Five Reasons To Travel To Your Ski Holiday Resort By Coach
Guest Blog by Patrick Thorne
Although (or perhaps because) it offers the cheapest way to go skiing, coach travel can be seen as the poor relation of flying, or even self-drive or rail to the Alps.
But that can be a mistake if you’re prepared to consider the full realities, and benefits, of going on your ski holiday by coach.
1: It’s Cheap
OK, for most people it’s the number one reason, although I hope you’ll read on to the other four! There’s no real way of going skiing more cheaply than on a coach holiday. SkiWeekends.com offer three day half-board holidays from around £200 – so that’s your travel, food and accommodation all included.
Add to this the savings compared to the cost of travelling through airports if you go by air, with everything from a cup of coffee to ski carriage costing more, and the savings are multiplied.
2: It’s Less Hassle
Let’s see, a typical holiday by air involves getting your cases in to the car or taxi or public transport to get to the airport, the long queue to check in with inevitable argument about whether your bag is over the miserly weight limit, the long queue for security, hanging around in departures, the squeeze on the plane, flight, the squeeze off the pane, will your baggage have made it? Wait for the transfer, load cases on to bus/taxi/rental car, transfer …and you’re there!
Set against that the coach trip where you essentially get on the coach (after a maximum 30 minute, rather than two hour check in time) and stay on the coach apart from food and drink stops, and unless you have an insane amount of luggage won’t be bothered by any baggage checks and essentially the coach is much less hassle.
If you live south of London you don’t have to go north to get to the airport either but can hop on at convenient pick up points en route to, and at, the Channel.
SkiWeekends.com coaches travel though the Channel Tunnel so there’s almost no stopping at either side and you stay with the coach through the tunnel. The whole process takes only about 35 minutes.
Oh and if you’ve got a fear of flying, it’s a no brainer.
3: You Get More Slope Time
Coach travel is usually overnight, you get on in the evening you get up the next morning and, after a good breakfast, you go skiing or boarding.
This can mean squeezing eight days on the slopes out of what is for most people a six day ski holiday – that’s a third more skiing holiday yet magically paying less to go by coach! (OK you may have to pay a small amount more for your lift pass)
To do that you need to travel overnight Friday/Saturday so you arrive in resort around 9.30am and you’re skiing Saturday morning with your first night in your hotel or apartment that evening. Stay seven night, ski the following Saturday and head home Saturday/Sunday.
The ski holiday by air equivalent often involves travelling almost as long a time – perhaps getting up at 2 or 3 am to get to the airport 4 or 5 am to get a 6 or 7am flight. But by the time you’ve got to the European airport, transferred and checked in it will usually be mid afternoon and the skiing day is lost.
4: It’s comfy.
Companies like SkiWeekends.com are constantly investing in ever better buses and have a new fleet this year.
Standard seats have adjustable back rests, lap seat belts, individual reading light and air conditioning and the buses have a hot/cold drinks facility, washroom and a colour TV/DVD with films on route.
For a small additional fee Club Class Seats have all that plus extra leg room, increased recline and come with a complimentary neck pillow.
5: It’s better for the environment.
Some studies have found the efficient coach travel actually produces equivalent of less CO2 per person than rail – in any case both are far, far more environmentally friendly than flying to your ski resort.
Although most French trains are low CO2 emitters thanks to nuclear or green electric power, on our side of the Chunnel there are still dirty diesels operating alas so the first leg of your rail journey may not be as ‘green’ as you hope.
In any case coach travel emits around 10% of the CO2 per passenger compared to flying, something to think about particularly if you’re lucky enough to be a frequent skiers and want to do your bit to save our snow for longer.
Patrick Thorne
