For Price of the Rockies, Try Skiing the Alps

It’s one of the great anomalies of travel that a strong U.S. dollar sometimes makes it cheaper to buy an air-and-ski package to the Alps than to the Rockies. After decades of sky-high rates for winter vacations to Switzerland, Bavaria, France and Italy, the situation has reversed itself, and American skiers can enjoy a low-cost schuss in some of Europe’s legendary mountain resorts.

Several popularly priced tour operations are especially active in offering bargain ski vacations to these transatlantic locations during the next three months:

* Go-Today Travel, a surprising source for an upscale sport. Best known for its rock-bottom-price air-and-hotel programs to Europe’s capitals, it has expanded into resort locations, including glamorous places you wouldn’t usually expect to find in the inventory of this budget-oriented company.

A six-night package to the powder paradise of Chamonix, France, starts at $979 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from the West Coast and a seven-day car rental. Singles rates for the same package are $200 more. Lodging for six nights is at the Gustavia, a traditional three-star hotel downtown, not far from the lifts at the base of Mont Blanc.

You can obtain the prices from other U.S. cities and make reservations by logging on to www.go-today.com or by calling (800) 234-5245. (Phone bookings incur an extra $10 charge.)

* Untours is another travel company that often focuses on simple stay-put vacations in standard cities. But Untours also arranges apartment stays in smaller towns. One unusual option is a 14-night stay at 14th century Sommersdorf Castle in Germany, a good base for travelers who want to combine light winter sports with visits to the charming villages of the Romantic Road (Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg) and cities like Nuremberg, Regensburg, Augsburg and Munich.

Though downhill skiing options are limited here, the local village of Treuchlingen maintains free cross-country ski trails within easy reach of the castle. Including air fare from Los Angeles and car rental, the package is $1,549 per person.

Learn more by phoning (888) 868-6871 or at www.untours.com/untours/germany-castle.asp.

* DER Travel offers several inexpensive packages to alpine areas of southern Germany but often quotes them on a “land-only” basis, leaving the job of obtaining air fares up to you. Thus, seven-night stays without air fare start at $299 per person, double occupancy, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a premier ski resort in Bavaria and a previous host of the Winter Olympics.

All you will need is to get yourself to nearby Munich, which isn’t expensive if you call the various carriers flying to Germany and inquire about their sales. A transfer from Munich to your hotel (figure 90 minutes by train) is included, as is your choice of accommodations, each a short walk from a free bus that will take you to the ski lifts.

Packages begin in Munich on Saturdays through mid-April. Lift tickets are not included in the DER rate, but they are far less expensive than at many resorts in North America. Because a six-day adult ski pass costs about $134, the total cost of your hotel, transfers from Munich and access to the slopes can be less than $500.

For more information, log on to www.der.com or call (800) 782-2424.

* Les Arcs in France is a world-class resort that enjoys a mile-long vertical drop on a par with North American champ Whistler in British Columbia, Canada. That’s about 1,000 feet more than that of the U.S.’s best, Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Big Sky, Mont. It takes some skiers considerable time to make the run from top to bottom, and you can ski all week and still not see everything on all the connected peaks.

While rates for most rooms can be pricey, a last-minute package (valid as of Jan. 26) available to a group of five sharing a studio flat can bring rates down to $215 per person for the week, including a lift pass for six days.

The resort does not have a North American office or booking system, so you’ll need to visit the Web site www.lesarcs.com or e-mail reservation@lesarcs.com.