 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Any of you swiss-based folks (or currency experts) got any info on whether the pound to the swiss franc is now making Switzerland a more attractive holiday proposition than Italy/France/Austria? I haven't kept tabs on where the flailing pound has fallen against the swiss franc!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
carled, the forex wigglies are all down hill sadly. This time last year I was getting 2.4 CHF to £ and now it's around 1.7.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
In my view Switzerland has offered much better value than France for years. Italy & Austria are both cheaper than French resorts though.
This morning I bought my season pass in Wengen - it cost CHF880 - about £520. I reckon that's bargain of the century, even at current exchange rates.
Last christmas the Swiss Franc was about 2.30 to the pound. Today it's about 1.70. That's a fall of just under 30% - around the same as the Euro.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Yeah, I know it's downhill, but bear with me here...
If I as English Billy Bunter have pounds to spend, will I get more for my money, relatively speaking, by looking at Switzerland than I would by going to Austria, France or Italy? Basically I know this depends on a lot of factors, and I also know that historically speaking, Switzerland can be perceived as being expensive for food/drink.
So if a beer costs €5 in Italy, €6 in Austria and €7 in France then it's an easy calculation (using the well known Carled beer price index as a relative rule of thumb against every other item for sale in these countries, of course...) but if the pound is now stronger against the swiss franc, relatively speaking, then the slightly higher (or camparable to France) beer price becomes a bit cheaper by comparison, right? So even though, for argument's sake using parity in pound/euro as a simple rule, the beer in Austria will now cost me £6, the beer in Switzerland which, say, costs CHF7 now costs me only just over £4...?
Or am I way off the mark here...? (ha! see what I did there, "Mark", geddit?  )
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Ah, Telford_Mike has pretty much nailed the answer for me there - 30% in both cases, so best to head for the cheaper countries still - Austria/Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
carled, Sounds reasonable - you can do the same with ski pass prices - all of which are available online. Val d'Isere seems to be the most expensive - €999 for the season - ouch!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
telford_mike, But how many people actually pay the 'List Price' of a season pass? For example as a property owner I get a very good price on an annual Paradiski pass, which is a lot less than the advertised season pass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All I can tell you is I'm paid in Swiss Francs and rarely eat out in Switzerland because wine and food are so damn expensive. Maybe big resorts are about the same but small resorts are a lot cheaper on the French side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Boredsurfing, lucky you - we would only get the locals' rate in Laax if we had our permanent (owned OR rented) residence there (I checked); as our property is only a holiday home, we still have to pay the punters' rate. Having said that, by buying our season pass by the end of April we save about CHF 200 per person and get the summer season thrown in. Moreover our season pass covers Lenzerheide and Davos/Klosters as well as Flims/Laax. Not bad for CHF 930 ish
As far as exchange rates go, I work with clients in EUR, CHF and GBP. I'm seriously thinking about massively reducing the amount of work I do for GBP clients until the rate improves since, as telford_mike points out, I've effectively had a 30% pay cut. CHF and EUR are relatively stable to one another (CHF as slipped a little recently - or rather EUR has strengthened; EUR seems to be one of the strongest currencies in the world right now)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Boredsurfing, only permanent residents get such a discount in Serre Chevalier,despite information I received to the contrary last season, although I do get 25% discount and a free summer lift pass if we buy before the 1st November. This made them about £500 each.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| Boredsurfing wrote: |
| telford_mike, But how many people actually pay the 'List Price' of a season pass? For example as a property owner I get a very good price on an annual Paradiski pass, which is a lot less than the advertised season pass. |
Doesn't really matter - 30% of £1000 is still twice as much as 30% of £500. In Wengen the resort workers and residents get 50% off. Personally I prefer to be a simple tourist (no work) and pay 100%, but I wouldn't want to pay those French prices that's for sure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
carled,
My own experience from recent seasons when I have been to France Austria and Switzerland but not to Italy other than day skiing is this.
Austrian resorts are by and large the cheapest and best value, particulary for eating and drinking though there is significant variation.
France has the largest variation between the big expensive resorts and the smaller cheaper ones. The big French resorts offer the worst value for on mountain food and you pay through the nose for space in self catering accommodation or quality in hotels. Less poppular resorts can give very good value.
THe big Swiss resorts aren't cheap but you get much better value for hotels and appartments. On Mountain eating tends to be more reasonable.
I have always found Switzerland expensive to eat out at night and it can be very difficult to find decent priced night time eating in the major Swiss resorts, though half board in hotels is often reasonable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There's the makings of a useful guidebook here! So when staying in Switzerland, self catering might well be a false economy if you intend to eat out a few times in the week? Also we need to define those "less popular" French resorts you mention... I don't remember being horrified by Serre Chevalier prices, but that was 3 years ago now...
In this particular case, it has to be a less popular French resort that is easy to reach from Turin, has plenty of piste and value for money... Where's david@traxxvax when you need him, eh? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
carled, I'm not sure I'd go that far, loads of top value in the Valais, and you get to compare wigglies with Brian!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| Steve Sparks wrote: |
| carled, ...loads of top value in the Valais... |
Name names!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
I paid CHF 20 for a day pass at Villars yesterday to ski a large area, 22€ today to ski a small French resort about a tenth of the size. Switzerland is expensive, but it is worth looking at.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
carled, Risoul/Vars might suit you then, or even Montgenevre with links to the Milky Way. I would say Serre Chevalier (as far as British visitors go) could be called a less popular resort. I hadn't even heard of it until I looked for a holiday at short notice for Easter week, and noticed it had the best snow conditions in the French Alps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Valloire and Valmienier are pretty cheap by french standards, we got our season passes for E188 in a speacial offer, Large beer about E5, and a meal in most restaurants is about E20 for 2 courses although there are plenty of fixed price speacila for E12-15. I was out in Carinthia a few weeks ago and it was REALLY cheap, E3.50 ish for a beer and a couple of euros for a glass of the local plonk, good meal 15-20 euro, and Nassfeld now has 280cm of snow, I will be back soon!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| Boredsurfing, only permanent residents get such a discount in Serre Chevalier,despite information I received to the contrary last season, although I do get 25% discount and a free summer lift pass if we buy before the 1st November. This made them about £500 each. |
There was a test case in 2005/6 which says this kind of pricing is illegal, search Pistehors.com, they did a piece about it somewhere.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
davidof, found it thanks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
