How to book a ski trip…

There are two ways to book a skiing holiday:

1. Book with a ski company
2. ‘Roll’ your own

Both methods have their pros and cons….

Book with a ski company:

Pros:

1. You find where you want to go (or with which company you wish to travel) and you book – it may only take one call or internet booking form
2. The chances are they will be a number of ‘events’ laid on
3. The accommodation will be half-board
4. No worries about getting from the ski resort to the hotel/chalet
5. A host to look after you…

Cons:

1. You have no control over the when you fly, i.e. time of day
2. You have no real control over the airport from which you fly
3. You have no control of where you land (and therefore how long the transfer will be)
4. You have no control over the choice of chalet you will be staying in
5. You may spend a lot of time finding a company that takes you to the resort you want to go to
6. Trips can be costly

Some UK for ski companies are Crystal Ski Holidays, Expedia, Last Minute, Thomas Cook, Thomson, and Neilson.

‘Roll’ your own:

Basically, you book the flight, transfer, and hotel/chalet/apartment yourself.

Pros:

1. You have control over the when you fly, i.e. time of day
2. You have control over the airport from which you fly
3. You have control of where you land (and therefore how long the transfer will be)
4. You have control over the choice of chalet/hotel/apartment you will be staying in
5. It can work out cheaper

Cons:

1. You are looking at a minimum of 3 calls / internet booking sessions:
1. to book the flight
2. to book the transfer / car hire
3. to book the chalet / apartment / hotel
2. You are on your own, your will have to fend for yourself, there may be no ‘events’ or entertainment laid on

Some potential companies to try are:

Car hire: EasyCar, ebooker, Expedia, Holiday Autos, LastMinute.com, Sixt, Thrifty, Travelocity, British Airways Car Hire in Europe, and Opodo

Flights: Expedia, hlx, LastMinute, Thomson, KLM, and Opodo

Hotels: ebooker, Expedia, Hotel Connect, hotels.com, Thomson Hotels, and LastMinute

Trains: Trainline, Eurostar, International Rail, Rail Europe, and Railpass.com

Ferries: POFerries, and Cheap4Ferries

Insurance: American Express, ski-insurance.co.uk, Columbus, ebooker, Flexicover, and travel-insurance-online.com

Chalets/Cottages/Houses/Hostels: hostelbookers, and Euro Relais

The last trip, to France, we booked ourselves, last years ski trip was a ‘company’ job… This year, for Austria, we are doing the ‘book-it-yourself’ option….