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Try It Out Weeks

We try to make things as easy as possible if you are new to skiing. On our beginners' Try It Out Weeks, you learn in a group of like-minded Inntravel guests during the quietest weeks of the season, ensuring the atmosphere is very relaxed and informal. As well as lessons and equipment hire, we include for our cross-country weeks a fun and informative guide to cross-country skiing written by Sjusjøen's ski instructor, Keith Richardson.
As an alternative to our Try It Out Weeks, you may also wish to consider our Winter Activity Weeks which offer taster sessions of both cross-country and downhill skiing.

• Downhill skiing beginners' weeks
• Cross-country skiing beginners' weeks

Downhill skiing

Austria, Pertisau

• 4-star hotel with indoor pool & excellent spa

With its first-rate ski school and gentle beginners' slopes just 300 metres from the hotel, Pertisau is an ideal choice for those wishing to try downhill skiing for the first time. Should you wish to venture further afield during your free time, then there are some easy runs at the top of the gondola (pay locally for pass), which is well worth a trip even if just to admire the views over Lake Achensee and the surrounding mountains. At the end of a hard day on the slopes, the spa at the Wiesenhof is an excellent place to relax and rest those tired legs ready for the next lesson!

Nights: 7
Meals: dinner, breakfast & light lunch every day
Equipment: 6 days' ski hire
Start: Saturday
Lessons: 3 x 4-hr lessons
Extras: use of beginners' lifts during lessons

Included travel: Monarch Gatwick-Innsbruck (1h55) (out dep 1015, home arr 1515) & connecting transfer (0h45)

Switzerland, St-Luc

• elegant 4-star hotel with beautiful spa

Of all the villages in our programme, few can beat the downhill skiing at St-Luc. A haven of tranquillity, it is a charming village with sunny - and quiet - south and east-facing slopes that offer relaxed, carefree alpine skiing. Our arrangements in St-Luc include a six-day local area ski pass, giving you the freedom to explore a little further after your lessons - and to practise what you have learnt before the next day. On Wednesday afternoon we also include a half-day snow-shoe walk with your charming hosts, Claude and Anne-Françoise, to give you a different perspective of these majestic mountains.

Nights: 7
Meals: dinner & breakfast every day
Equipment: 6 days' ski hire
Start: Sunday
Lessons: 5 x 2.5-hr morning lessons
Extras: 6-day local area pass included

Included travel: British Airways Heathrow-Geneva (1h35) (out dep 0940, home arr 1740), connecting journey by rail (2h10) & transfer (0h30)

Norway, Geilo

• high-quality hotel with wide-ranging facilities

Geilo's downhill slopes are ideally suited to those wishing to try the sport for the first time. The pace of life here is pleasantly unhurried and the slopes surprisingly quiet during the early weeks of the season. The ski school is also very well respected and the patience of the English-speaking instructors ensures you will quickly improve your confidence and skills. On your return from the slopes, the Bardøla Hotel offers the chance to relax in one of the many lounges or to take a dip in the pool before a hearty dinner served in the light and airy restaurant.

Nights: 7
Meals: dinner, breakfast & lunch pack every day
Equipment: 6 days' ski hire
Start: Sunday
Lessons: 5 x 2-hr morning lessons
Extras: 6-day local area pass included

Included travel: SAS Heathrow-Oslo (2h10) (out dep 1020, home arr 1830) & connecting journey direct from airport by bus (3h45)

Cross-country skiing

Switzerland, Blitzingen

• Switzerland's best cross-country skiing • tranquil 4-star hotel

Learning is always relaxed in the serenity of Blitzingen in the Goms Valley - and you have access to some of Switzerland's best cross-country trails, which link the hamlets along the valley. Two two-hour lessons are included at the start of the week so that you can learn the basics, and you can then develop your skills at your own pace for a couple of days before honing them with a final lesson towards the end of the week. Ski hire is included for all six days, as well as a travel pass covering the upper valley meaning you can use the local trains and buses to make the most of the other trails nearby. Spend your free time exploring the many walking and snow-shoe trails which criss-cross the valley.

Nights: 7
Meals: dinner & breakfast every day
Equipment: 6 days' ski hire
Start: Sunday
Lessons: 3 x 2-hr lessons
Extras: 6-day cross-country pass included

Included travel: British Airways Heathrow-Geneva (1h35) (out dep 0940, home arr 1740), connecting journey by rail (3h20) & transfer (0h05)

Switzerland, Kandersteg

• beautiful scenery • high-quality 3-star hotel

The Kander Valley is ranked in Switzerland's top three for its cross-country skiing, with trails leading off from the hotel door as well as some easy routes high up in the mountains above. Beginners' weeks at our most popular hotel, the Victoria in Kandersteg, include two lessons plus a guided excursion once you have found your 'ski legs'. Outside lessons, you can practise your new skills independently or try one of the many other activities available at Kandersteg - downhill skiing, snow-shoeing, ice-skating, curling, winter walking, sleigh rides...the list is endless!

Nights: 7
Meals: dinner & breakfast every day
Equipment: 6 days' ski hire
Start: Saturday
Lessons: 2 x 2-hr lessons & 1 x 2-hr guided ski tour
Extras: 6-day cross-country pass included

Included travel: Flybe Gatwick-Bern (1h45) (out dep 1455, home arr 1930) & connecting transfer (1h) or British Airways Heathrow-Zurich (1h45) (out dep 0850, home arr 1740), connecting journey by rail (3h) & transfer (0h05)

Norway, Gålå

• award-winning hotel with heated outdoor pool

With cross-country skiing being such an integral part of its culture, Norway is the perfect place to learn, especially given the wide range of beginners' trails in domains such as Gålå's. Here, you will be carefully tutored in the correct techniques before heading out to practise what you have learnt on the surrounding fells. During your free time you will have ample time to try your hand at the other activities available, including snow-rafting and ice-fishing, or to simply relax in the friendly Gålå Høgfjellshotell's heated outdoor pool.

Nights: 7
Meals: dinner, breakfast & lunch pack every day
Equipment: 6 days' ski hire
Start: Sunday
Lessons: 3 x 90-minute lessons
Extras: free use of cross-country trails

Included travel: SAS Heathrow-Oslo (2h10) (out dep 1020, home arr 1830), connecting journey by rail (2h40) & transfer (0h30)

Austria, Pertisau

• 4-star hotel with indoor pool & excellent spa

Pertisau is an ideal choice for those new to cross-country skiing. Three valleys radiate from the village, offering a great network of cross-country trails, and the excellent ski school is just 300 metres from the hotel. To find your bearings, on Sunday afternoon, after being fitted with your skis, you are taken on a panoramic snow-shoe excursion into the surrounding mountains, returning by gondola. During the rest of the week spend your spare time after the lessoons winter walking by the bright waters of Lake Achensee, or unwind after your first days on skis in the Hotel Wiesenhof's fantastic spa.

Nights: 7
Meals: dinner, breakfast & light lunch every day
Equipment: 6 days' ski hire
Start: Saturday
Lessons: 3 x 2-hr lessons
Extras: free use of cross-country trails; guided snow-shoe excursion

Included travel: Monarch Gatwick-Innsbruck (1h55) (out dep 1015, home arr 1515) & connecting transfer (0h45)

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