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Best time to book "last minute"?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi,

although I mentioned this in my last post - I fear it may not get answered there. Please can anyone tell me when is the optimum time to book last minute and get a good deal?

Cheers.

Roo
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Very early, especially if you have specific needs, else you might possibly get a better deal if you book very late but that is less true now than it was before.
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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?
About four weeks in advance for the optimum balance of choice versus price, at leats outside of peak weeks

later than that might get cheaper but you may not get the flights / resorts / accomodation you want
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Thanks
Very Happy
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Thanks
Very Happy
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Hi Roo

I hope I have enough experience now to answer this for you.

For the past 3 years I have booked for my husband and me anywhere between from 4-8 days before travel. I booked flights and accomodation last night for 10th March. Easyjet flights from Belfast dropped by £20 each for some reason to £100 each.

Availability of catered chalets is never a problem (although we never go peak weeks), and in fact I would go as far to say that we wouldn't be able to afford these beautiful places we have stayed, had we booked earlier. Catered chalets have fixed costs and benefit from having people like us who can book last minute. We usually get a double room somewhere for under £350. This year we got for £329 with 2 days ski hosting.

If you want any more info PM me. I see there is a great offer on chalets direct for Chalet Chamois in Reberty, near Les Menuires.

We stayed there in January, it's piste side, at 1850m, the food is gorgeous, and really nice homely feel to the place.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Our house move in December meant no ski trip this season:-(

Or so we thought.

On the off chance I checked online the day before Half-term started and spied a bargain.

Off to Italy, La Thuile for the week. 2 adults, 3 boys in 2 apartments adjacent to pistes. Cue sunny skies, fast snow, one day fresh snow, hot choc aplenty. Empty pistes too!

Massive smiles all round.

All for half the brochure price. Very very happy.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I have not managed to work out an optimal time. Look around, as soon as the price is acceptable get in there. Else wait till very last minute and take what you can get.
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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.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I'm going to wait a bit longer to see what the snow is like and then hope for some availability. We're not too fussy accommodation wise as long as there's snow on the slopes.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
i booked at 9.30 on friday to fly at 7.15 saturday,

Full board for £ 350,

there is no optimum time, you just have to set a budget and as soon as you see one that looks close , book it.

Ive done it this way for the last 5/6 years, never had a problem, ( maybe i've been lucky, but i doubt it)
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Optimal time is just before you want to go - if by optimal you mean cheapest. But you may have a limited choice of resorts, and a severely limited choice of flights. And if you are looking the peak weeks, you'll be very lucky to find anything unless you drive.
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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.
i book about 3 days before i go maximum .. works out great
have booked the day before
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Mumof2, Hi there read your post re late bookings,
I also travel from Belfast, and was wondering which websites or where you find these great chalet deals for future seasons, am booked with a group for March
Thanks
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Hi skiAnn, we used to go with a large group and now we have kids we take them in January and go ourselves in March. We have found chaletsdirect.com great over the past 3 or 4 years.

Book your easyjet flights early, months ahead, from belfast to Geneva for the Saturday you want to travel.

Then with about 2 weeks to go start clicking on the last minute deals section and its shows plenty of choices for resorts 2-3 hours from Geneva.

These lovely chalets would typically cost £600-£800 per week if booked in advance. We have never paid more than £350 each. Good luck!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I have booked my last 2 ski holidays within hours of leaving. Last year I booked the flight in the early hours, packed my bags and headed for the airport straight away. This year the night before. Both were great trips! Wouldn't recommend this if you have a big group of if you plan on going during a busy time such as half term. One advantage of doing things this way is you can check the snow reports before deciding where to go. I would do a little research beforehand on which hotels are near the slopes, and how to transfer between airport and resort etc.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Anyone do last minute package deals? Is there such a thing?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I think that 7-10 days before departure gives you the best discount.
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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?
Last minute package deals work best in early January. Book on the Wednesday or Thursday - or Friday to go on Saturday. Requires nerves of steel and flexibility at work tho'.
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Deals at the moment seem quite expensive
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Agree, am looking at the usual suspects for last minute stuff and nothing really strikes me as a great deal, am talking about the kind of deals that leave in 3/5 days time.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Maybe it's just busy this time of year. Hopefully prices drop around 4th march when I go
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Half term all around soon so will be high, I am looking for the week before you, will let you know if I find anything great
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
For march I tend to find about 3-4 weeks before hand. Very last minute takes nerves of steel and not sure you achieve much better deals unlike in January. Last year got a chalet deal for 450 to serve chevalier.
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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.
I have "nerves of steel" not sure the girlfriend does Very Happy her....."have you booked yet?" Me......."plenty of time my dear plenty of time" Very Happy
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I am looking at holidays for next week just to see how much they are going for and they are still massively high!! Oh the waiting game
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
French holidays and UK half term over the next 4 weeks.

You will struggle to find bargains during that time.

4th March onwards should be better.

I haven't done TO's for a few years but 3-10 days before used to work.
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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.
Look on inghams and ski total they both have some good deals for the next couple of weeks, less than half price on some chalets
ski holidays
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
we've just got a deal in le praz for 12th March with silverski for 519. We've found this week which is our usual week that the best deals up to squeaky bottom time come up about now. Last year we paid £480 in Serre Chevalier and about £560 the year before that in Tignes. Other than that I think you need to wait until 10 days before hand.
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Booking about 1/2 the time as a couple and half the time as a single I rarely booked ahead the exception being half term.

About two weeks before hand I would start paying attention to snow conditions and weather forecasts for different areas and cross reference that to last minute availability and any offers. I learned to avoid two companies whose 'last minute deals' were clearly 'bait and switch operations.'

Skiworld runs the most honest last minute availability page and was my bellwether on whether I needed to book urgently or could wait a bit longer. I often waited till Thursday or even Friday before booking picking up my tickets at the airport prior to E tickets.

skiline.co.uk is another bellwether operation and was always worth checking. They even have some good deals for this coming weekend the 11th of Feb. One that caught my eye was a luxury chalet in Kuhtai at 550 quid flying from Edinburgh.

The best last minute deal ever was 8 days in Courmeyer for 59 quid with Ski West booked two days before leaving.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Trips do seem to be more expensive this year.

I tried for a trip mid-January but even at 16:30 Saturday to leave Sunday they were still adding a hefty single supplement!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I'm guessing it was a slow start to the season for TOs, they still seem to be playing catch up.

Reasoned punt ...... prices will either start to drop just after this weekend up until the first few days of the main half term.

Financially the 'best time to book' depends on many variables, mostly timing, requirement and group size, but if there's only a couple of you and you've sensible options outside of the peak weeks, 10-14 days IME often yields the best compromise. They can even start going back up in price, final few days, with strong demand and improving conditions.

The question is; 'Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?'

The 'chuck your gear in the bag and hope you get to the airport in time' deals, whilst throwing up killer buys, can affect otherwise solid relationships ......

If you're picky and have nailed on dates, book as early as you can relative to the offers & discounts available.

JMO
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Jmo exactly tend to choose best deal as,early as,possible within 5 weeks of booking
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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?
Well thanks for all ya help, we ended up booking a tad earlier than i wanted (mate got cold feet) but it was a good deal. The main issue we had was flights were selling out. We had a cracking few deals but then we couldn't get our boards on the plane, allocated space was full.

So in the end we are off to Borovets
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