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La Plagne, Tignes or Val D’Isere? (Probably in an UCPA centre)

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I’m planning for a trip to France in early January 2013 and thinking about skiing in the French Alps for a week on 5-12/01/2013. As I will be travelling by myself and really like group lessons, it is most likely that I will go for the packages with UCPA again.

The original plan was to go to Les Arcs. It was mainly due to its proximity to Bourg St Maurice station. However, there is no availability at that the UCPA centre in Les Arcs for that week by the time I’m ready to book. Hence, I am thinking about alternatives near Bourg-St-Maurice and hope to get some suggestions from people who have been to those resorts.

I am going to travel by myself on a low-ish budget. Easy access (from the train station and to the piste) on a budget is on the top of my priorities (due to my sub-par fitness, hauling heavy suitcase uphill to accommodation and carrying skis and poles while in ski boots to get to the piste will be very difficult for me).
I can ski all marked pistes but would lose confidence in bad conditions (the confirme group in UCPA’s classification). Hopefully I will go somewhere pleasant with a nice variety of slopes (not the same run or same type of runs over and over).
Noise and alcohol are not my things so I don’t care for the night life nearby and beer prices at all.

No entirely relevant piece of information: As I’ll be travelling a long way to France from Australia, I certainly hope to go somewhere that justifies the long distance travelled… (and hopefully not spending hours and hours on bus and walking to get there).

Any suggestions and insights will be appreciated.
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Hi cppoon,

Stayed in Tignes-les-Brevieres for a week in March 2012. It's about 30 min from Bourg-St-Maurice.
There are a few cheap hostel B&B style places to stay. Some of them are about 5 min from the resort's bubble lift.
Then it's easy to ski to any where in Tignes. It takes a bit longer to ski over to Val D'Isere.

If you haven't booked your train tickets. And if you mainly ski marked pistes. You can try la Tania in 3 Vallees. Take train to Moutiers-Salin (one stop before Bourg). It's next to Courchevel without the price tag. Easy acces to Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens. You will find everthing within resort. From spermarket to bakery. 4 ski shops etc... if the snow is good then it's almost ski-in ski-out wherever you stay in La Tania.
Price for a 3 Vallees ski pass for a week is about the same as teh Espace Killy (tignes+val d'I).
And you get twice as much as runs for your money.

Hope it helps.
snow conditions
 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?
Hi cppoon,

Bourg St Maurice, Tignes and Val D'Isere are all easily accessable by train.

For La Plagne you should get out at the Aime stop (about 20 mins before Bourg St Maurce and after Moutiers) and for Tignes and Val D'Isere you should get out at Bourg St Maurice.

Both ski areas fit your requirements although Val/Tignes does have a reputation for night life so you might want to check with your accommodation that it won't be noisy. Both areas will have a good range of slopes to suit your level and a selection of terrain, and both have indenpendant English speaking ski schools who will be able to offer group lessons.

I hope that you find what you are looking for and that you have a great holiday.

Best wishes,
Heather
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
I am not sure what confirme means, but if it means you will be going off-piste, any of above. If staying on-piste, to tignes or val as pisted runs in La Plagne are not challenging
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I've been in Confirme groups with UCPA in Val D'Iseer, La Plagne and Tignes and have had great experiences in all three. All the centres are good. Val and Tignes are less than 5 mins walk to get to the piste - or a short bus ride from the bus stop right outside the centre. La Plagne is right in the middle of Plagne Centre and exits out directly onto the green beginners slope. La Plagne probably has a better people:showers ratio. My experience of Tignes was that the rooms are quite small. Val D'Isere has a bit more character and a good bar.

As a Confirme group - there is adequate terrain - both on and off piste - to keep you entertained for the full week ski wise. Depending on your group, you will probably do some venturing into some easy off piste in all three centres - depending on conditions. Tignes and Val D'Isere offer slightly better terrain and variety than La Plagne though (IMO).

I think the main decision maker between the three of these centres would be what you want from your apres ski. Val is by far liveliest night-life wise with live music every night and a choice of late night venues. Tignes has some decent bars but is quieter than Val and many of the better bars are down in Le Lac - a bus ride away. La Plagne has some good bars in the centre with some live music during the week, but again is a little split between Plagne Centre and Belle Plagne. I prefer Val but realise that is not everyone's cup of tea (it does seem to be populated by a disproportionately large numbers of rich teenagers).

One last point... I think Val Thorens (accessed from Moutiers - but quite a long transfer) has just been refurbished. Access to slopes is very easy but the centre is just out of town down the hill.

If you book with Action Outdoors you can use discount code SP2010 when you book online.
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