Some Advice Needed

Hi everyone,

This is probably going to be a lengthy email so I apologise in advance hopefully you will all bear with me!

I am from N.Ireland and have had two skiing holidays with my wife so far - both in Livigno in 2006 and 2007 which we loved. The first year we absolutely loved it, but last year put us off slightly and my wife didn't enjoy it as much. Basically we ended up in a class with people who had skied for 3-5 years so my wife was always bottom of the class and behind everyone else which really knocked her confidence and affected her enjoyment.

We are however looking for another skiing holiday this year along with relatives who came with us last year so they have only one week skiing experience although got on really well. Problem is they have a little baby born a month ago and my wife and I are currently trying for a baby so if everything goes well my wife will be unable to ski.

So basically we are looking for a ski resort which is good for beginners/intermediate skiers (myself and the other guy) with the option of lessons (no longer than 2-4 hrs a day) and slopes close to the hotel. But we would also like the resort to be good for the non-skiers. We would like the hotel to be central to the town and to have a swimming pool/sauna etc so whoever is not skiing can relax and have a good holiday. Finally we would like the ski resort to have a nice selection of restaurants (bars/clubs not necessary) and shops for the non-skiers!

I don't mind if its a package holiday (flights from Belfast or Dublin) or whether its DIY as long as we can get cheap flights. We love Livigno as a town so am quite happy to go back there. We just didn't see any hotels that fit the bill the transfer is very long to do it DIY.

Hopefully someone can recommend a good ski resort and hotel as I really don't want to miss out on skiing this year! As you can see we are not asking for much! :D

Many thanks

Darren

Darren,

I've skied Livigno once, Austria 3 times and Switzerland once so I'm not overly qualified to offer advice on the best resorts to go to as everybody has their own requirements. Personally I've prefered all my Austrian holidays to the one in Livigno and that's not to say that Livigno was a bad holiday, it was a good holiday (I started drinking Guiness in Livigno of all places), I just prefered the Austrian resorts. Personally my favorite resort so far is Saalbach. Easy transfer, easy to do as a DIY, nice town, lots of skiing but not that high an altitude but to be honest that wont stop me booking there again. Even when snow is poor you can still ski.

Question for you, why do so many Irish go to Livigno? In my ski school class in Livigno about three quarters of the class were Irish and they couldn't figure it out either!

Thanks for the reply. I think its because Panorama are one of the main tour operators for Skiing in Ireland and they have a lot of accommodation in Livigno (base themselves in Marco's) so thats why a lot of Irish end up there in the top part of the town. The middle/bottom section of Livigno is very different though with a lot more German etc.

Hi, A couple of suggestions for you. Consider Wengen/Grindelwald or Zermatt. Each resort has plenty of non skier activities available, and are attractive places in their own right, with quality hotels. In addition these resorts offer non-skiers the chance to meet up with skiers for lunch at altitude, with cable car access.
Short transfer to Wengen/Grindelwald from Berne.

Thanks Bandit. Did a quick search on flights to Berne from Belfast and unfortunately there are none with the cheaper airlines.

I will try some of the tour operators and see if they can provide packages to these locations

Hi there

I'm from N Ireland also. We go to Niederau in Austria direct from Belfast Int. with Crystal Ski. The hotel we stay in, Hotel Austria is right in the village centre, 1 minute to beginner slopes, gondola and ski school. Crystal use the Wildschonau Ski School (red uniforms) who are fantastic and they assess everyone on the first day to decide who goes in which class. They move people up and down classes if necessary so that you don't feel out of your depth or that your class is holding you back. The village is fairly quiet though, a couple of good little bars. We go half board at the hotel. I imagine that day trips can be organised to Innsbruck etc. and there is also bowling and horse drawn sleigh rides for the evenings. It's just over an hour transfer from Innsbruck. It's not a high resort though but we still got to ski every day this year even though there was very little snow. If you want to go somewhere busier, I would suggest in Austria maybe Kitzbuel, Soll or Ellmau which are all part of the large Ski Welt area and are bigger towns/villages. Friends of mine absolutely love Kitzbuel. Enjoy wherever you go! :D

Doh :oops: It's not Crystal we travel with its Inghams who go from Belfast International. I think Crystal only go from Belfast City.

Skigirl, thankyou for the very helpful reply. I will definitely look into that town/hotel.

The other thing we are looking into is hiring a chalet for the week and doing it all DIY. Can anyone recommend achalet close to a town. Airports from Belfast with cheap flights would be Geneva, Barcelona, Verona, Chambery & Milan.