Pas de la Casa

zEmo23

Hi all! Me and my sister are going to Pas de la Casa in February for the first time and we are trying to go DIY! I think we have the accommodation sorted and we are now looking for a cheap place to hire ski/snowboard equipment. Anyone have any suggestions?
Regarding the Ski pass I have been searching and it seems that the normal price for 5 days is around 200Euro, does it sound right?

Fattes

Discounts on lift passes do not exist! Sadly all savings are made through accommodation and travel

JIdontknow

Just to let you know, I was there a year ago and had a really great time! We booked through a travel agency which included everything and took the hastle out of it all, and included beginner ski pack (rental of boots, ski's, poles, lift pass, and group lessons (About 10 in each group which was good) monday - friday morning from around 10.30-1pm). First day we got the basics, moving, balance, snow plough etc, then we went on the coveyor type lift and rope pull and by the morning of day three we were on the ski lifts up to the blue slopes and plotted our way down. Ohh and I reccommend Paddys bar for a few drinks.

Just a note, I was told peak season there begins first or second week in February, if you could go a week earlier, end of January you may or may not get it slightly cheaper. You can compare prices and check. (Or even email a travel agency for full prices for two dates)

http://www.pasdelacasa-andorra.com/weather.php
if you click on pas de la casa at the bottom of this page you can see the webcam showing the slopes and snow there.

cormee

Fattes wrote: »

Discounts on lift passes do not exist! Sadly all savings are made through accommodation and travel

I got about €50 off my lift pass when I booked it with my accommodation last year in 3V

[edit] it was actually €68 ( €209 compared to €277 )

cormee

zEmo23 wrote: »

Hi all! Me and my sister are going to Pas de la Casa in February for the first time and we are trying to go DIY! I think we have the accommodation sorted and we are now looking for a cheap place to hire ski/snowboard equipment. Anyone have any suggestions?
Regarding the Ski pass I have been searching and it seems that the normal price for 5 days is around 200Euro, does it sound right?

Most hotels have arrangements with equipment rental shops to give you about 10% off, either contact the hotel/hostel to find out if they have any such agreements in place, or wait until you get there and ask at the reception.

Fattes

cormee wrote: »

I got about €50 off my lift pass when I booked it with my accommodation last year in 3V

[edit] it was actually €68 ( €209 compared to €277 )

That is the hotel taking the hit, they are paying full price and passing the discount on to you! It is pretty rare, normally done by a hotel buying a number of season passes at a specific rate that they then allocate through the season to guests!

cormee

Fattes wrote: »

That is the hotel taking the hit, they are paying full price and passing the discount on to you! It is pretty rare, normally done by a hotel buying a number of season passes at a specific rate that they then allocate through the season to guests!

No, it wasn't a hotel, we booked a chalet, it was a letting agency. It was a remarkable discount, and a real one, some of the party didn't go for it and ended up paying the full €277 on the day.

Fattes

Same deal/Hotel or chalet will take the hit on a season pass, sometimes its even an old seasoinare's lift pass who has had their season cut short and the accommodation will do a deal with the lift operators.

Lift companies do not offer discounts, the deal is done with the TO/accommodation provider taking the hit or using it as an incentive to fill empty beds.

You will probably see a lot of them in the coming weeks if the weather does not improve!

zEmo23

Thank you all for the replies! After a lot of research I found the following offer:

479Euro, double room in the Hotel Camelot, 25m away from the lifts.
includes:
- 6 nights with breakfast and dinner
- 5 day lift pass
- 5 day ski equipment rental
- 5 day lunch in a restaurant in the tracks (sandwich + chips + water)

So just have to add up the flights and transfer. I dont think I will get much better than this... right?

cormee

zEmo23 wrote: »

Thank you all for the replies! After a lot of research I found the following offer:

479Euro, double room in the Hotel Camelot, 25m away from the lifts.
includes:
- 6 nights with breakfast and dinner
- 5 day lift pass
- 5 day ski equipment rental
- 5 day lunch in a restaurant in the tracks (sandwich + chips + water)

So just have to add up the flights and transfer. I dont think I will get much better than this... right?

Sounds like a good deal, yes.

zEmo23

Anyone have suggestions regarding transfers from barcelona airport to pas? The only one I found so are is with Novatel and is 83Euro return...

I dont know

I'm thinking of doing a long weekend somewhere in January with the OH and I'm seeing cheap flights to Barcelona. Is it the closest airport?
I went to Pas de la Casa on my first ski trip ages ago, and while it wouldn't rank with the austrian/french resorts it'll definitely do for a cheap weekend if i can work it!

Any advice for DIY would be appreciated

zEmo23

I think Barcelona and Toulouse are the closest airports...

JIdontknow

Yeah Toulouse and Barcelona are the two nearest airports. Sometimes the roads can get bad or be blocked- we were due to fly into Toulouse going out but ended up going into Barcelona as the road from Toulouse to Pas we were told was blocked or too dodgy, can't remember if we flew home from Toulouse or Barcelona lol. Both airports are roughly the same distance ( 2-2.5 hours) to Pas.

zEmo23

I just booked my transfer from barcelona to pas with novatel and it says it takes 4hours...
Anyway, everything booked now can't wait!!

JIdontknow

Certainly didnt take us that long! Took max 3 hours I would say and that's including a food stop for about 30 minutes or maybe even longer. Maybe that novatel has various stops along the way or something? Or allows extra time for conditions and traffic?

zEmo23

JIdontknow wrote: »

Certainly didnt take us that long! Took max 3 hours I would say and that's including a food stop for about 30 minutes or maybe even longer. Maybe that novatel has various stops along the way or something? Or allows extra time for conditions and traffic?

I think it takes 3hours until Andorra but then there's a bus change to go to pas...
Do you remember which company you went with?

JIdontknow

We went on a package so I presume it was just direct ski, we didn't change bus or anything straight through from Barcelona and the bus dropped us off at the bottom of the hill in Pas (collected us there too) just a few minute walk or less to all the different accommodations. Have you lessons organised there? I would definitely reccommend them if it's your first time there, on day 3 we were on the blue slopes and going up and down the ski lifts.

zEmo23

No, I dont have lessons organised... I went snowboarding the last 2 years to Bejar (small mountain in Spain) so I am hoping I can manage the slopes in pas! At least the blues lol

NewCorkLad

Going the 28th of December, booked the transfer with Ziptransfer they are saying around 4 hours as well, but Id say thats just to cover themselves. Everything else booked except the lessons and passes which we will organise when we get there. Cant wait.

zEmo23

may I ask you how much did the transfer cost?

NewCorkLad

It was about €580 for 6 of us on a private transfer