Great video. I'm taking my T4 to the small aire in Val Thorens this coming March to stay for a week on my own before the family arrives when we move into a chalet for week 2. There is no electric hook-up so I'll have to rely on solar to keep my battery topped up enough to make sure my diesel heater can fire up every night. If my power gets too low then I do have a backup heat source - a safe alcohol burner. I'm not going to bother powering my fridge - I'll use it as a coolbox for the week and can easily refreeze my cool-packs each night by putting them outside. My main concern is that the cold will kill my engine battery when parked up for a week so I will bring a jump starter. I can dry my pants and coat each evening in the bars after skiing but boots and gloves are a concern so I'm going to use a tip I got from a friend which is to pop a gel warmer (the ones you can boil - or even disposable ones) into them each night. I'm on my own for the week in the van so not concerned about cooking that much - eating out each night for 1 is not too expensive. Crepes, beer and pizza will keep me going! Again - really enjoyed the video.
Is that the aire at les menuires? We have looked at that but I am not keen on staying with out any on board facilities or easy access to toilets in the night but when we get the new van we will definitely give it a go! It sounds like you have got it all sussed! By march there will be more daylight hours for your solar to kick in- we are going out in January with the kids to Les Arcs for a week and staying down in Bourg again as it is so easy 🚐 We did start the engine every couple of days as we have ran the battery down once - probably from the automatic interior light that comes on every time you open the door Hope you have a great trip both on your won and with the family ⛷️ Jackie and Richard
@earlyretirementwanderlust I'm staying at the small aire in Val Thorens itself (only 10 spaces). The one in Les Menuire is larger and does have some hook ups but I want the convenience of being right next to the high altitude skiing in Val T. Also the aire in Les Menuire is not bookable but of course does have 60 spots. In terms of staying clean which I forgot to mention. I'll go to the health centre in Val T a few evenings for a swim, sauna and shower etc.
It is a great campsite to be able to ski cheaply but with warm facilities- definitely needed when in a vw camper! We are off there again tomorrow for a few weeks 🚐⛷️
Stayed here a few times great site. Not in a T5. We have a 7.4 metre A Class we like to sleep in separate beds we both snore .. Have a heated garage area amazing for the skis boots and gear...Loo noooo i cant deal with that walk in the snow in the early hours.. We are fully winterised with Lithium and a Jackery 1000... such a great Great Vlog...
It certainly made it interesting being in a small VW but the lovely hot shower blocks and the community room certainly helped! We are staying again for 3 weeks in the new year, getting very excited ⛷️🏔️🚐
We stayed in Bourg in late March, in a chalet not a camper van. Took the funicular a few times. It’s no problem now the children are grown up. Not sure I would have tried it with little ones. I find it really easy, dropped by minibus right outside the funicular no walking with ski kit required, and a lot cheaper than ski in ski out. We also drove up to Tignes and La Rosiere on a couple of days for a change.
We are really looking forward to going back this winter for a few weeks this time ⛷️ might drive up to Val d isere for a day as it is one of our favourite resorts
@@earlyretirementwanderlust We also drove over to Courcheval on a rainy day to the big swimming pool complex over there definitely worth a visit. You could easily ski from La Tania if you wanted to. Also planned to go to Sainte Foy but ran out of days. Brilliant location for accessing a lot of skiing that is available in the Tarentaise. I will be retired soon. I definitely need to get a motorhome.
As Motorhome owning teachers who also took early retirement we are loving your videos. Les Arcs looks different from when I went on my first school ski trip. A bit of ski envy as my ski days are over. Keep up the great content.😀
Thanks for that - I've been wondering if we could ever use the van for a winter ski holiday! That was really useful, and I hope the drive home went ok.
April should be warmer in the valley and we have seen lots of people on our winter travels with the pop top up and the wrap around thermal screen to keep it insulated!!
Thanks for reply. Yes, we have now found one of these online so considering buying it. 😊 Could drastically change the type of ski holiday that we have, although I think a catered chalet now and again wouldn’t hurt (if there’s a good deal to be had). Keep up the great work. Only found your page the other day but as someone who also has a FS teacher pension coming up in 13-18 years, I’m inspired! ❤
The week we stayed in the chalet with our kids in the la plagne area was with mountain heaven whose chalets were a reasonable price we did a week in the chalet and a week camping to see how it went. It does help not paying peak prices now 😊
Excellent, absolutely excellent thank you for sharing and all of your journey brilliant… I went skiing when I was 15 or 16, something like that and my wife hasn’t been. I’m dying to take her out there even if you’re not skiing just to be out there is absolutely gorgeous….. we have a campervan as well, do you mind giving me a rundown on how much it would cost roughly on that campsite with the ski passes and the lift passes etc of how much it would be for a week thanks
Thankyou. The campsite was €27 per day including hook up and taxes. The Les arcs lift pass is €295 per adult for 6 days but we bought a 2 day pass from the campsite at €103 each as we had skied already and the weather forecast wasn’t great. This way we could take a day off without feeling like we were wasting money as it is roughly €50 a day if you have the 6 day pass. Our next Vlog on Sunday is looking at a breakdown of costs skiing from the van and ways we made it as cheap as possible 😊⛷️ hope this helps, if you cant tell from the videos we have had a blast but and we do love being in the van in winter which is very different but very cosy x
@@earlyretirementwanderlust thanks for the info… I know I should look this up, but sometimes when you do your research you get conflicting information, so I like to try to get it from all angles… If you buy a six day pass, and for whatever reason you couldn’t use the pass for one of them days, do you lose it or did they roll it over for you? Thank you
Hi we have done a few videos on our retirement journey. One was how we made the decision to retire and another on the steps that we planned. If we are honest we have retired a couple of years earlier than we had been targeting after a really awful 2021 and have no income until we get our teachers pension at 55. We downsized our house and are using our savings until then and as Richard keeps saying we are living on love!! But we are happy and travelling as cheaply as we can making the most of our time which is what we value the most at the moment.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Great video. I'm taking my T4 to the small aire in Val Thorens this coming March to stay for a week on my own before the family arrives when we move into a chalet for week 2.
There is no electric hook-up so I'll have to rely on solar to keep my battery topped up enough to make sure my diesel heater can fire up every night. If my power gets too low then I do have a backup heat source - a safe alcohol burner. I'm not going to bother powering my fridge - I'll use it as a coolbox for the week and can easily refreeze my cool-packs each night by putting them outside.
My main concern is that the cold will kill my engine battery when parked up for a week so I will bring a jump starter. I can dry my pants and coat each evening in the bars after skiing but boots and gloves are a concern so I'm going to use a tip I got from a friend which is to pop a gel warmer (the ones you can boil - or even disposable ones) into them each night.
I'm on my own for the week in the van so not concerned about cooking that much - eating out each night for 1 is not too expensive. Crepes, beer and pizza will keep me going!
Again - really enjoyed the video.
Is that the aire at les menuires? We have looked at that but I am not keen on staying with out any on board facilities or easy access to toilets in the night but when we get the new van we will definitely give it a go!
It sounds like you have got it all sussed! By march there will be more daylight hours for your solar to kick in- we are going out in January with the kids to Les Arcs for a week and staying down in Bourg again as it is so easy 🚐
We did start the engine every couple of days as we have ran the battery down once - probably from the automatic interior light that comes on every time you open the door
Hope you have a great trip both on your won and with the family ⛷️
Jackie and Richard
@earlyretirementwanderlust I'm staying at the small aire in Val Thorens itself (only 10 spaces). The one in Les Menuire is larger and does have some hook ups but I want the convenience of being right next to the high altitude skiing in Val T. Also the aire in Les Menuire is not bookable but of course does have 60 spots.
In terms of staying clean which I forgot to mention. I'll go to the health centre in Val T a few evenings for a swim, sauna and shower etc.
Hi Really enjoyed that vlog. We've stayed there a couple of times and I think your description is pretty spot on.
It is a great campsite to be able to ski cheaply but with warm facilities- definitely needed when in a vw camper! We are off there again tomorrow for a few weeks 🚐⛷️
Stayed here a few times great site. Not in a T5. We have a 7.4 metre A Class we like to sleep in separate beds we both snore .. Have a heated garage area amazing for the skis boots and gear...Loo noooo i cant deal with that walk in the snow in the early hours.. We are fully winterised with Lithium and a Jackery 1000... such a great Great Vlog...
It certainly made it interesting being in a small VW but the lovely hot shower blocks and the community room certainly helped! We are staying again for 3 weeks in the new year, getting very excited ⛷️🏔️🚐
We may see you there looking at early Jan..@@earlyretirementwanderlust
We stayed in Bourg in late March, in a chalet not a camper van. Took the funicular a few times. It’s no problem now the children are grown up. Not sure I would have tried it with little ones. I find it really easy, dropped by minibus right outside the funicular no walking with ski kit required, and a lot cheaper than ski in ski out. We also drove up to Tignes and La Rosiere on a couple of days for a change.
We are really looking forward to going back this winter for a few weeks this time ⛷️ might drive up to Val d isere for a day as it is one of our favourite resorts
@@earlyretirementwanderlust We also drove over to Courcheval on a rainy day to the big swimming pool complex over there definitely worth a visit. You could easily ski from La Tania if you wanted to. Also planned to go to Sainte Foy but ran out of days. Brilliant location for accessing a lot of skiing that is available in the Tarentaise. I will be retired soon. I definitely need to get a motorhome.
As Motorhome owning teachers who also took early retirement we are loving your videos. Les Arcs looks different from when I went on my first school ski trip. A bit of ski envy as my ski days are over. Keep up the great content.😀
Thankyou it has been fab, we loved every minute and can’t wait to go back next winter for longer! ⛷️🏔️ we just love being in the mountains
Thanks for that - I've been wondering if we could ever use the van for a winter ski holiday! That was really useful, and I hope the drive home went ok.
Just arrived back to a very cold cottage. I think the van was cosier in the snow ❄️ we would do it again in a heartbeat x
Where is this place and what month/year please mate. Planning on hitting snow in our van soon..
Camping Huttopia in bourg st Maurice which has access to Les arcs ski area last January
This is a great vlog thank you can you share campsite location, thank you
We stayed at the camping Huttopia in bourg st Maurice 🚐
Super helpful! Just wondering how we might manage this with two children in April. I’m guessing the pop top won’t be an option?! 😂
April should be warmer in the valley and we have seen lots of people on our winter travels with the pop top up and the wrap around thermal screen to keep it insulated!!
Thanks for reply. Yes, we have now found one of these online so considering buying it. 😊 Could drastically change the type of ski holiday that we have, although I think a catered chalet now and again wouldn’t hurt (if there’s a good deal to be had).
Keep up the great work. Only found your page the other day but as someone who also has a FS teacher pension coming up in 13-18 years, I’m inspired! ❤
The week we stayed in the chalet with our kids in the la plagne area was with mountain heaven whose chalets were a reasonable price we did a week in the chalet and a week camping to see how it went. It does help not paying peak prices now 😊
@@earlyretirementwanderlust Agree, peak prices hurt! Enjoy your travels and I look forward to watching more of your videos.
Looks good. Where did you stay, what was the name of the campsite?
We stayed at huttopia in Bourg st Maurice 🚐
Excellent, absolutely excellent thank you for sharing and all of your journey brilliant… I went skiing when I was 15 or 16, something like that and my wife hasn’t been. I’m dying to take her out there even if you’re not skiing just to be out there is absolutely gorgeous….. we have a campervan as well, do you mind giving me a rundown on how much it would cost roughly on that campsite with the ski passes and the lift passes etc of how much it would be for a week thanks
Thankyou. The campsite was €27 per day including hook up and taxes. The Les arcs lift pass is €295 per adult for 6 days but we bought a 2 day pass from the campsite at €103 each as we had skied already and the weather forecast wasn’t great. This way we could take a day off without feeling like we were wasting money as it is roughly €50 a day if you have the 6 day pass. Our next Vlog on Sunday is looking at a breakdown of costs skiing from the van and ways we made it as cheap as possible 😊⛷️ hope this helps, if you cant tell from the videos we have had a blast but and we do love being in the van in winter which is very different but very cosy x
The funicular up to the resort and the buses in bourg are all included in the lift pass
@@earlyretirementwanderlust
thanks for the info… I know I should look this up, but sometimes when you do your research you get conflicting information, so I like to try to get it from all angles… If you buy a six day pass, and for whatever reason you couldn’t use the pass for one of them days, do you lose it or did they roll it over for you? Thank you
Sadly you lose it!
Can you share how you retired at 50?
Hi we have done a few videos on our retirement journey. One was how we made the decision to retire and another on the steps that we planned. If we are honest we have retired a couple of years earlier than we had been targeting after a really awful 2021 and have no income until we get our teachers pension at 55. We downsized our house and are using our savings until then and as Richard keeps saying we are living on love!! But we are happy and travelling as cheaply as we can making the most of our time which is what we value the most at the moment.
Brave, crazy …… but good for you brrrrrrrr😂
It did feel a little crazy at first 🤣 but we have loved it!