Snowsure: 3.9
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Formigal is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Formigal Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
February 01, 2009
Liz
Liz
I was in Formigal twice this year and the snow was always great. Besides, I have been to few ski resorts with better views.
The ski area is huge. I hardly finished all the tracks that had been recommended to me. The facilities were more modern and the staff more professional than in most alpine resorts I have visited. The skiing was really good.
If I had to say something negative about Formigal I would choose the length of some slopes (not in the fourth valley where they were very long and had great snow) and the price of the forfait (I found it a bit too high, but I bought it directly at the entrance, some of my friends bought theirs in different agencies and they got better prices than me. Ah, and it looks that the resort is trying to promote combined flight and ski tickets, which seem a very interesting option if you have a full week).
For après-ski I would recommend a visit to Sallent and Lanuza; two lovely stone villages, far more beautiful than Formigal itself. Sallent has very good food and cosy hotels. I still remember the Asado in a slightly hidden restaurant at the entrance of the village, (it had hens and pigs decoration and I wish I could remember the name).
In summary, it was a really nice experience. I will definitely come back next year.
January 28, 2009
Carl from
France
Carl from
France
For me, Formigal is the best ski resort in Pyrenees (Pirineos). It has 137 km of slopes; the biggest in Spain, with 4 valleys or zones connected by modern lifts. There are all kind of ski-slopes.
I have been there two weeks ago and the snow was perfect, there were a lot 70-200 cm.
The Formigal village is a beautiful place in the middle of the mountains with all the services like shops, restaurants, pubs, church, banks etc.
It is a good choice, maybe the best in Spain, if you want skiing.
January 28, 2009
George from
United Kingdom
George from
United Kingdom
I've skied Formigal ten times this season and it's definitely a resort that requires a bit of effort to get the best out of it. If all you're into is piste skiing then this is probably not the resort for you (especially if you're used to Alpine pistes) as the runs are short, not very steep and generally pretty unchallenging; don't be deceived by the piste map, there isn't that much of it - you can go from one side to the other in sub 45 mins, most of that spent on lifts. However, if you get some fresh snow and are prepared to get away from the beaten track via some serious traversing or some hiking, then there is some really great off-piste to be had. It's very accessible and due to the nature of the terrain (not steep and craggy) you can ski pretty much all of it - sadly no trees though.
The resort (Formigal) has obviously invested a lot of money in recent years and this shows in the facilities (except the lifts out of Sarrios which break the resort, they're terrible and must be changed soon). Car parking and restaurants are excellent. The terrain park caters for a good breadth of ability and the mogul field (baches) is also entertaining.
In short, if you want to cruise the piste then go to Cerler; if you want to mix it up with some powder/park give Formigal a go.
January 20, 2009
carole from
United Kingdom
carole from
United Kingdom
Just returned from Formigal. Stayed at the Nieve Sol hotel. Found the staff professional and friendly; a nice hotel. Skiing was superb, snow conditions excellent. Obviously a lot of money has been spent on the resort recently. It is a family friendly fun resort with plenty of choice from beginner to more seasoned skiers. Would highly recommend this resort.
October 29, 2008
paul taylor from
United Kingdom
paul taylor from
United Kingdom
I have been skiing in Formigal for 16 years and even owned a property in the Tena Valley for a few of them. The investments and improvements that have been made are fantastic and I hope that the masses start to visit soon from the UK. Some of the tour operators are charging silly money to visit as you can fly to Zaragoza and rent an apartment for peanuts. I once took a black cab for a whole season in Formigal and had a great experience. Try the bar Garma Negro to meet the locals or Bar Salloon where my old mate Theo and Maria run one of the best bars in the village. For a great skiing experience if the Bosque is open go there because nobody else will!! hasta luego.
February 16, 2008
Tuca from
Spain
Tuca from
Spain
I don't like this resort for many reasons.
First, it's not as big as it pretends to be. Most of the new runs added in the last couple of years are actually a joke: they start from nowhere and lead to nowhere (meaning that there is no way to reach the beginning of the run except by walking a long way and once you get to the end, the closest chair is a couple of kilometers away). Baqueira, for instance, has less official kilometers of runs, but is really much bigger and the runs are real.
Second, the vertical drop is very limited, especially if you consider that most of the time there is no snow on the lower half.
Third, the top of the resort is only 2200 m high. This means that most of the time you ski well below and the snow is not particularly good.
Fourth, most of the runs are quite easy (although if you look at the ski map, you might think it is the most challenging ski resort in the world. But it's a joke!)
Fifth, there are always incredible traffic jams, especially on a Sunday afternoon. And huge lines at the bottom of the chairs!
Plus, it is quite expensive. Of course, it can be fun on a working Monday after a big dump...
January 03, 2008
JaimeH from
Spain
JaimeH from
Spain
Just came back from a long weekend in Formigal. After all the investment made in the last years Formigal has become one of the best resorts in Spain. The new area (Portalet) has excellent & fast lifts that lead onto mid level slopes as well as tough ones.
Even though snowfall has been limited this year (but much better than last year) they currently have some 80% of the slopes open with good snow conditions. People tend to concentrate in the Valle de Izas & Anayet areas, but if you move to either side of the resort you will find plenty of room even on busy days.
December 18, 2007
Pedro Villaret from
Portugal
Pedro Villaret from
Portugal
Hi there! My name is Pedro, I'm from Portugal and I've been to Formigal last year in March (2007). I'll be there again this year, in March (2008)!
I've done skiing since I was a little kid, so...(about 20 years) and during these years I've been to lots of places like Sierra Nevada, Baqueira, Chamonix, Les 3 vallés, Andorra and from all these places Formigal is definitely one of my favourites. The landscapes in Formigal are only comparable to the landscapes in Chamonix. It´s beautiful to go skiing in Formigal. The landscapes are great! The tracks are fantastic, the snow is really good! Last year it was a crazy winter but even like that in Formigal it's reat. They produce lots of snow, there are lots of new lifts, including the one with 8 places that substitutes the old egg.
There is a major investment in Formigal. Formigal is already the biggest ski station in Spain. 3 years ago (2006) they had around 80 kms of ski tracks, last year they had 105 kms and this year they have 137 kms distributed in around 70 tracks. Comparing to Sierra Nevada for example, Formigal is much better, Sierra Nevada is always too crowded and there's no evolution in Sierra Nevada! Always the same....every year...nothing new!
I think that you should visit Formigals website for good information.
The only thing that I think they should do in Formigal is to built a lift that takes us up directly from the center of the village to the mountain. Right now they have the skibus, that is free or we can walk like 5 or 10 minutes until the ski station....but with the skis or the board on our back...it's not easy!
Well....that is all I have to say! Go to Formigal! It's really one of the best!
March 12, 2007
Tim Hall from
United Kingdom
Tim Hall from
United Kingdom
12/03/2007. I've been to Formigal four times so far this year, using the "Bus Blanco" service from Zaragoza. All in all, it's been excellent, and this in spite of the ridiculously warm winter we've had this year. I gather that there was very little snow up until Christmas, but as soon as the temperatures dropped in the new year, the teams at Formigal were immediately out pisting the slopes and making the most of the snow available. There are new snow canons everywhere you look around the piste area, meaning snow quality can be kept high even when it doesn't actually snow much.
On one occasion, due to a prolonged period of very warm weather, the pistes were really suffering, with few runs open and large patches of slush and even mud, but as soon as the temperatures dropped again this was rectified, and since then more than twice as much skiable area has once again been opened.
In general, apart from that one occasion, the snow quality has been high, especially more recently, when it has been almost at the standard of the Alps. As I understand it, Formigal is the largest ski station around (in Spain) - with over 100km of pistes when fully open - and so there is a great variety of slopes to choose from, catering for all standards. In addition there is also great potential for off-piste skiing, including marked off-piste trails. Due to the orientation of the slopes, snow quality also tends to remain high throughout the day, with excellent skiing still widely available by 16h30 and later.
There has clearly been a lot of investment in Formigal recently, with three new chair lifts open this year, one of them carrying 8 people per chair, which now link all the zones together.
Overall, I highly recommend Formigal for anyone looking for great skiing and a wide variety of slopes and difficulty levels in Spain. If you are in Zaragoza or Huesca and want a day on the slopes, look out for the "Bus Blanco", the price of which includes bus ticket there and back as well as the day's lift pass. Equipment can be hired on arrival at Formigal.
March 04, 2006
Pablo from
Spain
Pablo from
Spain
March 01 2005 . Formigal can be great now during the week and has a very promising future. However it gets much too busy on Saturdays and Sundays as skiers flood in from many urban areas. The slopes really need policing everywhere to control use, especially dangerous skiers when there is heavy traffic. Then there are long queues by 09.15 to access the area (so get up early)and more qeueuing to get everything. As the main gondola hasn't been replaced yet, crossing the resort is time consuming too so plan your day carefully to avoid constant queues. After 14.00 it gets better and on Sunday much much better so plan to ski more pm than am and slope orientation means good quality snow pm till late March. The wind and the gales can be the worst aspect so check snow reports carefully before departing. Look out for offers for 5 days for ski passes+accom etc.
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