Shrewd ski savings

Temperatures are already falling in the Alps and if you want the price of your 2013/14 season ski holiday to fall too, driving to the slopes could be one easy solution.

With airlines ever-keen to slap hefty charges on extra baggage (something that is inevitable with a ski holiday), travelling by car could save families hundreds of pounds. Stuart McLeod of Zenith Holidays, an operator catering for ‘savvy’ skiers, explains: “This winter, we are seeing a significant increase in the number of people driving families to the slopes to cut costs. If we include free Channel ferry crossings, driving down to the Alps saves about £450 for a family of four, as opposed to flying and paying extra on baggage at check-in.”

At lesser-known French resorts like St Jean Montclar and Les 7 Laux, for example, a family of four could enjoy a self-catering apartment with Channel crossings and lift pass from around a total £920 per week – or about £1,290 if they chose a four-star apartment with access to a pool (about £324 each).

McLeod says many skiers will also catch trains to the ski resorts this winter – some on Eurostar, and some catching trains direct to the Alps. These trains leave Paris at 10pm on Friday nights and arrive on the slopes next morning, allowing skiers to sleep on the train then grab an extra day’s skiing on the Saturday, a day which would otherwise be lost waiting around at airports.

Not everyone can face the long car or rail trek across France, and for this reason Monarch Airlines has flights of barely two hours from Manchester, Gatwick and various regional airports into Italy, Spain, Germany and Austria. Monarch one-way flights into Munich, from Leeds Bradford, Luton and Manchester start at £39.99 (£83.98 return) with transfers to the resort of Kitzbuhel taking 90 minutes. Fares to Grenoble, from Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, Gatwick and Manchester start at £44.99 one way (£91.98 return) with transfers of two hours and 45 minutes to Val d’Isere.

There is more good news from the big operators too, keen to secure early sales at discounted prices, to avoid the risk of bigger discounts nearer departure date. For example, Crystal Ski, which covers 136 ski resorts in Europe, North America, Japan and Russia with regional departures from all major UK airports, offers a ‘buy one and get one half price’ deal on lift passes – saving up to £177. It applies on bookings by October 21 for departures between January 4 and February 9.

At Ski Solutions, deals include savings on accommodation in Whistler, free lift passes and discounts in Verbier and four-night all-inclusive breaks at Isola 2000, from £575 includes return flights ex-Gatwick December 12.

Zenith Holidays (0203 137 7678 and www.zenithholidays.co.uk); Monarch (0871 4234 8642 and www.monarch.co.uk); Crystal Ski (0871 231 2256 and www.crystalski.co.uk); Ski Solutions (0207 471 7749 and www.skisolutions.com); Ski Total (01483 791933 and www.skitotal.com); Esprit Ski (01483 791900 and www.espritski.com)