Weekend Resort Ideas

My wife and I have just returned from our first ever skiing trip
(Courchevel, France) and now are totally hooked! We want to try and get away
again for a long weekend in March; We have Thurs 17th and Fri 18th off work
so want to go that weekend. Can anyone give some ideas on somewhere suitable
to go for a cheap and cheerful weekend with maximum time on the slopes? We
live near Gatwick so would be flying out from there.

Jasp.

David Mahon wrote:
In article , Jasper
writes

My wife and I have just returned from our first ever skiing trip
(Courchevel, France) and now are totally hooked! We want to try and
get away
again for a long weekend in March; We have Thurs 17th and Fri 18th off
work
so want to go that weekend. Can anyone give some ideas on somewhere
suitable
to go for a cheap and cheerful weekend with maximum time on the
slopes? We
live near Gatwick so would be flying out from there.


Unfortunately, most weekend breaks cost about the same as going for the
full week, however there are some decent weekend deals at:



Simply not true, so long as you arrange it yourself. It's easy to do a
weekend trip and it will cost *about* the same per day as a week's trip,
at least that's my experience from several weekend trips in the last few
years.

Search this group for posts in the last couple of weeks, there have been
quite a few ideas - places near Geneva like Flaine and Chamonix (and
many more) are easy to get to and give you a wide choice of flights into
Geneva from the UK.

"Steve Haigh" wrote in message
...
David Mahon wrote:
In article , Jasper
writes

My wife and I have just returned from our first ever skiing trip
(Courchevel, France) and now are totally hooked! We want to try and get
away
again for a long weekend in March; We have Thurs 17th and Fri 18th off
work
so want to go that weekend. Can anyone give some ideas on somewhere
suitable
to go for a cheap and cheerful weekend with maximum time on the slopes?
We
live near Gatwick so would be flying out from there.


Unfortunately, most weekend breaks cost about the same as going for the
full week, however there are some decent weekend deals at:


Simply not true, so long as you arrange it yourself. It's easy to do a
weekend trip and it will cost *about* the same per day as a week's trip,
at least that's my experience from several weekend trips in the last few
years.


I disagree with this, and I would like you to give me an example how you can
do a weekend trip for about the same as a weeks trip per day.

You can get a week for 250 pounds with Inghams (without lift tickets/ski
hire).. now tell me how to do a weekend (I'm assuming 3 nights accomodation)
for 110 pounds.. realistically, leaving on Friday and coming back Sunday,
you are going to be paying that just for flights (and even then you'll
probably have to be lucky).

In the case of the original poster, they will go out on Wednesday night,
which will make it cheaper, however they are talking about 5 nights
accomodation and 4 nights skiing.. this is going to cost virtually the same
as a whole week..

I did a weekend quite cheap before, but with lift passes and ski hire it
still cost almost 300 pounds per person. It was with www.skiweekends.com.
It was coach return to the 3 Valleys, with 2 nights accomodation (2 nights
on the bus) for about 150 pounds.. but then 3 days skiing and hire cost
about the same again..

AH wrote:
"Steve Haigh" wrote in message
...

David Mahon wrote:

In article , Jasper
writes


My wife and I have just returned from our first ever skiing trip
(Courchevel, France) and now are totally hooked! We want to try and get
away
again for a long weekend in March; We have Thurs 17th and Fri 18th off
work
so want to go that weekend. Can anyone give some ideas on somewhere
suitable
to go for a cheap and cheerful weekend with maximum time on the slopes?
We
live near Gatwick so would be flying out from there.


Unfortunately, most weekend breaks cost about the same as going for the
full week, however there are some decent weekend deals at:


Simply not true, so long as you arrange it yourself. It's easy to do a
weekend trip and it will cost *about* the same per day as a week's trip,
at least that's my experience from several weekend trips in the last few
years.



I disagree with this, and I would like you to give me an example how you can
do a weekend trip for about the same as a weeks trip per day.

You can get a week for 250 pounds with Inghams (without lift tickets/ski
hire).. now tell me how to do a weekend (I'm assuming 3 nights accomodation)
for 110 pounds.. realistically, leaving on Friday and coming back Sunday,
you are going to be paying that just for flights (and even then you'll
probably have to be lucky).

In the case of the original poster, they will go out on Wednesday night,
which will make it cheaper, however they are talking about 5 nights
accomodation and 4 nights skiing.. this is going to cost virtually the same
as a whole week..

I did a weekend quite cheap before, but with lift passes and ski hire it
still cost almost 300 pounds per person. It was with www.skiweekends.com.
It was coach return to the 3 Valleys, with 2 nights accomodation (2 nights
on the bus) for about 150 pounds.. but then 3 days skiing and hire cost
about the same again..


We have just got back from a weekend in the tarentaise, and in order to
compare the prices with a weeks ski holiday. I will quote what it
actually cost for the 3 of us:

Flights: Coventry to Lyon including taxes £285
Airport parking: £25 (approx)
car hi Friday to Sunday night £81
Hotel: including dinner for Sat night: £200
Equipment hire £90 (approx)
(Since we decided not to take our own equipment for just a weekend I had
to include this)

Total cost £681, or approx £330 per person


Lift passes: I have forgotten how much, but they were much more than the
usual 8 day pass divided by 8. This varies from resort to resort and you
can find the prices on the web site.

A weeks catered chalet in January cost us £400 per head, but that was
for only 6 days skiing. So on a cost per day basis the weekend costs
about 2.5 times as much. But of course that depends on getting the time
off work, and that is a big but.

I have left out the miscellaneous costs for lunch, drinks etc as they
would be the same for a week as a weekend.

The hardest part of the whole operation was finding a hotel room.
Everything appeared booked from Chambery to Seez. Eventually the La
Plagne web site found us a hotel in Aime.

As to the original question as to where to go:

We spent one day in Les Arcs and one in Valmorel. I would recommend
Valmorel for the weekend: easy to drive up to and park for the day; lots
of good skiing for beginners; reasonable prices; and a pretty location.
The Mauriene valley may prove a better bet for cost and convenience.

John

"John Elgy" wrote in message
...
AH wrote:
"Steve Haigh" wrote in message
...

David Mahon wrote:

In article , Jasper
writes


My wife and I have just returned from our first ever skiing trip
(Courchevel, France) and now are totally hooked! We want to try and get
away
again for a long weekend in March; We have Thurs 17th and Fri 18th off
work
so want to go that weekend. Can anyone give some ideas on somewhere
suitable
to go for a cheap and cheerful weekend with maximum time on the slopes?
We
live near Gatwick so would be flying out from there.


Unfortunately, most weekend breaks cost about the same as going for the
full week, however there are some decent weekend deals at:


Simply not true, so long as you arrange it yourself. It's easy to do a
weekend trip and it will cost *about* the same per day as a week's trip,
at least that's my experience from several weekend trips in the last few
years.



I disagree with this, and I would like you to give me an example how you
can do a weekend trip for about the same as a weeks trip per day.

You can get a week for 250 pounds with Inghams (without lift tickets/ski
hire).. now tell me how to do a weekend (I'm assuming 3 nights
accomodation) for 110 pounds.. realistically, leaving on Friday and
coming back Sunday, you are going to be paying that just for flights (and
even then you'll probably have to be lucky).

In the case of the original poster, they will go out on Wednesday night,
which will make it cheaper, however they are talking about 5 nights
accomodation and 4 nights skiing.. this is going to cost virtually the
same as a whole week..

I did a weekend quite cheap before, but with lift passes and ski hire it
still cost almost 300 pounds per person. It was with
www.skiweekends.com. It was coach return to the 3 Valleys, with 2 nights
accomodation (2 nights on the bus) for about 150 pounds.. but then 3 days
skiing and hire cost about the same again..


We have just got back from a weekend in the tarentaise, and in order to
compare the prices with a weeks ski holiday. I will quote what it actually
cost for the 3 of us:

Flights: Coventry to Lyon including taxes £285
Airport parking: £25 (approx)
car hi Friday to Sunday night £81
Hotel: including dinner for Sat night: £200
Equipment hire £90 (approx)
(Since we decided not to take our own equipment for just a weekend I had
to include this)

Total cost £681, or approx £330 per person


Lift passes: I have forgotten how much, but they were much more than the
usual 8 day pass divided by 8. This varies from resort to resort and you
can find the prices on the web site.

A weeks catered chalet in January cost us £400 per head, but that was for
only 6 days skiing. So on a cost per day basis the weekend costs about 2.5
times as much. But of course that depends on getting the time off work,
and that is a big but.

I have left out the miscellaneous costs for lunch, drinks etc as they
would be the same for a week as a weekend.

The hardest part of the whole operation was finding a hotel room.
Everything appeared booked from Chambery to Seez. Eventually the La Plagne
web site found us a hotel in Aime.

As to the original question as to where to go:

We spent one day in Les Arcs and one in Valmorel. I would recommend
Valmorel for the weekend: easy to drive up to and park for the day; lots
of good skiing for beginners; reasonable prices; and a pretty location.
The Mauriene valley may prove a better bet for cost and convenience.

John

Don't you mean 230 pounds per head? That is pretty cheap.. you seem to have
got pretty cheap flights, I'm sure that helped.. either way, its expensive
to do a weekend, but good fun..

AH wrote:
"John Elgy" wrote in message
...

AH wrote:

"Steve Haigh" wrote in message
...


David Mahon wrote:


In article , Jasper
writes



My wife and I have just returned from our first ever skiing trip
(Courchevel, France) and now are totally hooked! We want to try and get
away
again for a long weekend in March; We have Thurs 17th and Fri 18th off
work
so want to go that weekend. Can anyone give some ideas on somewhere
suitable
to go for a cheap and cheerful weekend with maximum time on the slopes?
We
live near Gatwick so would be flying out from there.


Unfortunately, most weekend breaks cost about the same as going for the
full week, however there are some decent weekend deals at:


Simply not true, so long as you arrange it yourself. It's easy to do a
weekend trip and it will cost *about* the same per day as a week's trip,
at least that's my experience from several weekend trips in the last few
years.



I disagree with this, and I would like you to give me an example how you
can do a weekend trip for about the same as a weeks trip per day.

You can get a week for 250 pounds with Inghams (without lift tickets/ski
hire).. now tell me how to do a weekend (I'm assuming 3 nights
accomodation) for 110 pounds.. realistically, leaving on Friday and
coming back Sunday, you are going to be paying that just for flights (and
even then you'll probably have to be lucky).

In the case of the original poster, they will go out on Wednesday night,
which will make it cheaper, however they are talking about 5 nights
accomodation and 4 nights skiing.. this is going to cost virtually the
same as a whole week..

I did a weekend quite cheap before, but with lift passes and ski hire it
still cost almost 300 pounds per person. It was with
www.skiweekends.com. It was coach return to the 3 Valleys, with 2 nights
accomodation (2 nights on the bus) for about 150 pounds.. but then 3 days
skiing and hire cost about the same again..



We have just got back from a weekend in the tarentaise, and in order to
compare the prices with a weeks ski holiday. I will quote what it actually
cost for the 3 of us:

Flights: Coventry to Lyon including taxes £285
Airport parking: £25 (approx)
car hi Friday to Sunday night £81
Hotel: including dinner for Sat night: £200
Equipment hire £90 (approx)
(Since we decided not to take our own equipment for just a weekend I had
to include this)

Total cost £681, or approx £330 per person


Lift passes: I have forgotten how much, but they were much more than the
usual 8 day pass divided by 8. This varies from resort to resort and you
can find the prices on the web site.

A weeks catered chalet in January cost us £400 per head, but that was for
only 6 days skiing. So on a cost per day basis the weekend costs about 2.5
times as much. But of course that depends on getting the time off work,
and that is a big but.

I have left out the miscellaneous costs for lunch, drinks etc as they
would be the same for a week as a weekend.

The hardest part of the whole operation was finding a hotel room.
Everything appeared booked from Chambery to Seez. Eventually the La Plagne
web site found us a hotel in Aime.

As to the original question as to where to go:

We spent one day in Les Arcs and one in Valmorel. I would recommend
Valmorel for the weekend: easy to drive up to and park for the day; lots
of good skiing for beginners; reasonable prices; and a pretty location.
The Mauriene valley may prove a better bet for cost and convenience.

John


Don't you mean 230 pounds per head? That is pretty cheap.. you seem to have
got pretty cheap flights, I'm sure that helped.. either way, its expensive
to do a weekend, but good fun..


Aplogies for the miscalculation. One figure was the total cost for the 3
of us leaving out things such as lift pass, lunch, motorway tolls, fuel
etc and one was for adding on a rough guess at what they cost. This
should not have appeared in the calculation. The ratio should, in fact,
be 1:1.7. Not a bad ratio considering we did not have to take time off
work.

The flight costs were very good. We flew with Thomsonfly.com. One tip
though; do not use there reccomended car hire since you turn up at the
car hire place along with hordes of others with the same idea and it
takes ages to get processed.

John

AH wrote:
"Steve Haigh" wrote in message
...

David Mahon wrote:

In article , Jasper
writes


My wife and I have just returned from our first ever skiing trip
(Courchevel, France) and now are totally hooked! We want to try and get
away
again for a long weekend in March; We have Thurs 17th and Fri 18th off
work
so want to go that weekend. Can anyone give some ideas on somewhere
suitable
to go for a cheap and cheerful weekend with maximum time on the slopes?
We
live near Gatwick so would be flying out from there.


Unfortunately, most weekend breaks cost about the same as going for the
full week, however there are some decent weekend deals at:


Simply not true, so long as you arrange it yourself. It's easy to do a
weekend trip and it will cost *about* the same per day as a week's trip,
at least that's my experience from several weekend trips in the last few
years.



I disagree with this, and I would like you to give me an example how you can
do a weekend trip for about the same as a weeks trip per day.

Sorry, no. I really can't be bothered to give you a detailed breakdown
of my holiday costs. It can be done, and I have done it several times,
and each time I have added up my costs and compared them to my costs
when I do a week long trip and each time there is not much extra to pay
for doing the long weekend, hence *about* the same per day.

Bear in mind that although you loose some economy of scale (e.g. you
still need the flight whether its for 2 or 20 days skiing) there are
also gains to be made by not doing the Saturday-Saturday thing. Firstly,
for 3 nights accomodation I get 3.5 days skiing (fly out Thursday first
thing and ski from about 12:30, ski all day Sunday and fly back at about
8pm from Geneva in my case). For a "normal" trip you pay for 7 nights
and ski for 6 days. Also, flying out at these times seems to be pretty
cheap - I typically pay about £100-120 for flights from London to
Geneva, and the deals for Saturdays do not seem to be as good.

I'm not comparing my trip to the deal you quoted, I'm comparing what I
normaly spend for a week versus what I spend on a weekend or long weekend.

Hi

We have had a couple of very good weekends skiing in La Clusaz. It is
only a very easy 45 min drive from Geneva - we have always hired a car
and got cheap flights. You don't want to have a long drive when you are
only going for a few days.

La Clusaz is very French and you can also ski in Le Grand Bornand which
is a ten-minute drive away (or take the free bus from La Clusaz).

We have stayed in a two star and a three star - both very good value
for money. We booked them direct. Have a look at www.aravis.com for
info on both resorts.

Hope you find something and have fun.

FionaG

I have been on a few weekend breaks now.

I have used www.skiweekends.com and have been impressed with their use of
time. We left Folkestone at 7.45pm and arrived at their Club Hotel in
Brides Les Bains (3 Valleys) before 9am. Breakfast and rooms were ready.
We got changed then caught the gondola up to Meribel (takes 30 minutes). On
the last day, we finished skiing at 4pm, had a shower (shower rooms are
available on the ground floor once you have checked out), grabbed a baguette
and was on the way home at 5.30pm. We arrived back at Folkestone about 6am
the next morning. I found prices very reasonable but be prepared to get
little sleep on the coach.

Last year we also flew to Milan on a Friday afternoon (Turin would be closer
but we couldn't find a cheap flight). We hired a car and drove to Aosta.
There are a number of hotels which accept short stays. The 2 hour (I think)
drive was easy since it is mainly on the autostrada. Aosta is a typically
Italian town with a beautiful piazza, many restuarants and bars (not raucous
though). There is a gondola from near the railway station which takes you
up to the resort of Pila within 30 minutes. Pila has some lovely runs and
is mainly beginners/intermediates terrain. If you are wanting to sample
more resorts, it is a reasonably short drive to other Italian resorts such
as Courmayer and Cervinia. On the last day, we skied until the last lift
closed, drove back to the airport, gave the car up and stayed the night in
an airport hotel. We caught an early flight on Tuesday morning and got into
the UK aiport at about 8am and so went straight to work (a little tired but
exhilarated).

Another option is Bourg St Maurice (2.5 hours drive from Lyon). We got back
from there last night. Aparently there is a hotel which accepts short stays
(Short stay accommodation is hard to come by in the Tarantaise/Savoie
region). We stayed in a very compact, but comfortable apartment 5 minutes
walk from the funicular which goes up to Les Arcs 1600 (see
www.skisimple.com). We found Les Arcs had a lot of runs for newbies as well
as more challenging slopes when required. You can also either use public
transport or a hire car to get to a number of other resorts within 40
minutes (Val d'Isere, Ste Foy, Tignes, La Plagne, 3 Vallees, La Rosiere).
I have never been to La Rosiere but I hear it is good for newbies and you
can ski over to Italy (La Thuile). Our flights left the UK at 5.45pm and
arrived back at 10.45pm so we had 3 days skiing for 1 day off work.

My advice is check which cheap flights are available. Make sure you can get
accomodation. Check car hire costs (private transfers are an option but I
like the flexibility of a car and the buses don't seem to fit in with budget
flight times).

Have fun!



"Jasper" wrote in message
...
My wife and I have just returned from our first ever skiing trip
(Courchevel, France) and now are totally hooked! We want to try and get
away
again for a long weekend in March; We have Thurs 17th and Fri 18th off
work
so want to go that weekend. Can anyone give some ideas on somewhere
suitable
to go for a cheap and cheerful weekend with maximum time on the slopes? We
live near Gatwick so would be flying out from there.

Jasp.

Thank you all so much for you comments. We have now booked a long weekend in
Flaine, flying out with EasyJet on Wednesday night and coming back Sunday
night.

It proved very difficult to get a really cheap deal and to be honest we
didn't really pay the kind of price we originally wanted. I'm afraid our
desire to ski overtook or desire to budget!

It's the flights which seem to make the most difference to the overall price
and I think the trick is to either plan a little more in advance or
alternatively to keep your eyes peeled all the time for cheap flights and be
flexible with dates.

We have hired a car from Geneva airport as that seemed better value than
getting a coach transfer. Although, having never driven in proper snowy
conditions before we feeling nervously excited at the prospect. Please look
out for my next post where I'll be asking for driving and route planning
tips!

Thanks again.

Jasp


"Jasper" wrote in message
...
My wife and I have just returned from our first ever skiing trip
(Courchevel, France) and now are totally hooked! We want to try and get
away again for a long weekend in March; We have Thurs 17th and Fri 18th
off work so want to go that weekend. Can anyone give some ideas on
somewhere suitable to go for a cheap and cheerful weekend with maximum
time on the slopes? We live near Gatwick so would be flying out from
there.

Jasp.