Advice Needed: 2024/25 Ski Itinerary with My Son – 3 Vallees, Dolomites, Cervinia, or St. Moritz?

A snowHead

I’m looking for suggestions or improvements for my upcoming 2024/25 ski trip with my 10-year-old son. He’s really excited about skiing in the 3 Vallees (3V). We’ll be renting a decent SUV with snow tires from Milan Airport and plan to make a circular trip, starting and ending at MXP (Milan Airport), covering four ski resorts.

My Question:

Should we focus on just the 3 Vallees and the Dolomites, skipping Cervinia and St. Moritz? Alternatively, we could remove either Cervinia or St. Moritz and extend our stay at the Dolomites to 13 days. We’re considering getting a season pass for the Dolomites, which could save us around 400 Euros.

Key Considerations:

• Driving Schedule: We plan to drive on Sundays to avoid the busy weekend crowds.
• IKON Pass Option: Initially, I considered getting the IKON pass, which would save us about 900 Euros. However, it doesn’t cover 3V, and we’d need to stay in Zermatt and buy top-ups for Cervinia. I’ve heard that while Zermatt offers incredible views and vibes, the skiing itself might be a bit advanced, especially for us.

Skill Level:

Both my son and I are progressive beginners. We’ve skied in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and India over the past four years, and this time we’re looking to challenge ourselves in the Alps.

Date	Day	Event	Distance
28 Dec 2024		Overnight Flight
29 Dec 2024	Sun	Flight landed, Drive	300 km
30 Dec 2024	Mon	3 Vallees
31 Dec 2024	Tue	3 Vallees
1 Jan 2025	Wed	3 Vallees
2 Jan 2025	Thu	3 Vallees
3 Jan 2025	Fri	3 Vallees
4 Jan 2025	Sat	3 Vallees
5 Jan 2025	Sun	Drive	200 km
6 Jan 2025	Mon	Cervinia
7 Jan 2025	Tue	Cervinia
8 Jan 2025	Wed	Cervinia
9 Jan 2025	Thu	Cervinia
10 Jan 2025	Fri	Cervinia
11 Jan 2025	Sat	Cervinia
12 Jan 2025	Sun	Drive	500 km
13 Jan 2025	Mon	Dolomites
14 Jan 2025	Tue	Dolomites
15 Jan 2025	Wed	Dolomites
16 Jan 2025	Thu	Dolomites
17 Jan 2025	Fri	Dolomites
18 Jan 2025	Sat	Dolomites
19 Jan 2025	Sun	Drive	200 km
20 Jan 2025	Mon	St Moritz
21 Jan 2025	Tue	St Moritz
22 Jan 2025	Wed	St Moritz
23 Jan 2025	Thu	St Moritz
24 Jan 2025	Fri	St Moritz
25 Jan 2025	Sat	St Moritz
26 Jan 2025	Sun	Drive, Flight departed	200 km
27 Jan 2025		Overnight Flight

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or insights you can offer. We really appreciate your help in making this a great trip!

A snowHead

My advice would be to not start a new thread for every single question you have about your trip...

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@tolocoman - apologies. I thought, this could be helpful for others as well who are planning similar trips and especially if it's their first time in Alps like me.

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I'd probably do 3 Valleys, Jungfrau, Arlberg (Lech/Zurs, St Anton etc.) then Dolomites to finish. 4 weeks, 4 countries, 4 huge areas, 4 very different experiences. Nice spreadsheet though!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Klamm - I have been to Jungfrau region in summer. It was extremely beautiful. But than I heard the slopes are not well connected and geared toward experienced skiers. Plus the parking is pain.

I wanted to do St Anton - than somebody told me, it’s geared towards apres skis and more reds and blacks.

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@ankitind, personally I think you're better doing 1 or 2 spots and leaving it at that. You'll get to truly explore the areas then.

3V's to Dolomites is a pretty long distance. You're virtually going from 1 side of the alps to the other, so logistically it doesn't make sense, but if you're really keen to see the two areas, then by all means go for it, it's your holiday.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@seskier I love driving and it also a means to take breaks from skiing and giving ol legs some rest in between.

I can take some city tour of Verona, Milan etc in between 3V and Dolomites.

Do you suggest spending 3 weeks in Dolomites? Won’t it get repetitive. Pardon if it’s a silly question.

If I do that - I can spend 1 week in 3V( snow sure resorts in last week of Dec) and rest in Dolomites taking their season pass. Will save around 500Euros or so

After all it is free

@ankitind, one thing to point out is that the New Year period is the busiest part of the season, do you have accommodation booked for that part? Other than that I think your concept here is a good one. Not sure whether Cervinia and St Moritz are the best choices. Why Cervinia over Zermatt? (Cervinia is cheaper and you can ski Zermatt assuming link open but Zermatt more impressive, though perhaps Zermatt is a bit dark in mid winter). St Moritz is an odd place, the skiing is not the best and it really is set up for very rich folk to play with their horses. You might be better off with a place in Austria, you mentioned Kitzbühel in the other thread, not a bad choice, Zillertal good too, Saalbach, Ischgl, Arlberg all make sense.

Given what you have said about your skiing level I think you will find this sort of itinerary a physical challenge you might want to include a bit more down time. Don't underestimate the effort involved in driving in the winter, mid winter weather can add considerably to your driving time. Sundays can be very busy on the roads, the 5th is going home day for a lot of people though the other Sundays should be quieter. Flying into Milan (after an overnight flight?) and then driving to 3V is a lot to try to do, are you planning to park the car at (or stay in) Orelle for the week or drive all the way round to say Courchevel or Meribel? Personally might be tempted to stay in Milan for some sight seeing before driving on.

Have you thought about ski school especially for your son?

@ankitind, if you're fine with driving then no worries!

The Dolomites season pass includes 1200km of runs. If you can ski all of that in 3 weeks and get bored, then i'll be very impressed Laughing

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@munich_irish when I will land in Milan - I was thinking to drive nearby Italy border that days. As the flight will land in afternoon.

And than will drive early morning to Moutiers and do ski for the day. We will be based very near to Moutiers in an apartment and will park around Merible and take lifts to go the various pistes.

I am assuming most of the drivings between resorts will be on highways like E70, A4 in Italy, S16 in Austria etc. But will try to limit by driving at 200-300km in day.

There is only one day when we will be driving 450km plus, but I might take off St Moritz completely and spend two weeks in Dolomites instead as suggest by @swskier

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@ankitind, St Moritz? Why? The skiing is not anything special and it's far from anything interesting?

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@ankitind, I'd say 3V and the Dolomites are both good choices. I would expect you to be able to find better options than Cervinia and St Moritz. Fro your plan you are looking for two resorts between the Dolomites and v3.

I'd expect you'd get the most out of 3V at the end of the trip so you can ski more of the challenging runs.

So skiing level wise the Dolomites might be a better starting point? With the perfectly groomed pistes.

With that in mind you could start at the Dolomites then take the Alberg pass west through Austria and stop at an Austrian resort (Possibly Ischgl or St Anton). After that you could head to the Rhone valley through the Valais region of Switzerland and go to a Swiss resort (Zermatt or possible Saas Fee). The final leg would be to 3V via Geneva.

You'd end up with something like
Dolomites>St Anton>Zermatt>3V

No idea if this would fit with flights but it seems quite a good mix and order of resorts.

@Henwc Since we were starting the trip on 30th Dec - I was choosing 3V for snow reliability.
I have heard last year in first week of Jan, Dolomites had really bad season.

You know it makes sense.

@under_a_new_name we can switch to Mentoroso/St.Anton/Ischl or extend another week at Dolomites. What do you suggest?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@ankitind, I'd suggest Monterosa would be a better option...

A snowHead

@ankitind, Other people on here will know better than me but I understand that the Dolomites has world class snow making and piste grooming so the pistes should be fine from 30 December. Happy to be corrected on this.

The off piste may be non existent if snow is bad but from your ski level it doesn't look like you'll be interested in off piste?

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Lots of Driving , personality I’d just stay in Italy . Cervina in January could be very bleak even worse if it’s a bad weather week , no trees and prone to wind . Id only go there in March or April .

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@albob - Cervina is out, it seems. I will do 3V for 6 days spend next 2 weeks in Dolomites and than last week maybe in Austria (Arlberg) or Junfrau

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Given the long distances, I really don't think you need to cram in so many resorts. Dolomites and 3V each have easily two weeks of skiing without getting repetitive, and with each (but especially Dollies) you could think of swapping base midway to maximise access. Like @Henwc I would suggest Dolomites first.

You could always break up the very long drive between those areas by stopping for a day's skiing in a smaller resort en route, but given how much skiing you will already be doing you might appreciate a city break instead.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@ankitind, stay in Zermatt, not Cervinia. It’s wonderful. I live in the Alps and it’s the only place I pay to visit. You will not regret it.

3V’s has great piste skiing but with Chamonix, St Moritz, Dolomites and Zermatt you’ve already got more great skiing than you can imagine and can ditch it this time to make the most out of that Ikon pass.

Sightseeing stops in Venice, Verona, Bellagio, Stresa etc are worth looking at, especially if the weather is good.

After all it is free

My comment is more about Days 1&2. You've got an overnight flight from Asia landing in Milan, presumably in the morning of Sunday? And then driving 300km to 3 Valleys?

Whilst that may be do-able in summer and good weather, google maps recons it's 4h20 from Malpensa to Meribel. Allowing an hour or two to collect baggage at Malpensa, and collecting the rental car, that's easily going to be 6+ hours in winter. And the difficult bit is always the last 50km from Albertville to resort. If the weather is bad that last 50km can take hours and hours. Depending on your arrival time at Malpensa, it could be dark before you get to the 'difficult' bit - it's dark by 16:30 in mid winter.

If you're flying business class, and can get some sleep on the plane, then Ok. If you're down the back of the plane in scum class, then I'd be concerned about jetlag getting the better of me, and consider taking in a day or two at a resort much closer to Milan - perhaps Pila, Sestriere, or Gressoney/Champoluc/Alagna. Or even Cervinia since that was on your original list. All of these are more like 2h30 from Malpensa.

Or just have a 'city' day in Turin, Milan or Verona, decent nights sleep, and then set off to resort #1 on Monday morning.

@judwin - exactly that's the plan. After landing in Milan, take a night sleep in mid way and directly reach the resort next day, only keeping 70-100km to cover in the morning next day and do checkin in Meribel after completing the first day of skiing.

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backing up @Judwin comments - Can you not fly into Geneva? Milan is probably one of the worst choices to fly into to get to the 3V especially if the weather is bad. Also make sure you add a winter additive to the diesel if a diesel car from Milan....and then top up with winter diesel en route.

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how bad is the road from Milan to 3V? I thought its a main highway - and they clean it often.

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Most accommodation will be Saturday to Saturday, especially over New Year.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

After considering all the suggestions and factoring in our skill level and my son’s wish to ski in 3 Vallees, I’ve finalized our ski trip itinerary. We’ll be starting at Serre Chevalier, which I found to be great for beginners and conveniently located near Milan.

After 2 days of rest, we’ll head to 3 Vallees for some skiing before making the long drive to the Dolomites, where we’ll spend 10 days skiing, with a rest day in between.

Unfortunately, we decided to skip Zermatt/Cervinia. The resorts were a bit too pricey, and it would’ve increased our travel time. Plus, staying near Visp or Sion and having to take the train from Täsch every day felt like too much hassle. As many of you pointed out, Cervinia can be quite exposed during the second week of winter, so we’ll leave it for next time.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions!

A snowHead

Sounds a workable plan.

My only thought is for your day labelled "explore Courchevel, Val Thorens". Courchevel is not a sensible place to visit by car from Les Menuires, and you will have probably already seen the ski front there on your ski days. Val Thorens is the village higher up the same valley than Les Menuires, you will have visited it on skis many times by then. I would start your trip to the Dolomites, and find a suitable overnight (maybe Verona).

But I am biased, I avoid any plan for myself that involves 700 km drive in a day.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@ankitind, keep your rest days flexible if you can. You’re travelling in mid-winter and will get some bad weather days. Best use those as your rest days. Not sure you want to be resting if you’ve just had a 5 day storm and your rest days are on bluebird powder days!

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I too think the fundamental plan looks good but would question the rest days.
Briancon is a pleasant place to visit and well worth anyone's time though you don't really need a full day in January to explore it.

13th may be unlucky for some but I am not sure you absolutely need to invite such luck.
I'm sure somewhere there is a masochist who could spend many hours contemplating the contrasting pleasures of having their eyes poked out with a red hot wire and being forced to spend non skiing time split between Courchevel and Val Thorens, most other would consider that there are many North Italian towns and Cities between the 3V and the Dolomites that are considerably more worthy of rest time than an expensive concrete eyesore.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@TOLOCOMAN, ah. Ok, I didn't read the IKON thread

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@j_b and @T_Bar – I agree with both of you. The exploration days in Briançon and Courchevel may not make much sense since we’ll likely be having lunch there while skiing. I’ve kept those days as buffers in case we need flexibility due to bad weather.

For the 3 Vallees, there’s an extension option for €45 (adult) and €35 (child), but I couldn’t find a similar option for Serre Chevalier. If we encounter stormy weather, these buffer days could come in handy. I really wish they offered something like a “6 out of 7 days” pass. The Dolomites, for instance, offer a “10 out of 14 days” pass, but since we’ll be there for exactly 10 days, a straight 10-day pass makes more sense for us.

@BobinCH Unfortunately, we won’t have much flexibility after December 10th, as that’s when the free cancellation period for all our hotels ends. Here’s hoping the weather gods don’t send a 5-day storm—otherwise, my son and I might end up spending our days playing board games!

@j_b – Yes, I know 700 km in a day is a bit intense, but I’ve tried to keep all snow driving in the first half of the day. I’ve also (strategically, if I may say so!) planned it so that after 3 p.m., we’ll be at lower altitudes, making the drive a bit easier.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@ankitind,
The old bit of Briancon which is the really pleasant bit to visit is actually a bit away from the slopes and not really easy to visit with skis and boots but it is worth seeing.
Courchevel rather less so though it's dead easy to visit from the slopes.

After all it is free

My comments on the (latest wink

) plan...

1. Arrive Milan, drive to Susa, do you have time to sort the skis??

2. Drive from Susa to Serre Chevalier, I assume this is by the 1800m Montgenevre Pass. I hope it's not snowing hard! snowHead

3. Serre Chevalier...nice spot, but will be busy over New Year (as will most places). Blues in France can be tricky for beginners, greens are easier.

4. Briancon...nice historic town, but it's just one street really, not sure you want a whole day there. One late afternoon/evening maybe??

5. Les Menuires...it's cheap for a reason, it's ugly and stuck at one end of the 3V. Serious terrain in 3V, the runs off the high ridges that divide the valleys are mostly red. Let's hope your son makes good progress in Serre Chev! Shocked

6. Nothing much to see at Courchevel or VT that you can't see as you ski around. Both are modern resorts with very little interest. The best bit of the 3V is the vastness of the interlinked ski area, not the resorts.

7. So you might want to split the 700km drive across to the Dolomites?

8. Cesiomaggiore??? Not a good place to be based for skiing, miles from any resort. Cortina is 1h40 away in good conditions. You'll soon get tired of those commutes. I gave you a few cheaper places to look on the other thread.

9. Badia...great spot! But only 4 days?? Sad

This YouTuber has a hotel in Badia, some great ski content on his channel of all the routes you can do in the area...great day last year 31st December with his two young sons in some epic snow...can't guarantee the same this year though...

http://youtube.com/v/zMlDYWLrrpE

10. Sirmione by Lake Garda is a nice spot. Would be worth leaving the autostrada at Rovereto Sud and crossing over to Torbole and driving the entire eastern side of the lake if it's a nice day, stopping at Malcesine for an ice cream!! Cool

11. I'll leave it there for now! snowHead

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@T_Bar @J_B – I’ll be staying just across from the Ratier Gondola, near Saint Chaffrey. If we get the chance, we might visit Briançon, the birthplace of Alpine skiing, but we’ll likely ski on Day 7 as well.

That said, we do plan to explore Briançon—perhaps drive in, park somewhere, and have dinner there on a few evenings.

Help!!

Advice Needed: 2024/25 Ski Itinerary with My Son – 3 Vallees, Dolomites, Cervinia, or St. Moritz?

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