 Poster: A snowHead
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Just having a serious look at wether we can afford a family ski holiday next year, and wondered what kind of budget people factor for a week away, inc lift pass, kiddie lessons, lunches, eating out, transfers, flights etc
Last year we tried to do it on a budget (for a catered chalet). We booked flights early, and got a last minute deal for the 2nd week of the Easter hols.
It still cost £3k when factoring in:
last minute catered chalet for 2 kids, 2 adults inc flights (+skis) transfers from Geneva: £1,730
Kids ski lessons £267
Kids lunches and lunchtime care until 2pm: £150
Family lift pass & ski hire: £620
lunches (mostly packed!), meals out, a few drinks etc: £190
I reckon I could avoid the kiddie care and cut down on spending money, but that'd save a max of £300 from last years costs!
cheers,
Greg
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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kitenski, £3k is roughly what we've spent the last few years and unfortunately there is not a lot you can do to cut the costs. We go with grandparents so save on childcare costs that way.
However, last Easter and from now on, we have changed from a chalet to an apartment. This costs around £400 instead of over £1000! The downside (or not) is that we don't save money as we are going twice!!!!
We also drive rather than fly - I don't think there is a lot in it cost wise but is easier for us.
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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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Boris, cheers, but then how much do you factor in for buying in food, beers, wine and a couple of meals out??? If you say, £80 for a meal out twice (inc a bottle of wine) and say £120 for a weeks shop, then your up to about £680 self catered I guess....
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kitenski, I'd agree with Boris. Self catering, and maybe driving, would be the only way of saving a significant sum. the apartments in our development (MGM, new, two bedrooms) are 450 euro for a week out of the main school holidays. Ski in/out. You could also pay a lot less for children's ski lessons (80 euros for a 6 day course) and knock off the child care and lunches. Preferably take a grandparent! If all else fails, look after themselves yourself or go with friends and take it in turns. Having adjoining apartments with friends can also make it possible to get out in the evening.
If you plan carefully, take some items with you and have a car to do a big supermarket shop, eating for a week in a ski resort need not cost hugely more than eating at home. Lunches in the apartment save a packet.
We found that going with friends/family meant that we could keep costs down to a tight budget but still have a good time - taking it in turns to cook for the evenings, and washing down meals with plenty of vin ordinaire. The kids adored skiing with their cousins - they still do, come to that, even though they're all adults now.
Ski passes are a big unavoidable chunk, obviously, though costs do vary; depending on the age of kids a 4 person family would pay 465 euros for passes for the Espace Diamant domaine.
It's never going to be a cheap holiday, is it? 
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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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cheers pam w, do you have a link to those apartments, or any idea of costs 10/11th April 2010?
Cheers,
greg
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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kitenski, as pam w, says, planning can save you lots. We take a lot of basics with us in the car and then do fresh food shop down in Albertville where it is all a lot cheaper. If really organised have bought beer & Wine in Calais to take with us.
Lunches we tend to have in the Apartment which also saves £s
With some apartment bookings you can get discounts on lift passes - booking in Vallandry through CIS I saved oer 100E on lift passes.
With my kids being young, and the grandparents old, we don't do meals or even drinks out - this save a lot. But at the end of the day its your holiday and if you want to go mad - go for it.
The biggest saving will always be on the accommodation and for us, as we are all out skiing every day, ther was no point paying for a huge chalet which we never used!
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pam w, I know I've 'gently chided' you with regard to pimping Les Saisies before  , but that's an area I really like the look of. Is the Espace Diamant linked by lifts and runs, or does one have to scoot around in cars or catch buses?
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kitenski, We bought so the first time ever did self catering last year. It was actually a lot, lot easier than we thought. We learnt a few lessons (don't shop in resort unless desperate!!), at 2,000m shopkeepers screw you. We brought a few meals with us and so long as you keep it to very simple food, pasta, steak etc.. then cooking is dead easy. We intended eating out one night but in the end we didn't to save some money but we also we to happy slobbing about in our pj's and couldn't be bothered going out in -20c for food. Self catering with the kids was much easier than I imagined.
As for overall cost stick to some advice i read on snowheads last year. Pay for all elements of a skiing holiday on different credit cards and never, ever, ever add the total of all the cards up 
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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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kitenski, if you google "Les Fermes du Beaufortain" (preferably on google.fr) you'll find a number of sites. This is one which combines a few different apartments, including C3, which belongs to great friends of ours, and is bigger than the others, with a second shower room. I have absolutely no commercial interest in assuring you that it's a very nice apartment, well equipped etc. We are borrowing it at Christmas actually, for our son and DiL with 3 kids - it's next door but one to ours so we can leave the kids asleep in one apartment whilst the adults wine and dine in the other.
http://www.location-appartement-lessaisies.com/tarif.htm
It looks as if tarif for that week is 450 euros.
There are a number of others (some of which may be more expensive - the English owners in particular tend to charge rather optimistic prices, which they no doubt used when persuading themselves that an apartment in the Alps would be a good "investment" ). and some of the people we know rent out their apartments. We don't rent out ours, and in view of his chidings I'm not sure I really should reply to paulio's query. But no, the Espace Diamant is all lift linked. See http://www.espacediamant.com/fr/espace-diamant-domaine.asp
A car is absolutely essential. There is a ski bus which runs regularly (but infrequently) to the main centre of Les Saisies, and you can ski door to door (if you can do a blue run, though there's also a black run home) but getting to Bisanne 1500 without a car would be well nigh impossible, especially with kids.
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pam w, hahaha.
Thanks.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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pam w, cheers, top station about 2000m then?? How did it hold up this year in the warm Easter period??
Cheers,
Greg
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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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It didn't used to be linked did it? Did it?
That's a cracking sized area, considering nobody* knows it's there.
*except you.
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| thefatcontroller wrote: |
| kitenski, We bought so the first time ever did self catering last year. It was actually a lot, lot easier than we thought. We learnt a few lessons (don't shop in resort unless desperate!!), at 2,000m shopkeepers screw you. We brought a few meals with us and so long as you keep it to very simple food, pasta, steak etc.. then cooking is dead easy. We intended eating out one night but in the end we didn't to save some money but we also we to happy slobbing about in our pj's and couldn't be bothered going out in -20c for food. |
That's very much our experience as well, and with a ski in/out apartment it's pretty easy to pop back for lunch and even a mid-morning break if you're passing.
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You know it makes sense.
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kitenski, check out the flights to friedrichshaven from Stansted, we got some cheap ones. there are some not so well known resorts around and thus cheaper rooms.
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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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 Les Saisies itself, and the top area of Notre Dame de Bellecombe (which is actually the best area in the whole domain, IMO) held up pretty well but the lower areas of the Arly Valley - which always close earlier than Les Saisies anyway - do suffer when the weather is warm.
The snow record in Les Saisies is very good - we found it by chance, on a meandering drive home, after a week of poor snow in the 3V. The snow in LS, whilst looking a trifle tired, was actually better than anywhere in the 3V - and the coffees were half the price. When the snow for miles around is rubbish LS can get crowded, but generally the slopes are quiet, with very few lift queues.
April is not certainly not the ideal month for the Espace Diamant as a whole, obviously, but you'd be unlucky not to have decent skiing in Les Saisies and the top of Notre Dame. Les Saisies itself is ideal for kids. Lots of variety, mainly gentle slopes, very easy to meet up in the middle, very unlikely that they'll be mown down by nutters.
For parents, there's a fair bit of easily accessible off-piste which doesn't get tracked out too quickly. There are masses of photos on this site - run by a French enthusiast - http://www.lessaisies.org/
paulio, new lifts have been built, starting in 2002, linking the area. It was because of the planned enlargement that we bought our apartment (picture of the development on the right)- otherwise it was a rather small area (80kms) requiring a car to get to the other stations. But yes, it's a very good sized area now, and because it's not well known, it's often quiet, and you don't get the yobbish Brit element (at least, we used not to..... )
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Poster: A snowHead
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thefatcontroller,
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As for overall cost stick to some advice i read on snowheads last year. Pay for all elements of a skiing holiday on different credit cards and never, ever, ever add the total of all the cards up
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Very sound advice 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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pam w, I think it looks good.
That's it. I'm going there.
Your endless pimping of it has finally paid off!
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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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Your endless pimping of it has finally paid off!
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Don't know why I bother, really. Suits me if nobody goes there; I don't like sharing pistes with other people.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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pam w, 
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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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pam w, how much is a week's lift pass?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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pam w, is Les Contamines part of the Espace Diamant or does Hauteluce straddle 2 different ski areas?
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Arno, the Hauteluce valley straddles both areas. Les Contamines is not part of Espace Diamant, but the far end of their domain (ie as far as you can get from LC village) is down in the Hauteluce Valley, at Belleville. For us it's a very convenient gateway into Les Contamines, only about a 20 - 25 minute drive from Les Saisies, and getting you rapidly to the best skiing at the top of LC (which is a bit of a boring drag up from the village itself). There are buses, too. The Les Saisies slopes go down into Hauteluce village (very nice long drop down 2 red runs, when the snow at the bottom is in good nick). But Hauteluce village is about 6 kms from the Belleville gondola up into Les Contamines.
We go to Les Contamines less often now we have lift access to Notre Dame de Bellecombe. It makes a nice change to go over there, but Notre Dame is good too, and doesn't require an additional lift pass - though a LS pass gives you a reduction in Les Contamines and, I think, vice versa.
Driving from Les Contamines village itself to the Espace Diamant means going down into the Arve Valley and back up through Megeve. OK if you start off in Praz sur Arly, but a right pain from our end of the ED.
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Arno, Les Contamines is on the Evasion Mont-Blanc pass (also Saint Gervais, Saint Nicolas de Véroce, Megève, Combloux, Le Giettaz and Les Houches).
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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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Valfrejus accommodation for that week would be in the region of 200E, use your clubcard vouchers for the channel tunnel crossing (so drive), if you're going more than once in the season they have a discount on season passes. We've got accommodation, season passes and travel costs down to £1600 for New Year Week and both weeks of Easter for 2 adults and 2 kids (1 free pass for the under 5). Do a proper shop for the week in the supermarche in Modane and just buy bread in the resort I am the king of cheap and cheerful trips heh Just can't wait for the white stuff to start falling
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kitenski, if you were interested in the Espace Diamant, you'd probably be better off, with kids, staying in Les Saisies village rather than out in our very quiet neck of the woods. Loads of apartments very close to the centre of things. Links from the lessaisies.com website - the agencies tend to be more expensive than individual owners. I notice that some of the agencies advertise studios of 21 sq m as suitable for 4 people, but that would be a bit cramped.
TotallyBoard, sounds like a result! Just shows that it can be done. It defeats me why people say they can't possibly contemplate having to cook for themselves on holiday - they are clearly either very well off, or not as keen on skiing as some of us.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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pam w, it depends on whether you think you're a good cook or not I think.
I can barely stand eating out these days, because I can invariably do a better job myself.
With the neat knock-on effect of making my ski holidays both cheaper and more enjoyable.
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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 wentdown the apartment route in an attempt to reduce costs.
Sadly the ones we've used have a pool and we seem to eat out nearly ever night 
Half term budget for a family of four, all in including; car parking, flight, transfer, apartment, 3 meals a day, 5x 1/2 day lessons for kids, 3x 1/2 day private lessons for mrs, 3x 1/2 day guiding for me, lift passes, kit hire, beer, wine, shopping trips etc.is best part of £1K per day 
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......oh, and I go with me mates
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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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We got a great deal last half term for our party of 42. It worked out at about £1100k per head once all the costs were added up. We booked through Collets for the hotel, and transfers but scourced flights via Easyjet.
We can't justify the cost of a half term break this year and other commitments may put the kybosh on an easter holiday.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Interesting illustration of the variety of approaches - one man's drinks bill is another man's family holiday.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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pam w, ...er, so how much is the Espace Diamant lift pass typically? I looked on the web site but it doesn't appear to be showing yet.
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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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if cheap last min deals are available, i'm not sure self catering is any ncheaper. last season we got catered chalet for £270 per person inc flights, transfers, breakfast, afternoon tea , 4 course evening meal with unlimited wine. that seemed exceptionally cheap. it was the second week in jan which is about the cheapest week of the season.really quiet pistes included
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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sequoiaboard, no, those kind of deals are indeed a very good way to go. Less likely to find that sort of deal in school holidays, though.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Best deal we had with an operator was through bookableski, we got self catering for 2 adults, 1 child, 1 infant, flights and transfers to Val Thoren 1st week of Easter for £450 total. Haven't seen anything that cheap since but we drive now and save even more
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To avoid any confusion about my earlier post it was £1600 total for all 3 weeks, not per week. So average of £533 a week for travel, accommodation and lift passes for 2 adults 1 child and 1 under 5. Just got to budget for food 'n' beer. Anyone want me to organise them a trip, I don't charge much in commission
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| TotallyBoard wrote: |
| To avoid any confusion about my earlier post it was £1600 total for all 3 weeks, not per week. So average of £533 a week for travel, accommodation and lift passes for 2 adults 1 child and 1 under 5. Just got to budget for food 'n' beer. Anyone want me to organise them a trip, I don't charge much in commission |
I think that is a fantastic price totallyboard, especially as it's school holiday time!!
cheers,
Greg
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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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We have consistenly spent in the regions of £3K - £4K all in (I would guess) on family of four ski holidays.
Probably not going to go next half term as it is just too expensive to justify. Costs could go down a bit now as we may (in theory at least) leave off lessons for the children as they are now confident enough.
It's the school holiday thing which is killing it for me. Too expensive and quite frankly too busy.
Have tried every which way to do it cheaper but by the time you add in lift pass/ski kit hire/travel/food + drink/insurance/accomodation x 4 it's one hell of a figure. Even driving doesn't seem to make much sense price wise - especially as I'd probably be doing it all.
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johnnyh, driving saves us a bomb with the 4 of us. We use our clubcard vouchers for the chunnel so to get the 4 of us to resort and back is @£250-£270. We have to go school holidays too (wife is a teacher). It's not that bad a drive really, 8 hours or so (it's only like a days work and the carrot at the end of the stick makes it easy)
We invested in our own kit as we go 2-3 times a year, food we go to a supermarket and cook ourselves (packed lunches on the mountain and 1 or 2 meals out tops), drink we buy in the supermarket (tend to have one or max 2 beers at the bar after boarding and then go back and drink the cheap stuff from our fridge). Getting a season pass for Valfrejus this year, it's 170E if we buy before 19/12 (50% off). I've had offers of accommodation for as little as 160E for a week at Easter, we were there last Easter and we could ski all the way back down with ease (*loads* of snow up top).
I reckon that buy the time we add beer, food and ski school for the littlest it's not going to run us more than a grand a week for everything. It's not luxurious comfort but it means we can get 3 weeks out there this season instead of just one (I'd sleep in a broom cupboard if it got me out to the snow )
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