Dijon is hoping to lure skiers off the autoroute this winter with a range of packages including return Channel crossings with Hoverspeed and a night in a hotel with dinner and breakfast. Prices start at £54 per person, based on four in a car sharing two rooms. The town's tourist office has set up a dedicated reservations number: 0870 442 9848.

If thoughts of breaking the journey with a blow out in Burgundy prompt you to leap into the car, Finlays (01835 830562) has space available this month at its chalets in Val d'Isère and Courchevel. The firm allows customers to hop between the resorts, charging £28 a night for B&B or £38 for the full chalet package. "DIY skiing is on the increase," says a spokesman. "We've been finding that people just drive into the resorts and look for somewhere to stay."

Meanwhile Eurotunnel Motoring Holidays (0870 3332001) has cut the price of some one-week, self-drive packages to the French Alps arriving February 3. A group of five staying at the self-catering Residence Falaise in Avoriaz would get a discount of £182, bringing the total price down to £772 including Channel Tunnel crossings. Four people travelling together would pay £582 in Méribel or £530 in Alpe d'Huez - reductions of £152 and £130 respectively.

Skiers no longer need to catch a shuttle bus to reach the slopes at California's Heavenly resort. A new 2.4-mile-long gondola has opened, only five minutes' walk from most of the hotels in the South Lake Tahoe. Built at a cost of $20m, it reaches the foot of the Tamarack Express lift in just under 12 minutes.

For last-minute independent skiers, STA Travel (0870 1606070) is offering return flights from Stansted to Munich with British Midland for £71. The deal is available for departures until the end of January, but you must stay at least one Saturday night and no more than a month.

Ski Safari (020-7740 1221) is offering a one-week package to Vermont's Killington for £565. The deal is available until the end of April, excluding February 12-25, which includes the school half term. The price, based on two sharing a room, includes scheduled flights from Heathrow to Boston, a hire car and seven nights' B&B accommodation at the Killington-Pico Motor Inn.

Free postcards are on offer at Aspen in Colorado. Visitors can get them at any lift ticket window or at guest service centres on the mountain - and the Aspen Ski Company will pay for postage anywhere in the world.