Hi every one,<BR>I was wondering what are the best ski resorts in Italy and switzerland. Is it terribly expensive for one person. How can I make reservations? Are there any good websites (I couldn't find any good ones). Is it a good idea or should I just forget about it for now?

Hello Annie!<BR><BR>oboyoboyoboy, I just love questions like this where I can rave about a favorite pasttime at a favorite place.<BR><BR>Not terribly expensive for one person; I've done it alone in Switzerland four times. I live on/close to the east coast, so it's about the same $$ & time expense to go to Europe and stay at a nice place as it is to fly to Colo or BC in Canada.<BR><BR>I think the best deals come from the hotels -- they often offer package deals that include six nights' lodging with breakfast and dinner and a six day skipass. I've done them in Grindelwald, Wengen, and Zermatt in Switzerland in four-star hotels for about $1100 - 1200. So add on cheapie air fare, lunches, drinks, & ski rentals (I usually bring my own boots) for a trip at around $2000. Obviously, there are even better deals from three-star hotels. I usually enroll in a five- or six-day ski school, too, to be sure I get to all the ski runs and don't get lost (these are massive ski areas)! The ski school also helps so you don't feel so alone on the slopes.<BR><BR>A good place to start is with the tourist office of the villages -- they usually post the ski packages online. So try researching www.grindelwald.com, www.wengen.com, and www.muerren.ch. These are the areas I've skied and loved, but others rave about Gstaad (www.gstaad.ch) and the Engadin (www.engadin.ch and maybe also www.skiengadin.ch or www.ski-engadin.ch).<BR><BR>I got my first package deal from Swissair, but obviously can't vouch for the new carrier. But you might surf around the new airline's website (probably something like www.swiss.com) and see what kind of air/hotel/skipass deals they offer. There used to be a tour operator called "Swisspak," but it doesn't seem to have a website. You can do a search to see if you can come up with a telephone number.<BR><BR>There are also travel agencies that specialize in European ski vacations -- www.ski-europe.com is one and all-mountain.com is another. However, I've found I can usually beat their prices by dealing directly with the hotel for a package. I also like being able to specify the type of room I want by dealing directly with the hotel.<BR><BR>Come back with more questions!<BR><BR>s

Have you considered France? We had wonderful week in Serre Chevalier valley, stayed in Briancon, in lower Fr. Alpes. Booked thru www.all-mountain.com; reasonable, too.

Better to think about it now. Sure, skiing in Switzerland will be expensive, but you don't do it that often and if you've got the rights conditions and weather, it will be memorable. <BR><BR>The best Swiss ski resorts are the ones at the HIGHER altitudes - villages at around 1'600 meters - this is important, to make sure you have snow! (some winters can be snow-poor). So, I second the idea of Grindelwald/Wengen/Murren - while these villages aren't higher than 1'200 meters, they have quick access to higher slopes; also Zermatt definitely; then, there's Saas Fee near Zermatt as another option, a bit less busy than Zermatt; and the Engadin region like Pontresina and Lenzerheide. P.S. Stay away from the typical touristy places like St. Moritz (too big, snobby) and Gstaad (snobby and too low).

Annie,<BR>A semi-well kept secret is Andermatt near the St. Gotthard Pass. It's accessible by train from Zurich, very affordable with 3 ski areas, friendly townspeople and a fairly active nightlife. Being so close to Canton Ticino, you get a good flavor for both the German and Italian of CH. Other areas nearby are Realp and Hospental.<BR><BR>Here are some links from my bookmarks:<BR>http://www.andermatt.ch/default.asp - mostly in German<BR>http://www.goski.com/rswi/ander.htm<BR>http://www.skiswitzerland.com/andermat/andermat.htm<BR><BR>I recommend you check out Andermatt and that comes from someone (me) who has in-laws living in the French Alps. BTW, I would also recommend you look in the Mt. Blanc area, i.e. Chamonix, Megeve, Combloux. Do websearches on these to find sites.<BR><BR>As far as it being a good idea, that depends on you. If you like/love to ski, and want a taste of European skiing (Alps powder is amazing), then go for it.<BR>hth,

Hello every one,<BR><BR>Thank you for all the great responses. I printed them out, and going to use them as a guide-line. <BR><BR>S, here is another question for you if you don't mind. Which of the resorts (Grindelwald, Wengen, or Zermatt) did you like better. Which one has more young tourist and Students (I'm 21. I like to hang around people from the same age group). Which one has an interesting, but not sleazy nightlife scene. <BR>Oh, I also live on the east coast (Providence), have you ever tried Vermont. It's really not so bad. My friend and I tried it last year, we had fun.<BR><BR>Sue, France is another option for me as I understand that French Alps are cheaper.<BR><BR>For Skier, Isn't Zermatt very touristy as well? What is Gstaad like?<BR><BR>Mj, Andermatt sounds interesting, especially that you say it's close to Italy.<BR><BR>I was wondering if any one know any thing about Cortina. What kind of a resort is it? Is it interesting? I'm a little bit leaning towards Dolomites, because it's in Italy. My itinerary is like this: I'm planning to travel in January 2003. In the First week, I want to revisit Florence and rome then I'm going to visit lake Como in Northern Italy. In the Second week I want to do some skiing. Any suggestions?<BR><BR>Thank you for all the info,<BR><BR>Annie<BR>

i have used skieurope.com twice. Excellent trips, Courmayour and Innsbruck. Courmayour {sp} Italy was awesome!! You could walk to the lift. Stayed at Cresta Et Duc. PJ

Sue, I have skiied in Vermont as well and when living in the U.S. I now live in europe and last year I went on a "package" ski holiday to Mayerhofen (outside innsbruck) in Austria. It was a very reasonable package. We had flights from Dublin, half boardand transport to and from the airposrt (20 mins). The village was lovely and skiis and passes can be arranged in the village. It had a lively crowd from all over europe of all ages. We were a group aged 25-35 and had a great holiday. Great night life and food as well. I felt the skiing was much better than vermont and if you are a good skiier you can pay an addition charge to have access to the glacier which is more intermediate skiing. My favourite part was the beautiful scenery at the top of the mountains. Mayerhofen is in Tirol so the locals were having some traditional celebrations when we were ther....and the flavoured schnapps are great!

I am not a skiing lover, but italy has loads of skiing resorts on the alps that should be a little less expensive than Switzerland. These resorts are located mainly in the regions of Piedmont (Turin and the surrounding skking resorts will host the next Winter Olympics), Valle d'Aosta, Lombardy and Trentino Alto Adige. Check the following sites:<BR><BR>http://www.torino2006.org/ita/index.asp<BR>http://www.turismotorino.org/home.php<BR>http://www.atl.biella.it/eng/sport.html<BR>http://www.montagnedoc.com/scuoledis...ascuoledisci=1 (in Italian only)<BR><BR>http://www.regione.vda.it/turismo/default_i.asp<BR><BR><BR>http://www.livigno.com/<BR>http://www.valtellinaonline.com/<BR>http://www.apt.bergamo.it/<BR><BR>http://www.trentino.to/<BR>

Hello Annie,<BR><BR>Oh dear -- the information you provided changes everything! The visitors at Wengen & Grindelwald tend to be 20-30 years older than you, and nightlife tends to be a nice dinner and a hot sauna! You might want to save these destinations for later in your life.<BR><BR>Zermatt might be more your style because it seems to have a younger group of visitors and more on offer for nightlife. However, I didn't care for it much because the wind froze my toes and obscured the slopes with blowing snow.<BR><BR>Because you're coming from Como, though, I'm going to suggest you seriously look into skiing the Engadin, maybe Celerina or Pontresina. These places are pretty easy to reach from Como. Although I haven't been there yet, some posters here who live in Europe rave about the place. Do a text search here for these towns or just "Engadin." You'll find lots of convincing info. I'm not sure if the crowd would be any younger, but I believe it would be. <BR><BR>Anyway, I'm glad you gave us more information so that we could offer more specific recommendations. And, yes, I've skiid Vermont -- Okemo! I think you'll find that skiing in Europe is very, very different from skiing in the US -- ski areas are simply massive.<BR><BR>Have fun with your research!<BR><BR>s<BR><BR>ps, I'm having a lot of trouble getting this to post. Been trying on & off for about 10 minutes. My apologies if/when it shows up twice.

Annie:<BR><BR>You sound like you have not done too much skiing! I guess when I was 21 I still was on the 'Bunny Slopes"! You might be overwhelmed with Europe if you go by yourself. I suggest you contact a few ski clubs in your area and see if you like the group. The Ski club trips are usually fun and inexpensive. That said, Cortina is a beautiful resort. The Dolimites are wonderful. Skiing is not too challenging, but the food and nightlife is terrific! Do searches under "Cortina" , "Dolomites" and "skiing" and see what comes up!<BR>JOHN

Annie - Here are some websites for the Dolomites:<BR><BR>www.dolomitisuperski.com<BR>www. sunrise.it/dolomiti<BR>www.dolomiti.it<BR>www.dolomitesholida y.com<BR><BR>Besides Cortina consider also San Martino di Castrozza, Selva di Val Gardena, Corvara ...<BR><BR>Hope this helps ...<BR><BR>Steve

Annie,<BR>Andermatt isn't _that_ close to Italy (maybe ~60km). But it's ~5km to Ticino, the Italian speaking canton of CH.<BR><BR>Many 20 somethings ski/work there - you'll also find a lot of families. Only 2 and 3 star hotels and Gasthaus are available so it's not on the celeb/euro trash radar.<BR><BR>What is good about the place is you are virtually guaranteed snow. The 2001 season was kinda tough, snow/temp wise, in many Alps regions, especially at the base. Andermatt kept what it got because (here's the downside), due to it's location, temps run ~10F colder than other Alps regions.<BR>hth,<BR>

Lots of great advice already, Pontresina is a good choice, and so is Cortina. You might also consider Davos if you want to cross country, Arosa seemed to be fairly lively as well. (although I've also seen some older German crowd there as well)<BR><BR>I'd say no to St. Moritz for sure, Gstaad, and yes Zermatt is touristy. (but a kind of nice cozy touristy) Saas Fee is a greate alternative to Gstaad.<BR><BR>

The Gstaad region is fanastic.Shared lift/train and bus passes that can be used from Chateau d'Oex to Lenk.Glacier skiing at les Diablerets to novice runs at Saanen. Plus you can try out your french and german language skills.

What an interesting thread! I almost missed it because you did not select “Switzerland”.<BR><BR>It is probably more a matter of when instead of where you go to meet younger people. January is low season, students etc. usually go skiing later (at least my experience).<BR><BR>In Switzerland I highly recommend to go to Flims-Laax – very trendy, lots of young people, snowboarders especially. www.alpenarena.ch The villages are at quite low altitude (1100 m) but the skiing area is very snow reliable (up to 3000 m) and very large (220 km of groomed slopes). Another good deal is Samnaun, on the northern end of the Engadine valley, right on the Austrian border. It shares a perfect and large skiing area with Ischgl/Austria (200 km groomed slopes, village at 1800 m alt., skiing up to 2874 m, very snow reliable AND sunny). www.samnaun.ch Samnaun is tax-free area: cheap gas, cigarettes, alcohol etc. Hotels and apartments are relatively cheap there (what surprise, cheaper than in Ischgl/Austria!).<BR><BR>My favourite skiing area is the Upper Engadin (around St. Moritz). In my experience there are lots of young people there, not only rich and famous. You can stay outside St. Moritz in one of those beautiful villages. Silvaplana and Celerina are favourite places for younger people, because of their low budget accommodation places: Alte Brauerei and Inn Lodge in Celerina, many apartments in Silvaplana. Corviglia and Corvatsch are world class skiing areas with about 80 km well groomed slopes each (there are still more in the skipass included). BTW, it is ca. one hour driving or 2 hours by public transportation from Lake Como to the Engadin. <BR><BR>I did not like skiing in Saas Fee. Too cold and not very sunny – even in January. Not that many slopes.<BR><BR>Italy: Cortina is in my opinion overappreciated. Very expensive, the skiing areas are not perfectly connected with each other and the ski bus system is not working well. They also had snow problems a couple of times over the last years. And it is quite a distance away from Lake Como. The Swiss skiing resorts are much closer.<BR><BR>Ingo<BR><BR><BR>

Annie,<BR>We skiied twice in Sestriere, Italy (Ski events of the 2006 Olympics will take place there). Skiing in Italy much cheaper then in Switzerland or France. People are nice and friendly, and food is great. We booked all-inclusive package with Club Valtur <BR>http://www.clubholidays.com/structur...amemaster.htm; I have Valtur's direct number if you are interested. <BR><BR><BR>

Hi Annie!<BR><BR>A few year ago I went with a large group of ski club people to Cortina. It was a great deal! For $1100 included:<BR><BR>RT airfare<BR>bus from Marco Polo to Cortina<BR>4 star hotel in Cortina<BR>all meals except lunches<BR>5 out of 6 day Super Dolomiti lift pass<BR> (good for over 430 lifts all over!)<BR>plus a couple of great parties thrown in<BR><BR>We had a great time! Cortina very posh, food great, skiing very different (not too hard though) & scenery awesome!<BR><BR>Try looking into a ski club in your area & see what they have going. You usually have to commit about a year in advance. See if you can ask around for a club appropriate for your age. It's hard to beat the group discounts!