Sierra Nevada, Spain

Jonathan Brook from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

Sierra Nevada can be a great ski resort if you are fed up with the prices of the Alps. I have been to many resorts in the Alps for the last 20 years but I stumbled across this resort 3 years ago and have been back to it 5 times since. It has some very good ski runs and is a good resort to learn in because it has plenty of wide blue and green runs. There are also many more ski runs for the advanced skier but you can probably ski all of the resort in 2-3 days if you are good enough. I would highly recommend to try this resort what ever level of skier you are. A quick flight to Granada airport and car hire will set you back around £80 for a long weekend if planned right. Car hire is even cheaper if you manage to share with a few more friends. I stay at Hotel Monachil in Sierra Nevada which is by the slope so you can ski to your hotel door with no walking. They even have ski hire there. Granada airport is about 40 mins away by car and is sign posted all the way to the ski resort. The prices for ski hire, food, drink, hotels, lift passes etc are half that of say a popular alp resort in France or Austria. The weather always seems to be sunny whenever I've been so it makes for great skiing. The locals are friendly and the night life is good although do be prepared to speak Spanish or your best Spanglish at times. The atmosphere is totally different to that of the Alps and is much more laid back. There are some great long ski runs to be found if you go right to the top and can take many different routes down to the same destination to suit all abilities. You will not get bored of the ski runs. Try it. You might like it.

2008-03-18