 Poster: A snowHead
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We are planning to visit Barcelona and from there continue to Grandvalira in late January this year and stay in Andorra la Vella (or Les Escaldes). But we can't decide if we should take a tour with ski-bus or go by public transport. How problematic would be getting from city center to slopes, and back?
One other thing is; one of us is level 3+ (highest level being 8 ) snowboarder thus we will be seeking for long-wide-blue runs with no (or almost no) flat parts. What pistes are recommended?
How crowded will be those pistes on weekends compared to weekdays?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You can take AndBus (www.andorrabybus.com) from BCN T1 or T2 terminals. This will drop you at your place of stay in Andorra le Vella or Escaldes. You can also take DirectBus (http://www.andorradirectbus.es/en/) from Barcelona Sants station to the the central bus station in Andorra la Vella, however you will need to make your own plans to get from the bus station to your accommodation.
If you want to go to Grandvalira from Andorra la Vella take the L2/L3/L4 bus to Encamp. It will stop very close to the gondola. I think you'll find enough routes to keep you busy according to your specifications. You don't need to return there at the end of the day, just ski out at one of the other Grandvalira stations that is close enough to the main road and catch a bus back to Andorra la Vella.
You can also choose to go to the Vallnord resorts instead. There are free buses that serve these resorts that will run from La Vella / Escaldes. Some go to Arcalis. Some to Arinsal. You can use either to get to the gondola in La Massana which will take to the Pal ski station. You can also use the L5 bus to get to Arinsal or the L5/L6 to get to La Massana. You'll find that the Vallnord resorts will offer you enough wide pistes of blue/green proportions. Arinsal might be a bit small, but unless the weather is bad you can a gondola that connects Arinsal to Pal.
All of the busses in Andorra are equipped to deal with skis & snowboards.
End of January you'll still be OK on weekends
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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?
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If you speak Spanish or are handy with a translator, you can try the following websites for accom+liftpass combos, which typically run at weekends and require you to make your own way to the accom (and thus complements the info given above):
www.uniski.es
https://www.estiber.com/en_US/ (in English, it seems!)
https://www.esquiades.com/
I've used them all numerous times.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hi, flying to Pas de La Casa (Grandvalira, Andorra) on Feb 19th!
Any ideas on cheap tickets? Should I purchase online on grandvalira.com or look for some offers elsewhere?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| landi wrote: |
Hi, flying to Pas de La Casa (Grandvalira, Andorra) on Feb 19th!
Any ideas on cheap tickets? Should I purchase online on grandvalira.com or look for some offers elsewhere? |
Mmmm... check with the hotel you are staying as. Otgerise purchasing online with GV tends to be slightly cheaper than on the day.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm already kinda shattered by seeing the weather on Andorra for the next 7 days. 10 ºCelsius for 4 days in a row? There's no snow making to hold that heat.
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@landi, looks like there’s still loads of snow on the webcams. Even lots of snow on the south facing slopes across from Soldeu (these are non-skiing slopes that are normally the first to lose their snow). So no need to panic at all!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Pas is highest. And agreed, note the first five seconds of the Soldeu webcam. If there is snow on those far slopes it’s a good sign.
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just back from grandvalira on sunday after a week skiing. forecast was pretty much the same as this week and the higher temperatures did literally nothing negative to affect the snow
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Got back Sunday night from Pas. Piste quality was good throughout, some icy mornings were helped by a small dusting and snowmaking top ups. All in all a top week.
The only snag was the traffic out of Pas (into France) on Sunday afternoon. We were picked up at 4pm from the hotel (for 9:45pm flight) didn’t cross the border till gone 5 but made it to Toulouse airport 2 hours before flight. The private Andbus transfer driver was unsure if we’d make it, but luckily he was able to skip a large part of the traffic by going around a shortcut by the bottom roundabout which must only be available to buses/transfers. Otherwise it would’ve been much tighter. So my advice is to maybe give yourself more than the 3hr 45mins we had
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