Package holiday or DIY?

Given that the packge ski holidays will be going on sale over next month or two........how do you book your ski trips? With a well known tour operator as a package or directly with your chosen accommodation and arrange flights and transfers yourself?

Just interested to see as we all want the cheapest deals in the current climate.

Depends if you're comfortable going DIY I suppose. I went DIY and managed to get a week in Chamonix for 5 including ski hire and lift pass for around £450, with a self catering apartment, and a weeks car hire.

I looked at a few TO's and they wanted £600 for flights transfers and hotel.

I didn't really shop around, but I'm not sure if an agent could match what I've managed.

I like making the trip my own by choosing everything myself, but if any one thing fails then it potentially ruins the holiday. That's a risk I'm willing to take. You might not want to.

When we go to Europe we tend to use package tours. When we go to North America we DIY as the tour companies think that a 4 person room is one bedroom and a sofa bed in the lounge or you pay for under utilised space if ony two of you. We got stung by Inghams on this and despite verbal ( sadly not written ) confirmation we ended up on sofabeds for the first night ( not fun with a male friend who snores like Concorde taking off). It was the hotel that finally made everything right for us.
We are DIYing to Big White this season and have a 6 person condo with hottub, ensuite bathrooms for £400 each for 4 of us for 2 weeks. Flight to Kelowna via Vancouver cost us £630 each.
I am not saying that all tour companies do this but all that we have tried do charge for under utilised rooms.
Hope this helps.

If of any interest but I suspect most of you will know, Inghams is on sale for 09/10 and Crystal/Thomson go on sale on 17th Dec.

I don't think there is a straight answer to this one. DIY can give you a much wider range of options and provided your flexible can save you money. Especially useful for mid-term weeks when the TOs will rip you off big time :evil:. By going DIY, you can often eliminate the TO loading.

At other times, discounted packages from TOs can be great value. Things like transfers, flight baggage supplements, etc, can quickly erode the savings to be made by going DIY.

We have done both over the years and although DIY means no waiting around for transfer coaches, etc. our best bargains have always been with TO packages. We tend to book last minute which also helps. TO packages often include things like drinks/coffee included with evening meals which can make quite a difference if on a very tight budget - as our children are! Also they sometimes offer ski hosting which is a great way to get to know all the other chalet/ hotel guests when we go on our own.

I'm going DIY this year because for a little less money I can get a much nicer self-catering apartment. The only downside is that I'm going to have to drive a hire car up a mountain (hope it's not snowing that day!). Then again I get the chance to load up with supplies in a proper supermarket on route.

Swings and roundabouts really - the main thing to consider is the transfer from the airport because the transfers can be very expensive.

I am also hoping to pick up a package at the end of the season - this might be a year for a bargain if the doom and gloom mongers are to be believed in the papers.

Experience tells me that if you are going to a regular or mainstream resort, do a package but shop around for the right deal. I have never ever ever been able to DIY to the places I have been for anything close to what I paid for the packages. Having said that, I have always got reduced deals so its possible to go cheaper than brochure prices for sure.

Upside to DIY - pick your airport, flights, times, and possibly have a better choice of accommodation

Downside - getting buses, trains, hiring cars instead of jumping on the waiting and heated transfer bus. Maybe I am the odd one out, but I have never had to wait around for transfers - you get off the plane, you get your cases, the rep gives you a bus number, you get on, and you get to your resort. Lovely. If you DIY, you may end up with long waits, trapsing luggage about, and big implications if there is a flight delay, especially a divert to another airport.

That said, I am going to Austria on 26th Dec DIY, but only because its only for 5 days.