Choosing the right skiing area is crucial for a good skiing holiday. If you find the perfect place for you and your group to live and ski, you will quickly become more popular than Hansi Hinterseer for the senior festival in Langeland, but conversely, with an unfortunate booking, you can risk half of your skiing holiday being carried away and down steep slopes - both before and after a long day on poorly prepared ski slopes.
At the same time, booking a ski holiday can seem like a colossal task. There seems to be an infinite number of ski resorts to choose from just in Europe, and in addition there are a host of other choices and priorities to be made when planning your ski holiday: some ski areas are good for beginners, while others have a terrain and associated level best suited to experienced skiers. Some ski resorts are almost more alive after the lifts close, and are thus equipped with wild après-ski bars and discos, while other areas focus almost exclusively on the optimal skiing and snowboarding facilities that are available first in the day. Are you going to ski alone or with others? Will ski school be necessary? Are the off-piste opportunities in the area paramount?
You have to be careful in your choice of area and facilities when planning a ski holiday, and in this guide you will therefore get a good introduction to some of the considerations you should make before you book a ski holiday and travel to the mountains.
What time of year are you going on a skiing holiday?
Perhaps the most important factor in planning your ski holiday, the timing, has perhaps already been determined and dictated by when you and your travel group can get time off from work or school. If you are flexible when it comes to travel times, there are several things worth bearing in mind when deciding when in the ski season to go:- December (and especially early December) offers cheap ski trips, as almost all ski resorts offer reduced prices for lift tickets and cheap accommodation. However, the cheap prices are due to the imminent risk of bad snow that comes with a trip to the mountains early in the season. If you are going on a skiing holiday in December, it may therefore be a good idea to search for high mountains, as the chances of good snow at high altitude ski resorts are generally greater.
- January is a good time to go on a skiing holiday if you value both good space and good snow on the slopes. There are no public holidays at the beginning of the year, and therefore few have time to go on a skiing holiday. Therefore, the prices in January are affordable, at the same time as the month usually offers good snow in most areas. On the other hand, you have to be ready for cold weather and short days if you choose to go skiing as one of the first things in the new year.
- February is high season, and this is therefore probably the busiest month at the ski resorts. This also means that you usually have to pay a little more to go on a skiing holiday in February, but in addition to many other skiers on the slopes, you are also guaranteed good snow in most areas.
- March offers warmer weather and longer days, which, in addition to creating the perfect conditions for a good brandet for après ski, unfortunately also entails a small loss in the quality of snow. March is therefore the perfect month to go on a skiing holiday if you want sun on your nose, beer on the table and can live with a little slush-ice on the slopes.
- Like December, April offers the possibility of a cheaper ski holiday, but just like at the beginning of the season, there is a risk of bad snow here. If you are going on a ski holiday in April, it is again worth looking for ski resorts that are high in the mountains.
How good is your tour group at skiing?
If you are as green on skiing as the slope you will be standing on, it is worth investigating whether the ski resort you have in mind has the necessary facilities for a good start to skiing. Are there enough green hills? Is there a ski school offer in the area? There are many new things to learn when strapping your skis under your feet for the first time, so a good tip is to find a resort near a green hill with a "flat escalator" instead of a ski lift, so the challenges associated with getting getting in and out of a ski lift can wait - at least until you have the basic skills in place.
On the other hand, small, flat ski resorts quickly become boring for experienced skiers. Therefore, consider finding an area with a ski park, good off-piste and plenty of well-prepared, red and black pistes, if you and your travel group are skilled in the noble art of flying at high speed down a snow-covered mountain with boards underneath the feet.
Most ski resorts list the number of green, blue, red and black runs online. Compare them and investigate together with your travel group which area best suits your level. Some ski resorts fortunately offer a good mix of the four types of pistes, and these are of course particularly suitable for groups who go on ski holidays together, even if they do not necessarily have the same level and ambitions on the pistes themselves.
It's also worth bearing in mind that long, flat stretches of blue and green pistes are just as good for beginner skiers as they are challenging for snowboarders who, without ski poles, don't have the same opportunity to push forward when it not going down.
What is your budget?
Anyone who has tried to get hungry or thirsty on a mountain in the French Alps knows that a tray of fries and a beer in the middle of the piste comes at a price that can necessitate the restructuring of one's mortgage. Of course, transporting potatoes, fries and beer to the top of a mountain will never be cheap (who came up with the crazy idea in the first place?), but both the prices of food and accommodation can vary greatly depending on where you ski. The lift prices in an area are usually a good indication of the place's prices (and popularity), and it is therefore a good idea to compare these when choosing where to go on your skiing holiday. Interested in going on a ski holiday on a budget? Read our list of the best cheap ski resorts .
For better or for worse, skiing is an equipment sport, and although there is of course nothing that beats the feeling of being the one in the group with the most ski equipment, it can quickly become an expensive pleasure. Were you e.g. aware that in some ways it is cheaper to wear a Rolex watch than it is to buy new ski equipment ?
Fortunately, there is a lot of money to be saved if you choose to invest in a pair of used skis - both in comparison with new skis, but also in relation to the rental price. In doubt when it comes to buying used skis? Read our good advice here , or check out our large selection of skis right here !
What should happen after the lifts close?
If your perfect day of skiing ends with going straight back to the hotel or chalet and relaxing before another day on the slopes after you've slept in, this section may not be so relevant to you.
If you're heading to the mountains with children (in tow), or if your travel group includes people who don't intend to ski, it might be a good idea to investigate what options the area offers for entertainment that isn't related to skiing. Most ski resorts take advantage of the weather and snow in the area: sledding, tobogganing and ice skating are thus just a few of the winter activities that you can be lucky enough to offer at the ski resort if you have chosen correctly.
For some, it can be difficult to say "ski" without first having said "after". If you belong to this group of the population, it is of course necessary to research the city where you are going to live and spend the night before you book a 6-day stay in a city that is as dead as my grandmother's sex life ... Some ski resorts are almost more alive after the lifts are closed, some are characterized by coziness, good atmosphere, live music and authentic pubs, and some are, well, dead. Decide what you are looking for and book your ski holiday accordingly.
It is of course also worth investigating the shopping opportunities in the area if you expect to cook your own food on your skiing holiday, just as it is conversely a good idea to find out which restaurants are nearby if this does not apply .
Do you take the children on a skiing holiday?
Find out in advance whether there are babysitting options in the area if you plan to "park" the children while you hurtle down the mountain at a speed that is not child-friendly. If the children are going out on the slopes for the first time, ski school might be a good idea, but not all areas have a ski school for children, and not all places offer this in Danish or English. In other words, it can generally be a slightly different task to book a ski holiday if you have children with you. Check out our 10 tips for the perfect first ski holiday with the family if you have any doubts!
