Ski Weekends and Short Breaks
With the arrival of ever-cheaper travel, and the ready availability of accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets, weekend skiing has never been more popular. Independent ski chalets and alpine hotels (and even a few mainstream tour operators) have responded to the demand and many are willing to facilitate ski weekends, long weekends and mid-week to mid-week mini-breaks.
This all means that you can easily arrange your ski holiday around your own commitments, rather than according to someone else’s timetable. There are a few things you need to know, and a few gotchas, but it’s really not difficult to do-it-yourself. Here’s a checklist for starters:
- Step 0 - Positive, Flexible Attitude
- Step 1 - Location, Location, Location
- Step 2 - Book your Travel (Early or Late)
- Step 3 - Book your Accommodation Late!
- Step 4 - Pre-book Ski Hire - save time and money
- Step 5 - Be Safe
Step 0 - Positive, Flexible Attitude!
To make the most of your short ski break, be prepared to be flexible; you might have to drive a little further if the snow melts, or you might not be able to even reach your chosen resort due to heavy snowfall. The weather can play havoc with your plans, particularly for a short break, but just run with it - be prepared to drive overnight, be prepared to be putting snow-chains on the hire care at midnight in a blizzard (hint: pack a torch and gloves where you can find them easily!)… it happens. We’ve been there and done that, and had some fantastic and memorable weekends away as a result.
Step 1 - Location, Location, Location
Choose your preferred ski resort(s) - this may sound (somewhat) obvious but take your time and be flexible (there’s a theme developing here!). If you plan to fly, then you may want to check flight availability first and then choose a resort convenient for the airport you’re flying to. Use our pages to find the Ski Resorts near Airports.
Check where it’s snowed and where it’s going to snow; this can be the most rewarding part of doing it yourself - chasing the snow. Use j2ski to check the current Snow Conditions and Snow Forecast for the coming week; we identify the resorts with the best snow right now, and make the imminent forecasts easy to compare. So go find the best Ski Resort!
Step 2 - Book your Travel (Early or Late)
Book your Travel Early - whether flying, driving or taking the train you will generally get better prices (and choice) by booking as early as possible. This is particularly true for the low-cost airlines; flights to Geneva and other handy airports near the mountains can be had for peanuts if you book early.
Booking your Travel Late - outside the peak times of Christmas and the February half-term it can be surprisingly easy to track down flights at reasonable cost; the likes of British Airways and Swiss have had to respond to the budget airlines and have a good number of seats throughout the season.
Step 3 - Book Accommodation Late!
It gets cold in the mountains so make sure you know where you’re going to sleep. Depending on the timing of your trip and your own willingness to be flexible (!), you may well be best off leaving your choice of accommodation until the last minute. Outside school holiday times there is almost always late availability… and then you can follow the snow.
Many of the Ski Chalets featured on our pages are able to respond to flexible needs and most are willing to work around your timetable if they have availability. Often overlooked are the many Hotels in and around Ski Resorts; use our pages to easily find the nearest Hotels with availability.
Step 4 - Pre-book Ski Hire
You can make a significant saving on Ski Hire by pre-booking. Ski Hire in Europe can be arranged at a discount through our partner SkiSet, who will give a 20% to 40% reduction for j2Ski visitors who pre-book Hire Ski and Snowboard equipment through our Site.
Step 5 - Be Safe
Insurance - You’re on your own now - no Rep to rely on (ha ha) - so ensure you’re insured. See our quick coverage of the essentials of Ski Insurance.
