 Poster: A snowHead
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Having enjoyed some child free trips to Selva and Corvara in the last three years, I am returning to Selva this year with a larger group and (lots of) children for the half-term week. Whilst I know my way around the area, well, I am hoping that you may be able to advise me on a few things:
We are flying into Venice (would not have been first choice, but we left booking flights too late and this was the most economic option). I am looking into transfer arrangements - the fall-back option will be to hire a couple of cars and drive up, but I was wondering if anyone has personal experience of a taxi transfer company they could recommend - there are lots on the internet, but hard to know if they are reliable or not, so a personal recommendation would be most helpful. Cost of taxi compared to two cars does not seem vastly different and likely less hassle.
If we do drive, there seems to be a choice of two routes - the motorway via Verona and Bolzano - I have driven this way before, and it is an easy drive, but much longer than the more direct route due North from Venice and then through the mountains (various possibilities, judging by the map) to Selva. This is shorter, but looks rather windy. Assuming the roads are clear, which way would you choose? One piece of good news compared to previous years is that one of the hire companies (Europcar) now offers certain models with winter tyres.
There seem to be three ski schools in Selva. The children range from 2 weeker 6 year olds to really quite competent 10-14 year olds. We are thinking about options (maybe 3 full days private instructor for the older/better ones, and week course for the smaller/less capable ones). Any views on which is the best of the ski schools - again personal recommendations greatly appreciated.
Being a cheapskate, we have opted for a hotel without a pool. I am getting some complaints about this - does anyone know if there is a pool in Selva that can be used by non-residents?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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there is a pool in Ortisei - but that would mean a short Bus trip. You can buy a special card that allows unlimited use of the 'valley' bus (4 or 5 euro??)
You may find that one of the Hotels allows non-guests the use of their pool.
Driving - I would use the Motorway....
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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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1. I'm suprised you didn't book flights to Verona rather than Venice. I find it hard to believe that Venice was a lot cheaper than Verona.
2. ALthough the distance may look shorter going straight up from Venice and across to Cortina, Corvara and then Selva, the road does go across several mountain passes which will increase the journey time. If the weather looked like being dry for your journey then yes I would still go via this route. If any snow was forecast then I would definatey go for the motorway via Verona and Bolzano
3. The ski school opposite the Ciampinoi gondola (across the road to the right and a few metres up the hill) is good. DOn't know if its any better than the others but can't believe it would be any worse. But a) they will store your skis/boots for you in their own rental shop and b) they will transport you by mini bus to the learner slopes in the mornings (a big plus in Selva as the learner slopes would otherwise have to be accessed via a steep long walk from the majority of the village). Link below:
http://www.scuolasciselva.com/en/Default.asp
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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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Thanks for the replies.
I would have chosen Verona (or even better, Innsbruck), but the flight costs were dramatically different - the usual half term price stacking meant that is was going to cost almost twice as much to fly to Verona and about 4 times as much to Innsbruck (£360 pp each way on Easyjet - does anyone pay that?!). There was one exception, which is Meridiana Fly to Verona, which was a little cheaper, but the flight times were awful (late evening going out and really early morning return), so we chose the Venice option - we have taken advantage of this and are adding a sneaky night in Venice at the end of the trip, so there are consolations.
Does anyone have any experience of taxi transfers to/from Selva? Any personal recommendations for a reliable taxi company would be much appreciated. It looks cheaper than hiring two cars and less hassle, if reliable.
Is that the "Prada Ski School"? Only in Italy!
Thanks
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The hotels organise buses in the area which run on transfer days only from Venice and Venice/Treviso. No doubt someone will be along soon to give you a URL to go to.
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rg1, you've done well to avoid Meridiana. I used to fly regularly with them for work. I swear they've managed to find the only grumpy and miserable Italians on the planet and hire them as cabin crew. There was also the time we were redirected from Florence to Bologna because "the plane is broken and can't land at Florence so we've taken it to Bologna for you to travel back to London from there." Hmm, what about landing in London, eh? Doesn't exactly fill you with confidence!
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