First time in December, any advice?

A snowHead

Hello, me and a few friends are hoping to go skiing some time in December. It would be our first time and trying to do it on a budget. Can anyone recommend anywhere? Would be flying from the UK so anywhere in Europe would be perfect.

Thanks!

A snowHead

Les Arcs 1800 or 2000, France.

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

Whitegold, she said "on a budget". Laughing

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What dates are you looking at as this will alter the range of options due to when the resorts are scheduled to open? also are you looking package or diy?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Andorra (Soldeu) everything a first time young person could wish for.

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young man? I assumed lady due to user name starting with Lucy?

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

MY advice would be to get a few hours at a fridge, maybe even one of those 'learn to ski in a day' courses will make your week much more enjoyable, resort wise, in December it's best to go somewhere high like Tignes, Val D'isere, Val Thorens etc (unfortunately not as cheap as lower down),
I'm also booking a budget Xmas trip, if you book flights now they're about £80 return Gatwick->Geneva inc. 1 bag each (Easyjet) then you can book the accommodation + Lift pass + Equipment hire as a package closer to the time (I recommend skihorizon.com for cheapness) but they don't have the package deals yet, presumably because they don't know how much lift passes will be next year.

Through Ski Horizon, at Easter (in a cheaper resort) we got basic equipment hire, lift passes and accom. for £180 each, the lift pass alone would have cost us 180€ each had we bought it separately, so it's definitely worth waiting until they have their package deals

After all it is free

lucybee1, welcome to snowheads.

Your best bet might be Action-Outdoors, who run trips to UCPA Centres in France, in some top resorts. Their prices are all inclusive - all meals, equipment, lift pass and (very good) tuition. I don't think their programme for next winter is out yet (most French places won't be gearing up for next winter for a little while) but you could ring them and ask. Action-Outdoors.co.uk

A package all-in would be about £600 - 700, including absolutely everything, which is fantastic value for money. Many cheap "packages" won't be as good, won't include so much. Not all centres do beginner packages every week - their tuition goes up to some very high levels.

Do you have to go in December? It's not the best time.

If you are looking at December, and on a budget, the cheap weeks are going to be 8th to 15th Dec, and possibly the week after (but that might be up on price because it is very close to Xmas holidays for many)

For December ski trips, start at the top and work down. You need altitude, because you can't predict the weather you need to give yourself the best hope - altitude means snow normally, resorts to start with are Val Thorens, Tignes and Val D'Isere, which are all going to be ok for fairly new skiiers - of these I would suggest Val Thorens is probably the best option.

Have a look around a few websites, you will find plenty of deals out there. For new skiiers I'd suggest a package trip which takes all the extra stress out of it - bundle up at the airport, and the ski company coach will be waiting for you at the other end, get you into the resort and drop you at your front door for the week. You will have chalet and hotel staff around who can help with where to hire equipment, and help you with meeting points for lessons etc.

If you try and organise it yourselves independently booking flights, transfers, accommodation etc you are going to add to the list of things to think about, especially if there is a group of you, and also you lose the protection that booking through a bonded Tour Operator gives you.

Agree with the above that you want to get in a few lessons at a fridge, it makes life dramatically easier on the first couple of days, and you will make more progress on your holiday and enjoy it more if you've put in a few hours before you go.

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Yes, lessons before you go would be ideal - but they're not cheap and definitely not a substitute for having lessons, every day, when you're out there. Action Outdoors/UCPA have packages in Tignes, amongst other places (Tignes probably ideal if you have to go early or mid December, but January would be better.

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Kind of demanding isn't it?

Going at the time when little snow is available, has to be cheap, no North America which starts the season earlier and thus a better chance and of course never ski before so ideally everything should be organised and inclusive.

If one wants the SH to work really hard then add

ski-in and ski-out
Short transfer
powder
Chocolate box scenery
Great Après-ski
Free beginner chairlifts

saikee, nice way to greet a new snowHead!

Welcome lucybee1

You know it makes sense.

'doing it on a budget' is a bit vague, £1m is a budget... if you're looking to get under £500 inc. Lessons/Ski Hire/Lift Pass etc. then you're going to struggle, if you drive you might be able to shave some ££s off the price though

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

lucybee1, hi there, taking a stab in the dark I'm guessing by on a budget you mean at the less expensive end of the scale.

As others have said the date can make quite a bit of difference. Early December can be very different from mid December onwards. But a lot will depend on the weather at the time. So one option to consider would be booking a package nearer the time and picking something a week or two in advance. Then you can choose depending on what the weather looks like. That said some people will prefer to have it all sorted in advance and that almost certainly gives you more choice about where you stay if not the snow conditions.

If you want to keep the cost down I'm assuming you will want to avoid Christmas, so the week beginning 16 December is well worth considering (given the better chance of snow by then).

http://www.alpineanswers.co.uk/deals/search?name=&date=2&departure_day=&quality=&size=&with_flights=1&sort=sale_price_asc

As you can see there are plenty of places on offer in good resorts for under £500. You will however need to add lift passes, ski hire and some money for lunches and drinks.

If you wanted to go earlier there are actually a fair few places under £400 the week before, but you're trying to strike a balance between when you go and the snow so that's worth considering.

As you head east to Austria the height you need starts to get less as it tends to get colder earlier to the east. A place worth considering if you fancy organising it yourself is Ischgl as it has a very good early snow record, although it can be pricey you can do it cheaply, also worth considering in Austria is Obertauern which also has a strong early snow record.

A snowHead

Hi lucybee1, my OH and I went to Finland to learn to ski - my sister finally persuaded us to give it a go and she booked the holiday with a TO (think it was Crystal, this was 2006). It was February, and we were hooked after day 1. In fact, we loved it so much we were determined to go back as soon as possible for more - we really wanted to catch up with my sister and her family so we could all ski together on future holidays (which we have done, ever since, twice a year). So we booked another holiday later that year - again in Finland, in December 2006. The resort was Ruka. We thought it would be snowsure early in the season - and there certainly was snow, but it was unseasonably mild and actually rained on our last day! Having said that we had a great time, Finland at that time was perfect for beginners and good value for money. I think Ruka has seen some major development since our stay, but it might be worth doing some research. We particularly enjoyed the floodlit ski slopes - lovely gentle and short for beginners. And the ski tuition was excellent.

A snowHead

saikee, I have organised chalet trips to Tignes for the week they are looking at for £450, plus lift pass and lessons on top. That's about as budget as it is going to get unless you really slum it or take a huge chance on the snow, but it was right next to the free lifts, ski in/out, and we managed powder and good apres.

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Monium,

There you are. Someone has worked harder to a get this solved before.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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As budget ski holidays go, you can't go wrong with a snowHeads bash. The PSB - 1st Dec - 8th Dec, £412 half board, lift pass and transfers to/from Geneva included, just need to sort out your flights to/from Geneva. The lessons (extra) are unbeatable value and delivered by ISTD qualified instructors, I'd challenge anyone to find cheaper lessons from instructors with the same/equivalent qualifications. I'd agree with other posters that, wherever you go, you'd benefit from having a few lessons in a snow dome.

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

Help!!

First time in December, any advice?

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