Package or independent?

[thebluehen]

We have always booked ski holidays through Crystal Ski. I like the idea that if one part of the holiday falls down, Crystal will deal with it. However, we are considering booking everything independently to save on costs. We are flying so will need flights, transfers, hotel, lift passes and equipment hire. I am really worried that if the trains are on strike, for example, we end up paying for a private transfer and it ends up costing us more than had we booked a package in the first place, not to mention the stress. We are looking at Grindelwald in Switzerland. What are people's thoughts please?

DIY is good if you want to go for fewer days or move resorts etc.

It’s very easy to buy lift passes when you arrive. Just walk up to the pass office. Prebooking skis etc I guess you do yourself anyway.

Transfers are easy to book online and you can get quotes?

You can’t control the weather or cancellations tho so depends if you want to take a risk

We do independent, getting flights, car hire and an apartment all separately.... DH has a favourite resort in Austria where British tour companies don't tend to go.

Weve also done some package holiday trips and both times there have been major hiccups in the run up that would have left us screwed if it wasn't a package!

If you are experienced DIY is ok. If you are relatively knew, package is probably safest.

I used to book packages when I needed childcare companies but now we DIY.
I have perhaps been fortunate in that I have never had a major issue that required a tour company to step in (same with non skiing holidays except some more intrepid trips pre kids had the odd hiccup). I know in Covid it was an issue and also occasionally weather is an issue and you can get stranded at the airport or worse not able to get there. I’ve been stranded at Geneva a few times but we just got a hotel (often it’s all provided) and airline put us on the next flight.
swiss trains are known for their punctuality and reliability but I think I would have a flexible train ticket if buying in advance in case of flight delays. Otherwise it’s easy to find private transfers (in Switzerland they are very expensive so I’d stick to the train if it works for you).
I always buy and recharge my ski passes online the night before as where I go it’s cheaper than a walk up. Once I saved a fortune buying them early in October but that was in the happy pre Covid days and I don’t think it’s worth the risk now.
ski hire I do the same, check reviews and discounts and book myself.
Most people I know do ski holidays like this now. There is some chat about it on snowheads and sometimes you can get good deals with crystal etc. But I have the impression most DIY and many people also drive to the resorts as it saves money on the whole.

I’ve not heard of Swiss trains going on strike. But if that worries you, you could get a hire car instead.

I did independent to grindelwald a few years back. I've been over and back to Switzerland alot and never came across issues with trains. I've never actually booked a package ski holiday because of the cost issue and have never had issues booking independently. In short, go for it! If something goes awry, put it down to experience and go back to crystal the following year!

It depends very much on where you are going and if you can reach it using public transport. It’s no fun trying to fit snow chains on your hire car when you’re in a rush to get back to the airport, and the speeding fine we got in France - not sure how when it took us over 6 hrs for a 3 hr journey- cancelled out much in the way of savings.
I like using small companies- been with Pilaski a couple of times - as you get a more personal service and ski guiding, but obviously that’s a bit restrictive for destinations.

Funnily enough we are thinking of Grindelwald independently next year, but all the way by train. Swiss trains are very reliable.

More generally, we’ve gone skiing independently or semi independently for the last 12 years. Mainly because I don’t fly and mainstream operators cannot cope with someone who doesn’t want to go by plane. There are some companies that operate in specific resorts where you sort your own travel but they can arrange transfers, lift passes etc (although lift passes are the easiest, you just buy them online); we’ve used YSE Ski in Val d’Isere and Ski Champoluc in Champoluc, also Family Ski in France if you need childcare. My tip is find the website of the resort you want to go to, they’ll have lists of accommodation, ski schools, how to get there etc.

Did it independently this year and was 1/3 of cost (including our food/extras)…ground floor apartment with terrace into the slopes - train - was super easy. Won’t do with tour operator again - total rip off.