New Year Skiing

Hi Chaps....
looking for a family New Year Skiing trip, but we are a little lost on where to go etc.....we are looking at the 3 Valleys at the moment....has anyone any previous experience of being there over new year, what to book/full board/half/self catering??? We dont want to roll up and find all the restaurants or lifts shut or anything....

Also has anyone done this on the cheap? (£3000 being cheap at this time of year?)

Thanks in advance for all advice offered....
randyrat

Hi Randyrat

Welcome.
3 valleys has a good snow record for that time of year, but expect to pay premium rates wherever you go. How many of you are going as £3000 will probably 2 or at best 3 of you for a new year week in that area.
If you want to keep costs down, stop in St Martin de Belville or Meribel, but be prepared to make longer journeys to the slopes, which might not be what you want.
Courcheval and Val d'Isere have become stupidly expensive these days.

I would perhaps suggest you look to go elsewhere with a good snow record if you want to do it reasonably cost effectively, perhaps Austria? Bad Gastein is a great resort and with a superb record, as is Mayrhofen where I have been several times.

You might want to take a look at what skiworld have to offer on their website for catered chalets, so you know your costs for the week before you go. Eating out and buying drinks in 3 valleys is particularly expensive, although Les Arcs can be reasonbaly priced.

Hope this is useful.

As Tony says, you will probably struggle to find any cheap options whereever you choose to go.

I went to Austria a few years back (Zell am See) over the New Year and it was great. The Silvestre (New Years) festival is a big deal for the Austrians. The hotel I stayed in put on a 10, yes 10!, course dinner and had a live band on from about 9 until 2 in the morning. Instead of Auld Lang Syne, we were treated to a Strauss medley at midnight while outside a fantastic fireworks display lit up the mountain - spectaculor. Naturally, the Irish and Brits in the hotel proceeded to sing Auld Lang Syne at 1am on the basis that it was midnight at home. I think we proceeded to "ring in" the new year for the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland before calling it a night - New York would have been too much :wink:.

All that celebrating didn't do much for the skiing next morning, even though the slopes were delightfully empty - a quick snapps at 10.30am was needed to help the recovery :twisted:

Anyway that long winded story is designed to make you consider Austria at that time of the year (unlike some others on the site, I like skiing in France though I do agree that many of the resorts can be somewhat soulless.

Enjoy.

Eloquently put, Wanderer. Austria certainly has more style to it than France IMO. And less aggressive people at the lifts......

Thanks Wanderer/Tony H, having done a bit more research since posting, we may have to take a big hit in the wallet to get a ski over new year.
Best deal so far is via Equity, who will do a half board package for the four of us for a snip under 4K, to include flights, transfers,hire, lift pass, in fact everything apart from lunches.....a bit dearer than I expected......you can almost get a deal to Whistler for the same amount......maybe we should be looking across the pond?...
And yup...I know exactly what you mean about drinks etc....I was in Les Menuires in January....5 Euros for a Vin Chaud.....say no more.....
Cheers so far chaps.....
randyrat

Les Arcs 1800 isn't the most lively or charming ski resort in the world but we wanted a cheap new year getaway last year and managed to get an apartment with crystal for £1700 for the 4 of us.

Obviously we were dubious about the accommodation and resigned ourselves to slumming it but it turned out more than acceptable and the unobstructed view down to moutiers was worth a million dollars!

I would consider 4k for half board including lift passes to be EXPENSIVE. Keep shopping around, do googles searches on CHEAP skiing holidays, try bookableski, directski, etc and dont rush to book it yet!!!

Thanks Tony,
I will check those companies out....and don't worry....I'm in no rush at all to part with my hard earned.....
Cheers
nick