The best way to get a P&O Ferries fare is to do an internet search on www.poferries.com to check next year's prices, starting at £60 return for a car and 9 passengers travelling on a standard return ticket for 2006. So even travelling on Saturdays in January, 18.10 out on the 7th (for the overnight drive) and 10.05 back on the 14th (after the overnight drive) it's still only £60. Price can vary if you travel at different times - but not by much (maybe £25).

Preparation
If you have your car regularly serviced a journey to the Alps should not in itself present any problems. There are, however, a few precautions to take before setting out and your local garage can advise. Tell them where you are going and they will check that your radiator has sufficient strength of anti freeze to ensure the car does not freeze. The temperatures in the mountains can be a lot, lot lower than back home and unless you have arranged garage parking your vehicle could experience low temperatures never found back in the UK. Also remember that if you have to park outside overnight, park facing down the hill. It is easier to jump-start the vehicle down a hill than to push it uphill if your battery has gone flat! Have the fan belt checked to ensure that it is both tight enough and also that it is not worn.

Whilst thinking about anti freeze, also remember your screen wash. There is nothing worse than driving along on a wet road and trying to clean the windscreen only to find the washer bottle has iced up. Ensure you have a sufficient strength liquid (50% solution to water is a good idea) and carry a spare bottle with you for the journey. This can be diluted or added to the existing liquid as required.

Carry a spare set of light bulbs with you and also a tow rope and red warning triangle. As earlier stated you must carry snow chains in the car - even if you do not need to use them - but also ask your garage to check the tread on your tyres. Worn tyres are not a good idea on ice or snow-covered roads!

Carry a road map of Europe and if you can obtain a map of the region you are heading to, this is also a good idea. Sometimes roads get closed for a variety of reasons - or there are traffic jams - and a diversion can often save time. But without a map, life could be difficult. You should also carry in the car a copy of your vehicle registration document.

It is a good idea to carry European breakdown insurance and this can be obtained from your ferry company as part of your special P&O Ferries skiers ticket. For further information on this please contact P&O. Personal ski insurance is also available and is strongly recommended. Hospital and doctors bills throughout Europe are expensive. Although you should carry the E111 form as an extension of your UK health insurance, this will only give you cover for basic treatment. Probably not for tablets and other items to be obtained from the local pharmacy.

Finally, carry some passport photos with you for your ski pass. It is much cheaper to have these taken in the UK than wait until you arrive in your resort and it will also save time.

Essentials
Before leaving, carry out the following checks:

• Anti-freeze if of sufficient strength
• Washer bottle has sufficient fluid and is strong enough to cope with -20c
• Tyres have good tread pattern
• Spare wheel is inflated to correct level
• All electrics under the bonnet have been sprayed to prevent dampness
• Good route map and road map of your resort area
  

Always Carry With You:

• Snow chains
• Spare set of light bulbs
• Tow rope
• Windscreen wash fluid
• Warning triangle
• Route map
• Vehicle registration document (copy)
• E111 Health Insurance document
• Ice scrapper plus soft brush to sweep off loose snow
• Photos (passport size for your lift pass)
  

Do's and Don'ts:
Never park at your resort facing uphill. If your battery goes flat, it is easier to jump start the car if you are facing downhill!

Never drive too fast for local conditions. If there is snow and ice on the road, drive at a safe speed and arrive safely.
If it is snowing before you reach your resort, put on the snow chains before you become stuck. If you block the road to other traffic, you could face an on-the-spot fine. (carry a pair of heavy duty gloves so that your skin does not come into direct contact with cold metal.

As you drive towards the Alps from Calais you may well enjoy snow-free roads for the entire journey until you are within a few kilometres of the ski resort. On the other hand as in the UK snow can suddenly fall so it is as well to be prepared right from the outset.

It is the law through all alpine countries that snow chains MUST be carried in the boot of the car and fitted when required. This rule certainly applies on all mountain routes and those leading to your ski village. To ensure you are not caught out, and therefore delayed in arriving at your destination, you may have to fit the chains to get through heavy snow until the roads have been properly cleared.

It is also an offence to block the passage of a snow plough and on-the-spot fines are heavy and could well ruin your holiday! To fit chains, and all modern chains such as RUD Chains are easy to fit, it is as well to wear heavy-duty gloves to ensure your skin is not damaged when coming into contact with the chain in freezing conditions. A mat to kneel on is also useful.

• You must apply headlight converters to your headlamps


• You must have a GB plate or the EU GB symbol on your number plates


• You must carry a warning triangle


• You must carry a first aid kit


• Most countries recommend you carry a fire extinguisher


• You must carry your vehicle registration document


• You must carry your driving licence and insurance documents (Most UK insurance companies now automatically extend UK cover for EU countries.


• You should consider carrying a spare set of light bulbs. It is an offence to drive in dark or dismal conditions with a light not working. When parking at your ski resort and unless you have made arrangements to garage your car, always park on a hill facing downhill. Trying to push-start a vehicle facing uphill will in itself prove an uphill struggle! Your tyres should be suitable for your winter journey and should be able to cope with ice and thin coverings of snow. So check with your garage to ensure the tread is sufficient. Finally, do not make any sudden movements with the car on snow and ice. Sudden breaking or cornering at speed under these conditions will probably result in a bump or a more serious accident.

Snow Chains Must Be Carried
It is important to remember than when motoring in the Alps, and regardless of which country, snow chains must be carried at all times when driving along mountain roads. You can be stopped by the police at any time on a mountain road and if you cannot produce snow chains, you will be FINED!

Even if you do not need to fit chains - and this applies to drivers of 4 x 4s - you MUST carry chains. The police are especially hot on this in France and even if the roads are clear they can demand to see chains. At best, they will turn you around and send you to the nearest town to buy/hire or at worst they will put a bit of a dent into your holiday wallet!
If you are going to drive time after time it is a good idea to purchase. Snow chains are not expensive and one very good supplier of quality chains is RUD Chains of Whitstable in Kent. The chains - German made - have been used by the Editor for more than 20 years without mishap. Even with special snow tyres, the Editor carries RUD Chains just in case the police, or the weather intervene.

RUD Chains have an innovation for the 2004-05 winter period. It is the RUD-compact easy2go which is quickly and easily fitted to a stationary vehicle without the need to manoeuvre the car back and forth.

There is a patented PTD (Permanent Tensioning Device) simply takes over so you do not even have to stop and re-tension the chain! There is even a rim protector "protectAR" which can be clipped onto the side of the chain to protect alloy rims against chain damage.

RUD Chains can be contacted in the UK at Whitstable on: 01227 276611

By fitting a ski box supplied by The Roof Box Company you can carry up to four sets of skis and poles, usually fit in some boots and ski clothing as well, leaving lots of space inside the car for other members of the family, or friends, or additional luggage.

Ski Boxes have come a long way in recent years, both in terms of design as well as security. They are watertight and weatherproof and are usually fitted with locks for added security so that when you stop at a motorway service area for a rest and cup of coffee/tea, you do not have to find a window seat to keep an eye on the vehicle.

Boxes supplied by The Roof Box Company are designed so that they create a minimum of wind resistance and will make only a marginal difference to the fuel consumption of the car. This is hardly worth considering when you consider the advantages of packing everything in the ski box at home and unpacking when you arrive in the resort. Those people who use the old fashioned method of securing skis to an ordinary roof rack usually arrive at their resort with their skis covered in road muck as well as having worried en route as to whether the skis/poles will be stolen!