 Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks for all the advice.
I've bit the bullet and booked a flexi fare return ferry.
Travelling Friday 29th March, return Sunday 7th April. So will look for Saturday to Saturday and stay in a cheap bnb overnight on each leg.
Plan on booking last minute and head for the snow.
Unless of course I see a deal too good to refuse.
Cheers all.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Boarderfarce,
We booked Les Arcs last minute last year, for that same week. We're booked to go back this year. This time we've booked different accommodation, but our 2 bed apartment in 1800 is still showing as availabile on VRBO for £475 for the week.
Check out this place in Arc-1800 I found on Vrbo: https://t.vrbo.io/tt3NusBmeGb
It was within a 5 minute walk to the lifts in 1800, and a 2 minute walk to the centre of Villards. Not high end and the outdoor pool is covered in snow, but small but perfectly formed with the Mille8 pool just a few minutes walk away. And cheap! Which is my main takeaway from your original post.
We'll be arriving in Les Arcs on Easter Saturday by train. Last year, we drove and opted to stay at a B&B Hotel branch in Auxerre. It's right opposite a Lidl so handy for morning pastries and stocking up before getting to resort. It was about halfway between Calais and Les Arcs.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@pam w, “ I think some Austrian resorts do good deals on family lift passes in April. Plenty of time for research!
One key means to keep costs down is an apartment where you can have lunch. Family lunches on the slopes are expensive!”
A family of my acquaintance today booked Saalbach at Easter, in preference to Les Menuires.
Family 6 day ski pass for four in Les Menuires: €1200
Two adult 6 day passes in Saalbach (children under 15 ski for free): €754
(And a filling gulasch soup with a bread roll on the mountain in Saalbach costs on average €8 )
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Family 6 day ski pass for four in Les Menuires: €1200
Two adult 6 day passes in Saalbach (children under 15 ski for free): €754
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I think this is for a 3 valleys pass rather than a Les Menuires pass, but still it is clear that a Saalbach pass is much less expensive. Having free lift passes for under 15s is amazing. I think the best I've seen for other resorts is under 8. At what age do us older skiers get a free pass?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
still it is clear that a Saalbach pass is much less expensiv
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It's not much less expensive than the Espace Diamant - I was surprised it was so much, even with free kids! An ED 6 day pass for parents and children is 794 euros, all season, even in school holidays, not just at the end of season¬ and that's for kids under 18. I suppose Saalbach, like the 3 Valleys, is a top class, expensive resort. We were all getting chicken nuggets and chips for lunch on several days in Les Saisies at Christmas, also about 8 - 9 euros. A coffee or soft drink added several euros a head though, and that's still a lot for a family of 4 for a week.
Resorts all have their pros and cons, but it's a myth that Austria is always going to be cheaper than France. But I did notice the cost of beers had gone up a lot since I was last paying attention. At least 4 euros for a small beer, and double for a big one! And that's not in a "top" resort.
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@pam w,” It's not much less expensive than the Espace Diamant - I was surprised it was so much, even with free kids!”
I haven’t done any comparisons, but it covers 408km of piste and includes Zell am See and the Kitzsteinhorn glacier at Kaprun (which of course comes into its own in April).
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| tatmanstours wrote: |
A family of my acquaintance today booked Saalbach at Easter, in preference to Les Menuires.
Family 6 day ski pass for four in Les Menuires: €1200
Two adult 6 day passes in Saalbach (children under 15 ski for free): €754 |
I have to say - that is a very good deal.
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Still not booked accommodation. Quite happy leaving it to the last minute with the weather.
Seriously thinking of val cenis for Easter. It's on our shortlist of a few resorts. Does anyone know what's it like for snowboarding.?
Looks like there are alot of drag lifts and read flat in Places.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Boarderfarce,
You wrote that you've already booked your channel crossing, but if there's flexibility to shift back a week then you might consider the Family Bash on 6th-13th April - self-catering, ski-in ski-out apartments with a pool, in the reliably snowy Val Thorens.
Quite do-able, it has worked well for us several times.
The dates don't work for all schools, though - our friends who's kids go to school in Gloucestershire can't do those dates
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@tomj, thanks. I have booked a flexible crossing and the kids will still be holiday. I'll take a look at the event now. Cheers
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Boarderfarce, I have been to Val Cenis in the first week of April. It was ok snow wise higher up, very slushy in the afternoons lower down. You definitely wouldn't want to do the green escargot on your board. Not sure about the rest as I'm a skiier not a boarder. It is an interesting resort with some nice mountain cafes but less cruisy than montgenevre for eg. I prefer Montgenevre overall.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@tomj, the family bash does look excellent. The accommodation looks really superb. Works out a little over budget unfortunately.
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@snowymum, not looked at Montgenevre yet another one to add to the list. Theses a spring skiing offer on in val cenis which means I can get a family of 4 ski pass for less than £700. Some very nice accommodation available for £800 therefore we can get a great holiday for £1500 which is very tempting
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You know it makes sense.
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@Boarderfarce, I'd recommend looking at Le Hameau des airelles in Montgenevre. Val Cenis would be ok if you are happy with your accommodation there.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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An update. We just booked our accommodation in Val Cenis. We will be staying in the chalet flambeau apartments. Not the cheapest option but still very reasonable considering it's a two bedroom fully furnished with an indoor pool and sauna etc. We paid just over £1600 for accommodation and lift passes for 4. The reason we booked is that I've been weather watching the resorts on our shortlist and the Haute Maurienne valley has had a massive dump of snow with more on the way this weekend. Plus we've not been there before so looking forward to trying something new.
As we are driving we'll also try skiing Bonneval sur arc for a day and possibly the other areas covered in the 6 day pass.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Boarderfarce wrote: |
An update. We just booked our accommodation in Val Cenis. We will be staying in the chalet flambeau apartments. Not the cheapest option but still very reasonable considering it's a two bedroom fully furnished with an indoor pool and sauna etc. We paid just over £1600 for accommodation and lift passes for 4. The reason we booked is that I've been weather watching the resorts on our shortlist and the Haute Maurienne valley has had a massive dump of snow with more on the way this weekend. Plus we've not been there before so looking forward to trying something new.
As we are driving we'll also try skiing Bonneval sur arc for a day and possibly the other areas covered in the 6 day
pass. |
Snow in Val Cenis is pretty good at present with more forecast in the coming days, and yes, you should try Bonneval while you’re there but go on a sunny/clear day to make the most of it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@andmelffion, great. What about the other resorts in the area coverd by the lift pass. Are they worth the trip?
There should be enough in val cenis to keep us happy for 5 days.
Are there any runs to avoid?
Looks like there's some nice tree runs just off the piste
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Boarderfarce, we have stayed in Les chalets de flambeau twice and it is good accommodation. I think all the apartments have south facing balconies with a good piste/Mountain View. The pool area is very nice. You can borrow fondue and raclette sets from the residence and order the fondue cheese etc from a local traiteur if I remember rightly. The very minor drawbacks were that it is a few mins walk from Lanslevillard not in the village itself and that the nearest lift doesn’t go up far so you have to ski down from it to take another lift further up the mountain. But definitely very good accommodation or at least it was when we went several years ago. As you say Val Cenis has benefited from the recent snow so should be good higher up. It can be slushy at the bottom at Easter
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@snowymum, great always good to have a recommendation. We will definitely do a racclette.
It looks like we should be able to ski back to the apartments depending on conditions.
Otherwise thinking it's a download via the gondola to lanslevillard and a bus back.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Boarderfarce wrote: |
@andmelffion, great. What about the other resorts in the area coverd by the lift pass. Are they worth the trip?
There should be enough in val cenis to keep us happy for 5 days.
Are there any runs to avoid?
Looks like there's some nice tree runs just off the piste |
There should be more than enough to keep you occupied in Val Cenis for 5 days and No particular runs to avoid, but if you ski over to Termignon you will likely need to get the chair back to Lanslebourg as the run back over can be a bit bare in patches.
We quite like Valfrejus and La Norma if you want to try somewhere different but not a fan of Aussois which is south facing so likely to be suffering from lack of snow in a few weeks.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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+1 for not doing the run back from Termignon. We nearly missed ski school pick up after attempting to ski it in sub optimal conditions!
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And we are off. Just got on the m25. Catching the 09.30 ferry from Dover. Looks like it could be a bit choppy on the ferry.
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Looks like you might be delayed for the ferry as being reported on GMB - will look out for you on telly. Extra passport checks by the French just in time for the easter rush. Typical.
Enjoy Val Cenis though - we had a great time there in Feb
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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We got to Dover at 7:40 and now in the cue. Let's see how it goes
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2 hours in the que and not got to border control or check in yet. If anyone else is heading over today via Dover leave plenty of time
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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funny fellows
Hope you get across soon
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Boarderfarce, it has been on the news that there are long delays at Dover due to 70mph winds overnight. Hope you get to border control and check in soon.
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Well we are waiting for the 14.25 ferry. Not a great start
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You know it makes sense.
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Just got to the hotel in Djion at 11pm local.. After a 4:30 am start. What a day. Could have been worse
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Boarderfarce wrote: |
| Just got to the hotel in Djion at 11pm local.. After a 4:30 am start. What a day. Could have been worse |
Did the Chunnel earlier in the month.
Don't think I could go back to the ferry after that experience.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I went on DFDS Dover to Calais for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was excellent. Good reasonably priced hot meal in self service restaurant and nice new ship - Cote D’Opale. The ship was a bit late leaving but arrived in Calais on time. No queues at all at Dover on a Friday lunchtime crossing. Obviously completely different when you hit bad weather on a bank holiday weekend.
We also use the tunnel sometimes but only if flexiplus is included.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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First day skiing lanslevillard val census today. We all ended up getting up early so we headed up on the 0940 lift. Rain was coming down hard at village level in lanslevillard. Above 1900m it turned to wet snow. Blowing wind and poor visibility. Had a long lunch and headed back out. Visibility improved a little and and was better low down
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Woke up to a dusting of snow in the village this morning. Welcome surprise after all the rain. Had a lovely morning on fresh pistes and blue sky's. Lunch with a t shirt and sunnies. Here in val cenis the Met lift opened early afternoon to take us to the top. About a foot of powder up top was a lovely first run in sunny conditions. Went back up for another run and the clouds and snow came in reducing vis to pea soup. Overall great day in mixed conditions. No complaints
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