Top ten tips to ski and save this winter
Directski.com, the online ski holiday specialist and the UK's fastest growing ski tour operator, has come up with the top ten ways to ski and save this winter. Book online from £199, get a day free by taking the train, or cut the cost of childcare and bring a granny. These are the hot tips to keep Britain skiing this winter.
Ski with friends
Tip: Take a ski apartment for 6 or more and the cost per person tumbles. Fill it with friends, set up a Facebook page or ask around for people to share.
A week's stay in the Residence Cybele in the Meribel Valley costs from only £199 per person from Manchester and £209 from Gatwick, based on 8 sharing an apartment on a self-catering basis and including return flights and transfers.
Value by train
Tip: Travel by train and save on airline excess luggage costs. The ski train from London to the Alps every Friday night also gives you an extra day’s skiing.
8 nights for the price of 7 by ski train costs from £419 for a week’s self-catering stay for 4 friends in the French Alps, including return train travel from St. Pancras and transfers.
Ski with a granny
Tip: Bring a relative to look after kids as it’s often cheaper to take an extra person than to use local nannies and kindergartens.
A week’s half board stay in a family room (2 Adults, 2 Children under 15 years) in the Hotel Schneeberger, Niederau, Austria costs from £395 per person, with flights and transfers.
DIY mountain lunch
Tip: Pop into the local supermarket or bakery for an inexpensive alternative to mountain restaurants. (Of course we wouldn’t suggest you snaffle from the hotel’s breakfast buffet).
A week’s skiing in Les Menuires in France, the home of the hypermarket, costs from £509 per person, with half board accommodation at the 3 Star Neige et Ciel, including buffet breakfast and dinner, return Gatwick flights and transfers.
Pay as you go
Tip: Book early and pay in instalments to break up the cost into affordable chunks.
A Directski.com self-catering holiday to France booked in October 2009 costs around £70 per person per month for travel in March 2009, based on a week’s stay for 4 in the Residence Cybele Apartments in the Meribel Valley, France including return Gatwick flights and transfers.
Ski an up and coming destination
Tip: Ski a less well-known, less expensive ski destination such as Slovenia.
A week’s skiing in the Slovene resort of Kranjska Gora costs from £429 per person with half board accommodation in the Hotel Alpina in Kranjska Gora, including Gatwick flights and transfers. Lift passes and après ski in Slovenia are also up to a third cheaper than mainstream Europe.
Book online
Tip: Avoid tour operator’s brochure marketing costs and travel agents’ commission and book online with an internet-only ski company.
Directski.com have only ever offered holidays online and never produced a brochure or expensive marketing materials. A week's stay in the French Alps with return Gatwick flights and transfers costs from £209 this winter.
Pre-book ski equipment hire
Tip: Pre-book ski tuition and equipment to save time in resort and get a fixed price on skis, boots, sticks and lift passes.
Ski pack prices are detailed on all resort pages at directski.com.
Think small, ski big
Tip: Choose a less well-known resort that rubs shoulders with the glitzy, big ski areas. Think Kirchberg not Kitzbuhel, Meribel Valley rather than Meribel town.
A week’s stay in Kirchberg costs from £309 per person, with return Gatwick flights and transfers. Manchester £339.
Beginner’s bargains
Tip: Learn to ski away from the bright lights of a top resort. Pick somewhere like Pas de la Casa in Andorra for cheaper equipment and learn to ski packages.
A week’s stay in the Sandi IV Apartments in Pas de la Casa costs from £249 per person, based on 4 sharing on a self catering basis, with return Gatwick flights and transfers. A learn to ski pack costs from £247, including 5 half days tuition, ski and boot hire and lift pass, compared with £379 for the ski pack in a more glamorous resort, such as Kitzbuhel.
For more information or to book deals mentioned, visit directski.com.