Resorts for absolute beginners!

[Cluckycluck]

Can anyone recommend a resort for me and DD (6)? I've never been skiing before so it needs to be somewhere suitable for a beginner adult as well as child.

Many people find learning in Bulgaria good. Cheap, good sized resort in Borovets, several ski in ski out/close hotels ( I’ve stayed in Rila hotel twice). One of the most budget friendly resorts.

as beginners you want

• a resort with good beginner area or good number of green/blue slopes
• accomodation within walking distance (ski in/ski out is perfect but comes with a price tag)
• good ski school, English speaking. You’ll more than likely have to go in 2 separate classes. Unless you book private lessons which you could do together, but again, higher cost. Some ski schools do all day but you’d have little time to ski together, and some do half days.
• snow sure resort (look admit historic snow reports)
• half board accommodation (honestly the last thing you want to do after a long ski day is trudge around looking for a restaurant, or worse: self cater and have to cook for yourself) stock up on breakfast to keep you going til lunch. Most hotels/catered chalets/ catered chalet hotels also have complimentary afternoon tea of cake breads and warm drinks about 4pm

ive taken beginners to Tignes in France(the middle height resort), montgenevre in France(I did 2 ski seasons there, good small resort for learning with chance to ski into Italy as you progress. Ski school excellent), Borovets in Bulgaria, Andorra and Saalbach Hinterglemm in Austria.

skiings amazing, I hope you enjoy and get the bug!

I would recommend lessons before in a snow dome here if you can, not essential but might help you make the most of your holiday.

@Catsonskis Thank you so much for all the information! Really helpful.

Livigno has about a million short sweet blues served by several lifts from the main resort. Many of them are separate from the rest of the area so they’re usually gloriously free of speedsters. There’s also the lovely Yepi trail over in Mottolino which is full of fun obstacles and toys which my dc loved! As it’s in a duty free area, the prices for everything in resort are very reasonable.

Passo Tonale had lots of beautifully maintained blue slopes really close to the town and hotels so you don’t ever have far to hike from A to B. The slopes manage to strike the perfect balance between sunny, wide and snow sure. We started off on the nursery slope at the edge of the town which has a choice of English speaking ski schools. There’s also loads to do if you don’t want to ski all the time.

At Flogarida, around half the pistes are beginner level. There’s a Family Park at Malghet Aut, where everything’s on the easy side - from the lifts, to the slopes, to the snow park – and there’s also a tubing trail for when the thighs need a break! When we went, kids aged 8 and under were able to ski for free.

@Fivemoreminutes1 thank you! These all sound great.

Are there are websites that are particularly good to book through?

We went to Courmayeur years ago. Lots of green slopes

We found Passo Tonale good as a lot of the slopes were all in a line so easily accessible to watch.

I would actually find somewhere with all day kids ski school even if adults is only half day as it an be hard for a non skiing adult (which an absolute beginner is) to supervise a child skiing. You need to concentrate on yourself. Alternatively half day ski school and a kids club.

Weve had some very good experiences with Crystal... both last year and this year they've sorted major problems beyond their control (last year the French border closing, this year a lack of snow)

Try to goat a quieter time if you can. Feb half term and early Easters is the busiest.

We loved Rauris as beginners. Super friendly ski schools (DS2 was 6 when we went), both located next ti the main gondola.

Tiny resort so almost impossible to get lost. Picturesque Austrian village. 2km long toboggan run.

Because its small though, it's not got a big presence with operaters like Crystal, so you'd need to DIY. It's easy enough if you can face it.

Ooh yes I second passo tonale, forgot about there.

honestly if it’s your first time neilson/crystal etc are your best bet, you can build everything into a package.

Expect to be on the nursery slopes for much of the time. Book ski AM lessons for both of you and then practice every afternoon. Or possibly get all day for your DD as you won’t be able to help her unless you were a skateboarder, waterskied, gymnast, super brave (these are the people who’ve learned with me and were up and off quickly). Most adults need a week to hit the greens.

If you’re a runner or do lots of leg exercises, great. If not, get fit as you are booking a week of physical exercise and after day 1 you’ll be crippled.

If you can, get some lessons in the U.K. before you go.

Courmayer is small and moguls abound when it snows. I’d not say it was a beginner resort at all

Would also recommend Passo Tonale. Lovely resort and excellent for beginners with a wonderful ski school and a multitude of wide slopes in the middle of the resort.

Courmayeur doesn't have any greens and has only limited blues. It also only has 41km of piste. You can learn to ski anywhere but it definitely doesn't deserve to be a top tip for learners!

I went to Andorra to learn to ski. Absolutely loved it.

Morzine is a lovely place to start unless very early or late in the season. Lovely village, nursery slopes at the top of the bubble, plenty of blues and greens, lots of English speaking ski school.
If you have a hefty budget I might suggest Courchevel too,

We love Garmisch Partenkirchen in Germany. Lovely resort, not too busy. Several ski school options and plenty of beginner slopes. I learned there, as have our 2 kids.

Thanks all! Lots to look into.

We'll go to the Snow Dome for some lessons and see how we get on!