Custom ski itineraries designed by skiers who have been exploring the European Alps since the 1980s, with more than 50 resorts behind us.
Skiers Who Know the Resorts
Not a package. Not a generic ski holiday. A trip shaped by decades of skiing and travelling through Europe.
There are plenty of European ski resorts that look almost identical on paper.
Big mountains. Hundreds of kilometres of pistes. Beautiful villages. Great hotels. Good restaurants.
So how do you know which one is actually right for you?
We’ve been skiing in Europe since the 1980s, and after more than 50 European ski resorts, we’ve learned that choosing a ski holiday isn’t as simple as finding the biggest or most famous resort.
We’ve driven through the Alps.
We’ve travelled by train and bus.
We’ve returned to the French Alps time and again and spent years exploring Austrian Resorts and the Dolomites.
We’ve skied with different abilities, travelled at different times of the season and experienced the good days, the difficult days and everything in between.
And we’ve learned that the best ski holiday isn’t necessarily the one with the most pistes.
It’s the one that fits the people going.
A couple who want great skiing and a beautiful village needs something different from a family with young children.
A group of experienced skiers may want completely different terrain from a mixed-ability group.
And if one person doesn’t ski at all, suddenly the choice of resort becomes even more important.
Then there’s the time of year.
A resort we’d happily recommend for March might not be the one we’d choose for Christmas.
That’s where our experience comes in.
We don’t simply recommend a ski resort.
We look at the whole trip — where you should stay, how you get there, where you ski, what everyone can do when they’re not skiing, and how the rest of your European journey can fit around it.
Because your ski holiday doesn’t have to begin when you reach the mountains.
Maybe you want three days in Paris before skiing in the French Alps. Maybe you’re starting in Rome before heading north to the Dolomites. Maybe London comes after the skiing.
Or perhaps you want to spend several weeks travelling through Europe with a week in the mountains somewhere along the way.
We don’t just plan your ski holiday. We can plan the European journey around it.
That’s what our custom ski itineraries are all about — using more than four decades of skiing and travelling through Europe to create a trip that feels like it was designed for you, not pulled from a standard ski brochure.
We Start With You — Not a Ski Resort
Before we recommend a single ski resort, we want to know who’s going.
Not just how many people are in your group, but how you actually like to travel and ski.
Are you experienced skiers looking for challenging terrain and long days on the mountain?
Are you a couple who wants great skiing but also a beautiful village, good restaurants and somewhere enjoyable to spend the afternoon when you’re finished skiing?
Are you travelling with children who are learning to ski?
Are you a group with different abilities, where everyone needs something slightly different from the same resort?
Or perhaps you’re travelling with someone who doesn’t ski at all.
That changes things.
A resort that is fantastic for an experienced skier might not be the best choice for a family.
A huge linked ski area might sound perfect until you realise your group would rather spend time exploring the village than covering 200 kilometres of pistes.
And a resort that works brilliantly in February might not be the one we’d choose for Christmas.
We also want to know what matters to you when you’re off the mountain.
Is après-ski important?
Do you want a traditional Alpine village where you can walk everywhere?
Would you rather stay somewhere lively or somewhere quiet?
Do you want excellent restaurants, shopping, spas, winter walks or activities for non-skiers?
Perhaps you want to ski hard for five or six days and don’t care about anything else. That’s fine too.
There is no right way to have a ski holiday.
There is only the way that works for you.
We don’t start by asking which ski resort you want to visit. We ask how you want your ski holiday to feel. The answer to that question shapes everything else.
We’ve Been Skiing Europe Since the 1980s — And That Changes What We Recommend
We’ve been skiing in Europe since the 1980s.
That’s a lot of ski trips, a lot of mountain roads, a lot of ski lifts and more than 50 European ski resorts along the way.
We’ve skied our way through Austria and the French Alps many times and keep going back because there are resorts there we simply love.
We’ve spent years exploring the Dolomites too, and Italy remains one of our favourite places to ski — and travel through.
We’ve driven to resorts, taken trains in Switzerland through the mountains and used buses and local transport to get where we wanted to go.
We’ve travelled as skiers, but we’ve also experienced the places around the skiing — the villages, restaurants, towns and cities that make a European ski trip about much more than the pistes.
Over the years, we’ve learned that a resort can look fantastic on a website and still not be the right choice for a particular trip.
The number of kilometres of pistes doesn’t tell you whether you’ll enjoy skiing there.
A five-star hotel doesn’t necessarily mean it’s in the right location.
And the biggest resort isn’t automatically the best resort.
Experience teaches you to look at the things that don’t always appear in the brochure.
How easy is it to get around?
Where are the lifts in relation to the accommodation?
Does the skiing suit the people in your group?
What happens when you’re not skiing?
How does the resort work at Christmas compared with March?
Do you really need a car, or would the train be easier?
Is that famous resort actually worth the extra cost for the way you travel?
These are the questions we ask because we’ve been doing this for decades.
We’re not recommending resorts because we’ve read about them. We’re recommending them because we’ve skied them, travelled through them, returned to them and learned what makes each one work — and who it works best for.
We Help You Choose the Right Resort — Not the Most Famous One
There are some ski resorts everyone has heard of.
Chamonix. Courchevel. Val d’Isère. St Anton. Cortina.
They’re famous for a reason, and many of them are fantastic. But famous doesn’t automatically mean right for you.
We’ve skied enough resorts over the years to know that choosing where to go is about much more than how many kilometres of pistes appear on the website.
Maybe you’re an intermediate skier who wants long, enjoyable cruising rather than steep technical terrain.
Maybe you’re an experienced skier looking for challenging runs, off-piste opportunities and somewhere you can spend all day exploring the mountain.
Maybe you’re travelling with children and need easy access to ski school, gentle slopes and a village that makes family life a little easier.
Maybe you’re a couple who wants excellent skiing during the day and somewhere lovely to come back to in the afternoon.
Or perhaps skiing is only part of the holiday because one or two people in your group don’t ski at all.
Then there are the resorts themselves.
Some are traditional mountain villages where you can walk everywhere and sit down for dinner in a small local restaurant.
Others are larger, purpose-built resorts designed around skiing, with extensive lift networks and huge amounts of terrain.
Some are lively and social. Others are quiet once the lifts close.
Some are particularly good for a Christmas trip. Others come into their own later in the season.
And sometimes the resort you have never heard of turns out to be the one that suits you perfectly.
That’s where our experience comes in.
We compare resorts based on what actually matters to you — the skiing, the snow reliability, the village, accommodation, access, atmosphere, restaurants, non-skiing activities and the time of year you’re travelling.
We’ll tell you what we think works, what doesn’t, and where we believe you’ll get the most from your time and money.
There is no single “best” ski resort in Europe. There is only the best resort for the people going.
Our job is to help you find it.
We Know What It’s Like to Actually Get There
Choosing the right ski resort is only part of the planning. You also have to get there.
And getting to a European ski resort isn’t always as straightforward as it looks on a map.
We’ve driven to ski resorts for decades, so we know what it’s like to tackle mountain roads in winter, work out where to park and decide when having a car makes life easier — and when it simply becomes a burden.
We’ve travelled by train too, including journeys through the Alps where the journey itself becomes part of the experience.
We’ve used buses and local transport to get into resorts and around once we’re there.
So when we’re planning your trip, we’re not simply looking at the quickest route between an airport and a ski resort.
We’re looking at the journey as a whole.
Which airport makes the most sense?
Would a private transfer save you hours of hassle?
Would the train actually be easier than hiring a car?
If you’re driving, is the route straightforward or are you taking on a mountain road that you’d rather avoid in winter?
And once you arrive, do you actually need the car for the rest of your stay?
These decisions can make a surprising difference to how your holiday feels.
We’ve made the journeys ourselves, so we know that a route that looks simple on a map isn’t always the easiest in real life.
Sometimes the train is the obvious choice. Sometimes driving gives you freedom that you simply wouldn’t have otherwise. And sometimes the best option is a combination of both.
We plan the journey to the mountains as carefully as we plan the days you spend skiing them.
Because your ski holiday shouldn’t really begin when you reach the resort. It should begin when you leave home.
We Plan for Everyone — Including the People Who Don’t Ski
Not everyone on a ski holiday wants to spend seven days on skis.
And that’s perfectly fine.
Maybe you’re travelling as a couple and one of you skis while the other doesn’t.
Perhaps you’re a family with children at different ages and abilities.
Or you’re travelling with friends where some people want to ski from the first lift to the last, while others would rather explore the village, enjoy a long lunch or take a day away from the mountain.
The resort you choose can make a huge difference.
Some mountain villages are wonderful for non-skiers, with cafés, shops, spas, winter walking and easy access to the surrounding area. Others are much more focused on the skiing itself.
We look at those differences when we’re recommending where you should stay.
For the non-skier in your group, we can suggest things such as scenic walks, local villages, sightseeing, shopping, spa days, restaurants, mountain excursions or simply finding a beautiful place to enjoy a long lunch while everyone else is skiing.
And if you want to spend a day doing something completely different, we can help plan that too.
Perhaps a train journey through the mountains.
A visit to a nearby town.
A day exploring another valley.
Or simply a quiet day enjoying the resort without putting on a pair of ski boots.
The same applies to mixed-ability groups. You don’t all have to ski at the same level to have a great holiday together.
We can help you choose a resort where everyone has good options — from beginners finding their confidence to experienced skiers looking for more challenging terrain.
A great ski holiday isn’t about making everyone do the same thing. It’s about choosing a place where everyone can enjoy being there.
That’s something we take into account from the very beginning
We Plan Around the Season — Because When You Go Matters
A ski resort isn’t the same place throughout the winter.
The resort we might recommend for Christmas could be completely different from the one we’d choose for a trip in March.
That’s because the time of year affects much more than the weather. It affects snow conditions, crowds, prices, daylight hours, accommodation availability and the overall feel of the resort.
Christmas in the Mountains
Christmas skiing is special, but it also needs careful planning.
If you’re travelling over Christmas, snow reliability becomes particularly important, especially if you’re investing a lot of money in a family ski holiday.
We look at altitude, the layout of the ski area, access to higher slopes and the resort’s history of early-season conditions when we’re helping you choose where to go.
But Christmas isn’t only about snow.
For many people, it’s about the whole experience — the lights, the decorations, Christmas markets, festive dinners and being in a mountain village when everything feels a little different from an ordinary week in the Alps.
We take all of that into account.
January
January can be a fantastic time to ski.
The Christmas crowds have gone, the mountains are firmly into winter and there can be some excellent conditions for skiing.
It’s also a very different experience from travelling during the holiday period, which is why we might recommend a different type of resort depending on what you’re looking for.
February
February is one of the busiest periods of the European ski season, particularly around school holidays.
That doesn’t mean you should avoid it. It simply means planning becomes even more important.
The right resort, the right accommodation and the right location can make a huge difference when the mountains are busy.
March
March brings longer days, more sunshine and a completely different feel to the mountains.
But spring skiing also means choosing carefully.
Altitude becomes increasingly important, and the skiing conditions can change considerably between the morning and afternoon.
A resort that is perfect for spring skiing may not be the one we’d recommend for someone travelling at Christmas.
We don’t plan your ski holiday around a generic winter calendar. We plan around the conditions and experiences you’re likely to find when you actually arrive.
Because knowing where to ski is only half the decision. Knowing when to ski there can be just as important.
We Design the Whole Ski Holiday — Not Just the Skiing
A custom ski itinerary isn’t simply a recommendation for a resort and a list of pistes.
We look at the whole trip and how all the pieces fit together.
Where should you stay?
How do you get there?
Which airport makes the most sense?
Do you need a car, or would the train be easier?
Where are the lifts in relation to your accommodation?
Which lift pass makes sense for the way you want to ski?
Do you need ski hire or lessons?
Where should you book dinner?
What can the non-skiers do during the day?
And are there nearby places worth visiting while you’re there?
We research all of these details and bring them together into one personalised itinerary, so you don’t have to spend weeks jumping between different websites trying to work it all out yourself.
We’ll recommend accommodation that fits the way you want to travel, suggest transport options, explain the different lift passes, point you towards ski hire and ski schools where appropriate, and include restaurants and activities that we think are worth your time.
You’ll receive the information and booking links you need, and you make the bookings directly yourselves.
That means you stay in control of your trip and your spending, while we take care of the research and planning that comes before it.
And because the itinerary is built around you, we’re not trying to squeeze you into a package that already exists.
If you want five big skiing days and two slower days, we plan for that.
If you want to ski every day, that’s fine too.
If one day you want to leave the skis behind and explore a nearby town, we’ll build that in.
If you’re travelling with non-skiers, we’ll make sure their days are planned too.
The aim isn’t to give you more information. It’s to give you the right information, organised into a trip that actually works.
You tell us what you want from your European ski holiday. We use our experience to work out how to make it happen.
Your Ski Trip Doesn’t Have to Start or End in the Mountains
Your European ski holiday doesn’t have to begin when you arrive at the airport nearest the mountains.
And it doesn’t have to end when you take your skis off for the last time.
If you’re travelling all the way to Europe, why not make the most of the journey?
Maybe you’d like to spend three days in Paris before heading to the French Alps.
Perhaps you’re starting your trip in Rome before travelling north to ski in the Dolomites.
You might want to finish your skiing and then spend a few days exploring London, Venice, Vienna or another European city you’ve always wanted to visit.
Or perhaps you’ve got several weeks in Europe and skiing is simply one part of a much bigger trip.
We can plan that too.
We can help you work out how the different parts of the journey fit together — where to go, how long to stay, how to travel between destinations and where it makes sense to slow down for a few days rather than constantly moving on.
Sometimes the best option is a train. Sometimes it’s a short flight. Sometimes hiring a car makes far more sense, particularly if you want to explore smaller towns and villages along the way.
And because we travel through Europe ourselves, we understand that getting from one destination to another isn’t just about finding the fastest route.
It’s about making the journey work as part of the holiday.
You might discover that adding three days in a city before skiing gives you a completely different start to the trip. Or that staying a couple of nights somewhere after skiing is the perfect way to wind down before heading home.
The possibilities are almost endless.
We don’t just plan your ski holiday. We can plan the European journey around it.
Skiing might be the reason you start planning the trip, but it doesn’t have to be the only reason you travel.
We Know When to Stay Put — And When to Explore More
One of the biggest mistakes people make when planning a European ski holiday is assuming that more places automatically means a better trip.
It doesn’t.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is arrive at a great resort, unpack your bags and stay there for a week.
You learn the mountain. You find your favourite runs. You work out where to have lunch. You discover the restaurant around the corner from your hotel and by the end of the week you know exactly where you want to be when the lifts open in the morning.
For many people, that’s the perfect ski holiday.
But sometimes it makes sense to explore further.
Perhaps two resorts are close enough to combine without spending half your holiday travelling between them.
Maybe there’s another ski area nearby that’s worth a day trip.
Or perhaps you’d enjoy spending a few nights in a different mountain village before continuing somewhere else.
And if you’re planning a longer European trip around your skiing, there may be towns, cities or regions along the way that are worth adding to the journey.
The trick is knowing when the extra travel adds something — and when it simply takes time away from the holiday.
We’ve spent enough time travelling through the Alps and Europe to know that moving every couple of days isn’t always as exciting as it sounds.
Sometimes one great base gives you far more time to enjoy where you are.
Other times, combining two places creates a completely different experience and is absolutely worth doing.
We won’t add destinations simply to make your itinerary look impressive. We’ll recommend them when they genuinely make your trip better.
Because a good itinerary isn’t about how many places you can tick off. It’s about making the time you have work for you.
We Design Days That Feel Like a Holiday
A ski itinerary shouldn’t feel like a schedule you have to survive.
We’ve seen plenty of travel plans that leave no room for anything except getting from one activity to the next.
Up early. Breakfast. First lift. Lunch. More skiing. Back to the hotel. Dinner. Repeat.
If that’s exactly how you want to ski, that’s absolutely fine.
But most people don’t need every hour planned.
Some of the best parts of a ski holiday happen in the spaces between the plans.
A long lunch on the mountain because the weather is perfect.
Stopping for a coffee in the village instead of rushing back to the lifts.
Finding a small restaurant for dinner after a day exploring a different part of the ski area.
Taking an afternoon off because your legs have had enough.
Or simply sitting somewhere with a drink and watching the mountains as the light changes.
We build those choices into your itinerary.
A good ski day might mean skiing from the first lift until lunch, taking your time over a meal and then doing a few more runs in the afternoon.
Another day might be a slower morning followed by a scenic train journey, a village visit or an activity for the non-skiers in your group.
If you’re travelling with children, we can allow for ski school, breaks and shorter days.
If you’re an experienced group who wants to maximise your time on the mountain, we’ll plan accordingly.
And if you’re combining skiing with a wider European trip, we’ll make sure you have time to enjoy the places you’re visiting rather than simply passing through them.
We want your itinerary to give you direction without taking away your freedom.
Enough planning that you know where you’re going and what makes sense. Enough space that you can stop for that extra coffee, stay longer over lunch or change your plans because you’ve found somewhere you don’t want to leave.
Because that’s what a holiday should feel like.
The Practical Details Matter More Than You Think
A beautiful ski resort is one thing. Knowing how to make your week there work is another.
The small details can make a surprisingly big difference to a ski holiday.
Where exactly is your accommodation?
Can you walk to the lifts, or will you be relying on the ski bus every morning?
Is the nearest lift actually the one you’ll want to use most days?
Where do you collect your ski hire?
Where does ski school meet?
Which lift pass do you actually need?
Is there somewhere to buy groceries nearby if you’re staying in an apartment?
Do you need to reserve restaurants in advance, particularly during Christmas or busy school holiday periods?
If you’re driving, where will you park and do you really need the car once you’ve arrived?
These aren’t the glamorous parts of planning a ski holiday, but they’re the things that can save you time, money and plenty of frustration.
We’ve learned many of these lessons ourselves over decades of skiing and travelling through Europe.
We’ve driven mountain roads, parked in resorts, caught trains, used buses, worked out ski transport and discovered that the accommodation described as “close to the lifts” doesn’t always mean what you might think it means.
So we include the practical information you’ll actually need in your itinerary.
We’ll explain the best ways to get around, where things are located and what needs to be booked ahead.
We’ll point you towards the booking links for accommodation, transport, lift passes, ski hire, ski schools and restaurants where appropriate.
You’ll know what needs attention before you leave home and what you can simply work out once you’re there.
This is the part of travel planning that isn’t particularly exciting — until something goes wrong.
We’d rather think about those details before you leave than have you trying to solve them in the middle of your ski holiday.
We Refine Until It Feels Right
The first version of your itinerary is a starting point, not the finished trip.
Once you’ve had a chance to look through everything, you might realise you want to change a few things.
Perhaps you’d rather spend an extra night in one resort and take a day away from the skiing.
Maybe you’ve decided you’d prefer a traditional village instead of a larger purpose-built resort.
You might want to add a few days in Paris before skiing, change your transport from driving to trains, or give the non-skier in your group more time to explore independently.
You might even read through the itinerary and realise that the resort you originally had in mind isn’t actually the right one for your group.
That’s all part of the process.
We listen to your feedback, make the changes and keep refining the itinerary until it feels right for the people who are actually going.
Sometimes the changes are small. Sometimes they completely change the shape of the trip.
That’s why we don’t believe in simply sending you a finished itinerary and wishing you a good holiday.
The whole point of a custom itinerary is that it should reflect you.
Custom means we don’t start with a package and try to fit you into it. We start with you and build the trip from there.
By the time your itinerary is finished, it should feel like your trip — because it is.
Let’s Plan Your European Ski Adventure
You might already know exactly where you want to ski.
Or you might have no idea which resort is right for you.
Perhaps you’ve been skiing Europe for years and simply want someone to take care of the planning this time.
Maybe it’s your first European ski trip and the number of choices is starting to feel a little overwhelming.
You might be travelling as a couple, with children, with friends or with a group where not everyone skis.
And perhaps the skiing is only one part of a much bigger European adventure.
Wherever you’re starting from, we’ll help you work out the rest.
We’ll use more than four decades of skiing and travelling through Europe, and our experience of more than 50 ski resorts, to create an itinerary built around the people actually taking the trip.
We’ll help you choose the resort, work out how to get there, find the right place to stay, plan your skiing and your days away from the mountain, and fit everything together into a trip that makes sense.
And if you want to add a few days in Paris, Rome, London, Venice or somewhere completely different before or after your skiing, we’ll help you plan that too.
Tell us what you’re dreaming about. We’ll help you turn it into a European ski trip that feels like it was made for you.
[Start Planning Your Custom Ski Itinerary]