 Poster: A snowHead
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Here is how we did our La Clusaz trip - mother and I, DIY. We always do DIY as it works out cheaper for us but then again there is not kids. There is me (22, skier, kinda advanced) and Mum (middle aged, non-skier, likes to snowshoe, take in local museums)
We kept an eye on Easyjet and Mum noticed £45 return flights to Geneva (at which point she asked do you want to go and my reply was something about bears, poo and woods). Keep an eye on all airlines, make use of Skyscanner and similar to hunt down cheapest flights.
There is also self-drive (but beware of the motorway toll costs as well as fuel) and the ski train (which I have never done but was always more expensive than flights at my times of booking.) And don't forget if you drive to the airport to hunt down the cheapest parking company, not just whichever the airport itself runs.
We then looked for the public transfer bus service to the resort. There's quite a few of these going to popular resorts or resorts near-ish the airport. They're not tied to anything else. I can't remember company off the top of my head but will ask mum.
Other options are trains of course, once when we went to Austria, it was really cheap to get the train and it went straight to the resort from Innsbruck, well we had to change onto the valley line to get along the valley to our resort, but it was dead easy and good value.
Our accommodation was got through the private 'estate agency' type companies in resort. Basically, lots of people who have a spare apartment, say, sign up to these sites and are advertised through them, same as a private landlord advertising a room/house through an agency in the UK. You can get a nice little self-catering apartment through there, or even very big ones! Generally self-catering though. The companies themselves vary depending on resort but in La Clusaz they are these: http://www.laclusaz.com/agences-immobilieres.html
Look for agences immoblieres like the link says, on the website of your chosen resort(s). We got an apartment with full cooking facilities, bathroom with shower (no bath tho) and seperate toilet, one double room, and a sofa-bed in the living area. We're not picky, and this place cost just over 200 euros for the week. Also came with free wifi! It would have been ideal for a single parent or couple with one kid. If it is just you and the lad it would be great. But you may want something bigger.
The lift pass for the area we went to is reasonable and I think booking online in advance can save money but other sH's know more about that. If you're both beginners early intermediates, you aren't going to get through a massive super resort, so don't bother spending the money on a huge area pass.
Equipment hire - hardwear i.e. skis and boots, I have my own kit now but I wouldn't recommend getting it until a) you've reached a steady skill level and b) for junior, until he's stopped growing. Hiring skis online in advance can be pretty cheap. If you do end up getting your own kit, the extra baggage charges can vary massively between airline and can sometimes really sting you. EJ haven't been too horrific so far.
If you're sure you want to carry on skiing get your own custom-fitted boots before anything else, it will make your skiing experience much better and comfier.
In terms of clothing, really cheap options are Sports Direct (my No Fear pants from there lasted about 3 seasons and I do put them through a lot), and as everyone else says, Lidl, Aldi, TKMaxx and Decathlon. It can be worth shopping around though cos I went into Junction32's Billabong store before my hols and got a jacket and pants at £35 each - down from £115 each  they were great on the hol I've just been on.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not long got back from holiday, but just wanted to say a great big thank you to all of your replies. There's some serious material here 
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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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| quinton wrote: |
| pam w, Sorry, I was deducing from the earlier posts (and my own experience) that Self-catering and Cheap were mutually exclusive terms when considering France due to the high price of groceries. And of course the cost of the transfers, which tend to be much longer, and therefore more expensive, than in Austria. |
Transfers Chambery to pretty much anywhere decent look to be about 50E return according to what I looked at yesterday (in chambery airport). Of course, Austria may be cheaper, but in my limited experience you then do the transfer every morning and evening before and after skiing 
As regards the high price of groceries, although renting a car for the week (which will just sit in a car park) is always going to be pricier you save a shedload of money doing your weeks shopping in the Geant just off the A430 at Albertville or in the Casino (?) in Moutiers. We saved 35 Euros on the Genepi Alone (5 bottles for the price of 3 in resort - 4 of them were for bringing home.. honest). The raclette was about half the price and I doubt we could have bought the Cheval (for the pierre chaud) in resort.
(BTW, has anyone any idea what the chap who organised the layout of the shelves at Albertville Geant was smoking?...... Expect to spend longer finding things than you thought you should)
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Sun 3-02-13 9:44; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Look for agences immoblieres like the link says, on the website of your chosen resort(s). We got an apartment with full cooking facilities, bathroom with shower (no bath tho) and seperate toilet, one double room, and a sofa-bed in the living area. We're not picky, and this place cost just over 200 euros for the week. Also came with free wifi! It would have been ideal for a single parent or couple with one kid. If it is just you and the lad it would be great. But you may want something bigger.
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Got an apartment coming up in March 280 euro for the week, 2 bedrooms sleeps 6, access to a swimming pool booked through the Les Sybelles agency. It is 1KM from the skiing, but there is a regular navette and we also have a car. Anyway, in Austria 1KM would be ski to the door 
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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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andyrew, I think you book to stay in the wrong places in Austria!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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TOs are worth looking at. First week in January, learn to ski package, smaller resort.
A llot of cheap flight operators have pulled back and concentrated on major routes so transport more of an issue for DIY these days. Possibly Munich and Austrian resort.
Look at Decathlon and Sport Pursuit for cheap gear.
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