Beginners - Best Resorts

First time skiers and boarders should be looking at resorts with a good ski school and an inexpensive local beginner lift pass. The resort should have good nursery slopes and easy longer runs to progress to. A high proportion of Blue runs on the piste maps indicates a resort that is particularly well suited to inexperienced and first time skiers. If you are a snowboarder, you may want a resort that has a Snowboard park & half-pipes.

Each of our ski resort pages have star ratings for each skill level. Look under the Beginners section to see how each resort matches up with your ski experience.

Many ski beginners and improvers head for the friendly (and cheaper) slopes of Andorra, Austria and Bulgaria. Some examples of the best beginners resorts are shown below:

• Andorra - Arinsal, Soldeu/El Tarter
• Austria - Ellmau, Kitzbuhel, Mayrhofen, Obergurgl, Niederau, Scheffau, Soll
• Bulgaria - Borovets, Pamporovo
• France - Alpe D’Huez, Avoriaz, Flaine, La Plagne, Les Arcs, Morzine, Risoul, La Rosiere.
• Italy - Bardonecchia, Cervinia, la Thuile, Livigno, Passo Tonale, Sauze D’Oulx, Sestriere,
• Switzerland - Crans Montana, Villars, Saas-Fee, Wengen

Choosing the right resort is crucial to the overall success and enjoyment of you skiing holiday – let our expert Ski consultants help you by recommending ski resorts that suit both your beginner ski experience and your preference for après ski activity.

Learn To Ski Packages

Many tour operators offer 'Learn to ski or snowboard' packages. These deals are ideal for first timers and improvers as they usually include all the extras that you need on a ski holiday - Ski/Board and Boot Hire, Ski instruction and a lift pass sufficient for your needs. They generally offer a significant saving on the cost of purchasing these items in resort and must be pre-booked - our expert team can take care of all of this for you, just give us a call.

The First time Ski or Board packages are just that and can only be booked the first time you go skiing. You will spend some days on the Nursery slopes so you will not require the expense of a full lift pass.

The Improver Ski or Board packs are generally a little more expensive than the First time packs as you will be using many more lifts during the holiday.

You are more likely to be able to pre-book these packages in resorts that are ideal for beginners skiing i.e. resorts with excellent nursery slopes and gentler pistes for you to progress to e.g. Andorra Ski resorts, Bulgaria Ski resorts as well as selected Ski Resorts in France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

Rest assured that you’ll be in good company on a learn to ski package, spending some time falling over with your fellow beginners. Once off the slopes you will be able to recall your spectacular falls with your new found friends in the bar. Beginners often enjoy the après ski atmosphere as much as the skiing itself.

Ski Jargon

Ski Holiday brochures are packed with jargon. Here are just a few of the most common ski terms:

• Apres Ski: Translated literally to mean 'after ski', this can be either a lively drinking evening in a local bar or enjoying an organised evening activity or meal.
• High Altitude: A term used for resorts that are extremely high-up and offer better snow conditions.
• Lift Pass: A pass that enables access to a specific mountain area using the lift system. A 'Local pass covers just the immediate resort but an 'Area' pass includes several resorts in the general area.
• Moguls: Small hard mounds or bumps of snow, usually skied by experienced skiers.
• Piste: A market snow trail of densely packed snow to make it easy to ski on.
• Runs: Can be Green (easiest, very gentle), Blue, Red or Black (most difficult).

Beginners Ski Clothing & Equipment Hire

Setting yourself up with all the necessary ski clothing and equipment can be an expensive exercise especially if you are a first time skier and not sure how much use you will get of the gear. Therefore it may be a wise idea to hire essential items like Jackets, Salopettes and Helmets for the first time or two. Also, hiring ski clothing is a particularly good idea., if you have children that are quickly growing up. There may be a local sports/ski shop near you or there is always TK Maxx that often has great bargains on ski clothing from October time onwards.