Whose planning for this Winter?

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

DH currently pricing up what we can afford this winter... Not helped by only being able to go Christmas week!

Anyone else being optimistic and planning?

We have a long standing twice rearranged booking in Austria (was originally for a 40th with very nice half board spa hotel) but I’m considering changing it to Finland as it seems like the Finns might be more welcoming and less restrictive with testing/rules etc. I’m just not sure what to do 😩 I’ve been to Finland several times and loved it so happy with that choice but the whole covid testing is causing me headaches!!

Booked Val Thorens for Christmas week. Really hoping it goes ahead... but kids will me more upset than me if it doesn't! I'm not a great skier.🙈

Booked a week in Tignes Easter 2022. I was soooo sure that, after Easter 2020 got cancelled, skiing in 2021 would definitely happen. This time, I'm resigned to it probably being 50/50

I was getting hopeful but with:Austria introducing the 270 day post vaccine rule I’m not so sure now.
Ds’s school are planning to take their trip to Italy in January- a year late. I’m not sure that the kids will be vaccinated (Wales) so I’m still unsure whether or not that will happen.

I re-booked with Inghams as soon as my 2021 ski trip was cancelled. They fully refunded me in five days so that gave me the confidence to stick with them although I switched from Austria to Italy as I fancied trying a different resort.

Hopefully, the 2022 ski season will not be disrupted.

I returned to the UK with Covid on my last skiing holiday in early March 2020. We were lucky in many ways though as we had a great week in the snow. The resort closed two days after we left....

We have Easter booked in the French alps- because we've rolled it over for 2 years now!!!

I'm looking at my travel options. We're in the SE & I've done driving & flying previously.

Had Eurostar booked in 2020 which obviously didn't go ahead.

So I'll probably drive BUT my company car will change by then to a fully electric vehicle.

Has anyone driven an EV through France?

We’ve booked Italy for Christmas week but all fully refundable! Fingers crossed as we’re so excited.

We’re planning on going to Tignes at Easter, having initially booked for 2020 and then had the booking rolled over to 2021 and now to 2022. Will do self-drive so just need to book tunnel. Dh and I also hoping to get a week in January but I’m not confident we won’t see more Covid restrictions this winter, so it will be a last-minute booking.

Has anyone driven an EV through France?
A relative of mine did. So bad it almost ended in divorce apparently.

There are loads of threads on snowheads about driving electric vehicles. Apparently the autoroute charging stops can get very busy at peak times and the turnover is slow (the Dutch are apparently often the culprits if you might overlap with their school holidays! ) apparently it adds a lot of time to the drive as well as the delay from peak weeks.

PS will probably eat my words but for those able to be vaccinated I am feeling tentatively more positive about getting some skiing this coming season. Here’s hoping…
Ps I also read somewhere Austria have extended the rule above to 360 days

We're dithering and haven't committed to anything yet. We went away over the summer and I'm really glad we went, but I was really stressed about it before we went and there's a part of me that doesn't want to book anything else at the moment, because ultimately it's just stressful wondering if we'll be able to go, wondering if the resort will have a fucking Covid outbreak, that we'll be locked down again over the Christmas holidays as a 'firebreak'. Argh! I just want things to go back to normal

@zafferana I know... there is still a long way to go

Got new year in the french apps booked for new year, rolled over from last year, then Easter in the same place. Looks like we will only give over 12’s one jab and it looks like France require 2 for Pfizer so might not be able to go……. If anyone has further info on this, please do shout!

I think France are also ok with negative test in the last 72 hours so as long as your teens won’t object to regular testing, it should still be doable. Unless something changes, which let’s face it is pretty likely between now and Feb. We also have a teen in our party but their parents seem to think it’ll be okay!

Yeah I'd enquire with local pharmacies if they do walk in testing or if you need to schedule appointments for this. Could just be a case of a couple of tests over the course of a week and it saves the holiday?

There was a rumour on Twitter yesterday (retweeted by Kirstie Allsop), that France are going to require over 12s to be vaccinated this winter.

We have Austria booked for Feb half term, DC are 8 & 10 so fortunately not covered by vaccines rules. I think there's about a 70% chance we'll go but who knows!

We've booked Val Thorens over Christmas. Thankfully we are in Ireland so kids will be vaccinated, although it will be tight with DS who is not 12 til Nov. We normally book separately but went full package deal this time just in case anything goes wrong.

In France, the passe sanitaire was always going to be extended to 12+ after the summer, so they cannot eat in restaurants, visit cultural sites, take a train etc without proof of vaccination. At the moment it doesn’t apply to ski lifts but I can see how this may well change. Apparently it is being mooted for 16+ in CH. In France if 12+ aren’t double vaccinated they will have to keep taking tests to prove they are negative. I don’t share Kirstie’s concerns for the future of French tourism; I think the French will do fine if British families with teenagers are excluded because there are plenty of other people who will be able to produce a valid passe sanitaire, everyone else in Europe, US, Canada and UK families with younger kids.

Yes! We're committing big time after not skiing since January 2020.
We are going to do a long weekend in Val Thorens in last November to try to remember how to ski.
And are skiing in Colorado over Christmas and New Year, and in Megeve in late January.
We have never skied outside Europe before but DS 1 is doing a year at university in Boulder so we are going there (DH is dual national US/UK so we have different conditions for entry/covid management etc compared to a family of UK nationals)
Haven't booked anything that isn't fully cancellable though.

You’re in for a treat with Colorado @WellWoman! It’s nothing like the crowded narrow pistes in Europe, you can ski just about anywhere within the boundaries of the resort and if you’re somewhere like Vail then the powder bowls are truly something else. The only problem you’ll have is that Megeve will seem rubbish afterwards, and that’s not trashing it at all because it’s great, just that Colorado skiing is so good pretty much everywhere else falls short in comparison.

@LakeShoreD, oh thank, that's very good to hear.

I have been put off north American skiing before because I love the European experience - the charming Alpine buildings and all the amazing food and drink up the mountain. I know we won't get any of that in the US, but I am excited about the skiing.

Am already trying to get ski fit to be able to make the most of this season.

Haven't been on a piste since Januray 2020. Seems like a lifetime ago!

Where are you going? I’ve had some amazing meals in US ski resorts, once had a mini raclette just as a starter. The apres is a different flavour but there’s always light beer in the hot tub, or weed if that’s your thing since CO is a legal state! Just watch the altitude because it’s much higher and I got so sick one year flying straight from Chicago to Eagle. But if you fly to Denver and drive it’ll be fine. I am so jealous of you, I can’t wait to go back!

We’re havering around, watching AirHints to see if there’ll be anything affordable for a dash over for a week in the Pyrenees just after Christmas. We came back from there in Feb 2020 in The Before Times and it’s incredible that it’ll be nearly two years…