I foolishly suggested to my family (wife, two teenagers) that all being well, we could look at spending a week in France over Christmas, skiing (to make up for the fact that we spent 5 weeks in a NZ winter and did not ski at all).
They are really taken with the idea, so now I have to make it a reality. :smack:
The fact is I have no idea where we should go. This will be our first big skiing holiday, and our first try at skiing in Europe. We are on a budget and want self-catering accommodation, and probably plan to drive (Dover to Calais ferry is pretty cheap at that time of year, and I don’t mind driving half way across France - better than driving in England). However, if the flights are cheap I’ll look at flying somewhere further across Europe.
My kids want to snowboard, I’ll ski, my wife is not yet sure. We won’t be into the Apre Ski nightlife too much, but may not ski every day. We also need to hire boots and skis/boards.
We have looked at Valmeinier and it seems ok - also La Plange. But I don’t know.
Any dopers with ideas, hints, suggestions I would appreciate them.
I have been to Alpe D’huez, Meribel/Megeve and Val D’Isere/Tignes. They were all good, but I recommend Tignes. The resort there (Espace Killy) is absolutely huge; it can take you half a day to ski from one end of the resort to the other. Plus we stayed at Les Campanules, which had really good food. A lot of the places actually at the resort do “half-board” where your breakfast and dinner is included.
In terms of doing it cheaply, I’d say look for a nearby-but-not-slopeside town and see if you can get a room there. You can’t beat slopeside for ease, though.
A lot of my UK mates go to Val d’Isere and swear by it. And a few have been to Andorra and loved that too. That’s all I’ve got as I’ve only skiied once (in NZ, but only one day).
Going to France for your ski holiday is great.
Chamonix and Morzine are both good. In Chamonix there are more ski apartments and hotels than chalets. The town is quite a fun place during winter. In Morzine you can book a chalet direct. Most of the chalets are quite close to the ski pistes.
Coming in to suggest Morzine too.
Lots of friends (and my family) love it. It’s close enough to Lyon and Geneva that flying is an option, as are non skiing day trips should you need a break from the slopes.
Andorra is the bargain basement skiing destination- if you have enough cash to go elsewhere, do. Paz de la Casa was fun with a big group of friends where the skiing was very much secondary to the drinking- can’t imagine it would be great for a family holiday with kids.
The 3 vallees will give you plenty of options. Val Thorens is the highest of the resorts and actually has a nice (artificial) main street with supermarket etc. Most French resorts are artificial (as in high rises in the middle of the slopes), unlike Austria, Italy and Switzerland where there are villages that have ski runs in the vicinity. Most skiing in France is top notvh, but there hasn’t been that much snow yet this year (so take a look at snowconditions).
I don’t know where you’re travelling from, but going to France can be ridiculously cheap here in the Netherlands (packagedeals for less than 100 euros including lift-passes, travel and accomodation). Whatever you do, buy multiday passes…discounts kick in pretty quickly (I’ve heard this isn’t that common on the other side of the Atlantic). Enjoy!
Huh, I forgot I ever started this thread, and I did get some good ideas out of it.
We went to Les Houches, just out of Chamonix, and had a good time, although the injury tally was high - sprained wrist (daughter), broken arm (wife), and a shoulder subluxation (me, but it didn’t stop me for more than a day).
2006 was not a great winter at christmas - very thin snow cover, so hitting tufts of grass was a bit of a problem. No-one has been too enthusiastic about going again (apart from me), so I’ll have to save up and go on my own sometime soon.
