Hi, looking to take my son away at half term, plan is to fly out early Sunday morning to Bergamo and back late Thursday, trying to keep budget as low as possible We're both reasonable intermediates and have done similar trips over the last 3 years, we've stayed in smaller resorts linked to bigger resorts, last year was Pinzolo which is linked to Madonna Di Campiglio and the year before was Valtournenche which is linked to Cervinia. Pinzolo was nice but you had to go down to village via gondola also gondola to Campiglio takes quite a bit of time. I found the pistes in Cervinia a bit bland, this year I am thinking of either Pila, Folgarida or Passo Tonale/ Ponte Di Ligno.
Passo Tonale looks a bit on the bland side but with interesting skiing in Ponte + the glacier, benefit is that it's the shortest transfer
Folgarida has the benefit of the link to Campiglio with lower cost.
Pila sounds nice and seems to have enough to keep us interested for 4 days
Would welcome any views on those resorts, hotel recommendations, would be great to have ski in/out
Any other resort recommendations?
Cheers
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Old Dog, does it need to be Bergamo? Champoluc/Monterosa might attract but Bergamo is not as close as TRN, MXP, LIN in that order.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Limited to Ryanair from Dublin, LIN is only other option but flight times are poor, loosing a full day's skiing.
@Old Dog, You could consider Livigno. Being in a high valley it's snowsure. There's a coach transfer service available from Bergamo (Orio al Serio) Airport (although it's a fairly long 4hr transfer).
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Old Dog, We go to Pila most years and it keeps us interested for a 5 day ski. We stay up in the village and there are plenty of places on the piste for Ski in-out.
We use Carole at Pilaski.co.uk as she just sorts it all out for us other than flights.
Loads of Pila info on here (have a search) including links to videos on Youtube of most of the Runs.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Passo is good, although a bit up and down. Ponte di legno is awesome, although can be tricky, steep and scraped. You can get a bus from passo to marileva, which takes 40 minutes and means you can ski Madonna too. 3 hour transfer tho.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Yes, I'll have a hire car, Livigno sounds a bit too far, with a flight back at about 9:00 we can have nearly a full day of skiing and still take it easy on return journey. Jake, thanks for info, do you leave the car down in Aosta and get Gondola up or drive up to Pila?
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TBH Aosta wouldn't be my immediate thought from Bergamo - or rather, Bergamo wouldn't be my immediate thought for Aosta, and I'm reversing the process. That may not be sensible however!
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Marileva , Commezzadura area not a bad place to stay
Commezzadura is lift linked to MDC Domain, and by road easily reachable to Passo Tonale or Pejo, if you fancied a change of ski scenery
Leave plenty of time, heading to BGY on a Sunday evening the weekend traffic from Passo to Bgy is crazy, bumper to bumper mainly
Nearer BGY is Carona Foppolo San Simone , v small 60km total pistes, having said that 1hr journey from BGY is hard to beat
If using a Sat nav, there are two similar named ski areas Folgaria and Folgarida
I have travelled on the Dub BGY evening flights before, last year first night stayed on the SS42 in Monno, didnt want to drive to far first night
Next morning drove approx 30m mins to Passo
Then after ski Passo drove to Commezzadura , and based myself there
Commezzadura is not ski in/ski out, and you need to take a Gondola to ascend/desend
If you are refueling your hire car before returning to Airport, most Service stations are unmanned on Sundays , and do not take Irish Credit/Debit cards, they do however take cash.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
dublin2 wrote:
...
Nearer BGY is Carona Foppolo San Simone , v small 60km total pistes, having said that 1hr journey from BGY is hard to beat
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Certainly looks to be Weekend only , also strange that their website selling consective days ski passes
GIORNALIERI CONSECUTIVI
BASSA STAGIONE (dal 11/12 al 23/12 - dal 9/01 al 30/01 - dal 12/03 al 2/04)
€ 118,00 5 GIORNI CONSECUTIVI
€ 138,00 6 GIORNI CONSECUTIVI
€ 155,00 7 GIORNI CONSECUTIVI
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Passo Tonale seems best decent sized ski area for shortest transfer time based on google maps although drive to Aosta is all motorway so lower risk of weather conditions hampering journey.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Old Dog, You mentioned Pinzolo earlier in this thread. We were there for two weeks in Feb this year. We used to drive past the Pinzolo gondola up to the Tulot one. Never had to queue. Small coffee shop/bar right by the lift. It's a cracker of a run back down to road/car park. Steep in places but it was never busy, even after a fresh dump of snow. It's top station is also a fair bit closer to the Gondola that takes you into MDC.
We liked the place. Friendly, proper little town.
ps. We drove round to Madonna one day and I think it took about 20 minutes.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@GeorgeVII We stayed in Pinzolo 2 years ago, the run down to Tulot wasn't open so had do get gondola down to Pinzolo and there tended to be a fair queue for it, no queues in the morning on the way up. Where did you stay in Pinzolo?
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Old Dog wrote:
Yes, I'll have a hire car, Livigno sounds a bit too far, with a flight back at about 9:00 we can have nearly a full day of skiing and still take it easy on return journey. Jake, thanks for info, do you leave the car down in Aosta and get Gondola up or drive up to Pila?
We have driven up to Pila most years as we came in from Geneva, but this year we have a Manchester-Turin option so just using a transfer.
Hotel we stayed at has underground parking - I think most do. The gondola to Aosta only runs 8am-5pm so you would have to get a bus outside those times. No idea why you would consider leaving the car down the hill though we never use it when up in Pila.
The road is generally cleared well, only a bit doggy coming down once after a heavy overnight snow fall and a early start to get to the flight in time. Not even sure we have had snow tyres on most years as we hired from French side of Geneva.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
You can get a long way East & North quickly using the A4 directly outside the airport and the A22 Brenner motorway, might open up the possibility of skiing some of the Dolomiti Superski areas...rather than driving up the winding mountain roads of Lombardy.
I'm driving from Milan Linate to Pozza di Fassa at half-term, probably 3 hrs, so a bit less from BGY, so certainly doable. You slip off the motorway at Ora and head over to Predazzo & Cavalese. It's a good base to access the whole Sella Ronda circuit as well as the various local areas in Val di Fassa, probably opens up around 700km of the total 1200km.
There's easy access off the A22 to the resorts of Val Gardena...Ortisei, Sta Cristina & Selva...it's a bit pricier here and can be busier, but some great skiing.
Check out some of the stunning views these German visitors took last Feb & Mar...Wolkenstein in Groednertal is the German name for Selva di Val Gardena...but many of the shots are all around the Sella Ronda linked area...
There are also other resorts further South closer to Trento like Andalo & Folgaria that might be worth considering for a short break, but these aren't in the Dolomites proper.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Thanks Luigi, I normally head north up the S4442,and while the road is safe, it is very slow, single carriageway, and lots of towns to pass thru with 30km speed limits
The A22 looks a better option, re A22 skiing, is there any ski areas in particular , you would recommend closest to BGY, we are not mega mileage skiers, so maybe a combined area of 100km , reasonable altitude, pref not too busy pistes. Will be using a hire car to "get around".
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Old Dog, Hi again. We rented an apartment via Airbnb. Really nice place. We were a party of 4 adults the first week and then just two of us the second. 3 double bedrooms + sofa bed in lounge. Large Bathroom and 2nd w/c. It was near the fountain opposite the Co-operative supermarket. Probably about 200 meters from the large church that you passed on the way to the gondolas. Also had two underground parking spaces allocated to it. Pretty handy for everything.
After all it is free
After all it is free
@northantsred @Mikepow thanks for that, Madesimo looks interesting especially with the itineraries. There's mention of Madesimo being free of cars do you have to leave the car somewhere down from Madesimo?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
From Dublin, Ryanair also do Venice Treviso which means you have Civetta, Cortina, San Martino, Falcade and Arabba/Marmolada within 1.45 hours of the airport.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
I'd thought about the Venice flight but it's restricted to Monday & Friday, flight back is mid morning to no skiing last day whereas we can fly to Bergamo, arrive Sunday early afternoon and leave the resort on Thursday about 4:00 pm having had a full day's skiing. Two years ago we even got 2 hours skiing on the Sunday afternoon as the Bergamo flight arrives about 10:00 in the morning so maximise time on the slope for time away from work.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Casa Alfredino wrote:
From Dublin, Ryanair also do Venice Treviso which means you have Civetta, Cortina, San Martino, Falcade and Arabba/Marmolada within 1.45 hours of the airport.
The problem there is that they may not do mid week, so Old dog would have to stay for the full week, or else the flights are at odd times meaning he could lose a day skiing. I know what he means, because we like to take a few days mid season ourselves and I am watching this thread with great interest.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
They do a flight out on Monday and one back on Friday.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Hi
is it possible to get to any of these resorts or other resorts from venice marco polo by public transport
thanks
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Hi
is it possible to get to any of these resorts or other resorts from venice marco polo by public transport
thanks
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Hi
is it possible to get to any of these resorts or other resorts from venice marco polo by public transport
thanks
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
How about Bormio 2 1/2 hours from Milano linate and 2 3/4 hours from Bergamo buy car (longer on public transport).
Italy's bigest vertical 1800mtrs ski Bormio, s caterina and s colombano.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
bellfi wrote:
Hi
is it possible to get to any of these resorts or other resorts from venice marco polo by public transport
thanks
There is a bus that the Snowheads use for their trip via that airport up to Birthday Bash have a look at that threat.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
dublin2 wrote:
Thanks Luigi, I normally head north up the S4442,and while the road is safe, it is very slow, single carriageway, and lots of towns to pass thru with 30km speed limits
The A22 looks a better option, re A22 skiing, is there any ski areas in particular , you would recommend closest to BGY, we are not mega mileage skiers, so maybe a combined area of 100km , reasonable altitude, pref not too busy pistes. Will be using a hire car to "get around".
I'm only conversant with the resorts in NE Trentino close to the huge Sella Ronda circuit...Canazei, Campitello, Pozza. Cheaper places where you could still access a number of areas would be around Cavalese & Predazzo where you can ski Alpe Cermis and Latemar, as well as Bellamonte & Passo Rolle within easy driving.
Also Siusi (Seis) & Castelrotto (Kastelruth) are cheap places to stay in German-speaking South Tyrol, they aren't far off the A22 and have their own ski area on the Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm) and are still driveable to Val Gardena.
There are a number of smaller resorts further South not far off the A22 like Andalo & Folgaria, but maybe nothing with 100km.
As always, accommodation walking distance to a lift that accesses a huge ski area is going to be pricey...and difficult to get for anything less than a complete week. You will likely need to commute.
Mid-Feb shouldn't be an issue for snow above 1400-1500m, it's the height of the season.
Looking at Madesimo for this season but couldn't recommend until I'd been there
A guy I know near Lake Como rates it, but it is local for him, shoots up there most weekends in season. I reckon it would be pretty quiet midweek. Fast road up E side of Lake Como from Lecco & Bergamo.
Handy new access into ski area via Gondola from Campodolcino, which opens up cheaper accommodation in Val S Giacomo...and maybe a daytrip over to St Moritz!
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Old Dog, I've been to Passo Tonale about 10 times & I'm a big fan, the skiing at Ponte Di Legno down between the trees is really great. The main reason I went was the accomodation with inclusive ski pass. Google Adamello freeski weeks to check availability.
The resort is very easily accessible from BGY, it's quite a bit further to resort from VRN or VCE. The drive is only about 90mins.
Another poster mentioned Bormio, the drive there is a lot further. Transfers can be booked through flyskishuttle.com but are only available at weekends.
Some people have mentioned accomodation, I've never had problems booking hotels for short periods & if you have a hire car, you are very flexible regarding this.
Enjoy your trip, book it all yourself, I would never go back to going on a package. Mainly because of the 6 days skiing. Fly on a Friday & return on Sunday night & ski 9 days.
@Northerngeezer, 90 Mins!!! most people take 2 to 2 1/4 hours. You might be able to do in 90 mins at 3am but not on you average Saturday. It is mostly single carriage roads.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@peter42, I was being a bit optimistic, as it's quite a while since I've driven BGY to Tonale, but it is one of the quickest transfers I've been on, and quicker with your own wheels.
I've had a early flight & managed to ski in the afternoon flying into BGY, most packages fly to Verona, which is a longer transfer.
But you never know the conditions, I've driven from Tonale to Ponte Di Legno, only about 10km & that took an hour!
After all it is free
After all it is free
We are going to Madesimo from Bergamo in Jan , out on Wednesday morning and home on sunday night. Hoping to ski Sunday and drive in the evening unless roads are really busy. Haven't been before, but looks like just about enough for intermediates for a few days. Our kids may get bored, is there any off piste possibilities for them, while the parents take the tame option. Or just go to the bar!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@Ottoline, Be careful on the Sunday. The traffic can be horrendous, especially late afternoon. Make sure you give yourself enough time to get to the airport.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ottoline wrote:
We are going to Madesimo from Bergamo in Jan , out on Wednesday morning and home on sunday night. Hoping to ski Sunday and drive in the evening unless roads are really busy. Haven't been before, but looks like just about enough for intermediates for a few days. Our kids may get bored, is there any off piste possibilities for them, while the parents take the tame option. Or just go to the bar!
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
