Italy’s South Tyrol region has a very good reputation among skiers and snowboarders for many things.
There’s the stunning scenery (the Dolomites, with their eighty 3000 metre high peaks, are now a UNESCO world heritage site), the friendly locals, the fantastic food, the mixed Mediterranean and alpine influences, great snowmaking systems providing a snow guarantee, yet tan average 300 sunny days a year, easy access …the list goes on and all the items add up to one excellent, high value ski destination.
But what’s not commonly realised is just how BIG the skiing in the South Tyrol actually is – and how well the ski areas are equipped with really state of the art ski lifts for fast, comfortable rides up the hill.
Of course big ski areas aren’t everybody’s cup of tea. The very thought of giant ski areas can make you think of vast, soulless concrete apartment complexes on the top of a mountain with not a tree in site and no real history or community.
But that’s not the case in South Tyrol, the communities are ancient, the villages long established before skiing arrived and authentic year round communities. What they’ve done though is create lift and ski run connections between many of these small to medium sized ski areas so that you can ski from village to village effortlessly. Add these moderate sized ski areas together and you get one big ski region. Even where ski areas have not been linked they tend to share a hands-free, computer-controlled lift pass valid at all the neighbouring ski centres so a short ski bus ride takes you to an alternative ski area each day of your holiday and all-inclusive on your ski pass.
The Sellaronda
The Sellaronda is a famous circuit in the Dolomites where a network on ski runs and lifts circles the massive rocky Sella Massif. You can tackle this iconic circuit at any pace you like. There are very gentle options that beginners might take after a week or so of lessons, or there re steep fast runs that experts can gobble up. It is also possible to extend the tour and include the challenging Porta Vescovo slope in Arabba, the Marmolada or the Stella Alpina Valley in Colfosco.
Speaking of gobbling (although hopefully you’ll eat in a more dignified manner) …it’s the enticing mountain restaurants serving up local South Tyrolean gourmet favourites on the way round that are likely to delay your progress the most, whatever your ability.
The thing is though that although the Sellaronda circuit is only 26km (16 miles) or so of skiing, looking don from above it acts like the hub of a wheel from which famous ski valleys like Gardena and Badia radiate off, all inter-linked. Val Gardena and Alta Badia are already world class resorts in their own right but add all their ski area totals together and you get towards 500km of lift/piste linked ski areas, all included in the Dolomiti superski pass (which covers a lot more besides, around 1200km in total) – one of the world’s three biggest ski areas.
Kronplatz
Kronplatz has been ‘under the radar’ a bit for Brits (in fact the whole South Tyrol is really, only 2% of visitors here in winter are from the UK), BUT amazingly this area is one of the two in the world (the other is Austria’s Saalbach) with the most high speed gondola lifts to whisk you quickly and comfortably up the slopes.
With more than 120km of slopes locally – and again part of the 10 times larger Dolomiti Superski pass – it’s also world class in terms of size and keeps opening long new ski runs each winter to make the choice even bigger. Advance skiers can even tackle the ‘Black 5’ selection of the area’s most challenging runs.
Merano 2000
Merano is another ski area few Brits have heard of but an excellent choice for a ski break!
Merano is one of the bigger towns in South Tyrol so you can have a kind of small city-ski break here. As an added attraction, there are even natural hot springs and spa baths here!
A new modern cable car from the city to the Merano 2000 ski area above means you can easily divide up your day so that you spend part on the slopes, part in town. It also makes it a great choice for parties with some non-skiers in the group.
A combined ticket that includes both access to the local thermal baths and your ski pass is offered.
Although the Merano 2000 ski area is not huge it is part of the larger Ortler Ski Arena pass which covers 15 ski resorts on one ticket, including snowsure glacier skiing at Val Senales .
Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi
Val Gardena is arguable the South Tyrol’s best known ski area. Home to annual World Cup races where Britain recorded its best ever result (a silver) there are more than 110 miles of piste divided in to more than 100 separate runs and served by around 80 ski lifts, truly one of the world’#s best.
Although famous for that World Cup piste and linked in to the Sellaronda for hundreds of miles of great intermediate terrain, it also offers special ski schools and lifts for children and is featured by several UK tour operators. With free skiing in the Dolomiti Superski area for children aged up to eight this winter and a discount for those aged between 8-16, when accompanied by a parent, there has never been a better time to try skiing as a family.
The neighbouring resort of Alpe di Siusi is also great for families. There are gentle slopes where instructors are on hand for children and challenging black runs for the parents to tackle.
Alta Badia
Travelling in the other direction from Val Gardena, Alta Badia, also on the Sellaronda, also a December world cup host each winter, brings together the skiing around half a dozen village, most famous of which is Corvara.
The region is famous for its ‘gourmet skiing’ – with a greater concentration of Michelin-starred gourmet restaurants than any other ski region on the planet they say. The good news is they’re dedicated to providing affordable, accessible gourmet-quality meals, they’re not locking it away in expensive restaurants bit making it available on the slopes ion mountain huts across the region!
Where To Stay
There’s a huge choice of places to stay in the South Tyrol with accommodation of all types and for all tastes and budgets.
In terms of new choices, following a major refurbishment, Hotel Madonna has reopened for the ski season of 2016/17. The four star hotel, situated in the 1000-year old village of Castelrotto, northeast of Bolzano, features a restaurant, bar, lounge, swimming pool and luxurious, contemporary suites. Prices start from £86 per room per night, including breakfast.
Or in Val Gardena the Hotel Gardena, with panoramic views of the renowned cliff face of Sassulungo, Sassopiatto, Sella and Cir, is being refurbished and offers a range of apartments, bed and breakfast or half board. Prices for an apartment start at £343 for two people sharing based on a week’s stay.
For families in particular there is a wealth of accommodation options available to suit a variety of needs. South Tyrol’s Family Hotels offer visitors a choice of 25 independent hotels that all specialise in catering for groups of different ages, with each property offering parents the opportunity to relax and explore on their own whilst their children are cared for by qualified nannies in the hotel’s crèche. Children can also take part in organised activities in the surrounding area. The hotel group’s colour code makes it easy for visitors to find properties with facilities meet their needs: yellow hotels meet basic criteria, orange add a little more to the experience and red hotels are the most family-focused with more than 90% of rooms devoted to families.
Families can also opt for a farm stay which usually sleeps up to four and is a great alternative for families looking for that extra special stay. Each property’s focus can vary – from wines or organic food to health and fitness – and accessible farms with disabled access.
How to get there
Getting to South Tyrol is easy as the region is just a short distance from a number of airports – Verona, Milan-Bergamo, Milan, Venice and Treviso as well as Innsbruck and Munich. Bolzano/Bozen in South Tyrol is approximately a 90-minute drive from both Verona and Innsbruck
Flights are available with BA, EasyJet, Ryanair and Monarch from a range of UK airports including: London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Leeds, East Midlands, Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
British Airways, fly direct from London Gatwick to Innsbruck or Verona, prices start from £38 one-way, book at ba.com. EasyJet www.easyjet.com flies from London Gatwick to Verona with prices from £34.99 one-way and to Innsbruck in Austria from £32.49 one-way (incl. taxes).
Ryanair flies from London Stansted to Milan Bergamo from £30 one-way (incl. Taxes). It is also possible to fly to Milan Bergamo from Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, East Midlands, Leeds and Bradford with Ryanair. Low-fare transfers run from Verona Valerio Catullo, Milan Bergamo Orio al Serio and Innsbruck airports to Bolzano in South Tyrol from €39 return.
Monarch offers twice weekly flights from Manchester to Innsbruck starting from £30 one way.
Lots of people travelling to South Tyrol hire a car at the airport, but there are also quick and convenient bus transfers from Milan, Malpensa, Bergamo, Verona, Innsbruck or Munich airports, starting from €48 per person – make sure you book at least 48 hours in advance though.
