Before you even consider going skiing, you need first decide whether you mind being helpless for a week afterward because it is an extremely physically exhausting holiday. On the other hand, Arinsal is unquestionably the best spot for you to learn how to ski or snowboard! Arinsal is a village in Andorra, close to the border with Spain. Locals speak French, Spanish, and Catalan in Andorra but in the ski villages, most people understood English. In the summer Arinsal is popular for hikers and bikers but in the winter it's filled with snow sports lovers. Due to the elevation level, the snow probability and ski resort are very snow reliable. If there isn’t snow there are artificial snow-making systems, but luckily at the end of January there was plenty of snow to learn how to ski, and here's how the trip went along with some tips to survive beginners' lessons!
Things to do in Andorra
The sixth-smallest country in Europe, Andorra is a small country tucked between France and Spain. It just takes an hour to drive from one side to the other. I'd strongly advise spending an evening off from skiing or snowboarding and seeing Andorra la Vella's downtown. It's a shopping center filled with your typical clothing stores, jewelry shops, tons of small tech shops, and the best part? Andorra is all Duty-Free shopping! Moreover, there are a number of buses that travel into town, so if you have a free evening near the beginning of the trip (when you can still feel your legs), you should check it out.
Location, Pricing, and Food
We were based in Erts, a village located in the region of La Massana, 5 minutes from Arinsal. Fortunately, there is a FREE bus that travels up and down the mountain, making it simpler to reach the gondolas and travel into Arinsal at night. We went skiing at Vallnord - Pal Arinsal, a picturesque town on the side of a mountain with beginner and intermediate runs dominating the mountain and a ski school at the base. For our vacation, we purchased a package that included ski equipment, a ski pass, and six days of lessons. They can cost up to €400 for the week (€250 for the pass and €150 for the skis, ski boots, and helmet), which is undoubtedly much less expensive than major European vacation spots like Italy, France, Switzerland, and Austria. In Eastern Europe, you might be able to score a few better prices, but the differences are typically negligible. The Hotel Palerine, where we stayed, deserves a special mention because it served some of the tastiest dinners I've had in a long time, and the best part is it’s included in the hotel price at half-board! There were new cuisines served every night, including Mexican, Chinese, Italian, and more. Even though I don't like to eat new foods, the meal smelled delicious, and some nights I even ended up eating three servings. Must have been all the activity! The nicest thing is that the hotel is attached to an Asian restaurant below in case you're in the mood for some homemade, fresh food. The half-board option helped us save money as there were unlimited refills and most of the time we were either on the mountain or eating at the hotel. There was a place to eat at the base of the mountain which was good for a small lunch.
Here was our general schedule for the week:
7:30 - Wake up
8:00 - Hot food started at the hotel
9:00 - Get ready to leave
9:30 - Bus up to the gondolas
9:45 - Get to the top of the mountain and get ski gear
10:00 - Ski lessons start
11:30 - Short break with Instructors
13:00 - Ski lessons ended
16:00 - Finish up the last few runs and start heading down the mountain
17:00 - Make it back to the hotel and get ready for the evening
18:00 - Do evening activities (Go into town, meet up with new friends, explore, etc)
If you're looking to be going on the halfpipe during your first week of learning how to ski, then I'd highly recommend lowering your expectations. While it's ambitious, it's also a quick way to the emergency room. With semi-active, late 20s to early 30s skiers, 3 hours each day for 5 days of lessons got us to about going down the blue slope comfortably without an instructor and at an intermediate level. The first few days/hours are probably the worst because it's an unusual feeling the boots, and skis, navigating the snow/mountain, etc. It's physically exhausting but well worth it by the end of the week when you start to feel like you're properly skiing. The group you learn with is just like any other holiday but egos are far out the door and everyone's just trying to have fun. You'll laugh, and you'll have a bit of fear, but most of all, you might meet a ski/snowboard buddy for future trips. The atmosphere on a mountain is unmatched - everyone just wants to be safe and have fun.
As beginners, here are some tips to make skiing/snowboarding easier:
Get a locker: You will thank me later, trust me. Even just getting to the slopes from the locker room requires dragging around ski equipment; imagine carrying it across town or back to your hotel. The buses are able to carry the gear but save yourself time and energy of carrying the gear around.
Get a hotel close to a larger ski resort/town: Even though we enjoyed our hotel, it would be easier to live nearer to the Gondolas and the town's center because the buses aren't always trustworthy. When your legs are coming off the skis, it's just better to wait for the bus. The bus only took five minutes, tops, to get to the Arinsal gondolas, but the walk took just 30 minutes uphill and 20 minutes downhill. Arinsal was quiet, if you’re looking for more action there are other more experienced areas to ski such as El Pas de la Casa which is closer to the French border. It’s part of the Grandvalira ski area with access to slopes at Encamp, Canillo, Soldeu, El Tarter, and Grau Roig. However, Arinsals ski/snowboarding school is one of the best in the country!
Take pictures of all your passes and vouchers and/or get insurance: Unfortunately, we misplaced a ski pass on the first day. Since we didn't have copies of the pass and it wasn't insured, we had to buy new ones. Either take pictures of the pass with the reference numbers or insure your passes for a few additional euros per day. You can save up to €250 by doing this for the week pass.
Layer up: Wear multiple layers so you'll be covered if you start to get overheated after moving around or if the sun is blazing down on the mountain. The temperature was usually around 3 degrees Celsius, but on one morning it was 11 and you could feel the sun directly on you because there was no cover. Nevertheless, all we needed were base layers, a fleece, and a snow jacket. A pair of thick socks and a base layer with sweatpants under your ski pants were great.
Get to the equipment lines early: This is a challenging one because you have to get up early on the first day of your vacation to gather your gear before everyone else decides to leave as well. Queues will rapidly form since it takes time to fit everyone for shoe sizes, helmets, and other equipment. Arrive early to beat the crowds and to give yourself time to get accustomed to walking around in the equipment.
A few other tips:
Carry cash: Buses and restaurants are mainly cash-only places, plus it doesn’t hurt for emergencies to have some cash on you.
Don’t trust the FREE bus schedule: The free buses around smaller villages were often dependent on how many people were there or if there was some delay elsewhere. The city buses, which you pay for, were of course far more reliable. The buses only accepted cash though, so be sure to go to the bank beforehand.
Wear good shoes: The roads were well taken care of and cleared during snowfall but there are still some ice patches on sidewalks and in town. Wear good shoes so you aren’t sliding down hills.
Brush up on your French or Spanish: Even though the majority of the population could speak and understand English, there were moments when we needed directions and it was far simpler to do them in either French or Spanish. Making an effort to speak the local language is essential for travelers, in my opinion. This is a way to practice as well as shows how willing you are to try.
Bring a suitcase with a little extra room: You will be so surprised at how ‘cheap’ everything is with the duty-free tax that you’re most likely going to buy a few extra things. Leave some room in your suitcase for those souvenirs, gifts, etc.
More photos/video from the mountains:
View from the base of the mountain with the red hill to the left and the green/blue hill to the right. This is taken at the cafe.
