Skiing advice

[Notmycircusnotmyotter]

I want to book a long weekend of skiing for me and a few friends in February / March next year and don't know where to start.

I'm an ok skier but not great. I enjoy it but no crazy skiing. It's going to be my first childfree break and first time skiing since 2019.

Where's good and easy to get to and not wildly expensive in Europe around then?

How do you feel about hostel accommodation? UCPA do very reasonably priced ski trips in some of the big French resorts and maybe elsewhere too. Including lessons, if you want.

I don't feel very favourably towards hostels 😂 budget is probably £1000 for 3 nights including flights

I guess the first place to start is - how are you getting there? What is your local airport? If you want to do a long weekend, rather than a week, you'll need to find somewhere with multiple flights per week. Innsbruck tends to have a lot of flights, and there are a few resorts round there.

Go high for guaranteed snow.

Ah yes, good point on the altitude - I was in Seefeld Austria (1100m ish) in early March and they were closing up ski areas due to the lack of snow.

A few years ago we got cheap flights to Barcelona. Hired a car and drove up to la Molina (2hrs) and stayed in a Airbnb. Hired skis and got day passes. It was good value. V v small resort though.

Have a look at Sauze d'Oulx. Fly to Turin, get a car and drive (an easy drive, not much more than an hour/90 mins). Lift pass is cost effective, slopes are perfect for intermediates, and the town is lovely. Food on the mountain is good and cheap. There are airbnbs in town, or some nice hotels - Stella Alpina is a good one.

@TheTripThatWasnt oooh thank you

Thanks everyone. I've seen a great deal for Kaprun in Austria that apparently is good for snow in March. Has anyone been?

I’d recommend Courchevel Italy, it’s mostly very easy skiing and good Après-ski.

I've been to Kaprun. It is a glacier just outside Zell am See. From what I remember it was one long black run from top to bottom and a few uninspiring red/blue runs with button lifts. I definitely wouldn't use it as a base. At best it was a half day trip from Zell.

Zell am See was nice though!

You probably want to go somewhere with a short and easy airport transfer if only for 3 days? Morzine/Les Gets/Avoriaz worth a look?

I thought Courchevel is in France @AllrightNowBaby ? 1800 is the main village but extremely expensive, the lower down resorts can be cheaper.

The main challenge will be finding accommodation for less than the standard week long stay. Ski weekends are a good company. Would you consider doing an Airbnb? If you book everything separately beware that transfer prices have shot up over the past few years.

You can generally get cheap flights into Geneva, then the Portes Du Soleil and Grand Massif are short transfers.

I've done a few weekends at Isola 2000, not for maybe 10 years though, but there was always snow at the end of Jan and easy to get accommodation for a couple of nights. about 1.5 hrs drive from Njce Airport.

Came here to say morzine. I’ve done it a few times including a 4 day trip. Les get I did Monday- Friday too.
great ski area but it’s popular and French so not cheap but also not the most expensive.
very easy to get to.

otherwise maybe claviere or sestriere in Italy and fly into Turin but longer flight time

As it’s only 3 nights I would go to a resort easily accessible from Geneva. Lots of flights to Geneva so good value and go every day. Some ski are airports only have flights at weekends. Transfers can be very expensive so another reason to be close to Geneva and maximise your time there. I’ve been to Flaine, France for a few long weekends. Fairly easy to get to, good skiing and lots of accommodation close to the slopes. Once I went with Ski Weekends and got a package, the next just easyJet flights and transfers with Go Massif.

Zell am see has a glacier and is great most years, great town fir food and drinks, safe, clean, mixed ability beautiful views and direct Uk flights.

Zell am See has plenty of good skiing without needing to go to the rather soulless glacier at Kitzsteinhorn. The glacier is there as a back-up option should the snow be a bit thin further down the mountain.

Kaprun also has a small skiing area served by a gondola which might be enough for a day or two if the main purpose of the weekend is to get away with friends and relax, have a glass of wine or two and spend an hour or more in a spa. The Tauern Spa in Kaprun is amazing. You can easily take a cab or the bus from Kaprun to Zell am See (10 mins away) if you want a bigger area and the same lift ticket covers Kitzsteinhorn, Kaprun, Zell am See - and also Saalbach-Hinterglemm and the Ski Circus.

I'd book flights to Salzburg now (Ryanair, Wizzair and BA fly midweek - Easyjet and Jet2 tend to be only Saturdays or Sundays) and book accommodation a bit nearer the time when you know where the snow is. Also, accommodation providers are reluctant to take weekend booking this far in advance (most prefer Sat-Sat) so they are more flexible closer to the time. There a plenty of nice resorts within 90 minutes of Salzburg - e.g. Zell am See-Kaprun, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, St Johann in Pongau, Leogang, Badgastein, Maria Alm - all easily reached by public transport or by private taxi shuttle (the Salzburg Airport website has a list of approved shuttle and taxi services).

Kaprun is a glacier area, it is snow-sure, but I'd be worried that everything for new year is already booked up.