Our first time skiing in Italy
After several ski trips to France – visiting resorts like Avoriaz, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Tignes, and Val d’Isère, I wanted to try somewhere new in Europe. This time, we chose Sestriere of Italy, the host village for the 2006 Winter Olympics.
A Ski Package
We booked a ski package through Crystal Ski, which included
flights, airport transfers, hotel accommodation with half board (breakfast and
dinner), and ski passes for a full week – all for £2,700 for two people in
early February. We felt it was a reasonable deal.
We usually spend two days driving to the ski resorts in France, so this time we opted to fly to Italy instead, it was fast and convenient. Our journey began with a drive from Cambridge to Stansted
Airport, followed by a two-hour flight to Turin. From there, we took a coach
arranged by the tour operator, which spent about 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach
Sestriere.
A ski-in/ski-out hotel
We stayed at the Hotel Principi di Piemonte, which turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Our room was spacious with a big walk-in closet, and the hotel is regarded as ski-in/ski-out. While not perfectly located, it was still convenient – by carrying our skis to cross a road and a short uphill walk of about two minutes, then we could ski to a chair lift. On the way back, we could ski to the same area and walk back to the hotel.
The slopes
As for the slopes, snow conditions varied. Some areas had
wonderful snow, while others were quite icy. Interestingly, the red slopes (intermediate) in
Sestriere felt more like blue slopes (beginner) in France, making skiing more manageable
and enjoyable for us.
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Our attempt to ski to France
We also booked a day trip to Montgenèvre, a ski location just
across the French border, about 30 minutes away by car. The day before the
tour, we tried to ski there ourselves.
We had skied across a few mountains and were one more
mountain to reach the French border, but yet to Montgenèvre. I started to worry
that I might not have the energy to make it back, especially with a long, steep
button lift on a key path that was physically demanding. My husband should be
able to handle the challenge. I couldn't understand why they hadn’t installed a
chairlift instead. Button lifts are typically found on beginner slopes with
gentle inclines. Fortunately, I made it up without falling, but I didn’t enjoy
the experience, I was overly cautious and nervous the entire way.
Montgenèvre
The day trip to Montgenèvre turned out to be the highlight of the holiday. The snow condition was excellent, and there were many great varieties of slopes – green, blue, red, and black. We skied across two mountains facing each other. While it was a little bit bittersweet to realise that skiing in France still has the edge, I thoroughly enjoyed the new experience and beautiful scenery in Italy.
About Food
When it came to food, we didn’t find any standout restaurants in either the town or mountains of Sestriere and Montgenèvre, as we are not huge fans of pizza and pasta. Despite this, we enjoyed the buffet dinners at our hotel – they provided varied main dishes each day, were tasty, and suited our preferences well.
One thoughtful detail worth mentioning: the hotel assigned us a dining table for the entire week, which helped reduce queuing time for every meal. Even better, if we didn’t finish our bottle of wine, they saved it for us for the following evening.
Final Thoughts
Booking a ski package to any European destination can help keep your trip within a reasonable budget while saving travel time. Driving to ski resorts in France typically adds two extra days to the journey, with stopovers usually in Dijon or Reims, and takes around 13 to 14 hours each way. I enjoy discovering new places, and we found that Montgenèvre in France is a much better ski destination than Sestriere in Italy due to its snow condition.
Further reading
Readers can refer to my previous article about nurturing passions and interests "SPICE UP YOUR LIFE: NURTURING PASSIONS AND INTERESTS".
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