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Booking next winter's ski holiday

If you want to get the best possible deal for next season's ski holiday, now is a good time to start looking. You may not want to book right away, but it is worth researching some prices. Tour operator prices may well drop if you wait until the absolute last minute, but the days of the ridiculously cheap last minute deals seem to be over, perhaps because too many people were leaving it later and later to book. Many prices will go up nearer the time as well, depending on demand for a holiday.

The basic decision you need to make is whether to book with a tour operator or put together your own package. If you already know where you want to ski (Arinsal we hope) then price is probably the single biggest factor for most people, followed by convenience. You can stay in the same accommodation, and ski the same slopes whichever way you choose to book. You will probably, but not necessarily, find you can book things cheaper yourself than with the tour operator. Try comparing like with like, finding your own hotels and flights, and getting quotes from the tour company websites. Make sure you are clear on what the package includes, particularly regarding the ski pack and insurance which may be add-on extras on a tour company website. Packages may appear more convenient, but many people prefer the freedom and flexibility afforded by the D.I.Y. approach to booking a holiday, and it really isn't all that difficult.

Starting with the packages, here are all the tour operators we know of who are currently selling packages in Arinsal for next winter.

Neilson Active Holidays
Thomas Cook
Airtours
Inghams
First Choice
Topflight (Ireland)
Thompson
Crystal

Moving on to the self-booking option, here is a checklist of everything you need to allow for when pricing up your own package (and if booking with a tour operator, make sure all these are included as well).

• Hotels/apartments - use the hotel search tool to the left, or look at our accommodation page for hotel details.
• Flights - try the flight search on the left, or look at individual airlines. Bear in mind that most of the budget airlines have not yet released their schedules for next winter. This usually happens around June. You can fly to Toulouse, Barcelona, Gerona, Perpignon, Carcassonne or Reus. All are 3-4 hours drive.
• Transfers - Novatel run buses from Barcelona, Toulouse and Gerona. Or you could hire a car - see the Fly-Drive page for driving advice.
• Travel insurance, including winter sports cover. Remember that the EHIC card is not valid in Andorra as it is outside the EU. The comparison site, Quote Banana (as advertised on this site) is a good starting point but there are many insurance companies so look around. Even if you decide to travel with a tour company you might save money by organising your own insurance.
• Ski Pass - essential for all skiers/snowboarders. You can purchase it when you arrive in resort. See the Vallnord website for details. It is also worth registering for the Vallnord card (free from the same site) to get a discount.
• Ski/board hire - unless you have your own equipment you will need to hire it for the week. You can do this on arrival, but will probably get a better deal booking online with Skiset or Snowrental for example. Keep an eye on this site as we may be publishing some good deals on ski hire nearer to next season.
• Ski lessons - for beginners, ski lessons are absolutely essential. For everybody else they are still worthwhile and will enhance your enjoyment of the sport. Again, more details are on the Vallnord website.

The last three are often packaged together as a ski pack, both by tour companies and by some of the hotels. You can wait until much nearer the time to book them, but do allow for them when comparing package prices.

Reasons to come to Arinsal late in the season

Previous Articles:
What Do I Need To Bring? | A Weekend Away | DIY Travel | To Buy or To Rent? | Carving Skis Explained | Is it Better to Buy at Home or in Arinsal? | Accommodation Roundup | Travel Insurance | Skiing With Children | Ski School - A Third Way | What to expect at Christmas & New Year | A Brief History of Andorra

We are entering the second half of the winter season now, and after the half-term rush we expect the slopes to be a lot quieter. Many of our UK and Irish visitors seem surprised to discover that the resort will be open until mid-late April. There seems to be a perception amongst many people that the snow will disappear at the end of February. In fact Arinsal, like most European ski resorts, retains snow on the slopes until late April and often well into May. Often the best snow of the season falls in March and April, and when the resort does shut it is because we run out of customers, rather than snow.

There are many reasons why the second half of the season can be one of the best times to go skiing - here are just a few of them:

The days are longer
The slopes are quieter
The snow is more reliable then early season
Off piste the snow is generally more predictable and safer
The weather tends to be warmer and sunnier
The shops are having their end of season sales so it is a great time to pick up a bargain

Generally the conditions later in the season are what we describe as spring conditions. For the first hour or two of the day the snow is very firm. Then it softens up into perfect skiing conditions for the middle part of the day. Later on, in the mid-afternoon it tends to get a little slushy, and it is a nice time to sit on a terrace in the sun outside one of the restaurants - sipping a beer and watching the world go by on the slopes. For all these reasons, spring skiing is the best part of the season for many of us. The picture below was taken on Arinsal's closing weekend last year - as you can see there was no shortage of snow.