Skiing at Christmas

Murielson

Advice on where to go and what to look for for 3 x skiing novices around Christmas this year would be most appreciated. Adult x 2 plus 1 x 10 year old.

Many thanks

Dazzieboo

Have you a preference on country ?, what sort of accomodation do you want, self catering or half board ? what style of accomodation ?

A lot can depend on the above.

I have skied in many places and the best for beginners where I have been would certainly be Valloire (France) Pila (Italy) Obergurgle (Austria) Westendorf (Austria) Oberau (Austrai).

Fisrt choice used to do a Total Ski package, which was fantastic for beigginers, it was an all in price, which included the hotel, flights, ski and boot hire, ski school and lift pass, the only extra you had to pay for was your insurance.

I am sure they still do it, but couldn't say for sure, this is the type of package I would really suggest for a first time holiday. I went to Valloire with a friend for her first holiday and because they couldn't split the booking, we both ended up in the total ski package at a cost of £350 each.

Are you all total beginners or novice skiers ? if the former, I would strongly suggest, to save time on your holiday, you try and get to a dry ski slope first, to break in your ski legs, I have known so many people miss the second day of their holiday because their legs ached too much from the first day !!>

Gibblestick

For the best all round ski experience, you can't beat North America.
The lift systems are superb, the snow preperation is fantastic. The Ski schools are also excellent. Things are cheap (once you've paid to get there) and there is no language problem or culture shock.

If you want to go cheaply, I would recommend Andorra. The former eastern block is cheaper but not by anything like enough to compensate for the food/slopes/hotels etc.