 Poster: A snowHead
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Already planning for January 2024 as it will be my first time doing a ski trip completely DIY instead of package via Sunweb.
To start off, Sunweb is a great travel agent. However, a few problems I have with them are that the accommodation that I am interested in is not part of their listed hotels/apartments, and that their flights are all from LGW (and all easyjet). I get discounts with BA plus free airport parking at only LHR hence why I'll be DIYing from now on.
I Would like to know if anyone has flown BA to Innsbruck this January 2023?? I am checking the flights and the seats are already getting sold out!? Currently purchased a return ticket LHR-INN-LHR for £185pp, which compared to this year when I flew into Venice for Corvara is more expensive by £60 (£122pp LHR-VCE-LHR). Would the price go down? Thankfully I can still refund the ticket.
Secondly, I would like to ask everyone's opinion on the Sella Ronda and the Val Gardena ski area. This year was my first time in the Dolomites and it was outstanding; I loved the wide slopes, jaw-dropping views, the delicious food & drinks, and the hospitable people. In regards to skiing, I did the orange SR and explored most of Alta Badia, which I enjoyed. However, I did find the SR felt more like I was travelling from one place to another; the gondolas, whilst efficient & quick, was numerous so the circuit felt more disjointed than expected. Also there were quite a few chokepoints with crowds of people waiting for the gondolas. Together with the fear that I would get stuck somewhere away from my home base if I spent too much time in the other areas, I guess I felt kinda rushed & didn't enjoy myself as much as I planned. My question is whether anyone who comes to the Dolomites year after year do the SR every year? or if the Val Gardena area has enough runs to last 6 days? I've read about the Famous 8 runs such as La Longia, and cant wait to carve down them.
Thanks in advance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Adrii, sure you have already done this but just in case, I am looking at next year as well but waiting for more of Sunwebs range to come available. I am / have also looked at other options but the few I have found that feel look OK, when I then add in the lift pass end up feeling quite expensive.
Nb I have never taken there flight package options just accommodation inc lift pass.
For that route have you also checked on easyJet?
Another option is drive / taxi directly from Venice? Ryanair fly into Venice but haven't yet realised next seasons flights
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Adrii,
Flew to Salzburg in Jan this year.
Booked with Avios months ago.
Currently there are not as many scheduled flights as there was pre-covid & lots of people are quite stuck in their preferred holiday week & also other tour operators who block book BA seats for packaged holidays.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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It’s worth watching BA flights as they seem to fluctuate quite a bit. We needed flights to Turin for our NYs trip and when we first starting looking a few weeks ago BA was around £350pp (sat to sat over NYs). I checked again last week and suddenly they were down to around £70pp! So for 4 of us including baggage we’ve paid £420!
We’re also off to Corvara in late Jan, Venice was a lot cheaper than INN so we’re flying to VCE, again about £430 for 4 people inc baggage.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Off to Selva in Jan too. We are flying into Verona. BA flights from LGW are cheap and it's a 2-2.5hr drive to Selva. Also train/bus option. Maybe check if they fly LHR to Verona?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thank you all for the replies.
@NickyJ, I agree; didn't realise how expensive lift passes can be. I will still check Sunweb later in August for a backup plan as the hotel I have in mind doesn't offer rooms until October and is really popular. I also found that the company offers cheaper ski rental than directly booking with a shop.
I did check Venice and like this year, it is cheaper than Innsbruck. The problem is that the transfer to Selva is really expensive with a long duration. That being said, if anyone is staying in Alta Badia or Arraba, Venice is the preferred choice. Furthermore, Cortina Express coach service is an affordable transfer for around 45euro return if you don't mind coaching with others and a journey time of around 4 hours including a changeover in Cortina.
I live close to LHR, plus I get free airport parking so I would prefer to leave from LHR instead of LGW.
@Gored, Not sure if BA will be able to increase their operations as there are still not enough ground staff & crew to handle all the flights so it will still take a while to get back to pre-covid levels. There is also the fact that certain airports like Innsbruck can be used to get to other resorts like St Anton, Kitzbuhel, Mayrhofen etc...
@surferrosa, wow good catch on those NY & VCE tickets!! Ill also keep an eye on if the price comes down and hope I manage to catch them like yourself; thankfully I can get full refund on the tickets I bought. The only reason I bought them so early was because they were getting sold out (Although it could just be a marketing ruse...)
@Owls101, Thanks but last I check BA only fly to Verona from LGW. That being said, perhaps ill see you there 
Hope everyone have a good day & good luck to everyone on their plans
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@Adrii, regarding the scope of skiing in VG, there is plenty to get stuck into. It looks like you have already researched some of the runs and yes La longia is epic!
For a week you can easier spend a couple of days around the local area, have a day or two in Seiser Alm and one in the Seceder area. Both great places to explore (there is loads of info on here about routes if you search Val Gardena).
Personally I enjoy a whizz round the Sella Ronda and if you buy the area pass you could benefit from a stress free day in Val di Fassa (the runs to Pozza are great), which is only one valley away but I reckon you would still have a great time staying in VG if you don’t want the stress of travelling further afield.
At least if you run out of time at the end of the day, busses along the VG valley seemed fairly efficient.
Enjoy!
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| Adrii wrote: |
Secondly, I would like to ask everyone's opinion on the Sella Ronda and the Val Gardena ski area. This year was my first time in the Dolomites and it was outstanding; I loved the wide slopes, jaw-dropping views, the delicious food & drinks, and the hospitable people. In regards to skiing, I did the orange SR and explored most of Alta Badia, which I enjoyed. However, I did find the SR felt more like I was travelling from one place to another; the gondolas, whilst efficient & quick, was numerous so the circuit felt more disjointed than expected. Also there were quite a few chokepoints with crowds of people waiting for the gondolas. Together with the fear that I would get stuck somewhere away from my home base if I spent too much time in the other areas, I guess I felt kinda rushed & didn't enjoy myself as much as I planned. My question is whether anyone who comes to the Dolomites year after year do the SR every year? or if the Val Gardena area has enough runs to last 6 days? I've read about the Famous 8 runs such as La Longia, and cant wait to carve down them.
Thanks in advance. |
When we first did the SR we were also worried about timings and getting lost so rushed around it! I think this is a very normal feeling when exploring somewhere big & new, especially when you're a fair distance from home. But once you're familiar with the SR it becomes much easier and you can then use it as a way to visit other areas rather than a goal in it's own right. Our rules are basically - don't do go too far from home when there is wind forecast and allow an hour per side. we've spent maybe 5 weeks in the area and are going back next year as there is still places we haven't been to.
La Longia is my favourite run and on a good day we can ski there from Corvara, do La Longia a couple of times and come back via the anticlockwise SR with the back-up of coming clockwise back over the Selva pass if we need to. So you will not run out of skiing.
Selva is a pain to get to without a hire car so you either go TO, bite the bullet on private transfers or hire a car. This website can be used to calculate transfer costs so you can weigh look at total cost and pick the best airport https://www.taxiautosella.it/en/online-booking.html or we've used this UK based agent a couple of times who were great and responded to emails within a few minutes https://www.verona-airport-transfers.com/ Eur600 +£25 return Verona to Selva.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I'd suggest looking at Viaggi Gardena for a transfer to Selva. It's a husband (Alex, Italian) and wife (Nicky, English) operation with taxis and coaches. By the way, talking with her last week, there's snow on the roadside. . . . . .
https://www.viaggigardena.com/en/
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