Family ski trip over Christmas in Dolomites or Alps

Not that I have skied in both, but I once spent Christmas in Bardonecchia, a small town where the snowboarding was held in the 2006 Torino Olympics. Small enough that the hotel/inn where we were staying had a big ol Christmas Eve feast for the whole hotel with things en flambé in their dining room. It was small enough to not be too far from the slopes, but it didn’t feel overrun with people. There were a TON of slopes, enough to keep me out all day, and not bored. We didn’t need a rental car.

But if you want to go from Milan to Venice, skiing on the way-ish over there might be easier.

Airfare, hotels, local transport, food, lift tickets etc in the Alps at Christmas time all for under $10k for 6 people ?

I suspect the ski resorts will not be in bargain mode over the Holidays, when everyone who skis will be trying to do so.

Unless you have FF miles for the air fare, I have doubts you can do it within the budget you gave.

If you want to ski in a foreign country, Whistler may be a better choice to fit your budget.( and its only one time zone difference)

[Yes , I saw you wanted a "European experience". Unless you have done research that shows your budget works, I have doubts about it]

My $0.02

Joan Lipson [email protected]
3:58 PM (0 minutes ago)
to donotreply

Airfare is already covered and not included in our 10K budget. We skied Whistler two years ago and are hoping for a similar ski holiday experience.

Check out ski.com. I've not used them for Europe, but I know they have a lot of packages for the popular European destinations.

Selva or Ortisei will be fabulous. Nail down lodging right now. Look to take the Half-Board options which include breakfast and dinner. Dinners are a good bargain with many choices each night in a 4 or 5-course setting. Can't say enough about how good the food is. And the extent of the skiing will blow your mind. From Selva, do the Sella Ronda excursion, skiing through 4 valleys, each with its own village, and ending up where you started without back-tracking. Can't get more genuine European than that.

We have a $8-10K budget for the entire trip.
Then
Airfare is already covered and not included in our 10K budget.

Thank you for the clarification.

To quote Emily Litella, "nevernind" is what you can do with my earlier comments.

If you are going to rent a car, you will need something big like a van to hold 6 people and all their gear. Don't forget IDP for all drivers. Train/bus is also very doable.

I did something similar in early December 2014. Flew to Milan and took the next train to Venice and spent 2 nights there. Then train to Trento and spent a night there, then train/bus to Selva the next morning. It could easily be done in 1 day, but I did not want to leave Venice until late in the day. Return took the bus to Bolzano and train to Milan to spend a night there before flying back the next morning.

As Sam mentioned, Italy’s Val Gardena (where Selva and Ortisei are located) is a great choice. Tons of lifts and slopes including on the Alpe di Siusi, great food, and much less expensive than Switzerland. We liked Hotel Albion one Christmas. It is half-board and that is a fun thing to do.

You do not need a car! You can hire a taxi (van) to pick you up from the train in Bolzano. Going rate is €85. Let me know and I will give you a contact.

Look at the website for DolomitiSuperski https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en and also https://www.valgardena.it/en/winter-holidays-dolomites/ski-resort-val-gardena/.

Wanted to add that all of your bus transportation once in the valley will be covered by a free pass. These buses take you to the lift stations. Also, the hotels like the Albion have shuttles to take guests to various lift stations. They try to discourage running around in cars so as to keep the traffic down.

Check out Auberge de la Maison in Courmayeur, Valle d' Aosta. We are staying there next week for the first time and it looks awesome- close to ski resort and great reviews! If you like what you see on line, reply back, and I can respond more about it, when we return in October! It's 2 1/2 hour drive from Milan. Thanks, Lou

Hotel Grones in Ortisei is really terrific with incredible dining too.

Why not fly into and out of Venice. Venice is closer to the Dolomites and you want to go to Venice anyway so I see no reason other than possibility saving a few bucks on airfare to fly to or out of Milan.
Flying into and out of Milan makes it hard to do what you want within 1 week.

I also recommend the Val Gardena area (the town of Ortisei is really nice). Many places have rather long stay minimums during the peak times so need to check into that, might have to rent a full week during Christmas.

Dec 23 to Jan 6 is "high season":
https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en/ski-area/val-gardena/skipass
Budget five consecutive days at 246 EUR per adult for lift passes or 205 EUR for four days.

Are you renting or bring your ski gear? Many airlines include one free checked bag per person on international flights. You can usually transport a ski bag as your free checked bag. If you bring your own gear, rental cars can be a challenge. Long distance coaches have under seat luggage compartments that easily handle skis.

If you want to consider renting gear, use Google Maps to locate ski shops and check out their rental programs and cost. You can often reserve gear ahead of time. Intersport is big in Europe: http://val-gardena.ski/
"Silver" quality (cheapest) gear would run 82 EUR for five days, "Platinum" 124 EUR for five days.

In resort areas half board is usually a good way to go. A half board hotel package adds certainty to your trip cost.

I think the OP has already mentioned that the airline tickets are bought, so it is a done deal.

Don't bring skis, they will be a headache. I take my boots (the devil I know). I pack the boots and a set of ski clothes in a carry on bag so I know I can ski right away even if my checked luggage gets delayed. Coming from AZ, you will have to change planes along the way, and that is where bags may not connect if there is a delay on the inbound connecting flight.

Second the recommendation for Hotel Grones. Food is fabulous and service is excellent. No need for a car. If you haven’t purchased your flights, look into flying into Venice instead of Milan. But you can do it from Milan as well

The Alpe de Suisi would be a great place to take your family to ski! Very affordable although this is a relative statement when it comes to southern Europe!!! Under 10K for a family of 6 may not be realistic anywhere in the alps during the Christmas/New Years holiday. You'll be spending, at minimum, 130 euros per person per night for half-board for a decent place.
There are quite a few great lodges up on the alp itself (both modern and rustic in feel) OR you can stay in the valley down below in the town of Ortisei - the gondola goes from the town directly up to the alp. Some of the most stunning views while skiing I've ever seen! Many of the bigger hotels in the town have indoor pools which your family might enjoy. If you want something more authentic and personal I can highly recommend the hotel Uhrerhof Deur . It's run buy 3 generations of the same family that have farmed their plot of land for hundreds of years. It's out of the city up on the side of a mountain (see the pics on their website) but it's one of my favorite places I've stayed in the area. They are well-located for the Alpe de Suisi and the inn itself is absolute perfection...their breakfast room has an uber-alpine atmosphere and the husband-chef cooks dinners for their half-board residents that are out of this world! They have a very nice spa facility on the lower level of the inn and a lounge room with views to die for. They have a 3 bedroom apartment up in the rafters I've stayed in that is cozy and beautiful...might be perfect for your group!

Our Dutch relatives like to ski in Nendaz in Switzerland - we have gone there and it is also a great place for family skiing as. Nendaz is part of the 4 Vallees ski area in that part of Switzerland...you can ski for hundreds of kilometers and not do the same run twice! It's not too far from Zermatt but doesn't have the sky high prices...although Switzerland is never a bargain.

I usually rent a car in the winter...all of the gear you need for skiing is quite a hassle so it's easier to take it in your own vehicle IMHO - although most places will arrange for renting it when you get there if you don't want to haul your own.

Happy planning!

Please keep the fabulous input coming. It is all very helpful. Any suggestions for economical transportation from MXP to Ortisei would be great. We are traveling on Christmas Day. I have heard frustrating stories about getting a van (for 6 + suitcases) as well who knows what the mountain pass conditions will be like and driving after an international flight doesn't sound too fun. Thoughts?

One temporary issue is that all the transportation schedules will be updated on December 8 and the new schedules are not published yet. They usually don't change much, but keep your eyes open when December rolls around.

What time are you scheduled to land at MXP? You will take a train from the airport to Milano Centrale, then change to a train to Verona Porta Nuova, then change to a train to Bolzano/Bozen. There you will change to the 350 bus to Ortisei. Currently, the bus times are 8:28, 11:28, 15:28, 17:28, and 19:32. It takes 1 hour to get to Ortisei.

You can see the current schedule at http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en. Use Malpensa Aeroporto T1 as start point and Bolzano Bozen as the destination. It will also show prices, but some of these will be artificially low because it will be for nonrefundable tickets bought now. You don't want to do that, because if your flight is late and you miss your train, the tickets will be invalid and you will have to buy new tickets, and with 6 people, that will be expensive. You can click on the price and it will show the standard (walk up) price for each leg. Also, if any of the family are children, they get a discount depending on their ages.

You'll see that latest train from Malpensa that gets you to Bolzano with enough time to get the 350 bus is 13:43, getting you to Bolzano by 18:31, at least with the current schedule.

The bus schedule website is https://www.sii.bz.it/en/south-tyrol-integrated-transportation

It is possible to get a transfer from Milano to Ortisei. I have no idea of the price but two ideas for checking.

We use Taxi Ivan each summer to get from Bolzano to Ortisei and his website indicates he will also transfer from Milano. At the very least I would have him pick you up in Bolzano rather than taking the bus, he responds quickly to email.

The other idea is to decide on your hotel and ask them about a transfer. The bigger operations in Ortisei have their own vans and also contacts to make arrangements.

Ask (e-mail) the area's tourist information office for advice on getting to the area from Milan.
https://www.valgardena.it/en/addresses/detail/base/poi/selva-val-gardena/tourist-office-selva-val-gardena/
Dolomites Val Gardena
South Tyrol / Italy
Tel.: +39 0471 777777
Fax: +39 0471 792235
E-Mail: [email protected]
Skype: infovalgardena

And as others note, if you have a specific hotel property in mind, ask the hotel for advice.

One thing you need to keep in mind is that skiing in Europe is very different than skiing in the USA. The basic difference is that American ski resort operators are very mindful of litigation for issues. Safety is very much on their minds. This is not so in Europe. There the mindset is that skiing is dangerous and it's the skiers responsibility not to do something stupid.

Obstacles are not marked as in the USA. This includes rocks, cliffs, etc. A black diamond trail is not something you want to try thinking you'll get down it even it you're not that good. What you will do is upset the other skiers. There's rarely anything marked out of bounds, so be prepared to ski where you know you can handle it.

That being said, have a great trip. I love skiing in Europe. Also, if you want something less expensive, you should consider Slovakia.

I have to take exception to some of KGC's statements. Trails (pistes) are very well marked, with poles of different stripes on the right and left, and center poles with a circular placard on top and the number of the ski trail as referenced on the ski map. Color of the pole will match the difficulty of the run, blue is easy (not green as in North America), red for intermediate (not blue) and black for difficult (same). The striping on the edge poles will help you identify which side the piste is on if you get caught in a white-out. Every piste is groomed nightly. So even black pistes will be smooth, not moguled up, just steep. Stay on piste and you won't have to worry about cliffs.

Having said that, mountain rescue (ski patrol) is not free like in North America. You can include mountain rescue insurance for a couple of EUR per day with you lift ticket. Often, they use helicopters for this rather than bundling you up in a sled and hauling you down, so that can be expensive.

As far as skiing in Slovakia, at Madonna di Campiglio in the Brenta Dolomites a little to the south west, fully half of the skiers are from Poland. They even advertise "Polish Week" at the end of March, with Polish DJ's doing on-mountain parties. In Val Gardena, you'll run into (not literally, I hope) of lot of skiers from Slovenia, who prefer it over their own country, which has some pretty good skiing.

Dolomites would be the better option concerning your location. 3 years ago, I was in Canazei together with my family and we had a great experience. Here's a list with possible destinations in the Dolomites, which you might consider visiting: https://www.sport2000rent.com/en/skirental/destinations/italy/