Dolomites Ski Holiday in Folgarida, Italy
In an abrupt change of scenery from the sunny beaches of Kenya, I flew to Italy for a five day ski break in the Italian Dolomites.
I find that skiing holidays are probably the most daunting type of holiday to organise, there are just so many things to think about. Firstly there is no ski resort that is a handy 20 minute drive from the airport so you have to consider how you will get to the mountains. Then there is the dreaded expense of all the added extras: ski passes, ski rental, lessons etc, and by the time you have calculated all of these you have you to find accommodation that is close enough to the ski lift that you wont break you back carrying heavy skis for miles, yet affordable enough so that you wont break your wallet before you even hit the slopes.
On the Slopes in Folgarida
That being, said I thought I would change things up from my usual style of blog post to write a mini guide with the important info needed to plan a trip there.
How To Get There:
Vale Di Sole is located in the province of Trentino in north-east of Italy. The closest airports are in Milan (Linate, Malpensa, Bergamo) and in Verona. I flew into Milan Linate where I met up with three friends, one of whom has a place in Folgarida, one of the towns in Vale Di Sole… I know, lucky me!
Matteo, the friend who owns the place in Folgarida, also offered to drive us up to the mountains (about a 3.5hour drive).. Yup he is really winning in the friendship awards! Especially considering without a car it would take two trains to get from an airport in Milan to Trento, and then a further trip on a rather unreliable bus service to get up to the mountains.
Taken midway down a black slope.. or maybe it was a gentle blue?
If hiring a car is out of the question, there is a shuttle bus going directly from the various airports in Milan to Val Di Sole and it runs every Saturday. Find the timetable here: BUS.
Road to Folgarida
Ski Pass & Rentals:
Skiing is expensive. No matter where you go you are going have to part ways with some of your hard earned dosh in order to get onto the white stuff. However, I definitely found Folgarida – Marilleva to be cheaper than a trip to the French or Swiss Alps. We went during the most expensive period (of course) which is the two weeks around Christmas and New Years, these were the costs for 4 days:
Ski pass = €151
Ski & boot rental = €70
Helmet = €15
Private ski lessons = €50 / hour
The Slopes:
Folgarida is a large resort with 28 pistes and 50 kilometres of skiing terrain. If that is not enough for you, then you are a way better skier than me. Though seriously you can increase your ski access to 120km by buying a ski pass that allows you to ski to the connecting towns of Marilleva and Madonna Di Campiglio.
Alpine Living
Most of the slopes are for beginners and intermediate ski/snow boarders but there are some for those of you who are a tad more extreme. There is also a half pipe in Madonna Di Campiglio for snowboarders to strut their stuff.
Post Skiing Sports Casual Outfit: ✓
Apres Ski:
Folgarida is rather quiet in terms of apres-ski but if you are looking for a night on the tiles Madonna Di Campiglio is the place to be, though bear in mind that the town is known as a winter hangout for the Italian elite so it can get very pricey. Des Alpes is one of the most popular clubs in town, or if you are not into head banging electronic music then check out one of the grappa bars.
Madonna Di Campiglio photo credit: bucellaviaggi
Of course there is no reason why can’t have a party at home…
Probably my sole reason for buying champagne was to send a “champagne on ice” snap chat
Food:
Hmmm I love food far too much to fit it into one little paragraph, so stay tuned for the next blog post on a mountain restaurant that can only be reached by snow cats!
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