Cheap resort for 7 people in Feb half term

A snowHead

Can anyone recommend a relatively cheap option for skiing in february half term. We are trying to organize a week trip for under £200 per person (6 adults 1 child) for accomodation, flights (or drive) from london and passes although i think this might be pushing it a bit.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

dp

A snowHead

dp6ai, Welcome to snowHeads

.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I would suggest that it is impossible to get all that for under £200. Lift passes for the main areas are £100+ for a week to begin with.

You may (if you are very lucky) find a last minute deal for £200 for just the accommodation and transport in the quietest periods, but not Feb half term.

Sorry.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

dp6ai, Welcome to Snowheads. Very Happy

I honestly think your budget, even outside of half term is not achievable, and by a rather large margin. Double it and you will be more realistic. Sorry Crying or Very sad

EDIT: Both Ray and I both are half term unfortunates due to family etc.

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dp6ai, hello. I'd have thought under £200 a head including passes was a non starter at any time of the year. At half term, you can have accomodation or transport or a lift pass for £200 a head at half term, but not all of them.

Your best bet is to drive somewhere small (cheaper lift pass and accomodation) and get an apartment for 7 (which will have one bedroom, if you're lucky). You might do that for £300 a skull, but fts's £400 is more realistic.

A couple of years ago, we found a cheap self drive to Tignes: £180 a head (for 4 heads) for ferry and apartment (rabbit hutch type), IIRC. Lift pass for Espace Killy this season = £140, plus petrol, tolls and grub en route (we had an o/n stop in each direction but that's optional) and you're looking at the thick end of £400 a head. Cheaper if there's 7 of you (assuming you have a vehicle which can carry all of you), but not £200 a head, I'm afraid.

Good luck.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

dp6ai, welcome to snowHeads.

I'd have to echo Ray - Feb half term is the most expensive week for skiing holidays. Second week in January and you might come close (if you have your own skis/boots and avoid restaurants, etc), but no way for Feb half term. Sad

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Thanks everyone i thought that might be the case. Just out of interest where would people recommend for some beginners and some advance skiers/boarders on "a budget"

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dp6ai, I'd suggest looking for a self-catering package holiday to one of the bigger, purpose-built resorts like Les Arcs, Avoriaz, Tignes or Val Thorens where you'll be able to get a self-catering apartment at a reasonable cost.

Do be careful when looking at apartment costs, though, because the headline prices are often based on a set number of people in an apartment and you filling the apartment. So, if you've got 7 people, then

Depending on how old the child is, there are usually good last minute deals to be had for the last week of January. (I used to be sniffy about people taking kids out of school - until I saw the price difference.)

Where ever you go you'll need to budget for £70-£80 for a (local area) lift pass for 6 days; £50 for ski / boot hire; another £50-60 for lessons and then food / beer.

After all it is free

dp6ai, to mitigate costs, things you could consider would be to:

self-drive (but you'll need to hire chains)
stay away from the resort centre - (in a satellite village to one of the main resorts possibly).
stay in budget accommodation - hostels (though I also found a good deal on a wooden chalet (heated of course) on a campsite)
self-cater and take a packed lunch to eat on the mountains.
IMHO France and Switzerland are more expensive than Italy, Austria and Andorra/Pyrennees

The cheapest is probably Bulgaria, but I wouldn't recommend it if you have advanced skiers.

Faced with the same problem I've picked valliore by train. Les sybelles is also a cheap and viable for a mixed group? Cheap flights to salzburg and then b&b in austria also an option.

I'm looking at £160 in transport, £90 each in apartments (fairly lux, no one in lounge etc), and £100 for a lift pass. With some effort I could probably knock £50 off that between transport and accom but thats about the limit.

HTH, aj xx

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Ahem...... Ray, I would consider myself a good skier and Bulgaria has got something to offer.
I frequent Borovets and with some imagination there is loads to do. NehNeh

Wide black pistes, .......Yawn Cool

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dp6ai, for a smaller budget, I would suggest you try the Easter holidays instead. You could DIY it for less than a package at half-term, but probably not at this late stage unless you drive. Look on Chalets Direct for accommodation, or Erna Low and Ski France for apartments . A 2-5 person apartment will have one bedroom, and 3 sofabeds, a 2-7 person 2 bedrooms (or 1+bunk room) and 3 sofabeds.

No, and you're right I should have said! 27th Jan or 3rd feb. Half term week accomodation is £500 more between 6/8, trains/list pass etc was all the same though.

They are nice apartments though - i would think with some hunting you could knock a bit off that? (The st sorlin ones were considerably cheaper for large apts but I had problems getting the room setup I wanted.

aj xx

You know it makes sense.

i think you can do it to Jasna, Slovakia.

Return flights to bratislava from stansted with ryanair about 80 quid. lift pass for jasna, 60 quid, rent a small house for 8 people for the week, about 40 quid a head.

Then all you have to do is wack on spending money which is silly cheap @ 40p a pint, train from bratislava to liptovsky mikulas a fiver each way.

ryanair flights to Bratislava can be got silly cheap. We have organised our preseason party for a group of friends, return was 25 quid inc taxes.

You dont have to pay the earth to have a fantastic ski holiday - fact.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

PropagandaSnowboards, Interesting post. Bratislava is quite big on the weekend break market now.

How big is the ski resort - km of piste etc ?

Is it like Poland, where you have to queue forever to get on the ski lift (allegedly) ?

A snowHead

21st Jan= £400 each half board including lift pass, lessons and board and boot hire to Andorra. GET IN!

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

PropagandaSnowboards, Yes, I was thinking of Zakopane.

I am aware of the stag trips. I believe there is a cult horror film about people getting kidnapped and chopped in Bratislava.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I agree with Helen Beaumont about Easter. Cheaper and less crowded than half term, and nicer weather. My first budget family ski holidays were arranged when my daughter, now 23, was 4 - 8 years old. We went in the cheapest week in early January, took them out of school (yes, I know, but it did them no harm at all) and even then I reckoned that 250 quid a head was the cheapest we could get.

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Cheap resort for 7 people in Feb half term

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