First timers (family) Andora or Bulgaria

[AngieM2]

Ok people, help me out. First time skiers, family of 4 (kids aged 11 and 9). Want somewhere where food/drink doesn't cost the earth. Dont need 'nightlife' but a few bars for a post ski drink. Will be booking a package - probably with Crystal as they seem really competitive. Can you give me your views/experiences of Andora or Bulgaria?

Dont bother with Bulgaria - its not got high enough resorts and you could end up with no snow or being bussed miles each day to tiny patches. Past few years I've found Austria has offered best value for money.

We loved Andorra when our dc were small. There's a hotel in the same building as the gondola station in Soldeu which would be ideal for beginners... I think it's the Sport Hotel, which quite a few tour operators certainly used to go to.

The ski school there is excellent... much better than France for beginners imo, instructors were great fun and our then 5-year-old was coming down black runs by the end of her first week in ski school - she had been to ski kindergarten in the two previous years.

The downside is that it's a long airport transfer which is a pita if you're going as part of a package and on a bus. You might want to consider fly-drive instead of a package - we used Airmiles to get to Barcelona, hired a car and drove up from there. There's an underground car park in the gondola station base and you would need to hire snow chains.