Skiing holiday

James Stephenson

Hey, was looking to book my first skiing holiday this year,I am going with 4 friends. I am wondering what time would be best to go? And which place would be the best place to go? Any advice, or personal experiences of skiing holidays would be greatly appreciated! Also any info on how much it would cost for these skii holidays would be a massive help! Thanks, also if I am in the wrong thread please tell me or move me cheers!

ftse100

James Stephenson wrote: »

Hey, was looking to book my first skiing holiday this year,I am going with 4 friends. I am wondering what time would be best to go? And which place would be the best place to go? Any advice, or personal experiences of skiing holidays would be greatly appreciated! Also any info on how much it would cost for these skii holidays would be a massive help! Thanks, also if I am in the wrong thread please tell me or move me cheers!

Crystalski do some great offers. Val Thorens in France is very good.

The Hill Billy

Moved from Living Abroad.

tHB

DaraDali

+1 for Val Thorens

Also think about Les menuries/Tignes also awesome/ Valloire or serre chevelier all are great places.

James Stephenson

DaraDali wrote: »

+1 for Val Thorens

Also think about Les menuries/Tignes also awesome/ Valloire or serre chevelier all are great places.

Cheers for the reply's, how long did you go to Val Thorens for? And what was the price like? Plus was there any clubs around the place? Would verbier in Switzerland be a very expensive skii holiday?

saggart26

try wastelands.com
going to val thorens on saturday, accomm and ski pass = £289

I've organised 5 trips with wastelands, accomm is basic - 4 ppl apartments, bunk beds and pull outs, nothing fancy but its perfect if you are looking to keep the costs down. Accom each time has been within 5-10 min walk to a lift.

Overall, flights/transfer/accom + ski pass = €600.

I found irish operators are €300-500 more expensive.

Best of luck with your trip, i cant wait for mine, 20 of us going and snowfall forecast every day that we are there!

irish_goat

saggart26 wrote: »

try wastelands.com
going to val thorens on saturday, accomm and ski pass = £289

I've organised 5 trips with wastelands, accomm is basic - 4 ppl apartments, bunk beds and pull outs, nothing fancy but its perfect if you are looking to keep the costs down. Accom each time has been within 5-10 min walk to a lift.

Overall, flights/transfer/accom + ski pass = €600.

I found irish operators are €300-500 more expensive.

Best of luck with your trip, i cant wait for mine, 20 of us going and snowfall forecast every day that we are there!

I think http://www.wastelandski.com/ is the correct link. wastelands.com seems to bring you to a much different kind of site. :P

saggart26

Cheers, i was just being lazy in not looking up the actual address!!!

madrabui

irish_goat wrote: »

I think http://www.wastelandski.com/ is the correct link. wastelands.com seems to bring you to a much different kind of site. :P

OH JESUS. I'm fecking traumatised. Someone edit that post.

hawkwind23

Think i better clear the browsing history

James Stephenson

saggart26 wrote: »

try wastelands.com
going to val thorens on saturday, accomm and ski pass = £289

I've organised 5 trips with wastelands, accomm is basic - 4 ppl apartments, bunk beds and pull outs, nothing fancy but its perfect if you are looking to keep the costs down. Accom each time has been within 5-10 min walk to a lift.

Overall, flights/transfer/accom + ski pass = €600.

I found irish operators are €300-500 more expensive.

Best of luck with your trip, i cant wait for mine, 20 of us going and snowfall forecast every day that we are there!

Thanks very much tge accommodation is perfect for what where looking for and suits us down in the ground! Val Thorens it is!

Thanks for the advice and info!

saggart26

James Stephenson wrote: »

Thanks very much tge accommodation is perfect for what where looking for and suits us down in the ground! Val Thorens it is!

Thanks for the advice and info!

Hi James,
Just back from a week's boarding in val thorens, we stayed in Arcelle which wastelandski booked for us.
It was perfect for the group, we had a ski hire shop/ ticket office / supermarket / bars / nightclubs / ski lifts / swimming pool all within a stone’s throw. Couldn’t have asked for much more.
The resort is fantastic, there’s loads of good bars / restaurants. We went to Saloon quite a bit which was up the top of the resort (5 min walk) live music followed by requests so lots of 80’s / 90’s tunes.
The skiing / boarding is amazing, you’ll find it difficult to get all the runs in. We got the 3 valley pass which gives you access to val thorens / meribel / courchevel.
I’d say we only skied 50% of the map, its just massive, definitely need to head over again.
Enjoy your trip

Chesty08

Hi guys!

Is Val Thorens child friendly?

Was looking to book for next Jan/Feb 2017.. My the missus and child.

We never went on a ski holiday and something basic, child friendly and fun is what we are looking.

If not Val Thorens, anyone any other recommendations?

saggart26

Hi Chesty,

Just got back from Soll (Austria) a couple of weeks ago.
Would definitely recommend the place for both beginners and the family.
We had 4 newbies on our trip this year, there was a baby slope at the foot of the mountain right beside the ski rental shop.

The run is ideal for beginners, it’s a gentle small slope that has a button lift.
It was perfect for building confidence and improving technique.

After a couple of days, the instructor then brought the group up to the mid-point and did some blue runs for the remainder of the week.
It was a lot more intensive than lessons in France, the class was literally 10-4 every day. In France, the lessons were half days.

I saw loads of ski schools for kids as well, it’s definitely a child friendly resort.
I’ve done 6 ski trips in France with wastelands. All were get craic, the company is basically the Ryanair of the ski operators.
It’s very much focused at students.

I’m now in my early 30’s so the engine has slowed down a tiny bit, the hangovers take longer to get over and the post ski aches and pains takes a bit more time to heal!
We decided this year to try crystalski and pamper ourselves a little bit – the package to Soll was nearly €1100 (flights/accom/ski pass / transfer) vs €600-€700 with wastelands.
The extra cost was definitely worth it.

We stayed in a beautiful resort – hotel gansleit.
It’s a family run business. The owner Steve was full of info regarding the mountain and he goes up with guests twice a week.

We had breakfast & dinner there every night (included in the cost)

The room was beautiful as well, we had a really comfy double bed and the balcony looked out onto the mountain.

Overall the extra cost in the package evens itself out when compared to the overall cost of previous trips.

In France, we were eating out every night and spending 20-30e on grub.
Also with wasteland, it was 4 to a room with single beds whereas it was 2 to a room this time round with a comfy double bed.
Wastleland is also that bit more expensive compared to previous years because you pay in sterling


http://www.booking.com/hotel/at/gansleit.en-gb.html?aid=303948;label=soll-56wmA5wTupTPfIWOxXbfOAS27320051901%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap150%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atikwd-5157149961%3Alp9044965%3Ali%3Adec%3Adm;sid=b65acf1584176ef66df66433132d220e;dcid=12;dist=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;srfid=f18b1be154bc4f555b278a852f8780db4979a560X26;type=total;ucfs=1&

iroced

Hi Chesty (beware very long post),

So I take from your post that you never skied before. Val Thorens may not be the best place for you. It offers great pistes, guarantees great snow thanks to the very high elevation but, outside the fantastic views you get from the top, its main interest lies in its red and black pistes (a couple of great blue ones on the Orelle side too).

If you choose France (I'll only be able to give you advice for there) I'd suggest a smaller and cheaper resort. Then it also depends on what you're really looking for. I guess with a child you don't need a particularly dynamic après-ski. You'll find good restaurants pretty much everywhere.

Coupling guaranteed snow with familly-oriented resorts and price, I'll suggest you to try the Maurienne valley (just south of Tarentaise where all the famous French ski resorts are, e.g. 3 valleys, La Plagne-les Arcs, Tigne-Val d'Isère). From bottom to top and West to East:

Valmeinier-Valloire is a good value one. Been there last year and found it great. Valmeinier is the village side, Valloire is the town-side. Great scenery from the top. Possibility of good hikes too. Pistes are well distributed. You can go to each summit and find both easy and tough pistes. And as I already said it's great value: ~150 km ski area over 90 pistes for 37.5€ (full price) a day. That's one of the best value daily skipass I've come across in France.
If you have a car, you can drive a half-hour to Orelle and go skiing in Val Thorens one day using the very long Orelle gondola (but again if you're complete beginners you may not enjoy it fully).

Aussois, much smaller (21 pistes over a 55 km ski area, daily skipass: 27.5€ full price) is a traditionnal savoyard village. Ideal for a familly.

Val Cenis, is also a great familly-oriented resort. 125km (think this number is a bit exaggerated) ski area over 57 pistes for 34€ a day full price. It's a beautiful place though spread over 3 typical mountain villages.

It offers the possibility to ski once in every other single Haute-Maurienne ski resorts (bus included in the skipass) with the Eski-Mo skipass. From the very end of the valley, Bonneval/Arc listed village among the most beautiful in France (the only one of the valley not destroyed during WWII) to the surroundings of Modane (Maurienne motorway end unless you take the Fréjus tunnel towards Italy - and "entrance" into Haute-Maurienne) with Valfréjus, Aussois, and higher up La Norma.

Most of these resorts are easily accessible from Grenoble airport via motorways up to Modane (you get out in St Michel de Maurienne for Valmeinier-Valloire) and then a good road even up to Bonneval/Arc (though avalanches sometimes cut the road between Bessans & Bonneval, the last 2 villages of the valley). By the way, Bessans is great for nordic skiing and biathlon.


In the Southern Alps, there are also good value resorts.

Les Orres, close to Gap is a good one. Not as nice a village than the ones I mentionned above (a more classical 1970 resort) but a great ski offer: about 37 pistes over a 100km skiing area with a good share of easy and tough pistes for a 34€ daily skipass full price. They also had the great idea to design their pistes such that everyone can enjoy a long scenic descent from top to bottom (over 1000m height difference) with a beginners way on one side of the resort and an advanced one on the other side. The view is fantastic over the Ecrins massif and the Serre-Ponçon lake.

Orcières-Merlette is a similar 1970 era resort (close to Gap too) about the same size. 100 km skiing area over 50 pistes for 33€ a day full price. Maybe not as well "arranged" than les Orres. But it does offer a super view from the top and also has a great piste from top to bottom that everyone can take (coloured red but mainly due to its lenght than its difficulty). Located in the Champsaur valley, it also gives you the possibility to choose a much smaller resort (15-25 pistes for ~18-20€ full price a day I'd say) in a more traditionnal moutain village: Laye, Chaillol, Ancelle & Saint-Léger les Mélèzes. They're all fairly close to each other (just don't stay in Laye since it's the most "offset" one) and change resorts each day. Just forget about Serre-Eyraud which is a tiny resort that offers steep technical and often icy pistes. You'd need a car though since I'm not sure there's a good bus service.

I learned to ski in Chaillol so I know extremely well the area. The small resorts are great for a familly and for beginners, though it can be quite packed if you go there during French holidays. But it gets boring when you get more confident on your skis. A couple of years ago, we spent a week in Chaillol and changed resort everyday. Went up to Merlette one day and took a day off-ski to snowshoe in the Champoleon valley (it's a preserved resort free valley in between the small resorts & Merlette). We even saw some chamois and alpine ibex from pretty close - proximity with The Ecrins National Park -. Again, it depends what you're up to but if you fancy other things than just skiing, this may suits you just fine. It's also significantly cheaper than the bigger resorts.

Finally, Vars/Risoul is a good reputation resort. Risoul the moutain village side, Vars the town resort side. It's also great value. 185km skiing area (la Forêt Blanche) over 118 pistes for 38.5€ a day full price. It may be a little big if you never skied before but if you wanna do a full week skiing it's a great place. You should have enough variety over the whole area not to always do the same pistes. I've never been there but heard positive returns from relatives and friends.

Montgenèvre may also be a very nice spot (on the French/Italian border, a few kms away from Briançon). Gives you the possibility to ski in Claviere & Cesana, Italy, too. Between 95 & 110 kms over 76 & 82 pistes for 37€ & 39.5€ full price a day respectively. You do have the possibilty to link with Sestriere and many other Italian resorts via the Vialattea (400 km skiing area) skipass but probably not interesting for beginners.

I do not dare mentionning Serre Chevalier (Briançon iconic resort) since I personally find it too big (too good shall I say ) for beginners. I mean you'll pay for the amazing 250km skiing area (48.5€ full price a day) but you'd only be able to enjoy half of it. Though to be fair they offer great blue slopes from most summits but they'd be long and quite demanding for a beginner. It's also a famous resort, Luc Alphand home town, and you'll pay for it. That said, while searching for my own skiing holiday this year, I came across great accomodation deals in Chantemerle (one of "Serre Che" village).

There's certainly plenty other ones but I listed the ones I know well enough to give you a decent feedback. For example, Haute-Savoie has well-known resorts with good inter-connected skiing area but I don't know them very well and Haute-Savoie has the reputation to be a bit expensive. To use a caricature it's the Ballsbridge of French Alps (:p :pac:). Le Grand Bornand & La Clusaz are probably the best value single domains available (respectively 33.5€ & 36€ full price a day for 44 pistes over a 83 km skiing area & 84 pistes over a 125 km skiing area respectively). They're actually very good value! You have the possibility to interconnect them too (both resorts are close by) through the Aravis skiing area (210 km) skipass (72€ for 2 days). Free bus between the resorts. The main problem is these resorts are fairly low in elevation (down to 1000m only in Le Grand Bornand).

-

To summarise this endless post, I'd say pay attention to the French schools holidays and the resorts elevation (particularly if you book a long time in advance). To avoid French holidays, go in January! It'll be cheaper and much less crowded. For the elevation/location and thus the quality of the snow, favour the Maurienne resorts from my post. That said, this year was quite exceptional with so many resorts having a blank Christmas holiday (bar the big Savoie resorts from Tarentaise). Taking this year as an example, if you wanna be safe snow-wise, end of January/very beginning of February (French holidays generally start the second or third week of February) should do it for you .

Finally, depending where you land and if you'll rent a car or use train/bus services, some resorts will suit better than others. As a quick example and I realise I did not mention it, Chamrousse is a decent mid-size resort (90 km skiing area over 40 pistes for a 33.5€ full price daily pass) right on top of Grenoble. I did not mention it since it could be quite crowded. Very quick and direct access from Grenoble, which contains a big university campus.

a148pro

That's some post Iroced fair play!

OP, if its your first ski trip AND you are also bringing kids then what you really need is convenience, convenience, convenience. Skiing can be immensely frutrating to the easier you can make it the better. And if its your first trip then the quality of the resort in ski terms doesn't really matter, you'll just be finding your feet.

Beyond that I unfortunately have nothing to say as I've not gone with kids yet (first trip with three year old in two weeks and can't wait) but if you search on line you'll prob find a lot of stuff. Welove2ski is a good website which has a few articles on skiing with kids. I know Flaine in France is supposed to be good for families, also Les Menuires in France (though having been there I suspect I'd prefer something smaller and more villagey).

cormee

I wouldn't recommend VT if you have kids. First of all VT is a party resort, I was there a few weeks ago and saw typical Temple Bar-type behaviour - pi**ing and vomiting in streets, screaming at 4am etc. Also it's a relatively big resort (it does have a fairly regular bus service) so there is every chance you might have a long hike back to the hotel/apt at the end of your day skiing, with your grumpy kid in tow. Also, the area where beginners seem to learn is in the centre of the resort, so more experienced skiiers/boarders, will end up there when crossing over to different areas, or when they get down from from the mountains. It's a long flatish area, a few k long and some people tend to pick up a lot of speed, speaking as a parent, I wouldn't be able to relax, knowing my kid is down there, with these clowns flying along.

If I was suggesting on a good resort for families, I'd say Les Gets or Morzine.

kal7

+1 on Flaine for kids.

Just back from our second year there, with our 3 and now 4 year old. She skis 1hr per day.

A few free beginners lifts, lovely calm atmosphere in resort and on piste.

Stay in either Flaine Forum or Foret.

Design of resort means only short walk or ski to all main lifts and shop, restaurants.

Means some members of party can sleep in and we can meet up with them easily.

Good snow record.

Height resort 1600m

fannymagee

madrabui wrote: »

OH JESUS. I'm fecking traumatised. Someone edit that post.

Haaaaa!!! Feck sake I'm such a nosy git, just HAD to look ;-)