Hi,
I'm in desperate need of some skiing however like everyone else profits are way down this year so looking to do it on the cheap.
Can get flights from Leeds to Geneva departing Sun 11th Jan for £50 however not really sure whre to go or how to obtain cheap accomodation. Likely to be a mate and I going, possibly my son and I or maybe even just myself.
Anyone got any ideas?
Credit Crunch Ski Trip
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Should be pretty easy at that time of year, first thing to look at is transport, if it ends up just being you then car rental will be expensive so public transport might work better. That means Switzerland really, there's a station in the airport. For train into the resort, look at Villars or Leysin, they should be cheap. Since that doesn't need booking I'd not bother until near the date and get a last minute booking. That's best done with a call to the tourist office and get them to do it for you, less stress and hassle.
Some of that depends on your flight times. If you've time then you can look at trains to valley towns and then bus up to the ski station. There's the whole country to choose from then :D
What sort of rough outlines can you set? Hardcore off-piste? Motorway cruising? French or German speaking? Hotel, B&B, SC? etc
I'd get the flights booked while they're so cheap and sort the rest out later.
OTOH, if you do nothing then I'm sure tour operators will be knocking some deal out cheap although we've yet to see if they have surplus capacity, there's a feeling some have reduced capacity and that some will switch from the US to save money.
Yup. Bag those flights now, then kick back and wait - hold your nerve until the New Year! 8)
That week is going to be quiet - there will likely be plenty of accommodation available and there are a hundred ski resorts within an easy reach of Geneva.
The main variable in your planning will be the snow. You'll need to go high if the snows are late or sparse, but if they come early then your choice will be even wider.
Investigate transport now; if you're happy hiring a car then best to book one now - even on quiet weekends stock can be limited in January; hire from the Swiss side for ease (Swiss vignette and snow tyres included).
Oh, and start looking forward to it... January is one of my favourite times to ski; quiet slopes, usually good snow and reasonable prices.
The word on the street is that the Hire Cars at Geneva Airport Swiss side, are now located off site. Expect to catch a shuttle bus to a new rental garage to collect/deliver your car. The shuttle buses are quite small, so it could be a challenge if a plane load of skier's all try to get on one ) I'm not sure how long this will last for, or if it is permanent. There are ongoing building works at Geneva Airport.
I think you're right but the choice is between that and waiting to see if there's a cheap package deal nearer the time.
You could book the flights and then do something different, if you've a car then you could try and get a motel down in the valley like Sion for example. It may be cheaper and then use the car to visit different stations, like Crans Montanna , Haute Nendaz, Ovronnaz, Anzerre etc. Sion's nice in the evening, good restaurants etc and Crans is interesting as there's a funi' from Sierre in the valley to Crans so you don't need to drive up the road. Sometimes our roads get a bit hard core in the smaller valleys. For that matter Vercorin has a valley lift as well near Sierre.
For my money, if you're not going on a package then it's worth going places they don't go and seeing what it's like.
To Create or Answer a Topic
Started by Davidsa2 in Ski Chatter 29-Oct-2008 - 26 Replies
Davidsa2 posted Oct-2008
Ise
reply to 'Credit Crunch Ski Trip' posted Oct-2008
davidsa2 wrote:Hi,
I'm in desperate need of some skiing however like everyone else profits are way down this year so looking to do it on the cheap.
Can get flights from Leeds to Geneva departing Sun 11th Jan for £50 however not really sure whre to go or how to obtain cheap accomodation. Likely to be a mate and I going, possibly my son and I or maybe even just myself.
Anyone got any ideas?
Should be pretty easy at that time of year, first thing to look at is transport, if it ends up just being you then car rental will be expensive so public transport might work better. That means Switzerland really, there's a station in the airport. For train into the resort, look at Villars or Leysin, they should be cheap. Since that doesn't need booking I'd not bother until near the date and get a last minute booking. That's best done with a call to the tourist office and get them to do it for you, less stress and hassle.
Some of that depends on your flight times. If you've time then you can look at trains to valley towns and then bus up to the ski station. There's the whole country to choose from then :D
What sort of rough outlines can you set? Hardcore off-piste? Motorway cruising? French or German speaking? Hotel, B&B, SC? etc
I'd get the flights booked while they're so cheap and sort the rest out later.
OTOH, if you do nothing then I'm sure tour operators will be knocking some deal out cheap although we've yet to see if they have surplus capacity, there's a feeling some have reduced capacity and that some will switch from the US to save money.
Edited 1 time. Last update at 29-Oct-2008
Admin
reply to 'Credit Crunch Ski Trip' posted Oct-2008
davidsa2 wrote:Anyone got any ideas?
Yup. Bag those flights now, then kick back and wait - hold your nerve until the New Year! 8)
That week is going to be quiet - there will likely be plenty of accommodation available and there are a hundred ski resorts within an easy reach of Geneva.
The main variable in your planning will be the snow. You'll need to go high if the snows are late or sparse, but if they come early then your choice will be even wider.
Investigate transport now; if you're happy hiring a car then best to book one now - even on quiet weekends stock can be limited in January; hire from the Swiss side for ease (Swiss vignette and snow tyres included).
Oh, and start looking forward to it... January is one of my favourite times to ski; quiet slopes, usually good snow and reasonable prices.
The Admin Man
Bandit
reply to 'Credit Crunch Ski Trip' posted Oct-2008
Admin wrote:davidsa2 wrote:Anyone got any ideas?
Yup. Bag those flights now, then kick back and wait - hold your nerve until the New Year! 8)
Investigate transport now; if you're happy hiring a car then best to book one now - even on quiet weekends stock can be limited in January; hire from the Swiss side for ease (Swiss vignette and snow tyres included).
The word on the street is that the Hire Cars at Geneva Airport Swiss side, are now located off site. Expect to catch a shuttle bus to a new rental garage to collect/deliver your car. The shuttle buses are quite small, so it could be a challenge if a plane load of skier's all try to get on one ) I'm not sure how long this will last for, or if it is permanent. There are ongoing building works at Geneva Airport.
Davidmpires
reply to 'Credit Crunch Ski Trip' posted Oct-2008
Check ryanair they are making massive promotions on flights for comunication airports
Davidsa2
reply to 'Credit Crunch Ski Trip' posted Oct-2008
cheers guys all comments most helpful. I guess its just a matter of sorting out flights now and waiting until nearer the time to sort out some accomodation and transport. Have skied in January the last couple of years (Mayrhofen & Valmeinier)after 20 years off and found the snow plenty good enough on both occassions and the slopes relatively quiet.Can't wait to go again
Thanks again
Andrew
Thanks again
Andrew
Ise
reply to 'Credit Crunch Ski Trip' posted Oct-2008
davidsa2 wrote:cheers guys all comments most helpful. I guess its just a matter of sorting out flights now and waiting until nearer the time to sort out some accomodation and transport.
I think you're right but the choice is between that and waiting to see if there's a cheap package deal nearer the time.
You could book the flights and then do something different, if you've a car then you could try and get a motel down in the valley like Sion for example. It may be cheaper and then use the car to visit different stations, like Crans Montanna , Haute Nendaz, Ovronnaz, Anzerre etc. Sion's nice in the evening, good restaurants etc and Crans is interesting as there's a funi' from Sierre in the valley to Crans so you don't need to drive up the road. Sometimes our roads get a bit hard core in the smaller valleys. For that matter Vercorin has a valley lift as well near Sierre.
For my money, if you're not going on a package then it's worth going places they don't go and seeing what it's like.
Stack72
reply to 'Credit Crunch Ski Trip' posted Oct-2008
im in the same crunch here. can get 2 people to fly to Basel for 88gbp return but cant seem to find any hotels that will accept me for the dates - is it worth booking the flights and waiting till later in the year?
Topic last updated on 18-November-2008 at 12:36