Skiing??

mias

Myself and a few friends are trying to plan a skiing holiday at the moment - we are all complete newcomers to it - so we have no idea where would be good to go.
I suppose we are looking for somewhere that'll be a bit of craic and some nightlife to go along with it. Any ideas where we should be looking?

snack_ie

Hey, Im kind of in the same boat as you.

Me and my friends went to Livighno Italy last January. It was class - appartment accomodation is the way to go as its pretty cheap. Loads of restaurants which are way cheaper than here - Pizzas (12") 5.50, 3-course meal for E13,. Alcohol is duty free and there are loads of bars so if your looking to party livighno is the place to go.

Only bad thing about livighno is that the town is like 12km long - you wouldnt believe it until you see it. Try stay somewhere central as it cuts down on walking in ski boots and after nights out.
When I was there the place was unbelievably cold for some reason - way colder than anywhere else I have been. Air temp was -25 at night and thats without wind chill.
Tranfers were like 5.5hrs, which sucks

If your all newbies you'll find skiing there pretty tough if you have no game. The main slopes only really are suitable for intermediate ie you've been
before, mostly red/black.

All in all if you want good skiing (& snowboarding - very popular) & nights out, Livighno should definately be considered.

Snowparks are cool there too.:D

Oh yeah - Italian chics are golden - just another reason to go there (although skiing hols tend to be mainly sausage fests)

5starpool

Andorra is a real first timers place. The slopes are nice and gentle on the nursery and blue runs, and the nightlife is fantastic. I went to Arinsal on my first ski trip and had a blast, but wouldn't go back again due to the lower number of slopes even though it has since linked via gondola to another nearby resort. Very cheap too, especially alcohol, which is given in liberal doses.

I thought Livigno also had a very good nightlife, and nearly as cheap as Andorra. Skiing has more variety but should be fine for beginners too. France is not really the place for you as a first timer looking for craic as it is very expensive (€8.50 for a pint in Val D'Isere in Feb 2004!!!!).

Sauze D'oulx in Italy is also a decent resort. Have a read of the brochures though and google a resort if you want reviews on the craic that people had on trips there, and good luck.

Necronomicon

Andorra is where I went on my first one, and it was fantastic. Absolutely ideal for beginners.

Nightlife isn't terrific (where we were in Pas De La Cas anyway), but we did have one or two great nights out. There are two Irish bars and one club (which is pretty damn sleezy, but still!).
The most popular bar there is one called 'The Underground'. It's like a blend between pub and club, we had a brilliant night when we went there. They absolutely throw free drink at you.

If you're interested in shopping, I'm sure you're aware that Andorra is tax-free as well, so really cheap. Particularly in electronics.
Overall, I'd definately recommend Andorra.

aodhu

Arinsal in Andorra is the spot to go to for your first time! Good safe beginner runs. Good night life, and nice people.

Jumpy

Andorra is cheap and cheerful, but the nightlife is very dull compared to other ski resorts. Most expensive but with an absolutely crazy nightlife is Kirchberg/Kitzbuhel in Austria. Not a great beginners area though.
Andorra is mainly french and spanish, whereas the Austrian skifields tend to be more english speaking.
I think there is a today fm ski trip thing going to Bad Gastein if you want to look into that.