Planning a ski trip to Spain

Choosing a resort in Spain is not choosing the famous one: it is matching three things — your dates, the altitude the snow sits at, and the size of the ski area — to the people you travel with. Below are the 24 resorts in Spain with those figures side by side, each linking to its own day-planning page.

The resorts of Spain, with their figures

Altitudes and kilometres are the ones each resort publishes. The season window is the usual one for the country while the resort has not announced its own dates; official dates appear on the opening-dates page as soon as they are published.

How to read this table before booking in Spain

Base altitude rules December and March

It is the height you start skiing at, and the first snow to go. At the start of the season and in spring, two resorts in Spain with the same piste kilometres are not in the same situation if one starts at 1,500 m and the other at 2,100 m.

Vertical drop tells you how much you actually ski

Top minus base is the longest possible descent. A big drop means long runs — and that when it is raining at the bottom it may be snowing at the top.

Kilometres are not the only measure of size

They count the length of marked pistes, not how varied the terrain is or how many people fit on it. They are useful for comparing resorts within the same country, which is how they are laid out here.

Your dates matter more than your resort

Christmas, New Year and the February half-term fill every resort in Spain; the second half of January and of March are the same pistes with half the people. If you can move the dates, move them before you move the resort.

Plan the day at a resort

• Planning your ski day in Sierra Nevada
• Planning your ski day in Cerler
• Planning your ski day in Baqueira Beret
• Planning your ski day in Alp 2500 / Masella
• Planning your ski day in Candanchu
• Planning your ski day in La Molina
• Planning your ski day in Port Ainé
• Planning your ski day in La Pinilla
• Planning your ski day in Boí Taüll
• Planning your ski day in Formigal-Panticosa
• Planning your ski day in Astún
• Planning your ski day in San Isidro
• Planning your ski day in Valdezcaray
• Planning your ski day in Port del Comte
• Planning your ski day in Alto Campoo
• Planning your ski day in Fuentes de Invierno
• Planning your ski day in Valdesquí
• Planning your ski day in Puerto de Navacerrada
• Planning your ski day in Javalambre
• Planning your ski day in Valdelinares
• Planning your ski day in Vall de Núria
• Planning your ski day in Leitariegos
• Planning your ski day in Manzaneda
• Planning your ski day in Valgrande-Pajares

FAQ

When does the ski season start in Spain?

It depends on the resort and the year. This page carries each resort's usual window; the official date, as soon as the resort announces it, goes on the opening-dates page with its source. We do not invent openings the resort has not confirmed.

Which resort in Spain is best to learn at?

There is no single answer, but there is a checkable criterion: look at the share of green and blue pistes and whether the resort has a snow garden, with its age range. Both are on our skiing-with-kids page for each country.

Is a multi-day lift pass worth it?

From three consecutive days it almost always is, and from five the gap is large. Where we sell lift passes directly you will see the real per-day price on the resort page; where we do not, the link goes to the official ticket office.

Can I book gear before I arrive?

Yes, and it is what saves most time on day one: you collect with your size already set aside instead of queueing. Every resort with a linked shop has its own rental page.

How long does it take to reach the resorts in Spain?

We do not say, because we have no reliable road times and a made-up figure on a snowy day is dangerous. What we do publish for each resort is the train and bus stops that exist around the base and how far away they are as the crow flies.