Cheap Snowboarding Holiday

Twentymac

Twentymac

Twentymac

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Joined
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Birmingham
two mates told me last night at the pub that they had done one of these learn to snowboard in a day things on the sly and are now at recreational level.

So naturaly we wanna go on a nice cheap snowboarding break maybe just before easter time next year ?

anyone recommend anywhere, also we will have to rent gear. I sold all mine last year.
 
Val Thorens, specifically hotel Le Cheval Blanc. Cheap, chearful, and on the slopes itself.

Best off using Jet2.com to fly to Chambéry, as this will cut down your transfer time from 4.5hrs (from the two major nearby airports of Lyon or Geneva) down to just under 2hrs. But I guess this all depends on if you have a nearby UK airport that Jet2 do the UK>Chambéry route from. Alternatives would be easyjet or similar to Geneva or Lyon, but they always seem to be more expensive.

As for transfers, you can use altibus, or get a taxi (which isn't as expensive as it sounds). Another alternative is to use taxi to Chambéry train station, then a train to Moutiérs, and then the Bus up to Val Thorens (this worked out as cheap as the direct bus from altibus.com, but was more interesting).

Renting is simple if you stay in Le Cheval Blanc, as they have an intersport shop in the lobby that are as cheap as anywhere else you will find in the resort to rent from, good selection too. You can find them on http://www.intersportrent.com, but I've never been when they have had no stock in to rent, so booking in advance isn't a necessity.

The reason I've laid it out like this is that generally I seem to save on average £100 a person over booking with a tour operator.

Hope that helps :)
 
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Twentymac said:
two mates told me last night at the pub that they had done one of these learn to snowboard in a day things on the sly and are now at recreational level.

So naturaly we wanna go on a nice cheap snowboarding break maybe just before easter time next year ?

anyone recommend anywhere, also we will have to rent gear. I sold all mine last year.
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Plastic bags tied to your shoes and a grassy hill just after it's rained.

Can't get cheaper :D


Have fun snowboarding though..... :D
 
easy jet to Geneva, take a swiss train to 1 or the hundreds of nearby resorts within 2 hours (leyson les diablerets, champerey, SSb, ovronnaz, argentiere,...). Book accommodation privately in advance and you get some bargains. To be super cheap there are plenty of youth hostels, like the underground at Verbier cost 40CHF.

Staying in a village like Bruson gives you access to the best skiing of the 4 valleys at a fraction of the price of staying with the famous resorts.
 
paradigm said:
Val Thorens, specifically hotel Le Cheval Blanc. Cheap, chearful, and on the slopes itself.

Best off using Jet2.com to fly to Chambéry, as this will cut down your transfer time from 4.5hrs (from the two major nearby airports of Lyon or Geneva) down to just under 2hrs. But I guess this all depends on if you have a nearby UK airport that Jet2 do the UK>Chambéry route from. Alternatives would be easyjet or similar to Geneva or Lyon, but they always seem to be more expensive.

As for transfers, you can use altibus, or get a taxi (which isn't as expensive as it sounds). Another alternative is to use taxi to Chambéry train station, then a train to Moutiérs, and then the Bus up to Val Thorens (this worked out as cheap as the direct bus from altibus.com, but was more interesting).

Renting is simple if you stay in Le Cheval Blanc, as they have an intersport shop in the lobby that are as cheap as anywhere else you will find in the resort to rent from, good selection too. You can find them on http://www.intersportrent.com, but I've never been when they have had no stock in to rent, so booking in advance isn't a necessity.

The reason I've laid it out like this is that generally I seem to save on average £100 a person over booking with a tour operator.

Hope that helps :)
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What he said. Go to Val Thorens. Other cheap accomodation is Les Temples Du Soleil, which is just down the road from Cheval Blanc, and is right on the piste as well. Cheap basic accomodation.

There is a rental shop in Temples Du Soleil, and you can book through them in advance on snowrental.com, who sometimes have good offers on. At the moment you can book board and boots for 105 euros for a week from there.

If you like a good bit of after-ski live music, go to a bar called Tango (up the top of the town, past the frog and roastbeef pub). They usually have a good band playing from about 6:30 onwards.
 
Used to stay in Temples Du Soleil, until we realised that liftpasses were included in the price of accomodation at Le Chevel Blanc.

Adding together a 7-day 3-valleys pass to the accomodation cost of Temples, made it slightly more expensive, but both hotels are very similar in style and rooms.
 
paradigm said:
Used to stay in Temples Du Soleil, until we realised that liftpasses were included in the price of accomodation at Le Chevel Blanc.

Adding together a 7-day 3-valleys pass to the accomodation cost of Temples, made it slightly more expensive, but both hotels are very similar in style and rooms.
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That's interesting to know.:)

May travel back to the 3 valleys this season again on that information.
 
paradigm said:
Used to stay in Temples Du Soleil, until we realised that liftpasses were included in the price of accomodation at Le Chevel Blanc.

Adding together a 7-day 3-valleys pass to the accomodation cost of Temples, made it slightly more expensive, but both hotels are very similar in style and rooms.
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Really? So the prices on their website include a weeks 3 valleys pass? That's interesting to know. Last year we stayed just up the street from LCB right next to the fountain and I thoroughly enjoyed VT :)
 
Last season I did a couple of cheapy trips to chamonix as add ons to my main hols. You can do cham quite cheaply by flying to geneva or driving - did both last year and it is a really easy drive. it's an hour from geneva (and that can be done by train if you want) or 8 hours total drive.

Unlike a lot of resorts there are a lot of apartments you can rent which don't necessarily need to be sat to sat and there is every price point. I've stayed in nice and expensive with my wife and really cheap and cheerful with the boys. Worth a look and there is some incredible terrain there! As it is a large town there are plenty of options and price points for eating out. I love cham after being a total val d'isere whore for quite a few years.

edit: another really good value area near geneva is chatel - cheap place to stay with a nice villagey feel and good fore beginners - snowboarding is good and it's linked with the port du soleil so the wider area covered by the pass is massive, Avoriaz is just a couple of lifts away and the riding there is great and more snow sure - very inexpensive for the French Alps without being cack like a lot of the cheaper end places
 
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One option I find that works quite well is wait until close to the time that you intend to go away. Providing it's not a major busy time like Xmas, Easter or school holidays, you can find great deals on privately owned chalets, as all the owners are struggling to fill them at these times, so will let them go at cheaper rates to get somebody in there.

I'm really annoyed that I can't find it, but there was a great website I used for Morzine a few years back where you posted on the forum the dates you were looking at and what you were looking for. The private owners reply with what they have got and then essentially start a biding war as to who can offer you the best price! In the end I got a whole top floor of a lovely chalet for two weeks for pretty much nothing.

Although I stayed with some friends last season, it was supposed to be a similar case again because despite how good the snow was, there was a really low turnout in the Alps with the recession on.
 
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