Feb half term 2025, your reviews!

[Peclet]

Have you just been skiing? Family of 5 here, 3 kids and 2 adults. Stayed in an AirBnB type apartment in Paradiski, French Alps

It was the perfect week by almost all accounts, but jeez this year was very very busy. One lift was a 45 min queue (annoyingly) and the one we needed to get back to our resort. Perfect storm of French and UK half terms falling at exactly the same time I think. Usually its a busy week, but this was something else!

Cannot really complain as the conditions were perfect.

Was everywhere the same?

France is famous amongst British and French guests, but Austria gets more visitors each ski season than France does. These visitors come from Germany, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Czech Rep, Poland (and before the conflict, from Ukraine and Russia). Away from the big resorts used by British tour operators (e.g. St Anton, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Zell am See, Zillertal, Kitzbuhel, Ski Welt) there are remarkably few British voices to be heard in places like Leogang, Flachau, Wagrain or Maria Alm, and yet these resorts are easily accessible from Salzburg airport using public transport or transfer taxi services.

One thing that is noticable in Austria is the investment in infrastructure. A resort like Leogang has fantastic lifts - 8- and10-seater gondolas, 8-seat high-speed chairs with heated seats and covers - and extensive snow-making, so lift queues move quickly and the pistes are not crowded.

Over on the Snowheads.com forum there is an annual overview of European school holiday dates. The busiest weeks are always the middle weeks of February and New Year.

We were in the Dolomites in Italy and there weren't many queues other than at main link lifts and even then was only 10 mins or so. Glorious week with great mix of snow and sun and the usual fabulous Italian mountain restaurants.. so much better value and quality on mountain than France. Already looking at next year!