European budget travel news

PV Holidays offer massive early booking discount on apartments

2009-10-31T22:21:00.009Z

PV Holidays has over 100 residences in over 40 Winter Sports Resorts. The apartment chain has over 50,000 apartments, located across the whole of France. An earlier post pointed out that the economic recession had lead to some great deals being made available.
What does this mean in practice? Well, PV Holidays have 20% discount on apartments booked before 19 December 2009. As an added incentive to UK Winter Sports enthusiasts hit by a weak pound / strong euro they are offering an additional 15% off their bookings. You will need to use the offer code "8258" when booking.
Other offers include an extra free night on weeks booked for Christmas 2009 and 4 nights for the price of 3 on short breaks. It means that a week at PV Group apartment at a ski resort start at just €155.98 for a week in a studio. As good a reason as any, to get your snowboard or skis serviced and book an apartment before the 19th of December. Before the UK announces it's coming out of the recession and demand picks up.

Coach travel to the pistes

2009-10-25T19:51:00.010Z

I have rented an apartment in Chamonix. It should be my home for 5 months, from December 2009. Hopefully, I will be able to spend some time snowboarding around Chamonix. The mountains must be made of some sort of rock that acts a magnet and I am being irresistibly pulled there.
My eldest son would like to come out at February Half Term, but has found that the transport options are not cheap. My searches have found train and bus services that run directly to the middle of Chamonix and allow free transport of bags and snowboards / skis. I will concentrate on bus travel now and publish the train options in another post.

Travelling by coach;, prices are very competitive starting at £79 one way and £99 return. This mode of transport also has the advantage of having a lower carbon footprint than air or car travel.
Eurolines runs services directly to Chamonix and the following ski resorts:

Cluses
Chamonix
Argentiere
Moutiers
Aime
Bourg-St-Maurice
Tignes Le Lac
Tignes Val Claret
Val d'Isere

Special Offers
Currently, there is an additional offer of £10 off your trip, just you use the Voucher Code:

SKITEN

This is valid until 15 November 2009. Terms and conditions apply including an exclusion period of February Half Term! However they also offer a reduced fare for anyone travelling by National Express / Eurolines to London of only £15 (not available with the voucher code offer), so I was able to find a fare of £114 return (Chester - Chamonix) for February Half Term travel, which I think is a very good deal indeed.

Winter Ski prices slashed

2009-08-05T10:22:00.004+01:00

With the Pound at a historic low against the Euro, coupled with the severe credit crunch, it was hardly good news for Brits wanting to enjoy the excellent snow last Winter. I can`t wait to ride my snowboard in the Alps again. The good news is that bookings are open for ski resorts for 2009/2010 and there are some very good early booking offers. P&V Holidays, the operator of apartments and hotels in most French Ski Resorts have at least 22% off all Dates, all Resorts. Up to 45% off!. Book during August for these great deals.

Travelodge £9 room sale

2009-06-18T10:37:00.002+01:00

Travelodge has another sale starting today (18 June 2009). Rooms are available at £9 at hotels all over the UK between 1st November 2009 - 31st January 2010. Rooms can accommodate up to a family of 4 so are extremely good value at the normal selling price. So if you intend visiting friends or family around Christmas and the New Year, then what are you waiting for, go to www.travelodge.co.uk now and grab a £9 room. Rooms at this rate are limited so be quick.

Ferry Fortnight - Norfolkline

2009-05-14T11:53:00.006+01:00

Norfokline is a very competitively priced ferry operator. Part of the Maersk Group the company operates the following routes:
Dover <> Dunkirk
Liverpool <> Dublin
Liverpool <> Belfast
Rosyth <> Zeebrugge
Their latest deals are:
5 day return Dover <> Dunkirk fare for £16 each way. (£32)
Liverpool <> Dublin from £75 €85 return
Liverpool <> Belfast from £99 return

DFDS Seaways Ferry Fortnight Offers

2009-05-11T10:45:00.006+01:00

DFDS Seaways is running a big campaign for the UK National Ferry Fortnight. They operate on the following European routes:

Newcastle (UK) - Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Harwich (UK) - Esbjerg (Denmark)
Copenhagen (Denmark)- Oslo (Norway)

Offers include:

Harwich - Amsterdam from £65 for car plus 2 passengers
Harwich - Esbjerg £142 (car goes free)

There are also offers for foot passengers including these two:

Newcastle - Amsterdam 2 night mini cruise from £69 for 2 people (includes en-suite cabin)
Harwich - Esbjerg 2 night mini cruise from £75 for 2 people (includes en-suite cabin)

For more details go to the DFDS Seaways web site at http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/offers/ferry_fortnight/exclusive_ferry_fortnight_reader_offers

Ferry Fortnight - P&O Ferries

2009-05-09T14:29:00.005+01:00

P&O Ferries have started Ferry Fortnight with a 5 Day sale. Day trips come in cheapest, at £19 for a Dover - Calais return for a car plus up to 9 occupants. Ideal for a family day trip to France. You could spend time at Calais, Boulogne, Dunkirk or even Lille. If you would like to linger then 2 day returns are on offer for £29 or 3 Day return tickets for £39.

In all, 50,000 tickets are available in the sale, which runs until 22:00 on Tuesday 12 May 09. Travel must be taken before 15 July 09.

Eurapart is dropping Air Travel

2009-05-07T21:05:00.003+01:00

Today, I have decided to stop covering air travel on the Eurapart site. Instead, I will look at sustainable ways of getting around Europe. Eurapart started as a site to cover European Apartment vacations. Then due to the large number of requests for information on budget hotels chains, a section was included, which went on to attract the bulk of the traffic to the site. It is to these roots that Eurapart will return but with the emphasis on sustainable and affordable travel.

Review of Snow Base Indoor Ski Slope

2009-04-28T21:47:00.003+01:00

I really enjoyed my day riding at Snow Base, near Terneuzen, in the Zeeland Region of the Netherlands. Only 30 minutes from Gent. The 10 day pass is excellent value so I may be back if I can find a way of getting there.

Travel competitions

2009-03-14T19:26:00.007Z

There are a number of travel competitions running at present. Why not enter some, they are free and who knows maybe you won't have to pay for your next break away.
P&O Cruises Win a 15 night cruise holiday
SHE Magazine (p172) Win a a weekend break in Carbis Bay 5 Star Apartment
MySwitzerland.com Win a week's holiday in Switzerland
UKHotel.com Win a 2 night stay at De Veres Venues Wokefield Park
Monarch Holidays Win a holiday in the Maldives
Gordonisimo Win a week's diving holiday on the paradise island of Lanzarote, in The Canary Islands!
Milkwood House, Swansea Win a free night

Good Luck!

Ski weekends defy the credit slide

2009-02-25T09:49:00.005Z

According to a press release from the budget airline easyJet, 16% more Winter Sports enthusiasts are flying off to the Alps for the weekend than last year. Overall passenger numbers out of the United Kingdom's airports are down on last year. However 2008 / 2009 has been on of the best years for snow for a very long time. Browsing through the Ski Travel Operators' late booking offers there appears to be plenty of spare capacity at the resorts. After Christmas and New Year the February Half Term Holidays are the busiest time at ski resorts and there is still some capacity. According to easyJet, many British families have not booked a Winter Holiday but instead are taking the opportunity to get a cheap flight and are taking ski weekends.

Swansea Cork Ferry

2009-02-24T17:51:00.005Z

In the first of my 2009 posts, I mentioned that the Swansea - Cork Ferry service had gone. Adrian from Bring Back the Swansea Cork Ferry Campaign contacted this blog to say that it was far from the end of the ferry service. The campaign has negotiated discounted port rates at Swansea and Cork, has an experienced ferry operator and a modern ship available at a reasonable price. They have 2 million of the 3 million euros required to start operating. They have been been holding public meetings and roadshows at at Kinsale and Cork. Today they are running 2 at Swansea. I hope everything goes well and they get the service going again.

Snow Train price cuts

2009-02-24T16:07:00.007Z

The Snow Train service has just announced significant price cuts on all of its March services with savings of up to £70!
Friday 27 February 2009 returning Saturday 7 March 2009 starts at £219 save £50
Friday 6 March 2009 returning Saturday 14 March 2009 starts at £199 save £70
Friday 13 March 2009 returning Saturday 21 March 2009 starts at £219 save £50
Friday 20 March 2009 returning Saturday 28 March 2009 starts at £219 save £50
You can book at Rail Europe.co.uk or by phone: 0844 848 4088
Departing on a Friday evening, the Snow Train experience involves a journey by Eurostar to Paris Gare du Nord, where you board the overnight snow train to the French Alps. Sleeping accommodation is in couchette compartments sleeping up to 6 passengers, and have seats that convert into bunk style flat beds for the night . Toilets and washrooms are located at the end of each compartment. If you like to party then there is an a bar and disco on the train. You arrive in the Alps at either Chambery, Albertville, Moutiers, Aime, Landry or Bourg St Maurice. The return journey is made on a Saturday evening, thus allowing nearly 8 days on the snow.

Full Eurostar service resumes

2009-02-24T11:39:00.003Z

Following the fire in the Channel Tunnel last September, Eurostar train services to Paris, Brussels and Lille are now back to normal as of 23 February 2009. The journey times from London – Paris 2h15, London – Brussels 1h51 and London – Lille 1h20 are once again the norm . The full timetable has also been restored, with up to 19 trains per day on the London – Paris route and up to 10 per day on the London – Brussels route.

LD Lines may take over Sea France

2009-02-23T16:58:00.006Z

Sea France the French ferry operator owned by the railway company SNCF may be taken over by LD Lines. LD Lines is a newcomer to Dover. It operated on longer cross channel routes until the demise of SpeedFerries last month. Sea France has already announced it will need to restructure in order to survive in the present climate. It announced that 650 jobs were under threat. A merged company would be a major cross Channel operator.
Christophe Santini of LD Lines said that at least 350 jobs would be saved if the takeover was successful. It has also pledged to continue to operate the ships under the French flag.
Sea France currently services the popular Dover - Calais route.

Back again!

2009-02-23T12:41:00.004Z

Hi,
Its been a long time. Over two years in fact. A lot has happened in that time. The world financial slowdown and credit crunch is affecting us whether we like it or not. In the UK it means that the pound buys less Euros and dollars than last year
Many travel companies have failed since I was blogging here last. These include XL Airlines's UK division, Sterling and Zoom.
On the ferry scene SpeedFerries ceased trading at the end of last month, but LD Lines have stepped in and taken over the Dover - Boulogne routes and even added a service from Dover to Dieppe. Superfast Ferries Rosyth - Zeebrugge service will now be operated by Norfolkline. Swansea Cork Ferries have gone altogether and so have the Newcastle - Norway ferry services.
The good news is that there are still some very cheap offers from the remaining ferry operators, hotel prices are actually falling and the budget and superbudget chains continue to expand.
John

Virgin Trains Christmas service and special offers

2006-12-12T14:21:00.000Z

Virgin Trains will not be running trains on Christmas Day (25 December 2006)and Boxing Day (26 December 2006). Engineering Works are being undertaken on these days.
In addition they are relaxing the rules for Saver tickets so that they will be available for purchase all day between Friday 22 December 2006 and Monday 1 January 2007.

Express by Holiday Inn £39 / 49 euro room offers

2006-11-29T22:32:00.000Z

The budget hotel arm of Holiday Inn have some tempting offers at present starting at £39 for a room including continental breakfast. Here are just a few of the deals available right now from Express by Holiday Inn:
Valencia from 49 euros (£33)
Düsseldorf from 49 euros (£33)
London from £39
Ipswich from £39
Lille from 59 euros (£40)
Cardiff from £55

Eurotunnel creditors vote for restructuring

2006-11-27T22:03:00.000Z

Eurotunnel has today achieved the first part of its restructuring plans. At a meeting with its creditors got a vote favour of a deal that will lead to 50% of the debt for the operation being dropped. The vote accounts for 72% of the Junior and Senior debt of the cross channel operator.
Eurotunnel is currently operating under the French Safeguard Procedure, similar to Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the USA. There is still a long way to go to finalise a deal but we will keep you informed on here.

Cairngorm Ski resort to open this weekend

2006-11-24T21:51:00.000Z

The Cairngorm ski resort in Scotland plans to open this weekend (25 November / 26 November) if the weather permits. It plans to operate the funicular, the Ciste T-bar, and possibly the M1. Lifts will be open 09h30 -15h30 with the upper lifts closing at 15h00. It could be busy though as it will be the only Scottish resort open.
A ski pass will cost £16.50.

EasyHotel to open in Budapest

2006-11-13T20:51:00.000Z

The easyGroup headed by Stelios founder of easyJet is to open another easyHotel. This time the location will be Budapest in Hungary. It will follow three easyHotels in London and one in Basel, Switzerland and is planned to open in Spring 2007. Centrally located it will offer rooms starting at 29 euros a night. The hotel will have 57 rooms with en-suite facilities. The easyHotel brand has signed an agreement for 38 hotels in India, the Middle East and North Africa over the coming 5 years.

New Newcastle – Stavanger – Haugesund – Bergen service from DFDS

2006-11-10T23:43:00.000Z

DFDS will launch a new overnight service from Newcastle to Bergen via Stavanger and Haugesund tomorrow 11 November 2006. The voyage is a gateway to Norway’s spectacular fjords. The service will be served by a new ship the m.s. Princess of Norway. Connecting the ports twice a week on the low season and three times a week in high season.
Prices start at a low £28 per foot passenger and £130 for a car plus four people one way. They also have some excellent introductory offers on with a three night break to Bergen on offer for £50. The deal includes two nights onboard in a two berth cabin and a night in Bergen.

Ski offers from £149 from Opodo

2006-11-09T11:22:00.000Z

Opodo the travel company comprised of Europe’s leading airlines is offering some tempting deals on Winter sports breaks to Europe. They have 2 Star breaks in Italy, 3 Star breaks in Andorra and France starting at a low £149 per person.

New ski holiday site launched

2006-10-20T22:14:00.000+01:00

A team of Co-op Travel professionals with over 100 years combined skiing / travel experience have just have just launched new website - www.ski-direct.co.uk. The site contains a wealth of ski holiday information with helpful tips and hints as well as flight and hotel deals.

David Tonks a keen skier and one of the team behind the new site said: "We know, because we are skiers, that using general travel websites can be a frustrating experience when booking a ski holiday.

"On many holiday websites the ski resorts are in the same list as all other resorts, making it harder to find the information you want and there is a distinct lack of useful information about the natures of the slopes and resort facilities."

The site caters for all types of Winter resort fans from the adrenaline junkies to those just there for the apres ski parties.

David says: "Over the years working in the travel industry and going skiing, the team has seen many changes in the sorts of ski holidays customers prefer. For example, in the last ten years or so snowboarding has become hugely popular, especially among younger people."

People who have already booked their ski holiday can keep an eye on the weather where they are going by checking out the www.ski-direct.co.uk Snow Reports.

Ski-Direct is a member of the Co-operative Travel Trading Group.

Win a free night at a Golden Tulip Hotel

2006-07-15T11:52:00.000+01:00

Golden Tulip Hotels are giving away 500 free nights in their hotels in the Untied Kingdom and Ireland. To enter all you need to do is visit www.gtsummernights.co.uk and pick a room at one of the participating hotels. The competition rooms are available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays up until 3 September 2006. If you are the first person to pick it then you win a free night there. Even if you are not successful you will be offered 10% off the room rates so it is well worth having a go.
The hotels in the offer are:
Dublin
Glasgow
Leeds/Castleford
Manchester
Newcastle Gateshead
Portsmouth
Rooms start at £44.50 at Leeds Castleford.