Having transplanted from NorCal to the UK during the pandemic, I'm trying to organize a family ski trip this winter to take the place of our many Tahoe pilgrimages. Given all the travel restrictions it looks like Italy will be easiest.
So - any recommendations for where to take a family of 5 for a week in the Dolomites?
Primary objective is for the kids to have a good time and progress in their skiing abilities. Ages are 13, 11 and 9 - the oldest is a competent blue skier, middle is enthusiastic, youngest is basically a complete beginner (she was on skis once or twice in Tahoe two years ago).
My wife and I are pretty solid intermediate/expert skiers but out of shape so we'll ski whatever the resort has, no ego here.
Aside from that, I'd like to show the kids a picturesque Alpine village, some fun restaurants, maybe sledding / ice skating?
We'd be flying in from London, probably to VCE. Not sure whether to rent or take a shuttle.
It seems like accommodation will be the challenge - haven't seen much in a village centre for less than £3k for the week.
So far possibilities I'm considering are Civetta (Alleghe), Val Gardena, 3 Peaks, Corvara / Badia...
What would you recommend?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Arabba
Took our 5/7 YO kids there when they were almost beginners and they loved it.
The little one cried buckets when he was ctold he couldn't invite Stefano the ski instructor to his birthday party ( in August)
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?
I wouldn't recommend Arabba - the only way back are reds that can be a bit nasty at the end of the day.
Meh. Like I said our youngest had only skied about 4 days when we went there, and he was fine.
We did worry about it loads beforehand, but if turned out to be a complete non issue.
Was our best ski holiday ever. And one of the cheapest too. £2400 all in.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Depends on where you can get in.....
Here is a link to the requirements in Kronplatz (just to give you an example) https://www.kronplatz.com/en/planning-booking/covid-info and here is a link to the entry requirements for the Suedtirol https://www.suedtirol.info/en/information/coronavirus/arrival
Basically if you can go, then Corvara or San Cassiano areas would be good.
I like to find solutions rather than problems, but I think your situation will be hugely influenced by the vaccine status of the adults going, together with the vaccine status of the 13 yr old. And if the 11 yr old turns 12 whilst you are there then that might get "interesting"
After all it is free
After all it is free
We are taking our two girls aged 10 and 9 to the Birthday Bash at the end of Jan in Arraba, if you want some company! Unbeatable value. I took my son a couple of years ago aged 9, he'd only skied a couple of weeks, and managed all the runs back to the hotel with no problem at all. We loved the Dolomites and can't wait to go back!
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you say Dolomites rather than "Dolomiti superski" so you could look at Madonna Di Campiglio - nice ski area, good scenery, dedicated beginner area and an actual small pretty town. But as mentioned by others with a 13 year old Italy will be challenging unless maybe they had vaccinations in the US before you came over.
ps don't sweat the resort choice too much, you'll have a great time at any of the above, some resorts offer a wider range of non ski activities than others so worth thinking about that (e.g. Corvara and Madonna have skating rinks)
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Welcome to snowHeads!
While TheGeneralist and etphonehome both had success with youngsters at Arabba, I would concur with the view that return into Arabba from further afield at the end of the day can be a challenge - but I have to say I am too old to have tried it with any of mine when they were young. As with most things, it may be all fine, or it could be a disaster.
Corvara unfortunately does tend to be more expensive.
We have used Colfosco, in particular Hotel Sport, as an alternative close to Corvara and found it worked really well - ski in/out and local slopes which range from really easy flat to a bit of challenge, while also being convenient to get over the top to ski the Dantercepies slopes or go via Boe towards Arabba or up via Corvara towards La Villa or San Cassiano.
In my experience with a varied pack of adults it ticked lots of boxes and meant the first day or two couple be really easy for those that needed it, which made for a better week overall (start with success and build on it). It is pretty quiet though and not classic chocolate box alpine.
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"We have used Colfosco, in particular Hotel Sport, as an alternative close to Corvara and found it worked really well - ski in/out and local slopes which range from really easy flat to a bit of challenge, while also being convenient to get over the top to ski the Dantercepies slopes or go via Boe towards Arabba or up via Corvara towards La Villa or San Cassiano."
Any excuse to post a video from SnowHeads favourite Youtuber
this is of the Edelweiss valley ski area just above Colfosco (you can get English subtitles be playing around with the settings..)
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.
Thanks for the welcomes and for all the advice, some great info here to think about.
Re timing - we're looking at half term break, which for us is Feb 19 and following.
Re restrictions for our 13yo - yes this is a concern. For entry to Italy, AFAICT the latest on the Italian Health Ministry website says that accompanied minors are exempt from the isolation requirement if their accompaning adults are exempt, and I think my wife and I would be exempt (2x vax + recovered from COVID). And I *think* our 13yo should be eligible for the Super Green Pass (recovered from COVID). Not sure how to get him one though.
I'll take a look at Corvara and Colfosco.
What do you all recommend re transport? Rent a car at Venice and drive? or take a shuttle? Not super keen to drive, but I'm concerned about getting around once we're there... the hotels actually in the towns and near lifts seem to be $$$$.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Fabulous, @albob, thanks.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
we rented a car for our last trip and are doing the same this time, it's fairly straightforward to drive up to the Dolomites from Venice or Verona. If you stay in Corvara etc then you won't NEED a car but it can be handy. There is a lot of skiing without needing to drive anywhere. However, there are limited transfer options unless you go private so a weeks car hire can be a lot cheaper than the transfers. There is a bus from Venice to Cortina though so you could get that then a taxi over the pass, or just add Cortina to your list of possibilities...
good luck with the recovery proof, I'm sure there are people here who will be able to advise or be grateful to be advised if you get it sorted.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@MikeS79359, avoid renting a car if possible - such a faff and if the weather turns bad you've got another world of stress.
Hotels in good locations will be $$$$... That's the price you pay in this premium location (but it's worth it, trust me)
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Quote:
avoid renting a car if possible - such a faff and if the weather turns bad you've got another world of stress
But presumably most of the Italian families come by car? Why is a car going to be a world of stress? It's certainly easier if you can pay for underground parking, and you might need a shovel and chains.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
ps, given current situation I'd go with a tour operator, you're covered if there are issues and they will take care of transfers etc.
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?
pam w wrote:
But presumably most of the Italian families come by car? Why is a car going to be a world of stress? It's certainly easier if you can pay for underground parking, and you might need a shovel and chains.
and somewhat ironically it doesn't actually snow much in the Dolomites
@richb67 - any tour operators you'd recommend? Totally unfamiliar with the world of organized ski holidays... we're used to piling all the kids + gear in the minivan and driving up to Truckee.
@albob - thanks for posting that video. That's exactly the kind of skiing we're looking for...
Corvara should tick all your boxes, lots of great intermediate runs. I’d strongly recommend renting a car. It doesn’t snow much in the Dolomites, as mentioned above. Oh, and don’t bother with a tour operator, rent an apartment through the Corvara tourist site, buy cheap tix to Venice or Milan, rent car and that’s it. Rent gear in station. Northern Italy is completely set up to accommodate international tourists.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Sounds very promising. What is the Corvara tourist site?
After all it is free
After all it is free
Well the two main operators in the UK are Inghams and Crystal ski, you’ll find detractors and fans of both but they’re decent enough mass market providers, there are lots of others smaller companies.
The main thing is that in the UK TOs need to be in ABTA (association of british tour somethings) which gives you extra protections. e.g. if Italy won’t let UK citizens enter you’ll get your money back from the TO but your independently booked hotel might just say ‘tough’, if the flight is cancelled the TO has to get you home etc. etc.
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Quote:
it doesn't actually snow much in the Dolomites
It was just my bad luck that my first trip coincided with the Snowmageddon which stopped all but a handful of Snowheads getting to Arabba for the Birthday Bash. All the passes were closed, most of them completely, but the Campolongo Pass from Corvara was open occasionally, sometimes only for escorted convoys. I hit a quiet moment, by luck, and drove over the pass without any difficulty, though the vertical 12 foot walls either side were intimidating. The road was ploughed, and no problem with snow tyres, but Arabba was buried in snow. We drove straight past the hotel because the sign was all but buried. We didn't realise for a couple of days that the mounds of snow beside the road had completely covered a row of parked cars. After a couple of days their wing mirrors began to show - like fossils in a sandy Dorset cliff. But even so, and although I had to put chains on to move around Arabba off the main road, and was glad of a shovel, it was perfectly possible to get around. Just as well, as all the Arabba lifts were closed for several days. There IS such a thing as too much snow. Huge quantities of wet, claggy snow which caused enormous problems, other than closing the lifts. The place was full of people shovelling snow off the roofs, before they collapsed.
I don't think many UK tour operators run holidays in the Dolomites. And most places don't get cut off as often as Arabba!
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Quote:
While TheGeneralist and etphonehome both had success with youngsters at Arabba, I would concur with the view that return into Arabba from further afield at the end of the day can be a challenge - but I have to say I am too old to have tried it with any of mine when they were young. As with most things, it may be all fine, or it could be a disaster.
What a beautifully worded and polite post.
I have to admit that we only went to Arabba as Neilson had a *half term* package to a place with a swimming pool for £273 pp which was too good to pass up.
So we went. And ski school was amazing. Soooo good. And the kids did 2 mornings and 3 full day lessons with some completely unknown ski school ( aged 5)
And they loved it.
And we did val de mesdi and loved that.
And the little one came second in his end of week race, and skied loads of reds ( didn't have a lot if choice on that front !)
But, objectively speaking, if you have a choice, and all else is equal then probably best to go elsewhere.
Though we did love it.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
despite my suggestion to look at a TO we booked independently early last year and found accommodation via
You might need to fiddle with the filters a bit, and I believe there's a way to send a blanket request for your requirements that goes out to all the hotels/guesthouses. I think you can also search by map view rather than list view.
What I do is triangulate sources by also checking each venue's web page to make sure of what they are offering with floorplans etc. Oddly in Italy there are very few 2 bedroom apartments in which you have one br with a double bed and one with 2 twin beds, for children...
On the other side of Corvara is San Cassiano, but I'd suggest Corvara as a first time because it's very central, and if you get your confidence up (and you should!) you can ski part or all of the Sella Ronda, meaning you can check out Val Gardena, Arabba, the Passo Pordoi area and even Plan Gralba. As an American I think you'll find the red runs correspond to intermediate US runs rather than expert, and blue to beginner. Green runs in Italy are nearly flat.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I don't remember anything difficult on the Sella Ronda, though some of the queues were a bit annoying and some pistes relatively busy. People who knew the area took us to some "side roads" off the Sella Ronda which were much more enjoyable, but it's not an easy area to find your way around - I just followed people who knew.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
There are a couple of black (expert) runs at Arabba but generally the Sella Ronda pistes are easy or intermediate. For challenging runs try the off piste with a guide (including Val Mesdi). Off piste without a guide is discouraged (and most quite hard to find). Probably the most beautiful scenery of any resorts I have been to.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Thanks for the fantastic advice! I'm super excited about this now - had been a little apprehensive given my complete lack of knowledge about the area, but the links & suggestions you all posted are awesome.
Looks like I might actually be able to find a reasonably priced apartment in Corvara... will book as soon as my wife confirms she can get the time off!
For my reference, though, anyone have experience skiing in Civetta? For some reason that came up top in some of my earlier searches as a good family-friendly resort, but it hasn't been mentioned in this thread so far. Not to say that means it's a bad place, just curious...
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@MikeS79359, you won't be disappointed in any of the places mentioned, but have you checked you will be able to get past the covid rules? I am not trying to put a damper on things but ......
I am going in a month. I have downloaded onto my phone the app that the Italians use to check your covid status "VerificaC19". It's free. They will use that to scan the QR code proof that you have to show you are vaccinated to the standards they need, appropriate for the age of those who need it (age 12 and over I think)
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?
MikeS79359 wrote:
For my reference, though, anyone have experience skiing in Civetta? For some reason that came up top in some of my earlier searches as a good family-friendly resort, but it hasn't been mentioned in this thread so far. Not to say that means it's a bad place, just curious...
Alleghe is one of the main towns for the Civetta ski area. That is also where the snowHeads base themselves for a warm up week before the Birthday Bash in Arabba.
I have not skied Civetta myself, although going to this year I hope! One of the regulars such as Alistair Pink would give you a bunch of info but also have a look at the later pages on the the thread from the PreBBWUW8 to get a feel for it.
A much smaller ski area than the Sella Ronda but can connect into Sella Ronda by bus to Malga Ciapela, or you can connect into Cinque Torri and Cortina by bus as well (or either by car in relatively short time).
@SteveM - thanks for that link. Civetta also looks like it could be a good option from some of those posts.
@JHS - yeah, good question - we think we'll be OK. I found that app too and both my wife and I pass that certification. I need to check it out for my 13yo yet.
Now to make some decisions... loving all the great advice on here, though, thank you all. At some point would love to come along to one of your gatherings.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
MikeS79359 wrote:
............ I need to check it out for my 13yo yet...........
I really don't like highlighting potential problems. I much prefer positives. But..........That is the potential snag. I am glad my granddaughter is 11 and we can sidestep the requirements for teenagers
............ I need to check it out for my 13yo yet...........
I really don't like highlighting potential problems. I much prefer positives. But..........That is the potential snag. I am glad my granddaughter is 11 and we can sidestep the requirements for teenagers
Lots of the advice out there is out of date because the Italian government tightened the restrictions on 23rd Dec and again on 30th Dec. Even the advice on the italia.it tourist board site is out of date.
The 13 year old is certainly going to be the one who finds it hardest to meet their requirements - I assume there isn't enough time to get a second vaccination before the trip? (12 weeks after their first vaccination, or positive PCR test, whichever is later.)
I’m from the UK and my child isn’t vaccinated [or has had one dose] but has recovered from Covid.
If your child has a digital NHS Covid Pass from recovery, the QR code on that certificate is what will be used in Italy as a super green pass (valid six months from start date on certificate). At the current time, the NHS is not providing the Covid Pass letter to certify recovery. If your child doesn’t have a digital NHS Covid Pass from recovery, contact 119 or NHS.UK to ask how you can get a recovery certificate for international travel.
I'm afraid I can't offer any recommendations on resorts - I'm looking forward to skiing Italy for the first time as part of the Birthday Bash in Arabba at the end of the month.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Thanks for highlighting that resource - agree, the 13yo is going to be the challenge. He (and all of us) have already had COVID and recovered, though, and in October so < 6 mo ago. So AFAICT I just need to see about getting the digital COVID Pass for him, or some kind of recovery certificate as that site mentions.
I will keep you all posted with our experience in case it proves useful to someone else!
After all it is free
After all it is free
Down the Val gardena area, plenty of scenery and easy skiing.
Canazei is a good base for different easy areas.
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.
MikeS79359 wrote:
Thanks for highlighting that resource - agree, the 13yo is going to be the challenge. He (and all of us) have already had COVID and recovered, though, and in October so < 6 mo ago. So AFAICT I just need to see about getting the digital COVID Pass for him, or some kind of recovery certificate as that site mentions.
I will keep you all posted with our experience in case it proves useful to someone else!
I've been tearing my hair out over getting a digital covid pass for my 13yo, and have not yet found a way to sort this out. The NHS travel pass for 12-15 year olds is for double vaccinated teens only. You can't get one for recovery for teens, or certainly not through any process I have found. You can get a certificate of recovery for teenagers from private GPs online but they do not give you a QR code compatible with the EUDCC system. You can get a certificate of recovery from the NHS if you are an adult. It's a bloody nightmare for teens.
For travellers to France (entry restrictions aside for a moment), pharmacists in some resorts have been creating QR codes/pass sanitaire for UK teens with evidence of one jab and recovery but they have to be collected in resort and I think they are only valid for the duration of the stay. I have no idea if italian pharmacists are willing to do the same thing in order for UK teens to be able to get a super green pass but it feels like a massive gamble travelling to Italy to find out! I cannot see my way round this
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I am going to Arabba with some friends from Friday 4th February as I have done a few times before. I get a taxi for the group from Treviso or Venice. However someone else is now joining us from the Saturday. I gather there is a bus to Cortinna, but I seem to remember some hotels used to organise a Saturday bus from Venice to the Sella Ronda area. Is this still going and can one get on it while not using a hotel on the scheme?
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
The Dolomites are absolutely amazing.
