Ski Resorts

Don't go to St Anton until you can ski/board properly. Go for one of the smaller Austrian resorts, Soll, Saalbach, Zell Am See.

Much cheaper than St Anton, and loads of excellent easy blues to get you going.

Nightlife in Austria miles better than France, and most booze and food on the mountain half the price of the big french ski stations
 
I you are still learning then places like Slovakia or Poland would be perfect, super cheap. I went to Szklarska Poreba few weeks ago and had the best blast ever

http://www.sudetylift.com.pl/en/index.php

Even though I am quite an experience snowboarder the black slope or even in some parts the red slopes are quite a challenge. I also learned how to ski last day and conditions for that were just perfect on the easier blue slopes.

I must have been lucky as there weren't any queues really.
To summarize what I paid was: £15 a night for accommodation, £15 a day lift passes, £15 a day on food including booze.

However I have no idea how you can book anything in Poland or Slovakia if you don't have any friends that live in those countries that could actually get it organised for you.

On a negative note there is nothing else to do apart from skiing or snowboarding.
 
Skidder said:
I love Chamonix and spend a lot of time there but wouldn't necessarily put it top of my list for complete beginners.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I've tried to advise some friends before that it's not a very beginner friendly resort. They went anyways and then discovered it for themselves and wished they had listened to me.
 
Thanks for all your replies. France seems to be popular.

I have had a long look into some of the resorts recommended. With Austria being our preferred destination we have got it down to Zell Am See, Mayhrofen (or however you spell it), St Anton.

I have booked my snowboard lesson for my birthday in April and plan on going at least once every couple of months to get as much practice in as possible.
 
Flaine for beginner's skiing but not for nightlife.

You really haven't given a whole lot of information.
  • How many mates?
  • Are you willing / able to drive there?
  • Are you looking for skiing or nightlife?
  • When in February? (Don't EVAH go at half-term if you can avoid it!)
If you can drive there, Flaine is the easiest to get to; there were plenty of cheap apartments available; it is good for beginners & intermediates.

However, the nightlife wasn't great

All this info may be somewhat out of date.

You can also fly into Geneva or Chambery and get a transfer (Getting there).
 
Broadly speaking the French alps are your best bet from a price/quality perspective. I would recommend Courchevel as a good resort which combines:

- a huge ski area
- good mix of slopes for beginners
- quality nightlife
- reasonable altitude

Transport is relatively easy (its about 3 hours from Geneva which you can fly to cheap, and transport from the airport costs very little).
 
Well I am going to go against the grain here. Have been boarding for close to 18 years now and have been to plenty of resorts and if you want cheaper and friendlier then go to the Italian Alps.

The French have been getting away with overcharging for years and are far less accomodatioing than the Italians. Beer is cheaper as well.

The initial cost might be higher as there are less Italian rsorts with cheap accomodation, but the whole experience will be more pleasurable.
 
stockhausen said:
You really haven't given a whole lot of information.
  • How many mates?
  • Are you willing / able to drive there?
  • Are you looking for skiing or nightlife?
  • When in February? (Don't EVAH go at half-term if you can avoid it!)
If you can drive there, Flaine is the easiest to get to; there were plenty of cheap apartments available; it is good for beginners & intermediates.

However, the nightlife wasn't great

All this info may be somewhat out of date.

You can also fly into Geneva or Chambery and get a transfer (Getting there).
Click to expand...

Apologises for not giving enough information.

As it stands it will be me and the other half. We have been in contact with about 3 - 4 others but it depends on their money situation come the new year. We were looking at February then I seen the half term costs compared to the cost of second week in January so we have decided on then instead. I also won't want to be driving.

In terms of nightlife or skiing it will be both tbh.
 
I've skied Chamonix - if you find a cheap deal, go for it. Stayed in La Tania in Courchevel - bit low down, but still could ski straight into some vin chaud at the end of the day, which is what you want really. I'd recommend it. Having said that, going to a smaller cheaper resort in eastern Europe is definitely an option if you're just beginning - some Polish chaps I work with love skiing Bulgaria.

On a side note: I live in Norway currently, and would certainly not recommend coming out here if you're a beginner searching for somewhere cheap. However, after a few seasons, I'd say a trip to the birthplace of skiing is mandatory! It's all about the off piste and touring. Amazing fun.
 
I've done a wide amount of french resorts and out of all of them I'd have to recommend Alpe D'Huez for beginners. The bottom slopes and nursery slopes are gradual and very wide at the bottom and perfect for learning on.

Slopes get more varied up the top but provides a very linear learning curve. The Oz run is a lovely alpine stretch.

As you get better the three valleys should be your port of call - massive ski area consisting of several top resorts.
 
Why not just book the week off and find a last minute deal somewhere? If you're beginners where you go won't matter that much and this way you know you'll get a good deal...
 
Swagger187 said:
....will be getting some practice done in the snowdome in Tamworth.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

~£30 for a couple of hours in the snowdome - probably about the same as a full days ski pass on a mountain.

IMO snowdomes are only worth it for people who have never skied or boarded and just want to try it before paying out for a holiday.
 
Tomsk said:
~£30 for a couple of hours in the snowdome - probably about the same as a full days ski pass on a mountain.

IMO snowdomes are only worth it for people who have never skied or boarded and just want to try it before paying out for a holiday.
Click to expand...

Nah, worth it for a warm up hour or two before you go. If you go outside of peak you can usually get a decent deal, like two for one or £20 for an hour and a half, or at least you can usually at the trafford centre one. Helps to blow the cobwebs away.
 
Tomsk said:
~£30 for a couple of hours in the snowdome - probably about the same as a full days ski pass on a mountain.

IMO snowdomes are only worth it for people who have never skied or boarded and just want to try it before paying out for a holiday.
Click to expand...

Reason for me going here is I have never boarded before so to save time on learning out there I would learn here to optimise my time on the slopes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom