10 of the best early-season ski holidays

Itching to get those ski boots on? The time is nigh - here are the best places to catch some snow this side of Christmas around Europe and beyond.

1. Gurgls of pleasure  

The Gurgls – Ober and Hoch, in Austria – are old favourites for a fail-safe combination of comfortable and well-equipped hotels, reliable snow, no queues and singalong gemütlichkeit in the mountain hut. The two halves of the ski area are linked by a trans-valley lift and Hochgurgl has a new gondola at high altitude this year, replacing a teeth-chatteringly long drag-lift.

• Seven nights cost £918 from Dec 8 at Hotel Bellevue, in Obergurgl, including half board, return flight from Heathrow to Innsbruck and airport transfers. Inghams (01483 371217; inghams.co.uk).

2. Skiing and the city

The Tyrol’s historic capital, Innsbruck, is well worth a city break even without skiing – and Advent is a good time, with Christmas markets adding to the atmosphere in the old town centre. From Dec 9 there are free buses to outlying ski areas including the excellent glacier pistes at Stubai. If there’s good snow lower down, take the city tram to Igls and tackle the run on which Franz Klammer skied to immortality in the 1976 Olympic Downhill.

• Four nights cost £840 from Dec 8 at Hotel Goldener Adler, including B&B, return flight from Gatwick to Innsbruck and transfers. Kirker (020 7593 1899; kirkerholidays.com)

3. Indoor/outdoor

As an alternative to Innsbruck, stay at the luxurious Jagdhof in Neustift, using the hotel shuttle to ski on the Stubai glacier slopes – big and varied enough for three days of sport. Make excursions to Innsbruck and Igls. It may be hard to tear yourself away, however: the wine cellar is full of treasure and the spa is a destination in itself – useful in bad weather. 

• Four nights cost from £805 at Spa-hotel Jagdhof (0043 5226 2666 111; hotel-jagdhof.at), including half board, spa, tea, lift pass and one transfer. Fly to Innsbruck with British Airways (ba.com).

4. Ski beside the See

Zell am See is a lively town with good pistes of its own and, should nature fail to deliver, glacier skiing a few minutes away on the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun. The latter also has the immense Tauern Spa, and Salzburg is within reach for The Sound of Music and Mozart tours. Don’t expect the Zellersee to be open for skating.  

• Seven nights cost £895 from Dec 15 at the Hotel Tirolerhof, Zell am See, including half board, flights from Gatwick to Salzburg and transfers. Crystal (0208 712 2810; crystalski.co.uk).

5. Tips with everything  

Winter explodes through the starting gate when the World Cup roadshow rolls into Val d’Isère, France, for two weekends of action – men’s slalom and GS on Dec 8-9, women’s downhill and super-G a week later. Après-ski is in full swing, and good skiing is likely. Typical pre-Christmas conditions – black runs and off-piste not advised – are ideal for a short pre-season technical brush-up, as offered by chalet operator Le Ski. 

• Three nights cost £729 from Dec 8 at Chalet La Face, including half board, three-day ski pass and video tuition, return flights from Gatwick to Geneva and transfers. Le Ski (01484 954396; leski.com).

6. Bella vista, dolce vita 

Courmayeur, on the sunny side of Mont Blanc, is a typically Italian box of treats: shop windows filled with mouth-watering food and clothes you wish you could afford (and wear); gorgeous views and a mountain restaurant at every turn of the piste. The compact ski area has wall-to-wall snow-making and runs for all grades of skier. In bad weather, the old Roman town and modern shopping hub of Aosta (40 minutes away) beckons. 

• Three nights cost £495pp from Dec 13 at the Hotel Bouton d’Or, including B&B, flight from Gatwick to Geneva and car hire. Momentum (020 7371 9111; momentumski.com)

7. All-inclusive value 

With lifts to the Swiss border at 3,480m, and Zermatt’s glacier lifts above that, Cervinia in Italy has year-round ski capability and opens in November. There are wide open pistes for wobbly beginners and speed addicts; and steeper terrain – and prices – on the Zermatt side of the Matterhorn. The big tour operators’ programmes don’t start until mid-December, but Club Med opens earlier and offers an all-inclusive package that’s terrific value, if you want it all. 

• Seven nights cost £1,186 from Dec 8 at Club Med Hotel Cristallino, including full board, drinks, ski school, child care, lift pass, return flights from London to Turin and transfers (but not ski/boot hire). Club Med (020 3937 7563; clubmed.co.uk).

8. Best of everything

A half-term ski holiday later this month is a possibility at Zermatt in Switzerland, the resort with Europe’s highest skiing – from 3,820m via the Klein Matterhorn cable car. The glacier runs alone are a match for many resorts’ top-to-bottom pistes and by December it’s usually possible to ski down to the village on man-made or natural snow. The place is an Alpine classic for its setting, history, hotels and mountain restaurants – but it charges accordingly.

• Seven nights cost from £770 from Dec 15 (minimum group size four) at Chalet Ulysse, including breakfast and four dinners. Self-catering also possible. Matterhorn Chalets (0041 79247 1588; matterhornchalets.com). Flights and rail transfers to Geneva are bookable via swiss.com and swiss-pass.ch respectively.

9. Rock winter 

Tyrol’s party central – Ischgl – lays on quite a bash for its winter season opener: following Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams and the Beach Boys, Jason Derulo takes the stage on Nov 24. The ski area is high and wide and, if there’s not enough snow to ski to the village – or even if there is – you can come down from mid-mountain by zip-wire. Lift passes of two days or more duration include a concert ticket.

• Three nights cost from £300 from Nov 23, including B&B accommodation bookable through ischgl.com. Also included are return flights from Gatwick to Innsbruck (no checked luggage) and car hire (easyjet.com).  

10. Rocky Mountain High   

In Vail, 8,000ft up in the Colorado Rockies, the snow-making machines will fire up any day now, spewing out the underlay for a flawless white carpet to be ready in time for Thanksgiving. Modelled on an Austrian mountain village, Vail is a far cry from the Wild West, but nowhere does the feelgood American ski experience better: corduroy grooming, traffic lights directing you to less busy lifts, instructors flattering your turns; yuletide charm laid on thick. For Christmas shopping, factor in an excursion to the Silverthorne outlet mall. 

• Seven nights cost £1,389 from Dec 3 at the Lodge at Vail, including B&B, return flight from Heathrow to Denver and transfers. Ski Independence (0131 243 8097; ski-i.com).