Hello, im new - Need info please

Hi,

I havent been skiing for 3 years this coming winter so ive decided enough is enough. My girlfriend fractured a bone last time we went so I cant take her anymore so ive decided I want to go for a long weekend on my own somewhere, maybe Geneva>Chamonix or other close by resort.

Has anyone got any info they could pass on as to how I get a cheap deal for a single skier?
Do any sites cater for single skiers or am i best booking everything seperately?

I can get a cheap flight out of manchester, and probably get a bus from Geneva to a local resort, but how about cheap accomodation? I just want somewhere to sleep, not looking for luxury, quite the opposite!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Andy

Hi!
We went to Villars in the Vaud region January 05. My husband and I had a great time it is small but it is typically Swiss. It is also just under a one and a half hour drive from Geneva. If you fly into Geneva do not book a car on the french side with Europcar it will seem cheaper but if you have to drive in Switzerland you will need to purchase a vingnette and we were waiting for nearly 3 hours waiting in line for a car. their service is atrocious. We always get a good deal with Sixt and I booked ours with cartrawler.co.uk. Contact www.villars.ch for information on accomodation the web site is brilliant.There is also skiing nearby in Diableret. We used the Ski School Villars it is yellow and blue. If you go out of season book a collective lesson and even if there is just you there you will get a one to one lesson for the same price( just act dumb when booking). Your partner would enjoy the scenery she does not have to ski to enjoy herself.

:D hi,if you are looking to get away for four days or so please check out my link, i have just booked a long weekend for myself (going end of the month) with return flight from luton - geneva for £60.98p with Easyjet,and four days car hire through Autoeurope-0800 169 9797 for £84.Geneva airport is fine to drive from the french side as long as when you return you come off the A40 entering geneva and take the A411(this will take you into geneva centre and along by the lake back to the airport so you do not have to pay the 30euro charge for the luxury of driving down a 3mile stretch of swiss motorway).
But obviously where you decide to ski will depend on what time of year and where has the best conditions ,also your girlfriend should not put herself off skiing due to a previous accident as she will miss out on a great deal of fun.
many regards
jonG.

Hi!
Sorry I did not mean it to sound that it is difficult to drive from the French side. My family live in Geneva so I have used both sides often. However we have found in the past because it is cheaper to hire a car on the French side the queues are very long especially if you come off an Easyjet flight. We live in Belfast so we use EJ all the time and waiting for a good couple of hours to pick up your hire car in France is not fun. Also be aware unlike in Switzerland I believe the cars in France do not legally have to have winter tires on. You can drive into Geneva without a Vignette on certain roads but for the sake of 40ch it is not worth taking the risk of a fine as you must have it for the majority of roads. My husband always gets angry about this but it is provided with your rental agreement if you hire from the Swiss.

:D hi, thats ok,thats a good point about the hiring of cars on the french side, as you have to check for/request snow tyres and ask for snow chains to be supplied at extra cost.
many regards
jonG.

Hi

La Clusaz is just an hour from Geneva - so a fab destination for a weekend break as you can be on the slopes by lunchtime if you catch a morning flight.
Ther is also lots on offer for non-skiers if your girlfriend fancies a weekend in the fresh air!

Take a look at http://www.gravite.co.uk/weekends.php for more info on weekends

Cheers for the replies everyone.

I wont be taking the misses, she defo cant ski, and to be honest, id feel awful leaving her on her own while im up the mountain, and furthermore, id rather go on my own (or with skiers) cos I can get a full day in every day during this short break.

Ive checked flights, they are cheap enough..

You can get Ski buses from the airport pretty frequently - do you have to book or can I just turn up??

Ive checked accom at Cham, and there seems to be an abundance for someone like myself, I could even stay in a "gite" for £10 a night!!!


I will now take a look at other nearby resorts such as La Clusaz, thanks for the link graviteski.

I will post back when ive had another look..

Just one more thing.... ive got a few holds to cram in before Xmas.... what chance of decent snow in december just as the season opens?????

Andy

I guess that Gite would be the Vagabond? For cheap and cheerful it's hard to beat - I think for 30 euros they will do half board too, and the food is pretty good. You do get what you pay for (a bunk) and it's not deluxe, but nice and friendly. British run so no language problems. It's pretty close to the train station as I remember so you can get about easily enough.

The other one is the Belvedere in Argentiere which is handy for Les Grands Montets (where I imagine you will be wanting to ride!) but I haven't been inside. Nice old building though. Allegedly you can also stay at the UCPA which again I haven't tried - I imagine you might need reasonable French for this.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/feb/03/saturday.chamonix.skiing

I'd book the airport bus as it does sometimes get busy - or a shared transfer can often be cheaper. Alpybus is the cheapest but have a bit of a reputation for not showing. There are plenty to choose from though. I've found Chamvan to be reliable. ATS let me down badly once, but have been OK the other 5/6 times. They are the biggest so sometimes the only option. Book transfers early because last minute seems to make them less reliable.

Early season, nowhere will be too busy so you might as well wait and see. Initial forecasts are good though. Maybe book the flights now, and then go to Chamonix if it's good (or wherever) with Tignes/ Zermatt as a backup plan? I've had good times there at Halloween, never mind early Dec.

hope this is handy