Departures: Early snow option

BOOKINGS for ski holidays last winter were badly hit by the sharp fall in the value of the pound against the currencies of the main ski destinations. To offset the higher prices and to promote early bookings for next winter, Thomson Holidays is offering discounts worth up to pounds 50 on its Ski Thomson programme.

For people booking before 31 July, Ski Thomson will provide free lift passes and half-price ski schools on selected dates at resorts such as La Plagne, Les Deux Alpes, Risoul and Val Thorens in the French Alps, Soll and St Johann in Austria, and Sauze D'Oulx in Italy. Ski Thomson prices start at pounds 129 for seven nights self-catering at the Manzano apartments in Andorra.