First time skiing Avoriaz or Dolomites

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Hi all,

looking for some guidance please. We are a family of 4 - 2 adults, 14yrs &11yrs. We have never skied before, complete beginners. We are planning on going next February.

what would you recommend Avoriaz or the Dolomites? I hear Avoriaz will be better snow but im concerned it will be very busy, especially for us as we have never skied before.

on the other hand I have heard the skiing lessons are better in France than in Italy, is this true?

My second question is what would be best for ski lessons. I have had a look at ESF and New Generation, the groups are split by age which is fine, however my eldest will be in a group and will be expected to be able to ski, which she can not.

Would it be better to get a ski lesson for the whole family instead or would that be incredibly expensive? Would the ski schools be able to offer lessons for older complete beginners?

thank you 🙏

I'm biased and I think that for beginners, Austria beats both France and Italy for atmosphere, affordability, better snow and lifts and better ski lessons. Transfer times are short. English is spoken in all of the rental shops, restaurants and in the ski schools.

Of the two options that you've given, I'd pick the Italian Dolomites over Avoriaz, particularly as you're presumably going at half-term when the French resorts will be busier than those in Italy.

As for lessons, if you do decide to go to Avoriaz, then choose New Gen over ESF. Wherever you decide to go, you and the children will be allocated beginner classes, so don't worry about someone being put into a class of skiers if they cannot already ski. The alternative to group lessons is private lessons, which as you suggest you might consider as a family. This is obviously more expensive than group lessons and the lessons themselves can be tricky as kids tend to learn in a different way to adults, and they learn much quicker. They can also be self-conscious or inhibited with parents around and might prefer to be off having fun with a group of peers.

We skied in Avoriaz last February and it was one of the only places with half decent snow due to its altitude. Never skied in Dolomites. If none of you can ski I would 100% recommend an instructor for the family if you can stretch to it. If not then yes, of course the ski schools offer lessons to complete beginners of any age.

Avoriaz will be really good for snow and it’s so much easier learning on fluffy snow and not hard pack, ice or slush! ESF aren’t known for being massively nurturing but with older kids you might be fine, I’d still always go with an English ski school like New Gen given the choice though. Obviously your 14YO can’t go into the teen lessons that require experience and I’m guessing they likely don’t run teen beginner lessons as there isn’t the demand but def call to ask. If they don’t then ask if recommend going with the younger kids and their sibling (be aware they might be in with 5YOs though) or with you in the adult group. Private lessons could also be a good option. I’d never recommend that with little kids as they learn quite differently but will be fine with big ones so long as your ego can take that they will pick it up so much faster you!!

If you choose Avoriaz, I wouldn't recommend staying there. It's not particularly nice (although the skiing is good) you're far better staying in Morzine and getting the ski lift up.

Dolomites all the way! Either stay in colfosco or badia for best access to beginner runs (I’d go with colfosco) or in the centre of corvara so you can jump on the borest lift to colfosco - there’s fabulous long wide beginners runs there.

snow in Feb will be fine btw

youre unlikely to get private lessons in half term in either I suspect - can you do some intro lessons at indoor slope in UK before you go? If you can get past the learning to start/stop/use lift bits it will make your lives much easier!

I can also recommend Colletts mountain holidays for Dolomites…really great company and they can advise on lessons!

I also recommend getting lessons here before you go, as it is a waste to learn from scratch in an expensive resort. There are enough snow domes in this country to make a few visits possible in the next few months
you will be taught by a native English speaker and will then be able to cope better with the accented English in the Alps.
And if you can already ski you will have a much better holiday.
You may also need to work on fitness after a lesson here, and learning to ski needs much higher fitness levels than can already ski quite well
i ski every year in February and start my increased fitness campaign in September so I get the full benefit

I’d go to Italy. Avoriaz will be rammed at half term. Tbh as beginners I’d choose early in the Easter holidays as it’s quieter, cheaper and weather can be better, but if you are set on half term I’d go to Italy.
Don’t be distracted by stuff like “lessons are better in France” as beginners, pretty much any lesson with a reputable ski school will be absolutely fine for you. I agree you are perhaps unlikely to be able to get a private lesson in half term. Your teens will also learn much more quickly than you over the course of the week. But if you can get it it might make for the best experience. A bit of snow dome would be a good idea so you can short cut the very basic parts (if you can get yourself to a standard taking a button lift and coming down the main slope you’ll save a couple of days out in the mountains moving to the next level) although I’ve never struggled to understand a ski instructor — English is widely and well spoken.
if you go to Avoriaz I would definitely stay up there. Getting up there can have bottlenecks at the busiest times and this will be one of the busiest weeks of the year. I’d also opt for new gen over ESF groups (there are also loads of independent options like Peak, Supreme etc). I’d happily do esf privates and have met some excellent instructors this way.

good luck, hope you all have a great time!

Will February be during the Olympics? This might make some parts of the Dolomites busier, as people get displaced away from the Olympic Venues.

I'd probably not do the Dolomites as a first ski holiday. Amazing place but you'd feel like you were missing out on properly using an expensive lift pass if it's your first holiday. I'd be tempted by somewhere in Austria or one of the slightly smaller resorts in the Dolomites (rather than the full dolomiti superski resorts).

If going to the dolomites, avoid Arabba, it's got the steepest home runs. Corvara/Alpe di Suisi and possibly Alta Badia have got friendlier progression runs. Might also be worth looking at less well known locations such as San Pellegrino and getting the local pass.

Definitely get lessons in the UK before you go - either dry slope or indoors somewhere in England. Feels so much less wasteful doing the very basics before you go as you don't need a longer slope/better scenery for the first bit of learning (which are the worst bit IMO!)

Agree with others, I would stay in Morzine and then ski in Avoriaz. Great for beginners but I would go with either private lessons for just your family or New Gen.

Posters are recommending staying in Morzine: as complete beginners you are basically better off skiing at Morzine/Pleney rather than Avoriaz.
otherwise you are limited to the Prodains cable car (and most likely then a bus back to town) because the Super Morzine route requires at least some skiing on the way back down. This may not be achievable for complete beginners. Happy to be contradicted but that is my impression from several
visits. I’ve also been stuck waiting for that cable car and the bus in Morzine is also busy at peak times. There are definitely easier ways and places to learn than all this if you are a complete beginner. By staying in Avoriaz you avoid this. You can still get the cable car down in the evenings if you are desperate to explore Morzine.

If you're complete beginners, have you considered Finland? Ruka is good place to learn, generally lots of snow, not too big a resort, no 'impossible' routes back home.

The main downside with Finland is the villages have less 'other' stuff going on (e.g. no swimming pools).