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A month in Dec - Jan 25 - where to go??

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi all! Looking for some advice on where to spend 4-5 weeks end Dec to end of Jan 2025.

Looking for somewhere with
- decent early season snow (hard to predict I know...)
- ski in/out or short public transport journies (we don't want to faff around with a car)
- ideally somewhere on one of the big multi-report passes
- not too resorty - we're not wanting to splash heaps of cash on hotels and apres so somewhere where we can get a decent 1BR apartment and grocery stores, restaurants etc
- Intermediate/ advanced skiing

I'd prefer to be in Italy - mainly for the vibes (and the food! Eh oh! ) so we're looking at Dolomiti Superski or Aosta Valley, but then Portes de Soleil is also appealing. We've visited the Corvara/ Alta Badia area in the Summer and would love to return in Winter but air BNB stays are pretty $$ - did other people have luck finding longer term accommodation another way?

We are from NZ so used to smaller resorts and really looking for somewhere we can have interconnected resorts, lots of trails and decent on mountain food! We've both done seasons in Europe and Canada before so very excited to experience it again.

I'm going round in circles doing research so would love to get some real person opinions... Laughing

Thanks in advance!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
San Vigilio might suit you. Easy access to Kronplatz which has decent 5km long black runs for your level of skiing. The village is quite small and inexpensive. Prices in a local grocery store are more or less the same as in hypermarket in Verona.

There is ski bus connection to Alta Badia and Sella ronda. That's definitely enough of skiing for a few weeks. I also visited 3 Zinnen ski area, but I'm not sure about bus connection as I drove.

As a bonus, during your stay you get to watch FIS men's GS in Alta Badia and women's GS in Kronplatz depending on dates.
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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?
@Julesy,
Your dates cross Christmas & New Year, so expect to pay extra for those busy weeks. Could you come over after New Years week?
4 - 5 weeks is awkward for accommodation - more than the standard holiday but not a season rental. That said, looking this far out should aid in finding something.
That early in the season you are looking at areas with plenty of slopes above 2500m for guaranteed skiing.
For ski in/out you're looking at the purpose built resorts
So I'd recommend Espace Killy, Paradiski, 3 Valleys, La Rosiere (and hence La Thuile in Italy) in that order. Handily they are all close to each other if you fancy a day out. If you drop the ski in/out option then look art Bourg St Maurice - could arrive by train, access to Paradiski via the funicular, supermarkets, access to the aforementioned ski areas, plus Ste Foy, via local bus.


Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Thu 4-04-24 17:13; edited 1 time in total
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Quote:

Your dates cross Christmas & New Year

Puzzled If your "end December" start date is after the big NY holiday week, that's a very good four weeks to choose and the Dolomiti superski area should be great. BUT. That area is not noted for ski in/out (for that you'd be better off in France). Finding somewhere ski in/out but "not resorty" is something of a contradiction in terms. Ski in/out accommodation is very likely to have the convenience of lots of restaurants and bars in the vicinity, and also grocery and other shops (albeit more expensive than down in a big valley town).
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Big interlinked area, ski in ski out , without a using car whist not too speny €€€, tough ask

P de S might be the best call , possibly Bourg St Maurice to access Les Arcs and La Plagne with day out possibilities of Sainte Foy , La Rosiere , Tignes/Val or the cheaper access to 3 V’s via St Martin or Les Menuires .
If you took a deep breath hired a car long term from Turin airport the good call would be live in Aosta with direct access to Pila then have the possibility of about 5 or 6 decent areas big or small for day trips . There are a few trip reports on snowheads who have done this .
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Zweisimmen: Switzerland! The artisan end of Gstaad region . I can hear the groans from the collective. Great access up to Rinderberg (Zweisimmen) which leads to Saanersloch and Schönreid. Short train ride up Simmental for access to Bettleberg and the huge joined area of Lenk/Adelboden.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Rogerdodger, are they all on the magic pass ? Actually just think what you save on the pass makes up for the higher prices elsewhere . Good call
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I just stayed in Ponte di Legno. Big skiing right out of town and gondi connection to Passo Tonale. Utterly charming I thought.

.

Skirama pass also gets you Madonna and connections and some other places.
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Hokkadio
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As mentioned by others already, if your trip covers Xmas and/or New Year, then that significantly affects price and availability. If it does cover these, I'd be tempted to book some accommodation for Xmas / New Year, then something else for January. You'll have a lot of choice for longer stays in January if you don't also need Xmas and/or New Year.

The last 3 seasons we've stayed in Austria for 4 to 6 weeks starting the first weekend of January (so as the New Year week finishes). 2 of these were in Kirchberg, and one in Zell am Ziller. We had a car, but most of the time used ski buses. In Austria you can get either the Snowcard Tirol or the Salzburg Super Ski card - each cover a large number of resorts all season for ~1000 EUR, which could work well if you stay in different places for Xmas/NY, then the rest of January.

For January accommodation we've used booking.com or the tourist office website. Booking.com is good for reviews, but has a 28 day maximum stay, whereas booking via the tourist office website can be longer
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Quote:

If you took a deep breath hired a car long term from Turin airport the good call would be live in Aosta with direct access to Pila then have the possibility of about 5 or 6 decent areas big or small for day trips . There are a few trip reports on snowheads who have done this .

This is a good idea.

As I understand your OP your proposed trip starts at the end of December so although it's true that Christmas and New Year are expensive, it's not really relevant.

Car hire in Turin is cheap and all the resorts are easy access up and down the valley from there.
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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.
If you're considering Aosta valley by public transport, then this is a good read (TBF it's a good read anyway), though I think ElzP has a higher tolerance of public transport than some people
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