of your accommodation is to be determined more by easy access to ski-ing or sighseeing/shopping, then think about accommodation. Be aware that European accommodation tends to be pretty inflexible about dates and that in that peak period most will want you to book Saturday to Saturday. But perhaps those expensive hotels I could never afford will be more flexible. You should also be aware that many European self-catering apartments are far smaller and less well equipped than their US equivalents.
If you did a web search for UK based tour operators you would find heaps, and get a feel for the range of packages available. All the TOs will do packages out of major UK cities, minus the flights (ie find your own way to the accommodation, or to the destination airport for a coach transfer) but for minimum hassle you might want to look at a flight into London, Birmingham or similar then a package. A very English way of doing a ski holiday is a "catered chalet" - there are lots of Snowhead threads about their pros and cons. They range from cheap and cheerful up to impossibly luxurious with helicopter transfers, gourmet dining and lifts to the slopes. We mainly did the "cheap and cheerful" and generally found good value and always found good company. You would get to meet European (or at any rate, British!) skiers and many chalet companies do group ski guiding days which your teenagers might enjoy especially.
The biggest well-linked European ski areas with "ski in, ski out" accommodation tend to be in France (3 Valleys, Espace Killy) but neither are to be recommended for anything else.
Are your dates irrevocably fixed? You would have a much better European experience in mid March, or the first week of February.
I'm sure you will get plenty of excellent advice, as you focus in on your priorities and parameters. What a great present for your son's graduation!
My US friends keep telling me I should go to Utah....
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brian
brian
Guest
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East Coast, Zermatt, it's the quintessential alpine experience. Get a flight to Geneva and then a rail transfer from the airport station to Zermatt.
Journey planner here: http://www.sbb.ch/en
Get a Swiss transfer ticket to cover the return rail journey here: http://www.swisstravelsystem.com for about $100 each (the 15 year old will be free).
... and then pick out a hotel here:
http://www.zermatt.ch/e/hotels/
You can get a package deal on hotel/skipass/etc:
http://www.zermatt.ch/e/packages/02.html
... and make sure you get a room with a view of the Matterhorn (mit Matterhornblick) :
Definitely don't go with a UK tour operator, we are talking being herded around on a coach by a gap year student who will be taught to patronise you like a brain dead sheep !
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The World Tour Aosta, Italy trip sounds perfect! I also read your reply on the other forum. I have been looking for the trip for a while. Everything I have found has been expensive and the connections seem difficult, especial with a family of four, with all our gear and after traveling eight hours to a country I have not been to before.
What is the deal with the club? Does it cost more to join and then to go on the trip? Are we required to do anything for the club. Is it possible to meet other people on the trip before the trip?
Are there any hidden costs, your trips is very cheap compared to what I was quoted from travel companies? There seems to be great deals out there, until you actually try and book them, then they cost more or flights are unavailable out of Boston, or you got to work out your hotel connection.
Thanks
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You know it makes sense.
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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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What’s The World Tour Club About?
We started as a group of friends going on Ski & Scuba trips from the USA. We usually met up in London or Dublin to go on the Ski trips. The club founder is from Dublin. Over time we have been able to put together our own trips with flight out of NY & Boston. There is info about the club on the About Us / Membership page.
http://www.TheWorldTour.org
Yes, each adult (You and your Wife) has to pay a membership fee. You do not have to do anything for the club, however we prefer if you get involvd. We usually have pre & post trip parties along with other events during the year.
There are no hidden costs. The only additional costs are the Airline Taxes & surcharges and what ever lift tickets package you want. We usually arrange for discounted lift tickets. Depending on the trip you may have to pay for a local guide (Glacier) and local transportation to some areas. Call the club and we will give you the details – we did the same trip two years ago.
Most of us on the trip are tied to the high school February vacation so we know exactly what you mean about the dates being fixed. This should be a great trip whereby you don’t have to worry about the logistics, just keeping an eye on the two boys as they head out to the nightclubs!
Call the Club (888) 828-0096 or send us an E-mail through the web site http://www.TheWorldTour.org
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