Skiing holiday on a budget !!

[PLUMBSTONE.]

Hi

You mentioned Alpe D'Huez. Have been told by one of the instructors at xcape that this is a fantastic place for begginers & intermediates too. Have you been ? Is there an opperator you could recommend ?

[Strix]

Take it you are regulars at this. Only my third time. Maybe would need a package.Kids are 8,11,12,14 !!!!

We WERE regulars at this - until our first child (now nearly 2) came along!

 

Our criteria had always been based on eateries suitable for vegetarians as most of our group were non-meat eaters - so that was basically Italy, then choose a collection of slopes appropriate to the skiing standards of whoever was going that year!

 

If you're not experienced ski holidayers, and with a brood that size, I'd recommend doing what we had to on our last trip (with unfavourable exchange rate!) and aim to go self catering at least for lunch. A day on the slopes works out expensive when you have to dine mountainside, so if you can get 'ski to door' you can nip back to the apartment for lunch and save a packet

 

Come to think, La Thuille had some fantastic slopes no matter what your level of experience, so I'd strongly recommend it

 

I don't know if ALL resorts in Europe now have auto scanning lift passes without photo's on, but one tip for saving money (if you're not all mad-for-it ski-all-day kind of people) is to divide yourselves up and share passes, which is possible in La Thuille

[I1L2T3]

Hi

You mentioned Alpe D'Huez. Have been told by one of the instructors at xcape that this is a fantastic place for begginers & intermediates too. Have you been ? Is there an opperator you could recommend ?

 

Yes we went about 8 years ago. Superb resort for beginners. We went with Crystal that time - weren't too bad. Not used them since though so not sure what they're like now.

[I1L2T3]

Come to think, La Thuille had some fantastic slopes no matter what your level of experience, so I'd strongly recommend it

 

We're thinking of there or Alpe D'Huez. Went to la Rosiere a few years ago which is linked to La Thuile. Really liked la Rosiere.

[Strix]

We did a day in La Rosiere - another good recommendation for slopes, but didn't actually sample the accommodation or the local facilities

 

another tip for choosing a resort - linked resorts can be a godsend if booking early as poor snow in your resort doesn't necessarily mean poor snow in the adjoining, so a holiday can be salvaged

[PLUMBSTONE.]

Medium size budget. Two adults & four children !!!! Any suggestions Please ?

[FairDooz]

I've been told that for an adult, you need a budget of about £1500.

 

Flights, accommodation, ski hire, lift passes, insurance have all gone up quite a bit in the last few years. Lift passes which used to be about £120 for the week are now closer to £200.

 

Have others found this?

 

I'd love to go skiing again, but as my budget doesn't even stretch to £750 for the week to be honest I haven't even looked for "deals".

 

I've never been, but Andorra and Bulgaria are supposed to be good value ...

[Rupert_Baehr]

Here's another option:

 

Instead of going on a package tour to a major resort, go on a self-arranged trip to a smaller resort (albeit one near to a major resort.)

 

I live in Oberau (though not at this time of year )

 

Prices for accommodation (and most other things!) seem to be about 30% lower there than they are in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (which is about 8 miles away.)

 

If you are an intermediate (or Olympic-class) skier, go into Garmisch each day and ski there. - If you want to do a bit of ski-jumping there's always this

 

If you want Olympic-class downhill runs, there's the Kandahar (and there are a number of other good runs in the area.) There is a ski school at Hausberg (Garmisch) but if you are novice skiers, don't overlook the slopes in some of the villages. (Oberau, Farchant and Eschenlohe, for example.) They're far less crowded and considerably cheaper.

 

Rabenkopf (the ski run at Oberau) is about 1km long and has a fall of 78 metres - Hardly a challenge for an experienced skier, but excellent for novices (and those who are 'out of practice'. There is a ski school (which is fairly reasonably priced) (Here's a link to their webiste - the site is in German, but they do speak English) or you can arrange lessons with Babsi Berwein +49 -(0)8824-329.

 

A daily lift card will cost you €12 for an adult, €9 for a child aged 4-14.

 

Here's a link to the village website, which has most of the information you might need.

 

Accomodation: You have a choice of Hotels, Self-Catering (Ferienwohnungen) or Guest houses.

 

NB: If you take a FeWo, you may be expected to clean it (and if you don't, you will get a cleaning charge.) If you do go for self-catering, check carefully what's included in the price!

 

If you want hotel accommodation, the Forsthaus is very popular. If you're looking for a FeWo, those operated by Elisabeth Neuner seem to be very popular (and you get free freshly-baked rolls on Sunday mornings ), but there's no shortage to choose from.

 

When not to go:

 

(1) Early in December (all the local ski runs opened late in 2011. In 2010, they were open in November - this year the Zugspitze (Ga-P) didn't open until mid-late December and the runs at lower level (Oberau, Farchant and Eschenlohe) didn't open until early January.

 

(2) During school half-term in Baden-Württemberg / Bayern. Garmisch is packed out then (though the smaller ski runs aren't too busy.)

 

Snow usually lasts until the end of April (one end or the other ) but any time after mid-March you could find that the runs at lower levels are closed.

 

Best time to go: January and February.

 

Here's a list of ski lifts/cable cars in the area. (NB: The W**kbahn no longer leads to a ski slope.)

 

How to get there:

 

You could drive ... but I don't recommend it in winter! It's a long journey from Sheffield. Overnight Hull-Rotterdam or Harwich to the Hook and a very long day's drive (or two reasonable days) or Dover-Calais (a haul from Sheffield) and 2 days drive after that.

 

You will also need winter tyres on your car.

 

The best way of getting there is fly from Manchester to Munich, then get a train (about a 2 hour train journey.) A Deutsche Bahn family train pass for 1 day (you will need one each way) will cost you about €22-25 for the whole family.

 

If you take skis with you, the airline will probably rip you off to carry them, so it's probably cheaper (and easier) to pre-book ski hire locally.

 

Buses and trains in the local area are frequent and cheap. There are a number of restaurants/Pubs in Oberau and a few 'touristy' things to see and do, but there is no real 'après-ski' in the village - if you want night-clubs or a casino, you'll have to go into Garmisch (not that far away.)

[I1L2T3]

Good point about smaller resorts Rupert. There are hundreds of off the beaten track places. Doesn't always have to be a mega resort. Small places I been to:

 

Cauterets, very French though. Proper locals gaff but the farmers market means you can eat amazing fresh food every night at reasonable prices.

 

Saas Grund. Little brother to Saas Fee. There is not much in the resort, one bar, one supermarket, some cows and barns. Cheap though.

 

Cairngorm. Just to say we'd done it. We had a great time though overpriced for what you get.