Advice please!

A snowHead

Hello All,

Posted a couple of times with skiing booking/resort queries, and now me and my girlfriend have decided we will definitely be booking a skiing holiday this winter.

There are 2 weeks we can choose from to go: Departing 2 January for 1 week, or 12/13th February for 1 week

We want an "all in 1" booking if possible: flights, transfers if required, accommodation (not fussy about this), ski hire, lift pass. We also want to be as close as we can to the piste. Walking distance would be perfect!

I've been before but my girlfriend hasn't, so we want beginner/intermediate slopes. Pretty scenery, good amount of snow, etc etc would all be nice.

My only skiing trip was to Chamonix in late season - loved it because we were close to the slopes, it was so warm that I only had to wear a t-shirt on top!

Our budget is around £600, but we are a bit flexible with this. I would say £500-£700 is what we would consider. Obviously if there is cheaper that would be good, but I doubt there is?

We have looked at Bulgaria, France, Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Andorra so far.... there's so much on offer it's just ridiculous. We have NO idea how to choose where to go and who to book with...

We would be eternally grateful if anyone could offer advice on which of those 2 weeks they would go skiing in, and where they would go, for the budget we have? Any personal recommendations would be fantastic! I hope some people have experience booking the all-in-one holidays, as I assume most people on here have their own skis already!

Thanks! Smile

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A snowHead

tomma, if you are considering France, 12th February is the start of the Paris holidays, so I would choose the 2nd January instead. Is that figure of 500-700 your budget total or per person?

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

Avoid mid Feb because of the school holidays and I would recommend Les Gets in France as a beginner friendly resort, lots to do other than ski. Great skiing for the more advanced, easy to get around and the slope ends right in the village so not far to walk in ski boots to get to the bars!

You need to Login to know who's really who.

First week in Jan is generally a quiet week. That usually means that if you hold your nerve there's plenty of last min' bargains. Jan' does mean it'll be cold though so T-shirt skiing is off the menu. Feb won't be much better.

adrian

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Definitely January, it will be quieter. When I was deciding where to go on holiday I used to get brochures from the travel agents to see which resorts seemed to offer the best for our needs, i.e. good for beginners etc. Then I'd find the cheapest deal for that resort (or a shortlist of places). Teletext used to have some good deals!!
I am biased for Les Deux Alpes, but other resorts that I would recommend for beginners/intermediates would be Andorra, nice wide slopes and plenty of choice although the hotel I stayed in was quite a walk from the pistes. Val d'Isere/Tignes, perhaps more expensive but a huge ski area and lots of wide green and blue slopes, the downside being the lift passes are expensive and a beginner might not be able to make the most of it. Alpe d'Huez, nice big ski area with a good mix of pistes and lots of hotels right on the pistes.

You'll need to Register first of course.

tomma I agree with agt that first week of Jan is a very cheap week to ski and with only two of you it will be possible to wait a couple of months and book a late deal thus knowing where the snow has fallen. All of the big TO offer "inclusive" deals (although sometimes you have to book lift pass, ski hire and tuition as "extras" but you can pre pay. I think Crystal have an all inclusive deal if you book by the end of November but personally I'd wait until the flight/acomm costs is discouted which is likely to be more than the saving on the "package" currently being offered.

As regards which resort, as a beginner (for your GF) it doesn't really matter as long as it has some snow. It is better to pick somewhere that has only one ski area so that you can meet up with her easily (if you are not in ski school too) for lunch/afternoon.

Pick Austria for good apres, Italy for good but cheap food (if you like Italian food of course Toofy Grin

) and Andorra if you are on a tighter budget. Smaller resorts are generally cheaper on lift passes, beers, piste restaurants etc than the big name, mega resorts favoured by alot of snowHead

s.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Copied from another answer to the same type of question

++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Either go to Thomas Cooks or search the web,
2 find somewhere you like the look of and want to go,
3 find a TO that goes there,
4 book the trip,
5 enjoy

One bit of snow is the same as the next at your level. Pick somewhere you like the look of in a brochure/website/etc and go there. I would suggest Austria would be a good option, as the villages look just like you'd expect them to.

*Remember that it’s meant to be a “holiday” so, unless you really like washing up don't go either self catering or (unless you like the thrill of ”will it work or won’t it”) DIY, wink

Last - remember it's a holiday, if you go there with an "I'm going to have fun attitude" you most likely will.

After all it is free

Wow thanks everyone so far, that was quick!

The pistes at Les Deux Alpes nearest the village are difficult (except for a path) so I'd say it wasn't ideal for beginners (though you would certainly enjoy it (your girlfriend returning to the village on a lift. It does have the advantage that beginner slopes are up the mountain with proper mountain views.

Interesting you had your first experience at Chamonix - that is the one resort I'd say was least good for beginners - especially if they are with more experienced skiers. It is very spread out along the valley and many of the areas not suitable for beginners.

Belle Plagne (part of La Plagne area) you can really ski (literally) to and from your door.

In general in early Jan don't go for anywhere too low, in case the snow is late arriving - though in general you can go lower further east (eg Austria)

In general Switzerland is rather expensive at the moment.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

French resorts, on average, have well organised, well-linked piste systems, and are more likely to offer ski-in, ski-out accommodation. So, if you want to ski a lot of miles on-piste, with relative ease, and not much walking, look at France - but read the brochures carefully. On the other hand, the French tend to be a bit mean with the accommodation. Austria, on the other hand, has more traditional villages, often below the levels at which you will be skiing. Accommodation tends to be more generous, and gemutlich. So if atmosphere is important to you, you should consider Austria. I would (cautiously and reluctantly) slightly disagree with Wayne: the experts can ski anywhere; good snow cover is quite important to beginners. I would shy away from lesser known resorts. There is a reason the top resorts have their reputation, and a good snow record is part of it.

Read the brochures. If it says 'suitable for beginners', it probably is. If it says the hotel is on the piste, it probably is. If it says a short walk, it means a ten minute trudge in ski boots.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Do not look further than any small Austrian resort, you can't go wrong. Enjoy. Very Happy

snow reports

Hi Tomma,

I work for Crystal Ski and think I can add something to this feed that might help you out.

As a few people have already said the January date might just be the better of the two.

Looking at Italy, there are a number of resorts that offer a huge amount of terrain (for all levels including beginners). For example La Thuile has a great snow record and is a resort which often comes out slightly cheaper than others (less than your £700 max budget). Another resort to consider would be Cervinia, which is lively and like La Thuile, has accommodation right on the slopes.

Austria and France are more likely to give you lively après ski (though that’s not to say you cant find it elsewhere).

For France, Tignes (2100m) always proves popular. It has access to a really large ski area (Val d’Isere is close by and accessible via the lifts).

In Austria you might like to look at the Ski Welt area. Soll, Ellmau and Scheffau are also good for beginners/intermediates (there’s 279km of piste on offer in Rubin, Soll). Most of these are either within walking distance of the ski lifts or short bus rides if not.

We have a package called ski + ( http://goo.gl/lfDK) which bundles everything together (and has holiday dates for early Jan) to a variety of different destinations in Italy, France, Austria etc. Take a look or contact us for more info.

I hope this helps.

Jon

I would think Obergurgl would be a good option for you. Nice open pistes, smallish resort. Direct ski in ski out accommodation (not all, so check where you are based.) It is not the most lively town in the world, so it would depend on what you are looking at. I hope that helps.

You know it makes sense.

I'd call late as much as 1 week before departure but I've never booked less than 2 weeks. Don't expect big discounts untill 1month and then keep checking every day. As 1st week in Jan is so quiet you can afford to leave it a lot later than you would for say, x-mas or newYear. Sites like ifyouski.com or direct with the tour operators. Skiworld discount thier chalets for late deals fairly heavily.

Somewhere like LaRosiere (should I get the pop corn wink

) would be good for beginers as the main resort runs are easy blues, whereas some places resort runs can be marked as blue but are fairly hairy/busy/narrow. Meribel feels that way to me, but you can come down from the large green area at the Altiport by cable car. The bigger the area of the 3v's gives the more choice of run and if either of you don't progress very fast you can still get about. In a smaller area you might find yourself limited to a few runs.

adrian

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

There's loads of options, I've had great service over the last couple of years from Iglu - if you stick the details into their website you'll find all kinds of options but set your dates (I'd go with the January date, will be quieter and definitely cheaper) and then select "ski in/out" from the menu, then search price low to high.

Their website includes packages from loads of different operators, once you've narrowed it down a bit, give them a call and speak to one of their salespeople, they know the resorts, know what accommodation is actually good, and may help you out on price.

A snowHead

We have gone "last minute" bookings pre children and we have ended up seeing really good deals 1 month in advance of that first week in Jan which I didn't actually consider that last minute. I would recommend Inghams have gone with them several time and have always been really impressed I have also been with crystal and I would check there deals but I personally feel inghams were better. Don't worry about not prebooking lift passes and ski hire in advance inghams sorted all that out on the bus transfer and took the credit card payments on the bus as well

Help!!

Advice please!

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