 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
I am working to plan a 1-week trip to Italy with a mixed group of skiers in February 2025. We range from beginners who have skied twice to some advanced skiers. I am thinking we’ll fly into Milan (reasonable direct flight prices from NYC), spend a few days there before moving on to a ski destination for a few days. I am looking to balance good options for beginners skiing, nice town and non-ski activities, budget-friendliness, decent accommodations with ski on/off ideal, and a reasonable trip from Milan (ideally 3 hours or less). We care less about apres, upscale options, and finding the biggest resorts. Based on a lot of research in these forums and others I have settled on 3 possible destinations: Cervinia, Madonna di Campiglio, and Montgenevre. Each of these has been mentioned as being snow-sure, having good and interesting options for beginners, with nice towns. Concerns for each are: Cervinia- prone to weather closures, ugly town?, annoying walk to ski base, unclear how prices are these days, might be busy; Montgenevre- some outdated lifts, less picturesque, might be crowded mid-February; Madonna- farthest travel from Milan of the 3, possibly more expensive, beginners areas not centrally located. What do y’all think? Also, any thoughts on whether a car rental and driving ourselves would be better than hiring a private transfer? It seems like it would be less expensive to rent, but I don’t know what driving to and around these resorts is like. We’d probably go to the resort on a Tues/Wed so I don’t know if group ski transfers would run that day, though theoretically we could transit through Turin by train to catch one. Thanks in advance!
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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 think you've summed up the pros and cons of each resort perfectly, so your research has been good!  They all seem like good choices for your group.
Madonna di Campiglio maybe wins in terms of fulfilling your criteria, if you can find accommodation at a good price. It's probably also the most weatherproof - if a storm rolls in for a few days it's possible that more exposed Cervinia (and Montgenevre to a lesser extent) could be quite limited l unpleasant, given that their slopes are more exposed.
I'd almost always opt for hiring a car out of Milan, because it's very inexpensive in winter. That argument is strengthened further given you're only going for a few days. Rental cars in Milan usually come with snow chains but not winter tyres, which potentially makes the drive to (lower) Madonna di Campiglio more straightforward, depending on arrival / departure day conditions.
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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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we've only got experience of Madonna but
hire a car unless it's a big group then look at a private minibus transfer, there is a also a shared bus transfer from Milan via Verona but it might only do weekends. check out www.ski.it
for Madonna the ski school will bus the beginners to and from the learner area, at least the ski nazionale one does. You can also ski down to see them and get a chair lift back up to other slopes. But last year my wife went with a 60 yr old beginner and she was out of the learner area on to blues on (I think) day 2.
you might struggle to get anything but a full week in Feb (high season) so check that out, we did 4 nights in Madonna in early/mid January and options were limited
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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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@JonSnows, how many peeps?
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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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Thanks for the replies! Right now we’re 3 interested couples, 6 total people, but it’s so far in advance that could change. Fun to go as a group, but might make it hard to rent cars. I see that we could rent our own van that could seat 6+ or potentially get multiple cars for the group.
How do folks usually go about finding accommodations? I use Airbnb a lot in the US and I see they have some nice options in Madonna as well. Would also be open to a hotel especially if there was a pool or hot tub or sauna (oh my!). My biggest concern is about lodging availability, which is why I’m starting to plan so far in advance. I figure once we can secure lodging, which probably wouldn’t happen for another few months, the other stuff will be easier and less urgent to secure.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| JonSnows wrote: |
Thanks for the replies! Right now we’re 3 interested couples, 6 total people, but it’s so far in advance that could change. Fun to go as a group, but might make it hard to rent cars. I see that we could rent our own van that could seat 6+ or potentially get multiple cars for the group.
How do folks usually go about finding accommodations? I use Airbnb a lot in the US and I see they have some nice options in Madonna as well. Would also be open to a hotel especially if there was a pool or hot tub or sauna (oh my!). My biggest concern is about lodging availability, which is why I’m starting to plan so far in advance. I figure once we can secure lodging, which probably wouldn’t happen for another few months, the other stuff will be easier and less urgent to secure. |
The trains in Italy are very reasonable in price. You can get very close to Montgenevre from Milan - direct train no changes. Then a short 30min taxi transfer from Oulx to Montgenevre, there's also a station within the resort of Bardonecchia a bit further along.
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| JonSnows wrote: |
How do folks usually go about finding accommodations? I use Airbnb a lot in the US and I see they have some nice options in Madonna as well. Would also be open to a hotel especially if there was a pool or hot tub or sauna (oh my!). My biggest concern is about lodging availability, which is why I’m starting to plan so far in advance. I figure once we can secure lodging, which probably wouldn’t happen for another few months, the other stuff will be easier and less urgent to secure. |
Almost every mid range hotel or upmarket apartment block will have some kind of 'wellness centre' with Sauna etc, most 4* will have a pool. (For the sauna just check the clothing etiquette as it can vary, last week my sister in law and friends had a surprise when they went for a sauna and found they had to undress.)
Personally we find that AirBnB is usually the most expensive option, most properties will be on multiple platforms with different prices so shop around, we primarily use booking.com, the local tourist authority or often just book direct.
From central Milan I agree trains can be a good way to get to, or near, the resort, then a transfer from the station. For some resorts you can walk from the train to a gondola and ski directly e.g. Marilleva which is part of the Madonna di Campiglio ski area, not that you'd want to stay there for a week.
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| JonSnows wrote: |
How do folks usually go about finding accommodations? I use Airbnb a lot in the US and I see they have some nice options in Madonna as well. Would also be open to a hotel especially if there was a pool or hot tub or sauna (oh my!). My biggest concern is about lodging availability, which is why I’m starting to plan so far in advance. I figure once we can secure lodging, which probably wouldn’t happen for another few months, the other stuff will be easier and less urgent to secure. |
You could also try using Booking.com as a search engine, refine your criteria and then contact the accommodation direct - they may offer a better deal. The local tourist office may well have a list of possible options.
As for MdC, it’s a lovely town and, from experience, I think it would be well-suited to your requirements. Probably more so than Montgenevre, IME/O.
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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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Most of February is a holiday period for France, with various regions taking holidays through the month. For me, that would push me towards the Italian options and away from Montgenevre. It can get very busy in France during February. UK schools also have a week's break in mid-Feb, which adds to the numbers.
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