Top 8 Tips to Ski in Trentino for Beginners
Winter in Europe appeals to many travellers around the world, whether to enjoy the warmer winter escapes in southern Europe or go for a city escape or do the most favourite activity for many Europeans, which is skiing in the magical Alpine towns.
Coming from the Middle East, I always loathed cold weather, and snow and even hated going for a walk once November hits the door. However, the minute I started living in the UK, I discovered the beauty of Autumn foliage and started enjoying the shining lights of Christmas and even on my first ski trip ever to Italy in 2022! Never in my dreams, I thought this would be something I would consider for my travelling plans.
First Ski Trip in Trentino, Italy
So, whether you are a winter beginner traveller or have never done a ski trip or even hate the idea of cold weather, trust me, Trentino in Northern Italy is your to-go destination for a short and long-lasting memories trip.
Top 8 Tips for first time skiing – your complete guide for skiing Dolomites for Beginners
In this blog, I will share my top 8 Tips for a smooth ski trip, sharing tips on what to wear and what to do, where to eat and how to get there and all the in-between questions.
Tip 1: First Time Skiing what to wear
Unlike the beautiful summer trips to southern Italy where you only pack your bikinis and lovely summer dresses, ski trips require some preparation and, on some occasions, it may cost a little bit more for the first-time skier, knowing that if skiing is something you fell in love with, later, it would worth the investment in the ski gears.
The key items to shop for before you start your holiday, are the following items, and these are the basic ones that you need to ensure you are enjoying skiing if it was a snowy day or a brilliant sunny ski day:
- Under ski garments, such as thermal leggings, tights, and tops. I bought mine from ASOS, as they are reasonable and affordable and you can split the cost, interest-free if you are living in the UK
- Ski socks, and yes, this is an important item that I would suggest getting 2 pairs, they are thick, and they are waterproof, and protect your feet from the cold snow, and these socks are different from hiking socks. I shopped mine from ASOS.
- Ski neck warmer, ski shawls and ski hoods, and please do not make my mistake and take your wool ones, as it turned this to be a very very bad idea if you decided to walk and/ or ski when it is snowing! And you would need the neck wrapper/ warmer, as the wind at the top of the mountains can be brittle!
- The most expensive item would be getting the ski jacket and ski trousers, this is expensive, but because I booked my February ski trip in November, I managed to snap good ones from ASOS
- in the Black Friday deals.
- Snow boots are also a must, the snow Moon boots are very popular and because I am into fashion, I bought the red ones from Net-A-Porter, but you still can buy good ones from ASOS for half of what I paid, and they will do the exact same job
- Snow goggles are also a key item to get, as you are skiing the wind will slap your face, and therefore you would need one, I got mine from ROXY.COM and they were affordable and very good quality and as a plus, they are very fashionable too.
Snowboards and Ski boards Rentals
- You will probably ask now, what about the ski boards, and how can I take them with me. If you own ones, then for additional fees you can pack them and take them with you in the flight. However, if you are a beginner in skiing and you don’t want to splash money on ski boards, in the Italian ski resorts, next to each ski lift, you will find a rental ski store where you can rent the equipment for the day or for your entire stay and storing them at the shop for the entire holiday. This is really helpful, as it is really hard to walk in ski boots for more than 10 meters!
Bonus Tip: to make your ski trip even smoother, you are able to book the ski hiring equipment depending on the location you are staying online and before your holiday, I strongly recommend doing this especially if you are travelling during the festive season, as the resorts will be full, and you want to ensure you secured your gear. Here is a link where you can book the gear, remember to mention the location first:
Ski Rental Sport Cermis – en – Guide (visittrentino.info)
Tip 2: Trentino Ski Resorts are huge, where shall I book to stay and where to go!
Trentino is a big region nestled in the Dolomites mountains in Northern Italy, it is deemed to be one of the most magical ski places in Europe. Between its 18 peaks and its natural rock formation, it was listed under the UNESCO World Heritage The Dolomites.
Therefore, planning your trip to the Dolomites and Trentino in specific would need lots of pre-planning. The top ski resorts in Trentino for ski beginners can be found on this link, there are 15 resorts to choose from Ski resorts for beginners in Trentino – beginner ski resorts Trentino
My personal favourite and the one I found so romantic and cosy and easy to reach the slopes by foot or by transportation, is San Martino Di Castrozza, where you will find some information for skiing for beginners.
Tip 3: I do not know how to ski, how I can learn to ski?
The reason you need to book in one of the 15 resorts I recommended above, is for the fact that there are ski schools that offers private and group ski classes on daily basis, regardless of your budget you could choose what suits you, this is the link that you could book your ski classes: Scuola di sci e snowboard a San Martino di Castrozza (scuolascisanmartino.it)
Given the website is in Italian, you could email the school directly using this email address and from my personal experience, they will reply quickly and rest assured that the instructors can speak and communicate in English. info@scuolascisanmartino.it
Tip 4: I hear the word slops, baby, black, and red, I am confused, what do all these terms means.
You are not alone if you felt confused! I did too and I was what are differences and what do they mean. To make it easy for you, it is the codes that list the difficulty of the slopes, it starts with Baby slops (it is where you will start your ski training and it doesn’t mean it’s only for babies! If you are a competitive person like the person I am, this name will intimidate you! But do not worry and do not let it get into you as you will find many adults are learning on the baby slopes like yourself!)
Once you learn the ski techniques, your instructor will sign you off and you could start enjoying skiing on the Blue slopes, as they are the easy level with low incline followed by the red slopes for intermediate levels and the Black slopes for the professional and most experienced skiers.
For more information about skiing in Trentino, click on the following link:
https://www.visittrentino.info/en/trentino/ski-areas
Tip 5: Booking Ski Passes and lifts
To book for the ski lifts that will take you to the top of the slopes, you could either buy them online on this link Trentino Ski Lift Passes: Ski Lift Pass Prices & Deals (onthesnow.co.uk) or you could just go on the day to the tickets office and purchase them on the day. You will find different options ranging from day lifts to season ski passes.
Bonus Tip: Some of the slopes at the top have smaller lifts where you would need to purchase further tickets, they are cheap tickets, but you would need to pay in cash for some of those lifts, therefore, ensure you carry some cash with you alongside your credit card.
Tip 6: Where to stay?
I personally stayed at a beautiful and cosy hotel located at the heart of San Martino di Castrozza, Hotel Savoia a San Martino di Castrozza – Trentino Alto Adige, Dolomiti.
The hotel offers a free shuttle bus to the slopes and a rich breakfast buffet daily basis as well as the main restaurant that serves delicious a la carte Italian dinners and lunches and extensive Italian wines.
During our stay, they upgraded our room to a suite as I celebrated my 40th birthday during our visit and I must say the service was excellent and the people were so helpful and attended all our needs. Staying at this hotel felt like staying in a big family house where they will serve free treats throughout your stay.
What to do in Trentino?
Tip 7: Adventurous Things to do in Trentino during your Ski Trip
If you are an adventurous junkie like myself, who enjoys an adrenaline rush, Trentino ski resorts offer one of a kind adventure, that is Dolomites Paragliding activity.
To continue celebrating entering my 40ies decade, I chose to do this activity in Val Gardena Paragliding with Tandemflights – Paragliding Tandem Val Gardena – Val Gardena – Dolomites – South Tyrol – Italy (paragliding-flights-dolomites.com), I cannot recommend them enough, very professional, safe and for a little extra they provide amazing photos and videos of this wonderful adventure.
Bonus Tip: You would need to drive for at least 2 hours from San Martino di Castrozza to get to the location, just be mindful when choosing the time and date.
Tip 8: Best Things to Do in Trentino
There are many activities you could do while you are in Trentino, such as sunrise ski, or sunset dinner at the slopes, or riding snow jets. Check this website for your complete list of activities to do while you are there to ensure you are never bored staying in charming mountains of Trentino: Trentino in winter – Winter holiday in the heart of the Italian Alps (visittrentino.info)
There is no doubt that Italy offers so much for tourists all year round, for me, Italy represents the complete amazing destination to visit whether, during the warm months or the winter months, it never stops to amaze me.
For someone who dislikes cold like myself, Italy taught me to enjoy the romantic mountains of the Italian Alpes and made me want to explore more of its beauty and improve my ski skills.
You will not regret skiing in Italy, as it is one of the most welcoming nations on this planet and not to forget the best foods and wines! Happy Skiing and Happy Winter Holidays.
