2nd - 9th April 2004

Hi there,

A group of 3 of us, maybe 5, want to go skiing in Europe on the above
dates. Ideally we need to go high but also we want to spend no more than
£500 each, to include flight, accommodation, ski hire and passes.

Is it best to build our own package or go with an operator ? Any of you
chaps know any who is best with late season deals etc ? Any help would be
gratefully appreciated.

Cheers, Joe

PS Off to Tignes/Val d'Isere on 11th Feb, can't wait !

Hmm... its gonna be tight, depends somewhat on the type of ski-pass etc.....
Typically for a weeks area pass you're gonna need £100 at least and then
probably £65 for the gear. If you drive down its cheaper with a car full.
The Dover/Calais crossing is about £100 then £75 per head (with 4 people)
for fuel/breakdown cover etc at least...then £100 each for an apartment.
Self catering and being frugal its possible (but difficult not to spend more
than you budget for on the slopes!).

I 've booked with www.skihorizons.com for apartments before....seems ok.

Going saturday/saturday you'll be out of pocket flying though. Mid-week
easyjet flights to Geneva about £80 (or less)

Of course, there's always Bulgaria/Poland/Andorra.........but be it on your
own head!


"Joe Hunt" wrote in message
...
Hi there,

A group of 3 of us, maybe 5, want to go skiing in Europe on the above
dates. Ideally we need to go high but also we want to spend no more than
£500 each, to include flight, accommodation, ski hire and passes.

Is it best to build our own package or go with an operator ? Any of you
chaps know any who is best with late season deals etc ? Any help would be
gratefully appreciated.

Cheers, Joe

PS Off to Tignes/Val d'Isere on 11th Feb, can't wait !

Joe Hunt wrote:
Hi there,

A group of 3 of us, maybe 5, want to go skiing in Europe on the above
dates. Ideally we need to go high but also we want to spend no more than
£500 each, to include flight, accommodation, ski hire and passes.

Is it best to build our own package or go with an operator ? Any of you
chaps know any who is best with late season deals etc ? Any help would be
gratefully appreciated.



There are pros and cons on both sides.

I'm not a big fan of Tour Operators normally, but you can pick up some
bargains in chalets at this time of year. If a company has a chalet
booked all season they'd probably be discounting it a lot for a last
minute deal in April (assuming it wasn't booked out of course), but you
have to wait until the last minute and you'll need to be flexible with
where you go. The high resorts should be OK in early April though so
there should be some choice.

On the other hand if you book self catering (or a hotel) directly and
want to get good flight tickets with a low cost carrier then you would
be better off booking it now, as the tickets prices will only increase.
Look at places like Tignes and Val Thorens for budget snow sure
locations. There are cheap places to stay, you should be able to get
something to sleep 6 for under £100 each I'd say, then allow £150 for
flights, £120 for lift tickets, £50 each for car hire or transfers, £60
for gear... its going to be tight but you might just get it for about
£500 each with a bit of luck.

My own personal choice would be to put a package together myself, I
don't think you'll save a great deal in the final cost, but you will be
able to suit it to your needs. Have you got any quotes from TOs yet? You
never know, they may be pretty keen to book 6 places for late in the
season and you may get a good deal now. It's certainly worth surfing a
few sites before plunging in to a DIY option.

Good luck!

Steve

"Steve Haigh" wrote in message
...

There are pros and cons on both sides.

Cheers both for the replies. I am in two minds whether to wait until the
last minute or search now hence the reason for posting. I suppose there
would be no harm looking around for prices at the moment, but it is a
little difficult when we haven't got final numbers. Tignes is an option
but I have skied Espace Killy four times now and would like to try
somewhere else.

Thanks again, Joe

Steve Haigh wrote:
Joe Hunt wrote:

Hi there,

A group of 3 of us, maybe 5, want to go skiing in Europe on the above
dates. Ideally we need to go high but also we want to spend no more than
£500 each, to include flight, accommodation, ski hire and passes.

Is it best to build our own package or go with an operator ? Any of you
chaps know any who is best with late season deals etc ? Any help would be
gratefully appreciated.



There are pros and cons on both sides.

I'm not a big fan of Tour Operators normally, but you can pick up some
bargains in chalets at this time of year. If a company has a chalet
booked all season they'd probably be discounting it a lot for a last
minute deal in April (assuming it wasn't booked out of course), but you
have to wait until the last minute and you'll need to be flexible with
where you go. The high resorts should be OK in early April though so
there should be some choice.

On the other hand if you book self catering (or a hotel) directly and
want to get good flight tickets with a low cost carrier then you would
be better off booking it now, as the tickets prices will only increase.
Look at places like Tignes and Val Thorens for budget snow sure
locations. There are cheap places to stay, you should be able to get
something to sleep 6 for under £100 each I'd say, then allow £150 for
flights, £120 for lift tickets, £50 each for car hire or transfers, £60
for gear... its going to be tight but you might just get it for about
£500 each with a bit of luck.

My own personal choice would be to put a package together myself, I
don't think you'll save a great deal in the final cost, but you will be
able to suit it to your needs. Have you got any quotes from TOs yet? You
never know, they may be pretty keen to book 6 places for late in the
season and you may get a good deal now. It's certainly worth surfing a
few sites before plunging in to a DIY option.

Good luck!

Steve
I thought I would do a quick check on flight prices for that week and
found Thomsonfly doing £22-00 to Lyon including taxes etc. The only snag
is there is no return flight! An apartment booked throught the French
agencies for 6 people should be about 8-900 euros for that week, but it
will be cosy. Allow about £200 for lift pass and equipment hire. A quick
check though a travel agency (http://www.snow-line.co.uk) shows self
catering deals under £300 for that week.

John

Joe Hunt wrote:
Hi there,

A group of 3 of us, maybe 5, want to go skiing in Europe on the above
dates. Ideally we need to go high but also we want to spend no more
than £500 each, to include flight, accommodation, ski hire and passes.

Is it best to build our own package or go with an operator ? Any of
you chaps know any who is best with late season deals etc ? Any help
would be gratefully appreciated.

Cheers, Joe

PS Off to Tignes/Val d'Isere on 11th Feb, can't wait !

Wait for a late deal for sure. Easter is earlier than that this year, and
it'll probably be quite dead around that time..