The top 10 ski destinations to visit this winter
Beginner’s luck
- Soll, Ski Welt, Austria
Soll manages to attract beginner groups and families in equal measure. Part of the 280km Ski Welt area, it’s a great destination for all beginners with access to green (very easy) slopes, a good mix of blue (easy) slopes to progress on to, and lots of additional activities.
The resort offers night skiing, an excellent toboggan course, lively après ski and most importantly for beginners, reasonable food and alcohol prices.
A special draw for Irish visitors is Soll’s St Patrick’s Day festival, complete with green-lit slopes and a celebratory parade.
www.skiwelt.at
Both Crystal Ski and Topflight Holidays offer packages to Soll with ex-Cork departures every Saturday.
www.crystalski.ie
www.topflight.ie
Aer Lingus also offers Friday and Monday flights from Cork to Munich, opening up weekend breaks to the region.
www.Aerlingus.com
A great bet for beginner families with 40km of pistes, expanded snow-making facilities and a new hotel, the Explorer, which offers a budget option.
St Johann is also linked by bus, train and car to over 2,000km of skiing.
Expert excellence
- St Anton, Arlberg region, Austria
Already one of the most iconic ski areas in the world, St Anton and the Arlberg region are just about to get even better with the opening of four new lifts that will create the largest linked ski area in Austria.
The Flexenbahn lift linking Zurs and Stuben/Rauz, combined with three new lifts, will make it easier for experts to access the area’s famed off-piste terrain, or simply its 305km of pistes.
The new lift development is great news for visitors to St Anton, Lech, Arlberg 1800 and Zurs and to mark its completion, the region has created the ‘Run of Fame’, a 65km circuit that will take even advanced skiers the best part of a day to compete.
www.stantonamarlberg.com
First stop on the 2017 Freeride World Tour (January 28) and home to some of the most challenging off-piste terrain in the world.
Adrenaline fix; Les Deux Alpes, France.
Les Deux Alpes is a popular destination for groups with lots of different non-ski activities on offer.
This season guests can take a ride in a piste-grooming machine at sunset or test their head for heights on Skywalk, a new high altitude platform that stretches out for seven metres above the Valley de la Selle, with a 1,400 metre drop below and 360 degree views.
On January 22, the resort will host the Mad Snow Trail, a new obstacle race which participants can run or walk in the snow, while on February 22, it will attempt a new torchlight descent world record with 3,000 skiers.
www.les2alpes.com
Home to the Bun-J Ride, a bungee jump on the slopes.
In April, the resort will host singles event Love in Tignes, complete with mountain-top dates and chairlift speed dating — we love!
www.tignes.net
Family Fun
- Arc 1950, Paradiski, France
Cosy, pedestrianised and safe for children, Arc 1950 offers the kind of ski-in, ski-out convenience that families dream of along with access to over 600km of slopes in the Paradiski area — perfect for mixed ability families.
This purpose-built resort has the look and feel of a Canadian mountain village.
Its accommodation consists entirely of five-star residences operated by Pierre & Vacances and Radisson Blu so it’s best for families who aren’t on a budget.
There’s a smattering of bars and restaurants but perhaps more importantly for tired parents, a Deep Nature spa for après-pampering.
Stay at the 5* Le Village with www.topflight.ie
A new area above nearby Arc 1800 with restaurant, swimming pool and fun luge course for all the family.
The Paradiski region also features the family-friendly Yuge app which allows parents to track where their children have skied.
www.arc1950.com
Foodie fever
- Savoie Mont Blanc, France
We have to pick an entire ski region as our foodie favourite. Savoie Mont Blanc — which includes Les Trois Vallees, Paradiski and Tignes-Val d’Isere - boasts 34 Michelin star restaurants with a total of 48 stars.
If your gourmand desires run deep and your pockets even deeper, check out Jean Sulpice (2*) in Val Thorens, La Bouitte (3*) in Saint Martin de Belleville or La Table de l’Ours in Val d’Isere (1*).
Gourmet is also going family in the Savoie region this season.
Morzine is introducing petit gastronomy menus in six restaurants, including La Chaudanne on the mountain, so your little ones can enjoy the same delicious food as you, just with smaller portions and prices. www.savoie-mont-blanc.com
14 gourmet chefs come together in early December to design signature dishes which skiers can enjoy in mountain restaurants throughout the season.
www.altabadia.org
Apres antics
- Livigno, Italy
Duty free Livigno is a magnet for groups of intermediate skiers and as a result, it gets lively. Start your après ski at Tea del Vidal at the base of the Mottolino gondola lift or at Stalet, at the base of the Carosello 3000 lift.
We love Bivio bistrot where cool Italians hang out drinking Aperol Spritz and Hugo cocktails. Or to enjoy a drink in the sun with great views of the resort, head to Latteria di Livigno.
Most bars offer free après-nibbles but for a reasonably priced dinner, go to Pizzeria Mario’s where you can eat gorgeous pizza for €5.
If you prefer après-gym n swim, visit Aquagrande, a newly-renovated sports and leisure centre used by top athletes. Travel with directski.com www.livigno.eu
Which hosts two major winter festivals, Altitude comedy festival in December and Snowbombing music festival in early April.
www.mayrhofen.at
Scenic delights
- Wengen/Grindelwald, Jungfrau region, Switzerland
For pure chocolate box prettiness and up-close mountain views, it’s difficult to beat this region of Switzerland and one of the best ways to see it, apart from skiing, is by rail.
Crystal Ski clearly agrees; it has announced that all of its transfers to Swiss ski resorts this winter will be by Swiss Rail, citing the system’s punctuality, shorter transfer times and green credentials as reasons for the switch from coach.
We’ve made the journey from Geneva to the Jungfrau region using the Swiss Rail travel system and have to admit, it’s a pleasant, scenic way of getting to your resort.
We recommend packing light to make platform changes easier and studying your itinerary closely as Swiss trains wait for no skier.
www.crystalski.ie
The jagged spires of the Dolomites — Selva Val Gardena, Alta Badia, San Cassiano, Cortina, Corvara — make for beautiful views, especially at dusk when the mountains are bathed in a pink glow known as the enrosadira.
Check out direct flights from Cork to Bergamo this winter.
Non-ski time
- Bad Hofgastein, Gastein valley, Austria
Sleepy Bad Hofgastein has a special appeal for non-skiers with its thermal baths — for example the Alpentherme which is linked by corridor to a number of hotels and caters for all the family.
But what we really like about Bad Hof is the fact that you can take a day off skiing and hop on the train to Salzburg for some retail therapy and promenading.
Wander through Salzburg’s charming shopping streets (particularly nice just before Christmas), take in a Sound of Music tour, visit the birthplace of Mozart, buy handmade chocolate or jump in a taxi or bus to visit the McArthur Glen outlet centre next to the airport.
It’s as easy as pie and a great way to spend the day.
www.topflight.ie
9km of winter walking trails around the lake, Christmas markets during December, the Tauern spa and snowshoeing excursions.
The long haul
- Park City Mountain Resort, Utah, North America
Hop across the pond and take the new non-stop Delta flight from Heathrow (also Amsterdam) to Salt Lake City.
SLC offers easy access to many ski resorts but this winter we’re opting for Park City Mountain Resort which was nominated for a gastronomic resort award in the World Snow Awards 2016.
Last year, the largest improvement project in the history of US skiing linked Park City with the Canyons ski area to create what is now the biggest ski resort in North America.
Our top tip is to take some extra time and create your own road trip, combining a visit to Park City with other Utah favourites like Alta, Powder Mountain, and Snowbird.
www.visitparkcity.com
Famed for its bottomless powder and challenging tree skiing, Japan is on the list for every serious off-piste skier and culture vulture.
City and ski
- Geneva, Switzerland
A gateway to numerous Alpine resorts, Geneva itself is just a six minute hop on the train, direct from the airport.
Well known to business travellers and motor show visitors, the city has a charming old quarter and plenty of winter activities including l’Escalade which commemorates the successful defence of the city in 1602 with a fancy dress fun run through the old town and lots of other events.
Not surprisingly, some of the city’s shops and museums have a special focus on watch-making but the city is also home to the Ethnography museum and International museum of the Reformation.
From Geneva, catch a train or bus to ski in Villars, Chamonix, Morzine, Lake Annecy resorts — all within an hour of the city.
www.geneve.com
Alhambra, flamenco, tapas and ski — the perfect city ski break for lovers of Spain.
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