Skiing

NeoSlicerZ

Can someone suggest a nice place to go skiing? A few of my friends and I are considering going next janurary or so

ToxicPaddy

A popular destination if you are a beginner is Andorra in the Pyrenees. Its a duty
free zone so relatively cheap when compared to the likes of many of the resorts
based in the Alps and has a good nite life..

Ive never actually been there but many of my friends have and all have come
back raving about the place. Must go sometime to find out for myself
methinks

Tox

gary_s

Yep, assumming you're a beginner/improver, Andorra is a good choice. Not so good for experienced skiers who want 100s of kms of runs to explore.

Only main downside is the long transfer time, c. 4 hours plus. But it's cheap as chips (esp. the drink!), instructors generally speak good English (it's the official language of the ski schools there, I believe, because instructors are from all over the shop - when I was there we had an Italian and a Welshman!).

Or check out Livigno in Italy, which is also duty-free, but with a similarly long transfer time.

hardCopy

If you're looking for something a bit different but still accessible to beginners, I can recommend New Hampshire, USA. not sure if there are any package deals to here but if you're willing to organize you're own holiday it's definitely worth the effort. Also the outlet shopping in North Conway will save you loads on the years clothes shopping.
Links:
Cranmore Mountain
Bretton Woods resort
North Conway Outlet Village

emaherx

andora is good for the beginer. but if you are going early in the season you might want to consider somewere high in the alps to be gauranteed snow.

Val Thorens in France is always good, but more expensive.

por

hardCopy wrote:

If you're looking for something a bit different but still accessible to beginners, I can recommend New Hampshire, USA. not sure if there are any package deals to here but if you're willing to organize you're own holiday it's definitely worth the effort. Also the outlet shopping in North Conway will save you loads on the years clothes shopping.
Links:
Cranmore Mountain
Bretton Woods resort
North Conway Outlet Village

Yea New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont are fully of ski resorts, lots to choose from, most no more than 4hrs drive from Boston, however I'm not sure if the social scene in the villages would be as good as Europe. Avoid the 2nd week in Feb as that is school holidays and the places are full. You might also want to try Quebec,you can get the European feeling in Nort America, Can$ is weak so there is good value for money to be had.

Imposter

emaherx wrote:

andora is good for the beginer. but if you are going early in the season you might want to consider somewere high in the alps to be gauranteed snow.

Most of the alps and definitely most of the resorts with package deals are almost guaranteed snow before January. 2 years ago here in Austria it was January 6th or so and people were commenting that it was really, really late. Official seasons open about the 8th of December but that is risky. Anything after christmas should be fine. I'm hoping I have a few days done before I head home for Christmas on the 23rd.

emaherx

Imposter wrote:

Most of the alps and definitely most of the resorts with package deals are almost guaranteed snow before January. 2 years ago here in Austria it was January 6th or so and people were commenting that it was really, really late. Official seasons open about the 8th of December but that is risky. Anything after christmas should be fine. I'm hoping I have a few days done before I head home for Christmas on the 23rd.

I was in pas de le casa in Andora just after christmas about four or five yaers ago. The snow was pretty thin on the ground. It was skiable but just about.

thore lumps out of my brand new skis

NeoSlicerZ

Thanks for all your suggestions, my friends and I have been to Kitzbuel, and 2 other resorts in Austria so we're kind of looking to go to another country

mackerski

NeoSlicerZ wrote:

Thanks for all your suggestions, my friends and I have been to Kitzbuel, and 2 other resorts in Austria so we're kind of looking to go to another country

Maybe have a look at France - if you've skied a bit already you may value the bigger ski areas over what Andorra and Livigno can offer. Self-catering apartments are in good supply (though many are smaller studios), but expect to pay more for the lift passes and kit than in Andorra or Livigno.

Dermot

NeoSlicerZ

Andorra's actually a country? looking at the website it's a 'Principality' apparently..

mackerski

NeoSlicerZ wrote:

Andorra's actually a country? looking at the website it's a 'Principality' apparently..

...which is (or at least, can be) a particular kind of country, just as kingdoms and republics are. To downgrade it from country status, you'd have to work out which out of France and Spain it actually formed part of. The answer is "neither", since it's not an EU member, has its own government, has radically different tax laws and so on. You could argue that it's more of a country than Liechtenstein (also a principality), which has an open border with Switzerland and piggybacks on a lot of Swiss infrastructure including its diplomatic service.

Monaco and Wales are other principalities that spring to mind.

Dermot

positron

I am hoping to do exactly the same as Neo, and new to skiing.

I am looking around for good deals in January, I am not quite sure about Eastern Europe, but read a couple of good reviews about Bulgaria etc. Any comments? Also, is it a good idea to try and arrange the holiday myself than buying a tour package off the catalogue?

Thanks for your time!

Imposter

positron wrote:

I am hoping to do exactly the same as Neo, and new to skiing.

I am looking around for good deals in January, I am not quite sure about Eastern Europe, but read a couple of good reviews about Bulgaria etc. Any comments? Also, is it a good idea to try and arrange the holiday myself than buying a tour package off the catalogue?

Thanks for your time!

If you are a beginner and/or going with a group of beginners package deals are usually a good idea. They cover lessons, airport transfers but often a limited lift pass.

When deciding if to book on your own or with a package the following should be considered:
- transfers from airport. If you're hiring a car these are not important. Otherwise they are very valuable and will save a lot of time and possibly money.
- Accomodation can be got a lot cheaper than you'll get in a package deal. Make sure it is in or near the town though as some places can be a few km outside of the town.
- If you are not a beginner make sure any lift pass you get as part of a package covers the full ski area and not just a few local runs.
- Ski hire is usually quite reasonable in any of the resorts especially if it's for 5 or more days. It also costs virtually nothing in the packages too.
- Lessons are usually cheaper if booked through a package. This goes for intermediate lessons too.
- If you go independently make sure and flights and connections are ok. You don't want to waste half a day because of this.

Third_Echelon

If you're willing to travel to New Zealand... Queenstown is a great ski resort..

bit of a distance but well worth it if you feel like blowing a load of cash for a few weeks...

Lisapeep

The french alps are a great destination, as most of the resorts are very high and have good snow records! Also, the French Ski Instructors have a very high standard of teaching.

Captain Trips

Livigno is good, also tax free but has a longish t/fer time.

Switzerland is great but very expensive. Very expensive (think 10 euros for a beer).

positron

Still trying to arrange a holiday all by myself, I found a good deal just off Salzburg, Austira, cheap tickets with Ryanair (about 200 euros for two) and b&b type accommodation off Salzburg, 7 miles to nearest resort, free bus was only 150 euros and another 150 for ski pass, and then equipment rent, learn to ski etc (not enough details there, as most websites are non-English), for January 05.

Not quite sure if I should book it though. Anyone been to that part of Austria before?

Imposter

positron wrote:

Still trying to arrange a holiday all by myself, I found a good deal just off Salzburg, Austira, cheap tickets with Ryanair (about 200 euros for two) and b&b type accommodation off Salzburg, 7 miles to nearest resort, free bus was only 150 euros and another 150 for ski pass, and then equipment rent, learn to ski etc (not enough details there, as most websites are non-English), for January 05.

Not quite sure if I should book it though. Anyone been to that part of Austria before?

I live in Austria. Where is it?

7 miles is quite an expensive taxi if you stay drinking in the resort. Probably about 15€. Doing that every day will add up.

Equipment will cost about 80€ a week to rent. I'm not too sure about lessons. Make sure they are also are not 'non-english'!

positron

Thanks for the tips Imposter, and sorry about the typo, I meant to say, ‘free bus to the resort, and around 150 euros for the resort pass”.

It’s a guesthouse in ‘Faistenau’, near Salzburg? I am not quite sure about the resorts around it, but a google translation of their web page said something like 7 miles to nearest resort etc.

How expensive is that region? How expensive is car rental in Austria? Instead of skiing all week, if I could rent a car and drive around a bit to see Austrian countryside, albeit snow-covered, that would be a great holiday!

Thanks in advance,

Pos.

positron

Imposter wrote:

Make sure they are also are not 'non-english'!

I wasn't too sure about the language they use in Austria, so I was playing safe with ‘non-english’. The website is German, and I think they call it ‘High German’ in Austria? Anyway, thanks again!

Imposter

positron wrote:

Thanks for the tips Imposter, and sorry about the typo, I meant to say, ‘free bus to the resort, and around 150 euros for the resort pass”.

It’s a guesthouse in ‘Faistenau’, near Salzburg? I am not quite sure about the resorts around it, but a google translation of their web page said something like 7 miles to nearest resort etc.

How expensive is that region? How expensive is car rental in Austria? Instead of skiing all week, if I could rent a car and drive around a bit to see Austrian countryside, albeit snow-covered, that would be a great holiday!

Thanks in advance,

Pos.

Ok. I've just done a bit of research. The mountain that is near Faistenau only has 40km of pistes. That's more like a locals resort than an actual resort. That leads me to think that you won't have all that much of a nightlife in such a place and that lessons in english may be a problem. Most of the big resorts and areas will have 150+ km. The skiamade region (which is quite near Faistenau) has 865km of pistes on one lift pass for example.

As for cost it's not that expensive, i'd imagine. Work roughly on the principle of 3-4 € a beer, 10€ for dinner 6-10 for food during the day on the mountain. As for car hire i'm not sure but a search from Ryanairs page should throw something up.

As for touring austria I'd strongly advise it but not as part of a skiing holiday. Salzburg is a lovely city and there are many beautiful towns and areas around there too. However I would suggest that if you want to go skiing that you don't do this as well. There are a few reasons for saying this. Firstly if you are a beginner wou will need a weeks lessons to get you to a stage where you can ski and are safe to be left alone. Second if you only go skiing for a few days you still won't save much on lift passes or ski hire. Lift passes are about 30€ a day and ski hire is about 20-30 a day. Over a week it's not as expensive (About 100€ for equip hire and about 180 for lift passes - at a proper resort).

positron

Thanks a million for your time and efforts, Imposter. Your findings are exactly inline with what I thought about the place myself. I will take your word and drop Salzburg plan.

Infact, my gf found something in Livigno, works out around 750 euros for a week in low season January, but I am hoping the with the tax-free shopping in Livigno, it wouldn't be too bad.

Appologies to OP for hijacking his/her thread!

Cheers,

Pos.

cerebus

It may be a little too far/outside your budget, but have you considered any of the resorts in North America?

The west could get a lot of snow this year (looks like there might be an El Nino forming), and both the US and Canadian dollars are pretty weak against the Euro right now. You should check out some of the resorts in the Rockies, and places like Whistler, to see if you can get a deal...

positron

Thanks Cerebus, checked couple of sites, but seems way too over my budget. Booked and paid for Livigno, mid January, I hope I wont freeze my a*se off there (well cheap vodka should keep me warm, hopefully).

We had to book and apartment for 4, but only two of us going. That made it even more expensive, it tops 1200+ now, I have to sell something for spending money.

Anyone looking for an arm or leg or something?

penexpers

Hmm I'm paying 1050 euro for a week fully catered in a chalet in Morzine with Highlife.