With the winter Olympics taking place in Vancouver at the moment, we at Arinsal-Andorra.com would like to wish all participating athletes the best of luck, in particular the Andorran team who will be competing in the disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing and Snowboard.
Best of luck of course to Team GB, which is around 50 strong this year, and to the Republic of Ireland team who are competing in Alpine Skiing and Bobsleigh events.
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.
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.
Vallnord have announced the official opening and closing dates for this winter season as the 28th November and the 18th April respectively. As usual these are subject to change depending on snow conditions - last year the resorts opened early and closed late due to the excellent snow cover - and visitor numbers. These dates apply to Vallnord as a whole. Usually Arcalis opens slightly longer than Pal and Arinsal so Arinsal may shut a week before on April 11th. Remember that the resorts close in April because of a lack of customers, not because the snow has gone, and there has always been (even in relatively poor seasons) plenty of snow to ski on right up to the last day of the season.
The Big Snow Festival Update
2nd November 2009
As we mentioned previously, The Big Snow Festival is coming to Arinsal from 14th - 21st March. The festival lineup, headlined by Calvin Harris, has now been announced. We have posted it in our Forum, or you can click on the banners arround this site to visit the Festival Webpage.
Arinsal Price Freeze
29th October 2009
Vallnord have announced that all lift passes and ski/snowboard lessons this winter will remain at 2008/2009 prices in Arinsal, Pal and Arcalis. This means that an Adult Day pass will still cost 30.50€ low season and 36.00€ in high season. One hour's private ski lesson (1 - 2 people) will cost 38.00€ / 40.50€. You can see the full pricelist here.
Number One's Report
21st February 2010
I am so glad that half term week is over. I feel so sorry for the many families who have paid top price and received, perhaps the poorest service of the season. This week I had to take two groups and the classes were quite large due to the number of clients booked into ski school.
I noticed that there was a rush for breakfast and that the dining room was very crowded. The staff coped well with the extra numbers. Indeed they even added black pudding and hash browns to the breakfast menu. Then after breakfast there was a queue for the ski bus. When they arrived at the telecabine there was a queue to get on. The hire shop and yet another queue, however most of our guests got their equipment the previous evening. After the lesson there was a huge queue for the bars and restaurants. I usually advise the clients to go back to the village where they will find a good selection of bars serving quick lunches. This week a lot of the families took my advice after their experience on Monday.
In the early evenings there were a lot of people watching videos of their classes.. But of course, the footage was very much shorter than on other weeks as the camera men rushed around trying to catch all the extra classes. The evenings were very much quieter than usual. So much so, I was in bed every night by midnight, except one, when Mike was singing in the Palarine. (That is another story).
I realise that this is the only week that families with school age children can come skiing in February but I feel very sorry that due to the sheer numbers, we cannot deliver the service that we want to provide. I hope that they were not disappointed and that they may be able to visit us during a much quieter period when we can make their holiday a much more pleasant experience.
6th February 2010
My luck is definitely in this year.I had a wonderful group yet again. The men were of mixed ages; father and son, grandfather and grandson and Mike, aka Elvis, a local entertainer, of indeterminate years. The ladies were all lovely and liked to party.Some of them would have had a quicker time in the slalom race if they had enjoyed themselves just a little less in the evenings.They had a great time and I very much enjoyed their company.
I would like to mention one young lady, Debra, who arrived in the resort on Saturday and so was able to have a private lesson with me on Sunday.We progressed so well on the beginners’ lift that she was able to join my intermediate (1) on Monday morning. This returns me to one of my favourite topics; private or group lessons? There is absolutely no doubt that progression is much faster with private lesson..This week I had private lessons with two separate ladies, who were very timid and tense. They both would have hated the pressure and competitiveness of a group lesson..I honestly believe that they made great progress during their lessons. I am not against joining a collective class.It is ideal for some people.It gives you the opportunity to meet lots of other people and as Arinsal is a small and friendly resort, there is a huge chance that you will meet other class members in the evening. This all makes for a great social life.
Earlier in the week I was involved in m impromptu Malt Whisky tasting session, hosted by Graham at the Palarine. Stuart (BBA) sadly missed this event as he was enjoying one of his many evenings off.We are considering organising a tutored Malt Whisky Tasting Evening in March, when we will taste six classic malts.However, I am reminded of an old Scottish saying regarding whisky:
