Snowboard Club UK

Abroad - 1st board holiday

br4m - Mar 30, 2008 - 12:47 PM
Post subject: 1st board holiday

hey

looking to go away boarding for a week in december/january need some advice on when is the best time to go, who to book with, and most importantly, where to go! dont have a clue about it lol

must be cheap tho as my bro is comin, a decent nightlife if possible, good snow and plenty of it, and some good intermediate runs

i no im askin alot lol

thanks alot

Markland - Mar 30, 2008 - 01:16 PM
Post subject: RE: 1st board holiday

If you want cheap with good cheap nightlife then eastern european resorts such as Bansko in Bulgaria where i went in january is good but id only go for a week as its quite small it has lots of snow cannons so nearly always good snow. You may find some cheap holidays in western europe such as france in avoriaz, chamonix where nightlife is good but can be expensive. To book id go on www.thomascook.com or www.crystalski.co.uk, just put in google ski holidays and you will find loads.

Jeff-Pelling - Mar 30, 2008 - 02:39 PM
Post subject: RE: 1st board holiday

Don't go during school holidays if possible. You can go with a tour operator, sure, but there are lots of places listed here that give discounts to SCUK members (only 15 quid). Give dragonlodge.com in tignes a look.

Local knowledge is priceless and you don't always get that with an 18 year old crystal rep fresh out of Repton.

eldi - Mar 30, 2008 - 04:25 PM
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lol snow cannons dont make good snow

PriceR - Apr 13, 2008 - 03:30 PM
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Andorra, Pas del la Casa is also another cheap option. It's a tax free principality. Managed to save myself a ton of cash when I bought my board, boots and bindings. Booze is silly cheap. If I'm not mistaken I think it's cheaper than airport duty free. Night life is a blast. Shots are really cheap and they were giving them away. Hazy memories of some kinda promotional thing (probably to make sure you come back for another night).

The terrain will suit your needs. Enough to keep you occupied for your 1st week. Not as quaint or posh as some of the resorts in the Alps but you'll usually pay more over that way.

Keep your eyes open for last minute and cheap deals if you can. Went to La Clusaz with Skitopia -

Flights
Transfers
Catered full board chalet - 3 course dinner, breakfast and a buffet table for making sarnis for lunch
Rental gear
Lift pass
Unlimited local beer and wine!!!

All for 450 quid. With all of that I could gone easily the whole week without spending any money.

Plissken - Apr 14, 2008 - 04:39 PM
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Christmas and New Year's weeks are pretty much the most expensive weeks of the season, bar feb half term, so look at departing between 3/4th Jan and 1st week of feb if you want cheap stuff.

There's always heaps of deals for most of Jan as everyone has just gone back to work/school/uni, so unless you want to go for New Year's, wait until at least december before booking.

Crystal had deals to Austria (mayrhofen, Zell, etc) for under £150 B+B this year.

JonnyGRanger - Apr 28, 2008 - 06:32 PM
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Levi in Finland.
I'd say Yllas but the nightlife is non-existant. Going to Yllas with the girlfriend next year, it'll be very romantic and rather devoid of boarders as most people in Finland ski.

deafgeoff - Apr 29, 2008 - 11:22 PM
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Bansko is a building site, and the lift passes are standard european prices but without the area. Good laugh, but not what I was expecting really. I've not done France, but Italy and especially Austria are excellent options with quaintness and rockin nightlife (Austria). Mayrhofen offers a massive area with the Hintertux glacier at one end of the valley and more varied terrain then you could wish for. Obertauern is a high and snowsure Austrian optin that is simply superb in all respects: long cruising reds; easy-to-access off piste and a great park. Not sure about the nightlife there tho, as we ended up staying in a hamlet on the bus route and there are no late night return buses; Zell am See has the Kitzsteinhorn glacier to hand, and is cute and rockin all in one - and VERY easy to get to if you're goin independent.

AvastMcTimbers - Apr 30, 2008 - 10:14 AM
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A group of four of us (two boarders and two skiiers) went to Borovets in Bulgaria this January from the 12th to the 19th.

As a first holiday I'd certainly recomend it, we started off the first few days on the easier runs opposite the Hotel Rila, then by the end of the week we were up on the Gondolla every day.

Food was ok, rather basic but then you'd expect it from Bulgaria. It was cheap (£4 per person for a two course meal) and drinks were very reasonable (£1.50-£2.50) depending on where you were drinking.

All in all the Holiday was £389 (I think, the wife paid for it for me as a birthday present) and the resort was not that busy during the time we went. We queued for about 3 mins (at the longest) for the main lifts and for about 10-15mins for the Gondola in the morning, and at non peak times (9-11 and 3-4) you could literally walk straight on the the gondola.

lukepaull - May 17, 2008 - 07:26 PM
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I would reccommend Morzine/Avoriaz.......avoriaz is a brilliant place to ski/board..with loads of runs (largest ski area)..with loads of parks/pipe etc.....morzine is the town you would stay in..the night life is excellent..but not with the expensive prices of places like chamonix/tignes etc.......

if your looking for somewhere cheap and quality to stay..check out www.eazyriderz.com....(the website is under some construction..cheak in about a week)...they offer prices as low as £32 per night.. I know the guys that run it..and there place is real quality and right in the centre of town..cant beat it!!!

winterfunman - May 17, 2008 - 09:05 PM
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deafgeoff ...he is looking for a cheap FIRST TIME SNOW holiday , so bansko is an ideal place for him , lift passes are chesaper than most of europe for the same time , building site /area slowing down nicely now , great place in summer too.............so br4m you can nbook acheap flight with wizz air or easy jet , and www.methodsnowschool.com can do lessons , accomodation etc etc all in ....make you own package , and if /when you are in bansko giv me a hollow and we can share sum beer and i will show you the town / night life / deals etc etc ......... off piste is good too , if you are a good boarder or skier

lukepaull - Jun 12, 2008 - 09:58 PM
Post subject: cheap self catering accomodation in morzine

check out www.eazyriderz.com for fantastic prices.

little-miss - Jun 14, 2008 - 02:04 PM
Post subject: RE: cheap self catering accomodation in morzine

heya, slovakia is good at this time of year..went again this year in april and was covered and boiling! you may want to have a look at www.propagandasnowboards.com as they do a package and the house is close to the resort (Jasna). Dead nice peeps, cheap beer, loads of runs...

bartiebat - Jun 16, 2008 - 03:54 PM
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We went to Pas for our 1st trip, the runs are gentle, so it takes no time at all to be able to ride from the top of the mountain to your hotel bar at the bottom. Taken new people each year to different places - La Thuille, Banff, Mayrhofen, Serre Chevalier, but we went back to Pas again 2 years ago as we had 6 people on there 1st trip & it's definitely the place I'd recommend to get confident & never too far from a beer Very Happy

Consider (as everyone's mentioned) your Bulgaria's, Slovenias & Polands too as heard lots of positive things from 1st timers. Fortunately it seems the cheaper the resort the better it is for your 1st time as the runs will generally be nice & short, you'll get a buzz from riding top to bottom, it won't be too busy & everyone will be tootling about at a similar pace to you. Mayrhofen is lovely, but I think it's a waste for you 1st trip - keep it for your 2nd or 3rd to really appreciate it imo. There again, it's always cheap enough to go back again another year Smile

Is it just me or does 6 months seem like an age away?!!!!

oopalley - Jul 04, 2008 - 02:43 PM
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Best time is around the 2nd week in Jan if you want to keep costs down - it's usually one of the cheapest and you have a better chance of snow than December when it can be a bit thin at the start of the season. New Year week will be stupid prices.

France is relatively cheap/quick to get to but if you want to eat/drink out a lot the costs can quickly add up so keep it in mind. However if you don't mind self catering and eating in the supermarkets are generally a bit cheaper for decent quality food and wine/beer is so cheap you wonder why they bother to charge at all!

For your 1st trip you could do well to look at smaller less well know resorts - your not going to need a huge area to get the most out of your trip. I rate Les Contamines but it's a few years since I've been over that way so it could have changed.

Have fun!

Jo