Skiing February Half term

JRJ

JRJ

JRJ

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21 Oct 2010
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Morning all, looking at our 4th attempt at a first family skiing holiday having had 3 cancelled during COVID, unfortunately we're tied to February half term give or take a few days either side, the wife and kids are beginners so we've been looking at Bulgaria and Andorra but anything clipping half term is ridiculous £400pp up to £1200-£1400pp for the same trip, Canada actually comes in the cheapest which is crazy.
Anybody got any advice/recommendations lesser known areas etc that might be able to help?
 
Sunweb often works out cheaper as the include lift prices and lessons in pricebwhere others you add on later.

You could book it yourself if you want to go cheaper.

I was more worried about snow as last year was empty for half term. I went to les deux alps as they have glacier and snow cannons.

I wouldnt go to canada for a week with kids unless they have no issues with time difference
 
We went last year (sadly don't think we're going to go this year as it stands) and Norway worked out as the cheapest option. There are zero rooms free at the place we stayed last year! I wouldn't go to Canada for a week as the travelling is far too long. I'd always prioritise convenience of travel/transfer over absolute bottom dollar with this sort of holiday. I love the three valleys, but wouldn't fancy the long transit time with the kids. How old are your children?

A BIG factor should also be the quality of the ski instructors. The Norwegian instructors were amazing and my 5 year old daughter loved it. I have heard horror stories about French instructors. Worth considering.
 
We've booked a 10 day trip to Canada this year as we;ve struggled with the quality/amount of snow the last few years in both Bulgaria and France. The Canada deals have been surprisingly good and the snow in Banff already looks fantastic. There seems a good balance of family friendly wide gentle slopes but still enough sketch for the odd Dad's solo fun afternoon.

Like said, 1 week isnt' quite enough for the travel and jet-lag but we are hoping to make 10 days work.... will find out. Its got to be better than only one red run open in an entire resort and thats made up of JCB togethered hard pack ice, not snow.... which is what we've had the last few years - its been too warm for snow cannons even!
 
Id love to go back to canada. Tignes has brought their season forward as they have snow already though.
 
Still miss skiing. Just too expensive in school holidays....

Wife and I spent a season in Whistler when I was just married - just sooooo good.

There is an irony of flying long-haul to a ski resort because global warming has made a snow-train to the Alps too unreliable!
 
Andy__C said:
We've booked a 10 day trip to Canada this year as we;ve struggled with the quality/amount of snow the last few years in both Bulgaria and France. The Canada deals have been surprisingly good and the snow in Banff already looks fantastic. There seems a good balance of family friendly wide gentle slopes but still enough sketch for the odd Dad's solo fun afternoon.

Like said, 1 week isnt' quite enough for the travel and jet-lag but we are hoping to make 10 days work.... will find out. Its got to be better than only one red run open in an entire resort and thats made up of JCB togethered hard pack ice, not snow.... which is what we've had the last few years - its been too warm for snow cannons even!
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Hope you have an amazing time. Was lucky enough to go to Banff a good 18 years ago or so!

Was an incredible weeks skiing, the snow was something else. Although...was super cold, colder then I have experienced in the alps so worth preparing for it being colder then you might have been in before. We had access to 3 resorts, one was Norquay (think thats now Banff), Sunshine Mountain and Lake Louise. Definitely concentrate your time on Lake Louise and Sunshine Mountain as they offer much more skiing.

I was was fortunate that didn't really get too affected by jet lag so we were on the slopes day after arrival. Wish I could go back again but prices have been out of reach. The year we went was genuinely cheaper to ski in Banff then it was in Europe!
 
Have you tried Chamonix bed&breakfast - I've only ski'd in France and Italy, but the benefit of just packing up your car makes it much more of an adventure than the hassle of air travel,
chamonix is great since you are based at a town, so variety of ambiance children would enjoy, and can choose your area/carte every day, with snow cannon they can always provide some beginners lessons.

Is the food/meals very cheap in the USA ? since, especially for a family that's a significant component, in the likes of Chamonix.
 
We're off to Trysil, Norway in February. Only booked it a couple of weeks ago.

We've not been for about 5 years and our youngest, now 10, doesn't remember it at all from last time :(

Only 7 days, whereas our two previous family trips were 10. It's just a bit too pricey to go for longer this time.
 
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jpaul said:
Have you tried Chamonix bed&breakfast - I've only ski'd in France and Italy, but the benefit of just packing up your car makes it much more of an adventure than the hassle of air travel,
chamonix is great since you are based at a town, so variety of ambiance children would enjoy, and can choose your area/carte every day, with snow cannon they can always provide some beginners lessons.

Is the food/meals very cheap in the USA ? since, especially for a family that's a significant component, in the likes of Chamonix.
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Have been to Chamonix out of ski season, have been curious as to what it would be like in a ski season as used to typical Ski-in/Ski Out resorts like Tignes/Three Valleys/Les Arcs/La Plagne etc. Similar to Chamonix have wondered about costs if staying Bourg Saint Maurice and catching the Funicular up to Les Arcs. Not sure if there is a payoff for doing this rather then being at resort level? Presumably, if your just doing a weeks holiday you don't save enough to make it worth the extra hassle, but for day trippers imagine it works well.

General experience of travelling in the USA (not skiing related) - but you can expect to pay a bit more then you would here for a meal out. There pretty good at fleecing you for all that its worth so can expect food in a ski resort to have at least a similar uplift to what you expect in a French resort.

From what I understand from speaking with Colleagues out in the Denver area is that Skiing is a bit of a mare these days, very busy in the main resorts and the lift pass prices will make your eye water...and my eyes water enough at the cost of an area lift pass in france! ;)
 
I have posted before but seeing as this is up, I highly recommend huski for food in the french ski resorts if they cover your resort.

hu.ski

Huski - Food Delivery to Ski Resorts in the French Alps

Delicious Alpine food for memorable skiing holidays. Food Delivery to Resorts Across the French Alps.
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We tend to buy a three meal pack, a 6 bottle of wine pack and a few extras. Gives a good starting point for some mix and match meals lunch/evening depending how you operate.
We tend to eat in 3-4 nights and out 3-4 nights when we go for a week and doing the above gives us a really good start on the meals.
 
Thanks all, completely forgot I'd started this topic but getting some grief for not booking yet.
@Andy__C thanks for the Canada advice certainly one for the bucket list but maybe not on this occasion, just seemed crazy pricing in comparison to European locations.

Anyway we've manged to get some flex on our annual leave, so the week before half term is now a goer, but not getting much luck on the likes of Sunweb etc based around our dates and preferred airport so I'm looking at building my own.... so far I'm looking at flying into Geneva and then hiring a car for a 8 day 7 night stay, based on this any recommendations for decent beginner slopes within 2hrs of Geneva Airport?
 
Flights into Geneva booked :D

Car hire from Geneva Airport booked :D

Accommodation.........................

Found a lovely place near Samoens and tried to reserve a few times but the host doesn't get back to us.
 
JRJ said:
Flights into Geneva booked :D

Car hire from Geneva Airport booked :D

Accommodation.........................

Found a lovely place near Samoens and tried to reserve a few times but the host doesn't get back to us.
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Have you tried Vrbo? www.vrbo.com it's Expedia's answer to airbnb and might have different hosts?
 
Nathan said:
How much was your car hire? Considering hiring over the Christmas period for Chamonix
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I paid £787 all in for 2 adults and 2 kids plus 2 26kg suitcases and the car hire through EasyJet, it was about a 50/50 split on the flight/car but paid in one go.
 
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