RichardC

As above,

Looking to book a skiing holiday for a group of 5 people (inc. one child) who have no experience on the slopes.

Need help choosing locations which suit beginners.

Many Thanks

RichardC

gregh

Andorra.

what would scooby do

Bad Gastein in Austria

the moose

I'd second Andorra - it's cheap & cheerful, but there are loads of good Aussie/NZ instructors there, and equipment hire etc is extremely inexpensive.

The skiings a bit pants, to be honest, but for a first-timer it's ideal.Just don't take anyone experienced with you, 'cos they'll be bored within 2-3 days.

Poor Guy

Passo Tonale is easy to tackle. thats where i went 1st time skiing.

JackClark

Czech Republic. Cheap, top quality Skiing and Boarding for beginners and intermediates not much for advanced. No chavs on a package holiday. Easyjet to Prague, car hire or bus for 25p to resort, we paid £25 for a weeks accomodation in one of the better hotels, ski pass was £25 for the week. 2 people with me had never been on a slope before and the instruction was as good as any I'd witnessed. Oh and the gentlemans scenery was outstanding.

http://www.holidayinfo.cz/stredisko....d=3&rg=2&odl=1

JackClark

I drove through Andorra earlier this year and one resort at least was Chav heaven, my description would be Malaga on Ice. All the tastes of home and all the tasteless people. Couple of miles down the hill the main town was a place of beauty with the best indoor hot springs I've ever visited.

joni

It isn't the cheapest, but for easy, interesting skiing and a lot to do if the skiing doesn't work out, look at Levi in Finland. Well inside the Artic circle so cold but the snow is sure. We went last minute a couple of years ago and it turned out to be one of the best holidays bar none including Skidooing on frozen lakes , dog sledging and of course Father Christmas Grub is good too, particularly reindeer burger.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

www.skifamille.com

dtriggs

I would suggest Canada - East (Mont Tremblant) or West Coast (Whistler/Banff/Fernie) - Canada ski schools are the best in the world and the snow is guaranteed. Temperatures can be very cold but keeps the snow good. My 5 years olds hated France but had the time of their life in Canada and werent bothered by the cold as had good equipment.
Mont Tremblant is great for beginners as you can ski anywhere on the hill - as each lift has either easy or hard runs. The resort is only 1 hr from Montreal airport and the flight is only 6 hours. Costs are low in comparison to good european resorts.

scoobydooooo

i'll second andorra , easiest place to learn as far as i was concerned !

Scooby96

Find a good online skiing tour agent and they should have a good review of each resort with statistics on number of nursery slopes etc etc

Dave!

Have a look at Cervinia in Italy..

D.

fitzscoob

mayrhoffen in austria is very nice, good ski instructers as well

RichardC

Thanks for all your replies. I have the wife checking them out as I type.

RichardC

steppers

hills and mountains

Brendan Hughes

Banff in Canada. End of.

mattstant

Depends what you want if you arent sure and want to do it on the the cheap go to andorra.
As someone who tended to look down on andorra as a bit of a chav ski resort and of little challenge to a fairly experienced skier i was fairly surprised at the range of skiing from Pas De La Cassa mind you i was recovering from a nasty calf strain from a weekend in Italy at the time.

For the full on alpine experience you cant beat Austria its pretty but with antiquated lift sytems Mayrhofen is a good start as previously mentioned.

France has some of the best skiing anywhere but also some of the most dismal resorts all concrete purpose built and hell if the weather turns bad and there's nowhere to go.
Italy only spent a weekend there (as above) cant remember where now somewhere near Mont Blanc very nice and good food.

Never been to switzerland but My old man is a regular you just have to be as minted as he is to go

mattstant

OHHH Brendan you just beat me to it that is top of my skiing wish list how was it ?????

mattstant

good link here http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/default.asp

jods

Corner when in Whistler.

No Contest IMHO

Buckrogers

Whistler is good, but not cheap!

CharlesW

Courchevel 1850 is good for beginners. There is some interesting skiing for better skiers. Also the window shopping is amusing. It can be a bit pricey.

New To Scoob

With Brendan on this one Banff Canada was there in Dec for my third time Instruction is first class Club Ski/Club Snowboard. I would say I'm pretty advanced/confident on a board now but always take three days instruction as I feel theres always something else to learn and the instructors know the best places, most of the instructors have been there for 3yrs+ the Mrs has went from sketchy novice to a confident intermediate thanks to the instructors.
Brendan - Beaver Tails no more now the Kokanee lodge ended up hiking last time with the instructor tiring but worth it, up to the Brown Sugarbowl 1' of fresh in a chute

www.skibig3.com

John.

Brendan Hughes

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Trumble

Levi - Finland

Really easy - my father in law was right to the top on his 4 day - a real confidence booster.

And you can go and see Santa

T.

106rallye

Best bet is Andorra, tax free, majority English first language instructors (some find this very important esp when learning) average to good snow record

Pas De la Casa good night life cheap drink esp for Europe easy skiing so you can get some good runs in Soldeu/El Tarter (sp?) less party atmostphere

IMHO Canada is a long way to go esp if you have never skiied before and will be more expesnive and alot colder compared to europe. Wait till you can really appreciate waist deep powder!

Big french resorts such as Courchevel Merribel Val D'isere Tignes etc. again save your pennies till you can appreciate it more, have just done a season in Courchevel and the three valleys skiing is waisted on a beginner, very crowded esp at peak times (think school holidays) although Magic in Motion and New Generation both very good ski schools apres ski very pricey tho not as expensive as Switzerland. You have to take into account lift pass prices and equipment hire as well somewhere like Courchevel is in the region of 150 euros for a week per person just for the Courchevel valley with ski and boot hire about another 60 - 100 euros where as Andorra a pass is cheaper and ski hire is much cheaper

good luck choosing

Andy

Brendan Hughes

In my experience, French and Italian ski instructors are CRAP. They are more interested in taking you on nice tours around the mountain than improving your technique.

rb5_336

the states or even better canada, as you're guaranteed an english speaking guide. Plus their resports have much more variety in terms of slopes. Im no expert, been on 2 holidays, am a beginner-ish snow boarder, and we went top Jasper last year and it was absolutely amazing!
Sean

Brendan Hughes

very very true about Canada being a long way away (10-hr flight and 8-hr difference means jetlag - I wouldn't recommend people to go there for a 6-day break!!), and also about it being a LOT colder. If you like these stories about skiing in a T-shirt, go to Spain or Italy, you certainly can't do that in Canada! (well, maybe for a few weeks in April.)

However, I found the instruction far superior; they separate classes into 8 levels, not just 3, and they damn well keep you in that class even if there's only one student, unlike in France and Italy when they'd just refuse to run a class and put you down with the beginners or worse, up with the advanced - I will NEVER forgive the ESF for what they did to me. The snow also seemed to be better, whereas Europe got a lot of icy patches, which doesn't encourage beginners. Runs are wider and better managed - advanced skiiers may well prefer the tight challenges of Europe, but again Canada better for beginners (IMHO!!). Lift queues are almost a joy! Finally, you have the ease that everything is in English, and very rarely do you get ripped off as a jerk tourist who they don't give a damn about.