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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, a flight comparison site like Cheapflights 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.