Ski resorts wtihin 2 hrs of Turin please

[rookiemere]

So from a previous thread I was all set to go to Center Parcs in Germany and ski there a la annecys fab sounding suggestion. However flights to Germany from our local airport are already looking ridiculous. I found Turin flights for next half term really cheaply.

Where would you recommend that's within reasonable driving ( or preferably with a bus link) from Turin with good skiing for beginners/intermediates please? We could do Serre Chevalier again, but looking for other options as well as accommodation is looking pricey there.

Thanks.

La Thuile or Montgenevre?

Aosta is incredibly lovely, probably my favourite place to ski. I have been to most of the places in the Aosta valley and they are fab.

Lovely little Italian coffee shops to be found half way down/at the bottom of some of the slopes.

aosta-valley.co.uk

Googled aosta not far at all. Thanks both for input. Am tempted to book flights despite DH being away this weekend to discuss. Under £400 for 3 of us for Feb half term !

Checked out accommodation on booking.com for those areas. All either really expensive or very basic looking apartments. Can you recommend any nice places to stay?

Is there anything on here?

We usually rent a sc apartment and trudge to the bus stops/slopes

www.holidaylettings.co.uk/courmayeur/

I will see if I can find any old emails and come back.

Hi - it looks like there might be, but having been a little burnt in the past by self catering in Serre Chevalier I'd be keen to have a recommendation if that's possible.

I haven't found anything yet, but I will have another look later on, sometimes I get different results on different computers!

Went ahead and booked the flights, they were too cheap to miss - hope DH is ok with it !

We used to ski in Aosta Valley (Pila) and stayed at Hotel Turin each time. Remember it fondly and was just a short walk to the ski lifts.

I checked hotel pila but my rudimentary Italian suggests they have a problem with us all being in the same room due to date age.
Am tempted to go back to serre chevalier as I know where the nice places are and ski school I know is good.

The only place I can find an e-mail for is this place but we have flown into Milan when we stay there (about 2 hours to Turin on the train). This is in the Dolomites, which is fantastic for skiing, but not Aosta Valley

www.garni-wildbach.com/eng/wohnungen.htm

We usually just find somewhere online from the local tourist site and have never gone wrong.

The reason I have Wildbach saved is that we have stayed there twice - in one of the apartments, perfectly nice.

Sorry, we usually go wherever we can find availability at the right price.

2nd Montgenevre. It's a lovely resort with great skiing for all abilities.
We went last Feb half term and even the barely queued.

Thanks lavendersun and wartynose - so much choice.
I'll check out Montgenevre - like the idea of no queues at half term.

Val Cenis is the other side of the Frejus tunnel. Its lovely, brilliant skiing and a really pretty, traditional village with a market. There are plenty of self catering apartments, and a couple of hotels. We have previously booked through mgsski who are brilliant and do group ski in the afternoons so everyone can ski with a similar-level group.

Thanks Betsy. It looks nice - I do like the idea of the group ski - my concern is that DS is going to be better than me by this stage but will be unkeen to be in all day lessons.
Talking of which did you take lessons when there? The one thing I don't like about it ( other than the horribly high Feb half term prices which I guess are a given) is the fact that it's ESF, DS had great instruction with an English company when we went before - but they do say they pick out good instructros.

I second Aosta Valley (Valtournenche)! Absolutely gorgeous.

Ye gads I'm getting snow blindess - there's too much choice and all so expensive!

is there much for beginners and lower intermediates at Valtournenche ? Also what's the ski school like?

thanks I am grateful just thinking that maybe I shouldn't have booked the flights as the apartment prices are super high.

That is why we end up going wherever I find the cheapest deal rookie. If your child/children is/are under 8 they ski free in the Aosta valley if you buy an adult pass (well, unless it has changed).

If you stay in one of the villages you only need a bare bones of a room sort of place because you can walk somewhere nice for dinner in the evening.

Courmayeur has some good beginner slopes, download an Aosta valley slope map and see where has the most easy slopes.

Sauze D'oulx? I think you can get the train from Turin but I don't know if it goes all the way to the airport.

Obvious place is Cervinia - other side of Zermatt. Ski pass covers Zermatt and Valtournenche. There are buses fron Turin airport or you can organise a taxi. Snow sure. Fantastic skiing for beginners and intermediates. Much cheaper than Switzerland.

Cervinia is where we're going at Easter and that's less than 2 hours. Great family skiing and better value than many as Drinkstoomuch has said.

Ok let me check out Cervinia, all other options looking very pricey at the minute.

Ah Cervinia apartments at the minute are looking promising. What are the ski schools like?

There are a couple of good ski schools. Try Scuola di sci di Breuil or Scuola del Cervino. They are the biggest. I think the prices are pretty similar. Admin is a bit "Italian" - but they get there in the end. Book in advance if going during the Easter holidays as they will be busy.

We're also going to Cervinia at Easter for the second year (though flying to Milan as it was cheaper). I'm afraid we don't have lessons. We've also been to Champoluc several times, including at half term, which we really like. Try Champoluc Apartments, or the Hotel Genzianella, which has some apartments, if you will have a car. Friends have also enjoyed Montgenevre. Italy is great for half term holidays as Carnivale often doesn't clash and some regions don't get a holiday even then. Queues, prices and piste standard much better than France.