1st ski holiday

El Guapo!

Hi,
I have been looking into going on a ski holiday at the end of Jan/ start of Feb. I have never been skiing before but always wanted to give it a try.

From looking around the web I think I'd like to go to Andorra. There will be 3 of us going over and none of us have been skiing before.
I was just wondering if anybody has been to Andorra before and if they could give me any tips/pointers as to where to stay and which tour operator is best etc.
I think Arinsal looks like a nice resort but to be honest I haven't got a clue what I'm looking at! Any help is much appreciated!
Thanks!

rossc007

Hello mate,

Was in Arinsal in Feb 2009 with the missus who was just starting out. In my opinion its a great resort for beginners and its cheap

There are 3 resorts on your pass Arinsal, Pal and Arcalis. Arinsal is great for beginners, its just one valley, so you dont have to worry about getting lost. Nothing too challenging there either. Pal is a cable car ride away, has some decent runs and you wouldn't be too out of your depth. Arcalis is an excellent resort for intermediate\advanced levels, but you should be kept busy in Arinsal and Pal.

We went with DirectSki, the transfer is a pig, 3h 20mins but theres no way around it really.

I'm jumping to the assumption that there is 3 lads going? They call it Mandora for a reason, its about 3-1 fellas to girls from what I saw

Depending on your budget, you might consider a bump to an Austrian resort?

El Guapo!

Cheers for the reply.
I'll definately check out that Directski place.
My budget isnt a hell of a lot so I think I'll just stick to cheap and cheerful for my first time.
What's the deal with insurance and stuff? is it really expensive for this type of holiday?

rossc007

Nah mate, insurance is really cheap, should come to around 20-30 euro, shop around. Well, your going to the right place, it was savage cheap when I was there, good fun too

robinph

Andorra is a good place for a beginners trip I think. Not been to the Arinsal part myself before but have done the various resorts on the GrandValira area several times

cocker5

Im sorry to disgaree with the other posters ... but i went to Arinsal in Andorra and thought it was a total dump... sorry... hated it... crap lift systems... run down towns ...terrible bars and restauranst etc.... so i wouldnt go back even if i got a free holiday.... horrible place.... sorry guys

I would however recommend Austria... its excellent for skiing... towns are lovely... excellent lift systems... apres ski is the best in Europe.... the list goes on...

if you have spare cash... try St Anton , Lech or Ischgl...

If money is tight.... try Saalbach or Mayerhofen...

you can fly to Zurich and get the train to nearly all the resorts and book accomdation directly... works out far cheaper than going through an travel agent!

Best of luck... you will become addicted!!

rossc007

Was it your first trip Cocker? My girlfriend loved Andorra as it was her first trip, I wasn't as keen, but its grand for beginners.

Once you've seen Austria, you wont go back to Andorra, thats for sure. But, its twice the price, everything is more expensive, flights, hotels, ski passes, gear, lessons, food and drink. I was in Saalbach last year on the "cheap" last year, cost 900 euro pp without food and drink.

cocker5

rossc007 wrote: »

Was it your first trip Cocker? My girlfriend loved Andorra as it was her first trip, I wasn't as keen, but its grand for beginners.

Once you've seen Austria, you wont go back to Andorra, thats for sure. But, its twice the price, everything is more expensive, flights, hotels, ski passes, gear, lessons, food and drink. I was in Saalbach last year on the "cheap" last year, cost 900 euro pp without food and drink.

yeah Arinsal was my first skiing trip... it wasnt to actual skiing that put me off... it was the lift system... the town... bar etc... horrible place
We stayed in Pricessa Parc hotel cost us €1,500 each for one week....

to be honest i wouldnt agree andorra is half the price... a decent place will still cost similar to Saalbach etc and you cannot compare the two really...

I managed to get Saalbach for €600 each in Feb 2010, stayed in the panther hotel.... trick is to do everything yourself...

if you get into skiing etc.... as in you intend to go each year.... buy your rented boots... find a good anf confortable pair, that you have worn for the week and the ski shop in Austria will deduct the price of the rental you paid for your boots etc... so you get a fab pair of ski boots for €100!
saves around €150 per skiing trip plus it very hard to get the perfect pair of boots in every resort etc....

Fly to Munich / Zurich... get the train to your resort.. book from local tourist websites , there are 100's of hotel / Garni's / Apartments etc... we are going to Ischgl for 10 days over xmas this year.... flight to Zurich €110 return, train ticket €55 each return, 5 star apartments beside main gondola €550 each.... so for 10 days its a bargain

like:

http://www.saalbach.com/en/summer.html

http://www.ischgl.com/index.en.htm

I am also intending to go to Kitzbuhel in Feb (money permitting )... and im gonna book it 3 days before we fly... so should get it for around €500 each....in a 4 star hotel....

the thing is you pay for what you get..... yes austria may appear a little more expensive if you book through a travel agent etc (not of you do it yourself etc).... you just cannot compare the two really.... but its a far better skiing experience .... i think you just cannot compare the two at all....

OP Best of luck....

rossc007

Jasus wept 1500 for Arinsal! You got ripped mate! In fairness the Pricessa Parc is probably the nicest hotel in Arinsal, if you think that was bad I stayed in Hotel Arinsal, now thats a real kip! It only cost 400 per person half board for the week. We had a great time though, but each to they're own.

I think your being a bit liberal with your pricing mate 600 each for Saalbach, thats flights, transfers and accommodation?

Lift Passes - 186
Gear - 100
Lessons - 120
Booze - Unlimited

Don't get me wrong, I love Austria and no doubt I'll be back next year, but its a pricey place to ski.

cocker5

rossc007 wrote: »

Jasus wept 1500 for Arinsal! You got ripped mate! In fairness the Pricessa Parc is probably the nicest hotel in Arinsal, if you think that was bad I stayed in Hotel Arinsal, now thats a real kip! It only cost 400 per person half board for the week. We had a great time though, but each to they're own.

I think your being a bit liberal with your pricing mate 600 each for Saalbach, thats flights, transfers and accommodation?

Lift Passes - 186
Gear - 100
Lessons - 120
Booze - Unlimited

Don't get me wrong, I love Austria and no doubt I'll be back next year, but its a pricey place to ski.

€600... was for flights, accomodation half board, transfer ....you're right.. not lift pass...

yes i had to pay for lift pass.... have my own gear as i mentioned above (bought my ex rental boots / skis).... and dont get lessons ... been skiing 6 times so far so I'm grand on that side of things..... now the booze is a different story ... apres ski is fab... so yes the boozing would cost a fair few....

for me i would rather have a cheapie sun holiday and spend more money on a good skiing holiday....

we dont have cool / expensive cars etc... so where we spend our money is skiing holidays.. its just our passion i suppose...

for me Austria is the place for best skiing / apres ski in Europe... but thats just me... to each their own...

rossc007

I'm agreeing with you mate, cant beat Austria!

I have my own gear too, but its an extra 80 euro on the flights for your bag, so the savings aren't great. Handy when it snows here though

Rowley Birkin QC

Dean09 wrote: »

Cheers for the reply.
I'll definately check out that Directski place.
My budget isnt a hell of a lot so I think I'll just stick to cheap and cheerful for my first time.
What's the deal with insurance and stuff? is it really expensive for this type of holiday?

If it's cheap and cheerful your'e looking for I can't recommend Montecampione highly enough. I've been there the last 3 years and the only reason we aren't going back there this year is that we've outgrown it.

Flights, ski hire & pass, transfers and on piste self catering accommodation for 5 nights/4 days skiing came in at less than €450.

Snow can be patchy on the lower slopes but they have a decent snow blower set up and good snow and some gentle runs for beginners above 1500m. There's also some long reds and blacks that are great fun for when you outgrow the blues.

robinph

€1500 is an excessive price to be paying for Andorra.

It is a fine place to go for beginners though, and even for a mixed group as there is enough to keep the more experienced amused whilst the n00bies learn the ropes. Then there is plenty of cheap beer afterwards.

snowcrazie

Head to pas de la casa in andorra for beginners. You can get flights, transfers, accom, pas lift pass, lessons and gear rental for 600€. Thats unbeatable, and the skiing is great, i've been to a good few places in france austria and italy and i think the grandvalira compares easily, 200 km of skiable pistes. It also has an ice hotel in grau (just over the top of pas) well worth a visit from some hot chocolate.

Also you can afford to eat and drink out there.

Most importantly you're a beginner, so you're not going to be touring the mountain, just trying to master the planks! Pas is full of beginners.

Also don't expect anything from ski accom. Unless you cough up the big bucks it's not going to be prettty.. but trust me you'll be waaay too tired from skiing & apres ski to notice!

Fattes

AVOID ANDORRA!!!!!! Unreliable snow compared to the rest of Europe and it is no where near as cheap as it used to be.

You can get Soll in Austria for the same kind of money with an hour transfer! I am no big fan of Soll but given the choice between the two its a no brainer.

I Friend got a week in Soll for 750 wiht Lift Pass, Half Board and ski gear last year. Beer is the same price as Andorra.

Other options could be St Johann in Tirol or Tignes in France. Souze Doux in Italy, or Livingio but you are back to shocking 5 hour transfer territory.

snowcrazie

How is that the same price? Thats 150€ more expensive with no lessons.....

Eating and drinking is much cheaper in andorra than austria and those two resorts have similar snow records. Last years snowfall was woeful everywhere except Italy. I think this year is supposed to be similar. Unless you go glacier, you aren't guaranteed the snow fall but it should be enough for beginners everywhere. Especially beginners skiers. If there is a good bit of ice and you are learning to snowboard make sure you invest in knee pads, wrist guards and impact shorts... you'll regret it if you don't :P! But skiing you should be grand.

rossc007

snowcrazie wrote: »

How is that the same price? Thats 150€ more expensive with no lessons.....

Eating and drinking is much cheaper in andorra than austria and those two resorts have similar snow records. Last years snowfall was woeful everywhere except Italy. I think this year is supposed to be similar. Unless you go glacier, you aren't guaranteed the snow fall but it should be enough for beginners everywhere. Especially beginners skiers. If there is a good bit of ice and you are learning to snowboard make sure you invest in knee pads, wrist guards and impact shorts... you'll regret it if you don't :P! But skiing you should be grand.

I agree, you'll find it very hard to get to Austria for the same price as Andorra, and you'll get more bang for you buck in Andorra, everyone knows that. Snowfall is hit and miss anywhere you go, Andorra is no better\worse positioned than any other ski resort. The higher you go, the more expensive it gets.

I'm a boarder and I've never used impact shorts or wrist guards, even when learning. There is an argument with wrist guards that if you fall hard enough on them for them to be effective, it pushes the stress further up the arm. I wear knee pads because when your boarding and you want to stop, your either on your ass or your knees, so I they keep out the cold and repetitive bangs. But its horses for courses, my girlfriend wears every piece of safety gear known to man, shes like robocop on the mountain

Would 100% recommend a helmet, could very easily save your life.

snowcrazie

Good call on the helmet, i'd never go out without one!

I know of a group that went to France last year and there was very poor snow, a lot of ice. They ended up with four broken wrists (all beginner-ish snowboarders) - which is why i recommended wrist guards. I don't personally wear them though as they can be very uncomfortable.

Fattes

Snowfall is hit and miss anywhere you go, Andorra is no better\worse positioned than any other ski resort. The higher you go, the more expensive it gets.

I am not reposting it but in this forum somewhere is a chart of the average snowfall in resorts over the past 10 years.

Andorra has a lower average than the SkiWelt resorts and considerably lower than resorts like Mayrhofen and Saalbach which have similar altitudes.

Tignes is living proof that the sentence the higer you go the more expensive it gets! Cheap and cheerfull high altitude.

Especially beginners skiers. If there is a good bit of ice an

Is is one of the top reasons why beginners never return to a ski holiday!!!! Crystal Ski Report 2009. Also Crystal Ski Report 2011 Highlights Andorra as working on Price controls to stop the gap between it and Austria getting closer.

Andorra just does not deliver the same experience as Austria but is a better Cheap alternative than Bulgaria

anymore

robinph wrote: »

€1500 is an excessive price to be paying for Andorra.

It is a fine place to go for beginners though, and even for a mixed group as there is enough to keep the more experienced amused whilst the n00bies learn the ropes. Then there is plenty of cheap beer afterwards.

In fairness you are paying for a four star hotel - there is a reasonable range of accomodation going from budget - Arinsal hotel upwards.
Overall for a first skiing trip, I suggest people would be as well going package holiday - have someone esle do all the organising transport, skis, sking school, passes etc. After that going your own way is an option .
I and my son son started in Arinsal and one of the good things to be said for Arinsal is that the ski school is fairly decent - i used it twice in the same year. That was around six years ago.
Snowcover can be a problem in Andorra and Arinsalitself is not as visually attractive as many resorts in Austria.

anymore

snowcrazie wrote: »

How is that the same price? Thats 150€ more expensive with no lessons.....

Eating and drinking is much cheaper in andorra than austria and those two resorts have similar snow records. Last years snowfall was woeful everywhere except Italy. I think this year is supposed to be similar. Unless you go glacier, you aren't guaranteed the snow fall but it should be enough for beginners everywhere. Especially beginners skiers. If there is a good bit of ice and you are learning to snowboard make sure you invest in knee pads, wrist guards and impact shorts... you'll regret it if you don't :P! But skiing you should be grand.

I had great skiing in Hintertux in mid October !

snowcrazie

Fattes wrote: »

I am not reposting it but in this forum somewhere is a chart of the average snowfall in resorts over the past 10 years.

Andorra has a lower average than the SkiWelt resorts and considerably lower than resorts like Mayrhofen and Saalbach which have similar altitudes.

Okay i phrased that badly... I should know better on here. Obviously I'm not talking about absolutely amounts snowfall, just a more general, is the resort going to have decent skiing on a given year? A beginner is usually confined to a small area of the mountain with their lessons and so unless it's an all around bad year there should be enough snow for them to enjoy their holiday in any mainstream resort, they generally aren't hunting for off piste powder (unless they're very fast learners ).

You are taking a chance where ever you go that there will be poor conditions.

Having said that Pas gets icy in the evenings, so if I wasn't worried about night life, I'd choose Soldeu.

Sin_J

Definately wouldn't recommend Pas De La Casa. Stayed there twice and boarded over there from Soldeiu another year. It's gotten worse and more run down every year. I'd recommend Soldeiu over Pas any day.

Although despite the long drive to get there, Livigno, if you book it all yourself is great. Good snow, not too expensive, nice runs and just generally a better atmosphere than there was in Andorra. Will probably be going back there again in Jan.

robinph

Historical snow reports can be found from here:
http://www.igluski.com/snow-reports

That site and a few other snow forecast pages are listed in the FAQ.

Fattes

snowcrazie; sorry big pet peev seeing people saying that Andorra snow record is comparable to that of the Alps, Rockies, etc etc

If you look at it over 10 years its no where close for comparable resorts.

Great ski schools in Andorra though with mostly native English speaking instructors whic reduces the Bend Zee Knees advice.;)

anymore

Fattes wrote: »

snowcrazie; sorry big pet peev seeing people saying that Andorra snow record is comparable to that of the Alps, Rockies, etc etc

If you look at it over 10 years its no where close for comparable resorts.

Great ski schools in Andorra though with mostly native English speaking instructors whic reduces the Bend Zee Knees advice.;)

I agree with you about schools.