Booking a holiday....

Hi guys, Firstly Happy new year too you all.

I'm just looking for a bit of advice on booking a ski holiday. I have always used your typical ski company...Neilson, Crystal and a few others.
But as I have a bit more time on my hands before we want to go again (Next NYE) I was thinking of trying to save some money and book things myself.

How easy is it? Do you really save that much money?

I have a lot of things that are on my mind about the whole thing.

The ski rental for some of our group, the lift passes and transfers. Is it really easy enough to arrange?

If anyone has any advice on how to research some things or any companies that are tried and trusted please let me know.

Thanks

Its easy enough. First decide WHEN you want to go. Then just check skycanner for flights to the usual places ie Geneva, Grenoble, Turin etc etc. Then together with deciding where you want to go you can come up with the lists of how to get there. IE. For the Aosta valley you could either fly to Geneva or Turin. For Serre Che, Alp D, L2A, Sauze either Grenoble or Turin. etc etc. Decide on transfer options, either hire a car or use a transfer company...be careful some are expensive. You will find that prices go down if you are prepared to wait until the last minute...except flights which go up...its a balance. To be truthful most TO's are now quite competative and you may find there is only a few quid in it, but with To's you get it all done for you. Good luck

Ben, I don't know how cheap/expensive it is to go with a ski company but to book it yourself is easy (well, depending how many people in the group, of course).
I'd say decide WHEN and WHERE you want to go.
If you are going to Italy, you may find cheaper flights to Milan. It's then all motorway to Val d'Aosta (2 hours to Breuil-Cervinia, a bit longer to La Thuile or Courmayeur). However, Milan-Aosta is €30 (did it the other day, I wasn't expecting it to be that expensive)If you have a good tom-tom with European maps, you can use that and, if you go to VdA, avoid the motorway (longer but cheaper).
If your destination are the Dolomites, you are between 3 and 4.5hours from Milan. Innsbruck is your nearest airport, but car hire may be more expensive.
Once you've pin-pointed where you want to go, you can search on line for accommodation (appartments/hotel/B&B).
Ski hire should not be a problem, any ski resorts will have plenty of hire shops.
likewise for ski passes, you just get them at the ticket office.
The main thing is the transfer. If you hire a car it's easy, but if you rely on trains/buses ........... unless you go to Switzerland I am not sure how easy it would be to get to your destination in other countries.

Do you know roughly where you would like to go?

It all depends :shock: .

If you are travelling for a peak week, you can save a fair bit compared with the TOs who tend to load peak week prices :evil: . As you have indicated that you are thinking of a trip at New Year's, then it is worth checking out. Make sure you have good travel insurance as you are taking on the risk of missed flights, etc.

Flights - generally, the earlier you book the better. Be open to moving your travelling days to get the best prices but be careful as accommodation will be become tricky if you are not taking the standard Saturday - Saturday week. This can also let you organize an 8-day trip or longer provided you are able to find accommodation.

Transfers - these can be make or break for a DIY trip. Ideally, pick a resort that is relatively close to an airport - this website has an excellent page with details of distances from airports :D . Failing that, research ease of bus or train transfers but be careful as any delay in your flight could result in a missed connection. If you get the numbers right, a taxi transfer can be affordable and is much more flexible but can also be prohibitive :roll: .

Car hire can be a good option but you should always get winter tyres and chains. This can be difficult in some airports, especially France and Italy. Carhire also gives you a bit more flexibility in terms of where you stay as you can drive to the slopes - most resorts have large carparks beside the lifts - usually free though you might have to get there early to be sure of a space.

Accommodation - best, most centrally located properties tend to be expensive and book up fast. However, there are several booking websites that will let you search easily. The further out you are prepared to stay, the easier it will be to get accommodation.

Ski hire, lift passes, etc - these are all easily sorted out. Probably worth booking skis in advance to get the best deals but lift passes can be sorted out easily in resort (though it might involve a little bit of queuing)

Go with a tour operator. It's easy. They are hard to beat price wise and do everything for you.
Diy MAY save pennies but increase potential headaches.