 Poster: A snowHead
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After many years of organising ski trips to Europe, I have decided to have a year off the organisation and piggy back on to other people's trips next year. One of them is a planned trip to Canada in March (Banff or Whistler i think is what they decided on).
Anyway, my dilemma is this...
The guy who is organising has not done this before and went to Thomas Cook for some prices and quotes.... they quoted trips with Inghams, Neilson and Crystal.
I have only ever been to Europe and have always gone independent, but the prices from these Tour Operators seem pretty high, so I have decided to stick my oar in and get involved in the organising.
I guess my questions are:
Best Tour Ops for Canada?
Or is Independent the way forward an easy to sort?
Any comments very welcome.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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magic_hat, i looked into this earlier in the year. You can't save any money by going it on your own. I checked flight prices via canadian affair, then separate transfer and separate hotel prices. In almost all cases booking like for like it was more expensive to go DIY. I compared hotels directly ie the hotel as named in the TO deal, you might find a cheaper alternative hotel on the net (?).
You might have a look at Canadian Affair as a package deal - they seemed a good bit cheaper than Crystal/Inghams. Also keep your eyes on the TO's for deals and offers - if you get a deal there is no way you can do DIY cheaper. (igluski do deals, i've never used them though.)
If you do work out a cheaper/better DIY route/deal than i could, do let me know. 
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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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| Quote: |
I have decided to stick my oar in and get involved in the organising.
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old habits die hard, eh? 
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pam w, Absolutely! I was really looking forward to having a hassle free ski trip and just handing over a cheque.... looks like it is not to be! I've already spent a couple of hours trawling the net this morning!
rogg, Cheers for that - it's the conclusion I am coming to myself as well... Don't seem to be many savings out there at all by doing it yourself. Not seen Canadian Affair - will look at them, thanks.
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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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Hi magic hat,
We've done Whistler for the last 2 years with Ski Safari and are returning again in March. I also did some leg work in comparing an independent trip to a TO one. I couldn't get close enough to the price to warrant the risk of travelling without the backing of a TO. For me the savings would need to be significant.
I've also in the last 2 yrs tried Ski Frontier & Ski Independence though have not travelled with either.
PM me if you want specific info on Whistler. Awesome place.
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Just to echo what's been said, unlike europe there are almost always no savings to be had going independent (yes, I know, someone will provide the exception), indeed TO's are usually cheaper by a fair margin, if you intend to go to one (or maybe two) hills. Only if you want a multi stop road trip would I bother going independent.
Couple of other things: Canadian Affair throw up some good deals; Your group size, if you have specific requirements, or travelling at peak times will decide whether you book now or last minute. There are some quite colossal savings to be made booking two or three weeks out, but that may not be an option.
Oh, and WB and Banff are not the only (or even the best places IMO) in Canada, even if they are the most well known for Brit visitors.
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And just to add, don't bother if it's only for a week. Minimum 10/11 days, preferably two weeks (or more).
Travelling times and jet lag just don't make it worth while, IMO.
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Conversely, I've been to Canada for a week loads of time and the travelling time/jet lag isn't a problem for me.
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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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Very hard to beat TO prices for packages to Banff, Fernie etc but they may may expect e.g 4 blokes to share 2 double beds for their lead in price.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Canadian Affair have waived supplements for us in the past to get the booking - worth chasing.
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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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The round trip is circa 9000 miles, with a days travelling either end so eight days for six on the snow, as opposed to fifteen for thirteen. As a consequence converting into more than twice the jet fuel/transfer diesel relative to slope time, if that's important to you. Jet lag gets most people travelling east, so although it won't get you going out, it will on the way back. I'm not too bad, but know people who've took a week or more to get back into synch.
Often there is little or no premium going for 10/11 or 14 nights as seven. It can even cost less.
http://www.canadianaffair.com/en/winter/silver-star/silver-star-accommodation.asp
.......................Twin accom - Chilcoot regular room..Vance Creek 1 bed suite - 4 Share
Dates..................7 Nts............11 Nts...........14 Nts......7 Nts..........11 Nts.......14 Nts
31 Dec - 03 Jan...£879.............£939..............£969.......£799...........£769.........£799
Also most pass deals are 'buy five get an extra day' and 'buy ten get three extra days'.
Not saying it can't be done, isn't done, just doesn't make a lot of sense, to me. On a personal time basis, financially or even enviromentally. But I guess if it's all you can spare, each to their own.........
Like I say, JMO.
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Cheers again all - more good stuff to chow through, thank you.
I think we are looking at 10/11 days - don't really want to travel all that distance and just get the standard 6 days in. Besides, have been to west coast of America twice in the last year and suffered horrifically from jet lag following the return journey so want to make the pain extra worth it!
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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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In my experience, DIY is usually cheaper for Canada unless you get a late deal. The C$ has appreciated c40% in recent years, though, so bargains are hard to find. These days the USA often offers better value.
My DIY tips are to try the main airlines first for flights, as, unlike Experia et al, hey make it easy to find cheap dates. Accommodation is usually best priced over the phone from the resort's accommodation office. The best deals rarely appear online, and resorts often offer huge discounts on passes and, sometimes, food if you book a package through them. Alternatively, try some North American specialists like American Ski Classics or Ski Independence. They often have access to some extraordinary deals.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We have normally go to Whistler with Ski Independence but last year Virgin knocked the price down £200 each. Despite the "we will match any price" Ski Ind. were not interested.
I think it depends on what the flights they have available are. We prefer the Air Canada timings as you get to resort earlier so that you can get sorted out that day and be ready for the first lift in the morning (you will be awake at 5am anyway with time lag).
Pain going down to Heathrow but no option for a direct flight. Have seen on here that flights through Amsterdam are cheaper and easy from Manchester but it has always seemed wrong to me to head in the wrong direction just to come back !
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Jetlag and distance are overrated problems with transatlantic trips. A day wasted travelling is wasted regardless of whether you're going to the Alps or to North America; it really doesn't matter. One big benefit of a short trip to the States / Canada is that accommodation over there isn't bound to the tyranny of Saturday changeovers. That means you can fly out on a Saturday, ski from Sunday until the following Saturday, and return overnight or on the final Sunday. A week's holiday or a half term break can therefore deliver an extra day's skiing compared with most European trips - 7 days instead of 6.
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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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Jonny Jones, +1 Exactly
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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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Jonny Jones, +1 Exactly
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| fatbob wrote: |
| Very hard to beat TO prices for packages to Banff, Fernie etc but they may may expect e.g 4 blokes to share 2 double beds for their lead in price. |
This is exactly what puts me off booking with TOs, especially to N America.
US and Canadian resorts have such good customer services that I find it very easy to do a DIY. Just one tip, if you are looking for condos use one of the "owners direct" type sites. For Whistler I'd recommend Allura Direct. If booking a hotel use any of the normal sites or book direct, just don't pay the "rack rate", there's always a deal. When booking accommodation ask them about lift passes, they can often get these at a discount for you.
BUT, I have to agree that when I looked into going to Aspen last year (never happened sadly) I found the TO price very hard to beat, even after I'd verified we were not going to be all sharing one motel room:-) I spoke to Caroline at Ski Safari and she was incredibly helpful and the prices were cheaper than I could have done, not by a lot but certainly better. So, if I get the chance to go back I'd probably break the habit of a lifetime and go with the TOs.
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Trouble with USA and Canada is not so much hotel prices but flight costs, I had a look at Canadian Affair and a return flight can be £500 - £600 on its own. With the Canadian Dollar on the rise against the pound hotel and airport transfers have become much more expensive, to go by myself independently for a week would cost me much more than £1000 and thats before lift pass and ski hire comes into it! 
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| abc wrote: |
| BCjohnny wrote: |
| Jet lag gets most people travelling east, |
Don't know how you come to that conclusion.   |
Well it gets me and the missus, the OP, virtually everyone I've travelled with, and spoken to, who suffers from jetlag, in that way. But no matter..............
Richard B, most people seem to accept that, unless you have very specific requirements, or want a road trip, the average punter is best served by booking a package. But you'll always get some that know better.
There is in one of my above posts examples of prices that you can book now (or could when posted). £799 for two weeks, chuck an internal flight at it, say £100, so say £900 flts/trans/accom two weeks. Book now, not last minute. So ok, diyers, post your equivalent prices..........................
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FAQ
Have done this for the past 2 years to SLC and the year before that to Calgary, for a roadtrip 
