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Tignes or Ischgl?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi guys,
My wife and I have always said that when the kids were old enough we would pay for their first abroad holiday.
With friends they have decided that the want to ski and the week before Christmas. (16/12/2016)
There is lots of availability for that week and reasonably priced.
I have explained to them that the weather cannot be relied upon especially that early in the season, and to choose the resort the want to go to very carefully.
I have recommended Tignes or Ischgl to them but what are snow making facilities like at these resorts.
They are also looking for some great apre and I know Ischgl is legendary but not sure on Tignes so thoughts on that too.

Kind regards

DJ
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Tignes has great snow record but I wouldn't recommend it as a "first holiday without parents" destination. There are some bars but Tignes is for people who have grown out of the nightlife in Val D'Isere. For proper apres Austria would be a much better bet.
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val disere all day long
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@vipul, + 1 for that
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val disere all day long
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Another vote for Val d'isere.

They'll need a good wedge of beer money mind..
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Tignes is a good shout. Lots of university ski clubs go there at that time of year so can be quite enjoyable from an apres perspective!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@snowsmog, beer prices are pretty much the same in Tignes & Val d'Isere. Val d'Isere has more upmarket bars/restaurants/hotels than Tignes, which contributes to the expensive perception, but still has as many, if not more, 'normal' bars as Tignes.
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Ischgl is a more pleasant and cheaper resort than either Tignes or Val d'Isere also a bit more tree lined skiing and sheltered lifts if the weather is inclement.
Cheaper eats as as well. I'm pretty sure that most late teens would have a blast anywhere though in all honesty.
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@Drunkenjoiner, Ischgl is very reliable for a pre Christmas trip - see their Facebook page and have a look at their pictures from October/November for the last few years. I would probably say that Ischgl has the most comprehensive snow-making abilities of any resort. It is unbelievable how well prepared the resort is and by that point in time point there has usually been at least one decent natural snowfall and you may get some decent off piste too.

As above - fantastic apres, very reasonably priced food and you should be able to get a good deal on accommodation before Christmas. I went as/with a group of sub 25yr olds and fell in love with the place.


Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Mon 14-03-16 15:00; edited 1 time in total
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I'd wait for the snow reports, there will be a bucketful of cheap deals for that week. I would personally says Tignes, as I live there, there are plenty of bars to suit all ages and they are generally cheaper than Val D'Isere. If anyone can beat €4 for a pint of Peroni in Val I will stand corrected. It also depends on what kind of youngsters yours are and whether they are travelling with your credit card!!!!!
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Ischgl will have a lot open regardless of the amount of natural snow that has fallen

All things being equal for me personally it would come down to whether they enjoy off piste skiing or stick to the pistes as the EK has some of the best lift served off piste available anywhere and trumps Ischgl IMO, but it's so early in the season it's not certain if there'd be much (or any) off piste available.

Price wise Ischgl is at the top end for Austrain resorts so I wouldn't expect there'd be anything in it going out for a drink.

If they care Ischgl although it's been developed a lot and is quite 'glitzy' but is still quite a nice town certainly Vs. Tignes.

Have they skied in Austria and France before? I would let come down to which they preferred the most on previous trips in terms of ambience, apres etc. Ishgl has a rep of being full of rich Russians whilst I find the EK to be full of Brits!
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@Grizwald, most expensive beer I've bought in Ischgl was 5 euro and I would say that the rich Russians are in the minority as I certainly haven't met any. The only aspects I've found more pricey than the rest of Austria was accommodation and ski hire. Lift pass was 155 euro for six days(!) as there were out of peak season reductions.

On the amount of pistes open, last November IIRC there was over 130km of pistes open and similar the year before. With it being pre-xmas with plenty of availability accommodation should be reasonable.
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I'd agree with @chocksaway, wait and see where the best conditions are.
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I'd agree with @chocksaway, wait and see where the best conditions are.
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@Drunkenjoiner, Ischgl has outstanding snow making facilities. Even in a poor snow year they will almost certainly have more open than anywhere in Austria. They pride themselves on it. In a normal year you will probably have a greater pisted area open early season in Ischgl than most other parts of Austria. It also has full on fun après.

Downsides are slightly boisterous nightlife (a couple of places are a bit sleazy but easily avoided) though I doubt this would really dismay your kids. There are some pricey places but again easily avoided. The majority of the après is just fun and inexpensive. The majority of visitors are German (not Russian).

All in all it is an excellent early season resort with great snowmaking facilities, good pistes and great après.

Can't comment on Tignes as I've not been there, but to be honest I suspect they are both good options.
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Isghgl for me -lots of character whereas Tignes is, well , rather concretely.
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@Drunkenjoiner, If your children are old enougth to go skiing on their own then I suspect they want to make their own decision as to where to go and what they want from the trip. Give them a copy of Where to Ski and Snowboard and let them get on with it.

It is interesting that you have reccomended Tignes and Ischgl to them as opposed to Val Thorens and St. Anton
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Tignes is higher than Val d'Isere and easier to ski back to and maybe easier access to the glacier, if all else fails. it sounds as though Ischgl is particularly noted for excellent early season snow. The OP's suggestions sound quite sensible to me.
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My perception (from all of a week) is that in Ischgl there tends to be more middle aged than teenage holiday makers, yes the apres was great until about 19:30 when it seemed everyone left, went back to their hotels, got showered, changed and went for a very civilised dinner with a rather nice bottle of wine.

So if you're wanting the parents choice go Ischgl but for a teenager Tignes would be the preferred resort.
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+1 to @nozawaonsen, comments. Whereas Tignes in Dec 2014 on the Not the PSB when there had been v little snow anywhere, had the worst slope/snow conditions I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. There was virtually nothing open. Not for a minute can I see this happening in Ischgl with its superb snowmaking and grooming.
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@marcellus, I have just seen your post. I disagree, my 25 yr old nephew, on his first skiing holiday found plenty of late nightlife (clubs) and said people were v friendly in the bars and he was MIA for more than a few nights getting some action! wink Twisted Evil
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@Cinsha, @marcellus, completely agree - I had a very similar experience to your nephew wink I found that between 7.30 and 9.30pm things died off a little but then by 10.30pm it had all kicks off again. This lasts through to around 3/4am, though I try to be in bed by two every night in order to be out the door at 8-30!
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Apres in Ischgl does not stop at 1930. Some places switch to restaurants and then back to noisy bars after food has finished....like Kitzloch.
There are a few venues which have girls dancing on the bars and also a couple of table dancing clubs, nothing 'sleazy' and easily avoided if you wish.
Snow is boosted by around 1100 snow cannons if necessary.
Queues for lifts are not the same lengths as some in Tignes.
There are more Brits here this season it seems, but still a lower ratio than you would find in Tignes.
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Ok my bad, we obviously didn't go back out after dinner, and some rather nice wines!

But we did see table dancing clubs too!
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@Cinsha, Noz did not comment on Tignes, Tignes has excellent snow making facilities. But last season was too warm to use them. Unlike this year when people were flocking from all over Europe as it was cold enough. If you can guarantee that Ischgl has low temperatures every year so they can use those excellent snow making facilities then fine, but frankly if you can do that you should concentrate on picking lottery numbers.
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@chocksaway, actually I'm not too sure about that. Weather conditions in Ischgl weren't a whole lot different in Ischgl and Tignes at the start of the the 2014/15 season. Yet Ischgl had 70km of pistes open on 28 November 2014. That was the result not just of having snow making facilities, but also a willingness to use them and spend an absolute fortune doing so. But as I said I've not been to Tignes, I'd only say that I have never seen a resort put quite as much effort into having early season runs open as Ischgl.

@mayr, I'm very fond of Ischgl. I always have a good time there. And it definitely does not close down at 1930!! But I find table dancing bars (and I'm not talking about Schatzi) a bit "sleazy." However, as a result I don't go to them. Pretty straightforward to avoid them as you say and perfectly possible to go to Ischgl without really being aware they are there.

Both resorts are of course good bets for early season skiing which is what the OP was asking. I suspect their kids would have a great time on a paid holiday to either!!! If they want to meet Brits their own age I suspect they might be better off heading to Tignes. If they want a less Brit centric holiday then Ischgl might appeal.
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@nozawaonsen, who wants to go to Burger King anyway if you catch my drift...wink wink
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 You know it makes sense.
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@nozawaonsen, I haven't got any records for Ischgl, but I was in Tignes watching and waiting for the cannons to start. The willingness was there as was the money but to quote Scotty:
"You cannae change the laws of physics Captain!!"

The odd degree (and a few knots of wind) makes all the difference.

From the annual report from The Regie de Pistes for 2014/15 they produced 1.1 million cubic meters of artificial snow in Tignes (not the E-K) compared with 680 000 the previous season. At about €2 a cubic meter - that's a few bob.

That said, I remember some criticism from some Bash attendees as some slopes looked white from artificial snow and were not open, but having skinned up none of the drainage gullies were full and even on Palafour there are some deep ones.
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@chocksaway, not in the same ball park. Ischgl spent €11 million Euros and produced 2.3 million cubic metres of snow in 2013/14 (the season before). I'm not saying that's necessarily a good thing, just that they put a huge amount of effort into it.
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nozawaonsen wrote:
I find table dancing bars (and I'm not talking about Schatzi) a bit "sleazy."


Last time I was in Ischgl, Schatzi gave the impression it was owned/managed by Russian Mafia.
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Quote:

nozawaonsen wrote:
I find table dancing bars (and I'm not talking about Schatzi) a bit "sleazy."


Last time I was in Ischgl, Schatzi gave the impression it was owned/managed by Russian Mafia.

Oh! dancing bars - I read dancing bears - must get some new glasses
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AthersT wrote:
@Cinsha, @marcellus, completely agree - I had a very similar experience to your nephew wink I found that between 7.30 and 9.30pm things died off a little but then by 10.30pm it had all kicks off again. This lasts through to around 3/4am, though I try to be in bed by two every night in order to be out the door at 8-30!


Yep, it's just the half-board effect. A lot of Ischgl visitors are in full- or half-board hotels so the party does drop around 7pm, with a number of the apres bars closing only to re-open at 8pm as restaurants. We find this a good thing though - it reminds you to actually eat!

mayr wrote:
Apres in Ischgl does not stop at 1930. Some places switch to restaurants and then back to noisy bars after food has finished....like Kitzloch.


The Kitzloch becomes a bar again AFTER food?!? Been there many times but, shamefully never late-enough for that. After the apres and ribs it's usually been time to say good night to Arnot and head home Smile
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nozawaonsen wrote:
@chocksaway, not in the same ball park. Ischgl spent €11 million Euros and produced 2.3 million cubic metres of snow in 2013/14 (the season before). I'm not saying that's necessarily a good thing, just that they put a huge amount of effort into it.


The other thing Ischgl seem to do is to groom and bash from the very first snowfall of the year, even if it's in early October when other (apart from glacier, obviously) resorts just let it melt away. It really does seem to help preserve any early snowfall until the season start, at least on the actual pistes.
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Recommendations where to stay in Ischgl? Near which lifts. Hate walking to them. May try next year as Skiclub GB goes there.
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For this week, I'd book last minute.

That's what I did last year, and got a nice half catered deal in Tignes, great location. 300 gpb for the week... in Le Lac. The year before I booked last minute in Cervinia.

Plus, you really do want to see where the snow has or will fall. It could do anything that time of year.
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@buchanan101, Three lifts out of Ischgl and plenty of hotels adjacent to them. Pretty much all of them are half board rather than B&Bs
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buchanan101 wrote:
Recommendations where to stay in Ischgl? Near which lifts. Hate walking to them. May try next year as Skiclub GB goes there.


We stayed there 2 week ago

Myself and a few others stayed here http://www.gidishof.com/en1/gidishof-in-ischgl/
Its a Basic B&B ,very clean comfortable and quiet ,next to the lift and less than minute walk to the shops/bars
We only stayed 5 days but they only accept 1 week bookings which is the case for 95% of Austrian resorts but they did deduct the breakfast cost for the days we weren't there .
I would stay here again

The rest of our group stayed here http://www.ferienglueck.at/en/welcome.html
They accepted a 5 day booking but had to pay slightly more above the basic room rate .
Right next to the lift and shops/bars but still very quiet ,Larger choice for breakfast ,free Wifi and wellness facility's.

Any questions please ask
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In Ischgl if you avoid the exstream ends of the village all accomodation's probably <5min walk from one gondola or the other, with a lift and travellator to avoid the only hill in town and I think ski stores at all 3 bottom gondola stations and the top in Idalp, maybe more. There's used to be a good accomodation search/map on the Ischgl.at site but they seem to have broken it as the place we usually stay in has gone AWOL - http://www.ischgl.com/en/booking/online-booking/karte?towns[]=402&randSeed=NaN

For some reason the package operators mainly offer hotels for Ischgl, though you do get a couple of B&Bs (Hotel Garni"). If you book direct there's also plenty of apartments.
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I stayed in an apartment there - it was 1000 euros for a 4 person apartment for a week - Hotel Garni Val Sinestra. Can ski to door even until the end of the season - about a 3 minute walk to the lift/travelator to the Fimbabahn.

It was pretty basic but did the job and was very clean plus a good location being quite central so can apres on both sides of town.
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