Here at Activ4, we can’t get enough of the mountains and as the summer draws to a close, our minds turn to the idea of skiing! A safe, well organised school ski trip has a plethora of benefits for everyone traveling – teachers and students alike!
We offer only the very best European ski resorts for school tours and North America ski tours, priding ourselves on the quality of the ski instruction in the ski schools that we offer, as well as making sure that the appropriate level of skiing is available for your particular group needs.
We also put a lot of emphasis on ensuring there is plenty of entertainment to keep even the most energetic group busy in the evenings – if they aren’t exhausted from the slopes that is!
Read on to find our top five best European ski resorts for school tours in 2020:
Andorra
Once the poorer cousin of other European resorts, Andorra has pulled off an incredible transformation to become one of our best ski resorts for school tours! Nestled between France and Spain in the epic Pyrenees mountain range, Andorra boasts a picture-perfect location and a clear contender for our best European ski resorts for school tours!
We love Andorra as it caters for all types of skiers and boarders; with 53% of the resort made up of green and blue runs and the rest made up of red and black runs for the more adventurous skiers!
Plus – did we mention tax free shopping?!
Italy
Picture the most idyllic of ski resorts and you are sure to come up with something close to our Italian ski resorts! Family run hotels, delicious Italian cuisine (and yes, we mean plenty of pizza to keep the children happy!) and incredible scenery make our Italian resorts some of our best European ski resorts for school tours!
We focus on three main resorts; Sappada, Sestriere and Aprica. Sappada is located in the beautiful Dolomite Mountains range and is a perfect location for a school ski trip. You can find Sestriere is a near the French border in the Western Alps. Part of the Vialattea ski area, it has runs to keep a whole range of skiers happy! The Northerly Aprica offers reliable snow on its north-facing slopes, located in Lombardy. This is a particular good choice if your group has more inexperienced skiers as they are catered for brilliantly here!
Austria
The ever-popular Austria is a winner with skiers and boarders alike. We base ourselves at the Bad Kleinkirchheim (BKK) ski resort, home of Austrian ski legend Franz Klammer, which offers great value in comparison to France, along with fantastic accommodation options, a well-organised resort, 100km of piste and innovative snowmaking equipment to boot!
But what about the skiing we hear you ask? Bad Kleinkirchheim has something to keep every level of skier happy! Novice skiers will start in St Oswald which boasts large, gentle nursery areas and longer-than-usual “nursery” slopes so your students will soon get a taste of being “on the mountain”. For progression during the week, you will find a great range of blue and red slopes and more than enough options to keep the more experienced skiiers happy – including the three and a half kilometer Franz Klammer World Cup run! This sheer range means Austria always makes our list of best European ski resorts for school tours!
France
The French Alps are a classic for a school ski trip – and for good reason! Offering the largest range of skiing terrain anywhere in the world, and the shortest transfer times, France boasts some of the best ski resorts around!
Our school trips are based in the most prestigious skiing region in the world, Espace Killy. This combines Tignes and its neighbouring resort of Val d’Isere and is named after France’s Olympic downhill skiing champion Jean Claude Killy. Offering over 300km of slopes and a wide spread of runs to keep all types of groups happy, as well as 48 ski lifts which include a funicular railway, a cable car, 24 chairlifts and 19 drag lifts, there really is something for everyone in this snow-sure resort.
We base our groups usually in Chalet Chardons, a comfortable hotel in Tignes Les Brévières with up to 56 beds available. The chalet is excellently located with no more than a two-minute walk to any of the bars or restaurants, ski-lifts, nursery slopes or other amenities. The Grande Motte Glacier is also accessible from here, which rises to a lofty 3450 metres! There is a range of chalets available in this region which offers different levels of accommodation at all standards.
Our partner Alex Talbot who runs the hotel has worked with us for years, and has a real understanding of UK school groups and what is needed to make a tour a success!
Switzerland
Switzerland is a skier’s paradise, with quaint, picture-perfect Alpine scenery, varied, world-class skiing terrain and three fantastic resorts in one lift pass! The Swiss charm and attention to detail makes it a stand-out destination in Europe for winter pursuits.
We base our groups in the charming, prestigious Gstaad ski resort in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, popular with celebrities and families alike! Surrounded by some of Switzerland’s finest views, this area is around two hours’ drive from Geneva or Zurich. The resort offers a phenomenal 58 lifts and 250km of slopes between its two snow parks, and rises upto 3000 metres above sea level at some points! It also gives access to the only glacier ski area in the Bernese Oberland, the Glacier 3000, a renowned tourist spot and gives almost guaranteed snow cover!
While beginners are well catered for, more experienced skiers will be in their element and can take a go at the longest run in the region, a staggering 1600 vertical meters!
Interested in learning more about any of the above? Click here to read more or contact us today!
