The best ski resorts in Europe for beginners

1. Look for smaller ski areas (around 100km of slopes) as they tend to be a bit quieter than the larger ones. How busy it gets depends on the time of year you travel. Half term tends to be really busy so if you can avoid that, you’ll have more of the mountain to yourself and fewer people whizzing by.

2. You’ll need lessons to get you going so good English-speaking tuition is a must. The resorts below are renowned for their excellent ski and snowboard schools. A good instructor will turn you from a nervous Bambi on snow to a confident improver in no time.

3. Lastly, good value is essential. Unless you’re the Beckhams, you don’t want to be spending tons of money on something you’re not 100% certain you’ll take to. We’ve chosen resorts that will not only give you the best start to your skiing or snowboarding love affair, they won’t break the bank either.

Transfer time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Pros: Great value, quiet ski area

Beginners should absolutely head to Arinsal for its wide open terrain, long gentle runs and fantastic, English-speaking tuition. It’s a very safe resort too as it’s situated in a natural bowl with no cliff edges and everything flows nicely back to the main base station where you’ll find cafés, the equipment rental shop and even childcare.

A real bonus for families is that Arinsal offers a free child lift pass for kids up to the age of 16 with each pre-booked adult lift pass. You can only get that before you go so make sure you do pre-book.

For mixed groups with beginners and the more advanced, don’t let Arinsal’s 63km of piste put you off. That’s just 63km of pisted runs. There’s a whole host of fantastic off-piste, tricky terrain and even the odd couloir or two for the experts over in the neighbouring, smaller resorts of Pal and Arcalis, about a 15-20min bus ride away

Transfer time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Pros: Quiet ski area, picturesque

Ski holidays in Katschberg tick so many boxes, and not just for beginners. It's one of Austria’s highest resorts and the 70km of tree-lined slopes are wonderfully quiet so queuing for lifts is a rarity. The area is really picturesque and the slopes are excellent for first timers as they’re wide and gentle.

The ski school here is superb too. Patient English-speaking instructors will transform nervous beginners into confident skiers with ease. For kids learning to ski, Katschi’s ski club provides fun by having instructors dressed up as comic book characters.

Katschberg is also great value for money with a really good mix of charming restaurants serving traditional Austrian food and family-focused options. The resorts main hotel is right on the slopes and next to the ski school meeting point which cuts down on carrying kit and walking in your ski boots. 

Transfer time: 2 hours 
Pros: Wide-open slopes, guaranteed snow

A firm favourite of ours, Les Deux Alpes stretches along the valley floor so it’s pretty flat which is great for first timers learning to walk in ski boots. Being in the valley provides plenty of wide and gentle nursery slopes along one side of the valley which are perfect for your first turns.

The resort is chock full of lovely wide runs and sunny, south-facing slopes ideal for learning on. There's also a glacier with gentle slopes so you can progress throughout the week without being stuck on the same slopes for days. 

Deux Alpes is a slightly larger resort than the others, but that provides lots to do off the slopes as there's more to a ski holiday than just the skiing! Check out our Neilson Hotel Aalborg for a super convenient base; it's on the slopes and ski lessons start right outside the hotel!

Transfer time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Pros: Wide-open slopes, tax-free status

The mountains of Livigno make this an ideal place to make your first turns on snow as the slopes are wide, very open with a good selection of gentle nursery runs.

The San Rocco area of the resort has a dedicated beginner’s area so you won’t have your confidence knocked by people buzzing by. There are plenty of practice runs and lifts along the valley floor which makes for easy learning. Most hotels are close to a lift so you don’t have big distances to walk in ski boots. 

The ski and snowboard schools in Livigno are superb with over 150 English-speaking and very patient instructors. They range from ex-athletes to national trainers so you know you’re in good hands. Our ski school provider starts their lessons at the San Rocco area meaning you couldn’t be in a better place to learn.

Learning new things means you'll come across tricky things that you don't know how to deal with. One of those can be putting your ski boots on for the first time. 

Boots have definitely become lighter and easier to put on and walk in, but this video will give you the low down on just how to put your ski boots on so you'll look like a pro from the start...

So now you know how to put your ski boots on, the next step is learning how to walk in them. They can be a bit clumsy to start with, but follow this handy guide and you'll be walking with ease in no time.

Now you're all set to find your first ski holiday and how to master the basics before you get to the slopes. All that's left is to relax, enjoy it and don't give up!