 Poster: A snowHead
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Alright so I was a tad dummy and am flying from New York to Milan for a week of skiing, got a great fair on the tickets, and am currently unsure of where I should go ski once I get to Milan. So I figured I would ask on the forum if someone might have some insight on where to go skiing in Austria or Switzerland.
I will be landing on the of February 26th, and flying home on the 4th. So the trip is a little shorter than I would prefer.
Skiing wise, I am a fairly technical skier, taught at Whiteface in NY for 10 years, hit around 30 to 45 days a season, love steeps, moguls, ice, soft stuff.
Ideally I would love to stay with a crowd around my age, spend the day skiing, soak in some hot water, grab some drinks and repeat.
I am currently looking at St. Moritz, Verbier, badgastein, Zermatt, soelden, arlberg (st. anton)
I would greatly appreciate any advice you might have. I was hoping to take a train once landing due to the costs of renting a car.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I did the NY to Milan flight (I am assuming MXP) for a week from late Dec into January. We skied Val Gardena in the Dolomites, staying in Selva. We rented a car as there was three of us so the costs per person were manageable compared to train travel - so I didn't really look into train logistics. We didn't touch the car while there. I highly recommend the area. Based on your description of yourself, you would also do well, and maybe more so, in Arabba, which is on the same pass as Val Gardena. But Arabba is further from Milan. The area, known as Dolomiti Superski, is not much like Whiteface - I've skied there a few times. Much better grooming, less steep runs (as a percentage - to give you an idea, you can ski all of Whiteface in one day, but in 6 days you can't get to all of the Dolomiti Superski area), moguls only late in the day, much better weather with very little chance of bitter cold/winds. The drive from MXP to Selva was about 3 1/2 hours or so - nearly all of which was modern interstate type highways, with a very well maintained local road into town at the end.
Haven't skied the areas you mentioned, so can't help you there. I do recall seeing that trains seemed to be easily assessable once collecting bags at MXP.
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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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| brenster21 wrote: |
I will be landing on the of February 26th, and flying home on the 4th. So the trip is a little shorter than I would prefer.
Skiing wise, I am a fairly technical skier, taught at Whiteface in NY for 10 years, hit around 30 to 45 days a season, love steeps, moguls, ice, soft stuff.
Ideally I would love to stay with a crowd around my age.... |
Give us a clue! What's your age? 
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@brenster21, if by train, one option is airport into centre of Milan, train to Sondrio (up the side of Lake Como), then Bernina Express to St Moritz (which is a spectacular journey). St M has a very international crowd, a rich history and enough to keep you entertained for 6 days. Could also look at Livigno and Bormio but you'd need bus travel for that. The other resorts you mention would be tricky by train and take an age.
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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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| Avabrunch wrote: |
| @brenster21, if by train, one option is airport into centre of Milan, train to Sondrio (up the side of Lake Como), then Bernina Express to St Moritz (which is a spectacular journey). St M has a very international crowd, a rich history and enough to keep you entertained for 6 days. Could also look at Livigno and Bormio but you'd need bus travel for that. The other resorts you mention would be tricky by train and take an age. |
That is one of the reasons I was looking at St Moritz, though am not sure if I will be able to afford staying there. They aren't exactly famous for being affordable.
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You should forget about Austria, too far away.
St.Moritz, Zermatt, Cervinia, Courmayeur, Madonna di Campiglio are some of the bigger names relatively close to Milan.
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@brenster21, Others might disagree but Malpensa is not great for train connections as you need to go into the centre of Milan to get onward connections which is a fair way. In theory it should be fairly easy to get to Zermatt (on a clear day views of the Matterhorn / Monte Leone & Monte Rosa dominate the northern skyline from Malpensa). The trains from Milan over the Simplon to Switzerland practically run past the airport but dont think they stop between Milan & Domodossola (southern end of the Simplon).
Having a car would make things much easier Zermatt & other areas near Brig / Visp in Switzerland are a straight forward drive from the airport. St Moritz is a fair way whether by train or car it is in a pretty remote corner of the alps. With a car you can fairly easily head north over the San Bernadino pass, in Switzerland places like Flims or Arosa would be in easy reach. The Arlberg would not be that much further. I would suggest the Gasteinertal and Ötztal (Sölden) would be too far to be worthwhile
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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It sounds like you are traveling solo from the US, given that, public transportation is the way to go. The bus connections above from altis makes sense but be prepared for a long day. Overnight to Milan and then a groggy all day on buses to Selva. I think that the Dolomites are your best bet for reliable snow and weather. More mellow skiing than some places but you can find some more Whiteface like terrain (without the winds and low temps). For accommodation, check out this link: https://www.val-gardena.com/en/. B&B or hotels are your best bet. Make sure that they are close to the lifts. There's good bus service in the valley, but you'd rather be riding lifts than riding a bus. Selva is probably your best base. Mind blowing amount of lift served terrain. Sella Ronda gets super busy. Get an early start and get off the Sella Ronda and explore. You can cover miles, so leave time to get back to the valley where you started. Food in the on-mountain restaurants is great. There aren't many bad choices in the food department.
The other option is to go west from Milan to the Aosta Valley. I don't know what the public transportation going that way is like. Last year we went that way from Milan but we have a group and rented a van. It's a shorter ride than to the Dolomites. You can access Cervinia, Monterosa, Courmayeur, and LaThuile but the weather and snow is more of a gamble. If you need a hotel for overnight at the airport before your flight back, this one worked well for us last year: https://www.firsthotel.it/it/?partner=9309utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=MyBusiness&utm. There's a good (not great) restaurant next door.
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I would consider staying in Aosta. Lovely old town. Hire a car and you can access lots of good skiing. Pila is local, Monterosa and Cervinia are around an hour away, and lots more options to the East.
If you don’t want to hire a car I would head to Courmayeur/Chamonix. From them on to Zermatt. Or 4V. Or even better Val d’Annivers.
Is it piste (groomer) skiing you are looking for? Or more variety?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| brenster21 wrote: |
Alright so I was a tad dummy and am flying from New York to Milan for a week of skiing, got a great fair on the tickets, and am currently unsure of where I should go ski once I get to Milan. So I figured I would ask on the forum if someone might have some insight on where to go skiing in Austria or Switzerland.
I was hoping to take a train once landing due to the costs of renting a car. |
car hire is normally very cheap from Milan (indeed in most of Italy), have you actually checked this or just heard "car hire is expensive in Europe". Stay in Italy, either Aosta valley suggestions above or Dolomites if a slightly longer drive is OK with you.
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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.
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I'd agree with the last few posts. You don't have very long. Without a car you will spend much of it on public transport. Skiing the Aosta valley resorts will be far easier with a car, and the distances are short.
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Car hire is cheap for americans in the US because they dont need additional insurance as their own policy usually covers it, so in comparison European hire could seem expensive, but I agree Italian hire can be had very reasonably.
Last edited by 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  on Wed 31-01-24 12:11; edited 1 time in total
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You know it makes sense.
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Ca hire is very cheap out of Milan, probably cheaper than using public transport and a lot more convenient. I would wait and see where the best snow is, the Dolomites are handy from Milan, Monte Rosa, and you can ski Zermatt from Cervinia.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
| Ideally I would love to stay with a crowd around my age.... |
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| Give us a clue! What's your age? |
| Quote: |
| It sounds like you are traveling solo from the US, given that, public transportation is the way to go |
Alas, the above aspects still remain unknown...
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Poster: A snowHead
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Age 27, thought I wrote that in the original post.
As for car hire, I drive nearly 500ish mile every two weeks to ski whiteface, would prefer to be on a train than in another car.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A Citroen C3 from Malpensa for those dates is 66Euros with Drivalia.
Will give you more choice for resorts.
Otherwise you will spend a lot of time on buses and trains unless you
go to Courmayeur - Arriva minibus from Malpensa to Aosta then bus to Courmayeur.
You also have a choice of La Thuile for a day or two on the Courmayeur - La Thuile bus
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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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Agree car hire is really cheap, usually, out of Milan. If you're used to 500 mile trips it'll barely be a warm up to the dolomites.
Trains and buses are great, I prefer them too, but when you start getting out to the edges of the transport network, like ski resorts are, it can be a real pain depending on timing. And it can be a lot more expensive than a car, though that'll depend on parking etc. as well as rental costs.
If you're not there for easter, and TBH, even if you are it's still not too bad, then you should be able to find accommodation last minute depending on snow. Car may be more flexible unless you're hell bent on taking the train.
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Guys, you need to remember many US drivers can't drive manual (stickshift).
Autos are available in Europe, but usually at a higher cost. Might not be prohibitive though.
Also, there could be issues with trying to take an Italian car without winter tyres into Switzerland or Austria, where the laws are stricter.
Saying all that, having a car in Italy is definitely the most flexible option as it allows you to consider cheaper places to stay a short drive from the lifts.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 31-01-24 18:51; edited 1 time in total
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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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Not much higher, and still dead cheap in Milan and Turin.
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How about train from Milan through the Simplon tunnel to Sion or Martigny then bus up to Verbier itself or one of the linked resorts like Haute Nendaz?
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Lots of folk seem to be missing that the OP has said he'd prefer to travel by train and not to hire a car.
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| sugarmoma666 wrote: |
| Lots of folk seem to be missing that the OP has said he'd prefer to travel by train and not to hire a car. |
Yes, but trains don't run from Milan Malpensa direct to any ski resorts, so would involve getting a train into central Milan, then waiting for another one to a valley town, then a bus up the hill, then maybe a taxi from the bus stop to hotel.
That's assuming there's enough time left in the day to catch the last bus.
Eg. Journey time from MXP to Cervinia on public transport is around 4.5-5 hours. The bus up the hill from the station at Chatillon has 30 stops along the way and the last one leaves at 20.30.
Pick up a car and you can be there in just over 2 hours and I bet it would cost less.
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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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Since I am landing around noon, I am open to taking transit or flying elsewhere.
I am tempted to fly to zurich and then take the train to alberg, and reverse it to go back. (This gives some flexibility with regards to issues.
I can then take the bus or train back to zurich and fly back.
As for renting a car, (pretty sure that is what you mean by car hire), I can drive a stick but have no desire to do so after a red eye flight in a foreign country.car hire for economy was 70 euro, plus fuel, paying to keep the car somewhere ect.
As for affordability, was hoping to stay under 3k usd. Lodging, skiing, food and drink. My main worry about Switzerland is well the cost. So far I have struggled to find cheaper hotels in Switzerland as most the hotels that are available are unaffordable, only accessible by car so far.
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@brenster21, are you up for hostels? There are a number of those around in Switzerland, and that would probably help finding your age related crowd to ski with too.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Gämsbock wrote: |
| @brenster21, are you up for hostels? There are a number of those around in Switzerland, and that would probably help finding your age related crowd to ski with too. |
I am fine with hostels and tend to.make friends easy. Had a pretty good time when I stayed at st. Moritz hostel in aspen back in March of 2020,(sorry about that pandemic thing).
Any good booking sites you might recommend for hostels? I was originally looking at bed and breakfasts / pensions.
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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.
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@brenster21, generally I book direct. I’m not particularly aware of a good aggregator. It’s also common for hotels in Switzerland to offer some cheaper hostel style accommodation variably called something like Matratzenlager, Massenlager, Touristenlager, Mehrbettzimmer (and more!) in the German speaking parts. Not all are listed online… sometimes the tourist office can help if you give them a call though.
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| brenster21 wrote: |
Since I am landing around noon, I am open to taking transit or flying elsewhere.
I am tempted to fly to zurich and then take the train to alberg, and reverse it to go back. (This gives some flexibility with regards to issues.
I can then take the bus or train back to zurich and fly back.
As for renting a car, (pretty sure that is what you mean by car hire), I can drive a stick but have no desire to do so after a red eye flight in a foreign country.car hire for economy was 70 euro, plus fuel, paying to keep the car somewhere ect.
As for affordability, was hoping to stay under 3k usd. Lodging, skiing, food and drink. My main worry about Switzerland is well the cost. So far I have struggled to find cheaper hotels in Switzerland as most the hotels that are available are unaffordable, only accessible by car so far. |
Fly to Zurich? Have you not already bought flights to Milan?
I just did a 6 day trip to Italy with my son, cost all-in around £1600 (around $2000) for 2 of us including flights from UK, hotel, car hire, fuel, tolls, 2x ski hire, 2x ski passes, food, drink, snacks, daytrip to Venice, etc. Costs are pretty reasonable in Italy.
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You know it makes sense.
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| luigi wrote: |
| brenster21 wrote: |
Since I am landing around noon, I am open to taking transit or flying elsewhere.
I am tempted to fly to zurich and then take the train to alberg, and reverse it to go back. (This gives some flexibility with regards to issues.
I can then take the bus or train back to zurich and fly back.
As for renting a car, (pretty sure that is what you mean by car hire), I can drive a stick but have no desire to do so after a red eye flight in a foreign country.car hire for economy was 70 euro, plus fuel, paying to keep the car somewhere ect.
As for affordability, was hoping to stay under 3k usd. Lodging, skiing, food and drink. My main worry about Switzerland is well the cost. So far I have struggled to find cheaper hotels in Switzerland as most the hotels that are available are unaffordable, only accessible by car so far. |
Fly to Zurich? Have you not already bought flights to Milan?
I just did a 6 day trip to Italy with my son, cost all-in around £1600 (around $2000) for 2 of us including flights from UK, hotel, car hire, fuel, tolls, 2x ski hire, 2x ski passes, food, drink, snacks, daytrip to Venice, etc. Costs are pretty reasonable in Italy. |
I meant more fly from Milan to zurich.
Will look more into Italy.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| luigi wrote: |
| brenster21 wrote: |
Since I am landing around noon, I am open to taking transit or flying elsewhere.
I am tempted to fly to zurich and then take the train to alberg, and reverse it to go back. (This gives some flexibility with regards to issues.
I can then take the bus or train back to zurich and fly back.
As for renting a car, (pretty sure that is what you mean by car hire), I can drive a stick but have no desire to do so after a red eye flight in a foreign country.car hire for economy was 70 euro, plus fuel, paying to keep the car somewhere ect.
As for affordability, was hoping to stay under 3k usd. Lodging, skiing, food and drink. My main worry about Switzerland is well the cost. So far I have struggled to find cheaper hotels in Switzerland as most the hotels that are available are unaffordable, only accessible by car so far. |
Fly to Zurich? Have you not already bought flights to Milan?
I just did a 6 day trip to Italy with my son, cost all-in around £1600 (around $2000) for 2 of us including flights from UK, hotel, car hire, fuel, tolls, 2x ski hire, 2x ski passes, food, drink, snacks, daytrip to Venice, etc. Costs are pretty reasonable in Italy. |
I meant more fly from Milan to zurich.
Will look more into Italy.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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For the Austria idea, the Arlberg is a great spot for a technical skier:
There are public transport options from MXP, but it involves 3 trains in Italy, a Swiss bus, then another 2 trains into Austria. Booking transport in 3 different countries and making them all connect may be tricky.
Swiss Airlines operated by Helvetic do have MXP-ZRH-MXP return flights for your dates for around $150. Not sure how much baggage that includes.
The train from ZRH to St Anton involves a change at Zurich main station, but then the fast trains to Vienna/Salzburg go straight through the Arlberg stopping at St Anton.
Not sure which of those options is least tiresome or prone to missing connections??
Trying to find somewhere to stay near the station and lifts in St Anton will be difficult on a budget, esp Monday to Monday in peak season.
It seems there may be cheaper options in Stuben, Zurs and Lech, which are linked to the Arlberg ski area. Trains do stop at Langen am Arlberg and then the Postbus will take you onward to these.
Not looked at Hostels, may be cheaper and a good idea for a solo traveller?!
Hope you can find something that works for you!! 
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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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I can second Monterosa or LaThuile/LaRos especially from MXP. Spent New Years in LaT/LaR this year and conditions were excellent and has one of the deepest snow bases across Italy at the moment. Between LaT for on piste/groomers with some nice blacks and then ski over to LaRos which has more off piste could be a good setup for you. Also access to Courmayeur for 2 days via free ski bus if you buy a 6 day pass for LaThuile
https://lathuile.skiperformance.com/en/winter/store#/en/winter/buy?skugroup_id=2520.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Fri 2-02-24 12:09; edited 1 time in total
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@luigi, you are mistaken. St.Anton might be a more famous name internationally, but already for some decades, Lech is the more expensive side of Arlberg. For really economic options it's best to look at villages like Pettneu and Flirsch.
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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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Echo what @shouchin says, seems like a good solution for what you want and easy by public transport so you can avoid driving - flixbus to aosta from Milan, then the local bus from Aosta to La Thuile. There's a shuttle between La Thuile and Courmayeur which makes getting between the two areas easy.
Editing to add - you may find a crew in Courmayeur, I noted younger and more gnarly folk over there than in La Thuile. Either way probably worth just getting on the facebook groups of the resorts and seeing who's about!
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Fri 2-02-24 12:17; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
As for renting a car, (pretty sure that is what you mean by car hire), I can drive a stick but have no desire to do so after a red eye flight in a foreign country.car hire for economy was 70 euro, plus fuel, paying to keep the car somewhere ect.
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I'm normally quite happy driving in Italy but I did once hire a car at Malpensa and drove to the Dolomites, either to Wolkenstein or Misurina (I cannot recall exactly which). It was not the easiest drive I've ever done. In fact the motorway driving was pretty scary with about a metre between cars doing 100kph in heavy rain. It may be better to use public transport.
I think there are shuttle busses from Milan to the Monterosa ski area but you may have to take the train into Milan to pick them up (we've just got back from Gressoney). Though the sk area is not huge there is plenty for a 6 day ski trip with a lot of off piste available, if that is your thing. We were sat on the Navette one day going from Gressoney la Trinite upto Staffal and noticed that apart from our party with ice climbing gear there was a couple with snow shoes, a couple with skins already on their skis and a couple of piste skiers.
As far as I can see it the problem with the Monterosa area and @brenster21's criteria are: a crowd of her own age (we don't know what that is). Apart from the weekend crowds the area can be quiet. There are bars and of course many hotels have baths, but showers are becoming more common these days.
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| hobbiteater wrote: |
| Car hire is cheap for americans in the US because they dont need additional insurance as their own policy usually covers it, so in comparison European hire could seem expensive, but I agree Italian hire can be had very reasonably. |
Car rental in MXP is dirt cheap. We rent there all the time, almost every year we drive to Val Gardena (more like 4-5 hours), but I'd head to Switzerland if I were you. The Dolomites will not have the steep stuff you are craving. I see that it's just 2 hours 10 minutes from Malpensa to Brig, Switzerland. From there you could get a train to Zermatt.
If Zermatt is too pricy, Chamonix is only 2h45 minutes from Malpensa. I'd bet you could find a small car even with an automatic for 200 euros from MXP for a week. Drive to Chamonix, find a hotel/hostel and you're good. Ski all day, party all night with the backcountry/steep n deep crew. I think you can find reasonable accommodations in the Chamonix Valley -- maybe look at Argentiere or south Chamonix, too. We have stayed there for a couple of days in high season and found good hotels for 2 for well under $200 usd a night. So a single should be less.
The tunnel isn't cheap, though, but it is an adventure. (and make sure it's open; it will close at some point for extensive scheduled maintenance.)
Or, as others have mentioned, the Aosta valley, which is even closer and on the way to Chamonix. I see suggestions to take Flixbus to Aosta from Milan...I might argue that's not great value for money. The train from from MXP to the center of Milan is an hour-plus, plus waiting time. Malpensa is practically halfway to the mountains from Milan center. I'm guessing from MXP to La Thuile is a total of 5 hours on public transit, vs 2h30 with a car. It might depend on how much gear you take. If you're going to rent gear, maybe bus/train is no problem. If you're humping skis/boots etc, maybe car is more pleasant.
I just think that with only 6 days, public transit vs rental car doesn't quite pencil out in value for money. Unless your goal is to pinch pennies, then that's a different question. You're probably already saving a ton by flying into Malpensa, which is the least expensive airpot in most cases in northern Italy/Germany/Austria/Switzerland.
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| Quote: |
The train from from MXP to the center of Milan is an hour-plus, plus waiting time.
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The trains run every 30 minutes and take circa 45 minutes for the journey.
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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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@brenster21, I don't think I'd be looking further than Monterosa. Champoluc liveliest. Austria way too far. Dolomites too far. Rent a car. It's really not that complicated.
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| brenster21 wrote: |
| As for renting a car, (pretty sure that is what you mean by car hire), I can drive a stick but have no desire to do so after a red eye flight in a foreign country.car hire for economy was 70 euro, plus fuel, paying to keep the car somewhere ect. |
The OP has made it pretty clear that they're not keen on renting a car, for what sound like good reasons to me. I'd likewise not be keen to get off a long flight and immediately get into an unfamiliar car to drive in a foreign country. It sounds like there are some good options for the OP that fit with their desire to travel by public transport, so let's try and help the OP with that
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