Package holiday or DIY?

We looked at booking things ourselves for our next trip and although we found some excellent accommodation where we could pay per chalet/apartment (rather than per person and suffer the room supplements) by the time you’d added on the flights (with the usual supplements for skis, luggage, wings on the plane :roll: etc.) and car hire/transfers it worked out about the same or in many cases more expensive than a package.

Also, the only flights we could find landed ~5pm and having never driven in snowy/icy Alpine conditions, we didn’t fancy the thought of a trek up a mountain in the pitch black. :shock:

However, if there are a bigger group of you (say 4+) the accommodation and car hire costs would be reduced dramatically per person so you may find you can save money. As others have said, there’s also the plus that with a car you can stock up at a supermarket en route, rather than buying in resort.

Good luck, whichever route you choose to go. :D

I personally prefer DIY because it gives me more flexibility, however, late/last minute bookings with TOs probably offer best value for money. There are some fantastic last minute bargains to be had, just gotta be prepared to book late. Good luck.

There are pro's and con's for both, it really depends on the individual, myself I normally drive one holiday and fly for the second but I do DIY both holidays. The reason is, I like planning an adventure and secondly I always feel ripped off by the tour operators, and thirdly over the years we have had drunks on the plane, people being sick on the transfer bus, all detracts from the tour operator experience. Not for me. :)

Ian Wickham wrote:There are pro's and con's for both, it really depends on the individual, myself I normally drive one holiday and fly for the second but I do DIY both holidays. The reason is, I like planning an adventure and secondly I always feel ripped off by the tour operators, and thirdly over the years we have had drunks on the plane, people being sick on the transfer bus, all detracts from the tour operator experience. Not for me. :)

I used to enjoy that, all that fantastic kit going into the car and the feeling of anticipation. In fact, we're blowing this gaffe next week and I supposed to be throwing all the kit that's crept back here into the car now and not typing this.....

ise wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:There are pro's and con's for both, it really depends on the individual, myself I normally drive one holiday and fly for the second but I do DIY both holidays. The reason is, I like planning an adventure and secondly I always feel ripped off by the tour operators, and thirdly over the years we have had drunks on the plane, people being sick on the transfer bus, all detracts from the tour operator experience. Not for me. :)

I used to enjoy that, all that fantastic kit going into the car and the feeling of anticipation. In fact, we're blowing this gaffe next week and I supposed to be throwing all the kit that's crept back here into the car now and not typing this.....

ise, where are you off to ????

I would definitely recommend first-timers use a package holiday set-up. There are so many things to know/learn and last minute hitches are not when you need to be tested on your problem solving abilitity; particularly in a different country with all the inherent difficulties this will present! Let the rep's/tour operators do it all for you.
Specific to the question: The key difference is tranfers; these are the true make or break apect of the holiday. When they happen the way they should you are assured of greatly reduced stress levels and can fully focus on what you travelled for in the first place, a damned good time.

Myself and my girlfriend will arrive Soll on 20/12/08 for 1 week.Austria is such a great place where, whatever your level of ability, you will enjoy a positive experience that hopefully will leave wanting more. For sure that is now the case with us where the ski-ing trip has now become our principal annual holiday. Last year had a brilliant time in Zell-Am-See. though the black runs tested us!!

Ian Wickham wrote:
ise, where are you off to ????

just the seasonal migration :D during the winter I live in Zinal full-time, in the summer we're down on the plateau as it's more convenient for Mrs Ise's work and & my summer commitments are a bit farther afield typically. It's just during the summer loads of stuff ends up drifting between the two places, there's a lot of kit I need, a surprising amount of books and maps and obviously clothing. One more round trip to fetch the cat and I can relax for a few weeks until the next trip )