DIY skiing

I am lucky enough to get an extended solo ski break for a few weeks, in January~February. (I ski with my OH in March and April) So I am interested in exploring some aspects of this with ski/board folk who do the same. I am not talking about seasonaires, their situation is different.

My Jan/Feb trip is always back to the same village, although I get to ski in many other valleys. So, below, I pass on my learnings, and I welcome feedback info from other DIYers.

FLIGHTS, For over 10 years, I have had free return flights, from Edinburgh to Munich. I get sufficient points during each year from the use of a credit card.

TRANSFERS.
Train. For many years I have taken the train from Munich Airport, and a taxi up to the village. Total return cost under a 100 euro.
Car hire. Many ways to reduce cost. Fiesta is large enough. Winter tyres are now included as standard. Book early, cost rise. Sign up for emails from all the major agencies such as Auto Europe. Check quidco. This year, I delayed on a 7% quidco offer and lost it. Then in came a 5% email discount ~ I checked it against the site's standard cost, and the discount was genuine. So, this year, my car hire is £25 less than last year.

ACCOMODATION. One benefit of returning to the same village is that you quickly get to know what is the best accommodation in terms of cost , location, facility. So, b&b for 30 Euro is normal, you can do better if pushed. Because of the extended time, and because I like to leave my drawing & painting work lying around, I pay a bit extra, and get an apartment. Email the tourist board, check J2ski accommodation offers. One hotel in our village picks up from the airport, does a great deal for HB, drives guests to other resorts, stores skis until next winter.

EQUIPMENT
This is an area where returning to the same place saves money. I keep half a dozen pairs of skis in the cellar, where I stay. This service happens throughout the village. If I decide I want to try some different skis, I log into J2ski/skiset, and pick the skis up the next day.

LIFT PASS. In many places, a season pass costs pretty much the same, or less, than a two week pass. As it happens I have a choice of three passes, The Two valley, the Allstar, and the Tirol card. For the past two years I have bought the Allstar or the Tirol card. The decision is influenced by where we will be skiing in March/April. For some passes there is a discount if you buy early, (usually by early December)

SKI/BOARD TIME. Most people on package holidays get to ski for 6 days. If you go for 2 weeks, you get 13 days, and the costs are proportionately lower. If you DIY, other options open up. Travel on Friday, return on a Sunday evening, you can ski 2 days, 9 days, 16 days.
For developing skiers, the extra ski days can make really big differences in learning.

My experiences are gained from returning to the same area in Austria. It would be interesting to hear of experiences from DIYers to other countries.

over the last ten years or so I have been skiing 2 or 3 times per season but last year I decided to go for 3 weeks ..by car..I got fed up with the feeling of being herded in airports at 4am for a 6.30am flight, waiting for other flights to arrive sat on expensive transfers and I found that my experiences put me off doing that.
The driving was easy so long as you are not in a rush and French a roads are great..no €70 e/w tolls I managed to sort out my accommodation quite easily and have found lots of sites where you can look before you set of ..if not the local tourist office will usually point you in the right direction I'm not like Dave as I like going to different places so this year I am doing 4 resorts/areas in France and Italy ..I can see the advantage in a season pass but I want to try out lots of places..besides I like travelling....The trip (travelling ) costs about £275 in ferries and fuel which compares well to 2 diy flights and transfers..especially as there is no ski carriage surcharge :-o

Thanks Daved,
We have also done the driving method. It is a looong journey from Scotland to the Alps. And back.

On one route, with my OH, skied in France, then Klosters, Davos, the Dolomites, then on into Tyrol. I also drove through the back roads of France. On that trip, as I recall, the lift pass costs were the biggest hit.

On another drive, I collected my ski buddy, (RIP), in the midlands, and we drove/skied through France and Switzerland to Tyrol, where we stayed for half a season. Our Tyrol lift pass and our accommodation cost less than the all the other locations combined.

One other aspect, related to accommodation, is that where I can, I choose to stay where you have to speak the local language ~ this adds another skill area.

I agree with your airport herding feelings, but it replaces a minimum 24 hour drive for me! Also, with my flight times, I can just make the last run on the first day, and I can ski the morning of my departure day!