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Arinsal, Andorra: Is The Budget Family Ski Trip Worth It? · Phil and H Travel - Is It Worth It? Top Travel Destinations Explored!

• 0:00
  Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are strapping on our
• 0:04
  boots and perhaps premedicating with a substantial amount of
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  motion sickness pills because we are heading to the Pyrenees.
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  We're doing a sort of forensic analysis of a place that seems
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  to divide opinion right down the middle.
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  Arensil, Andora. Arensil.
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  Yeah, it's a name that tends to provoke a pretty visceral
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  reaction, doesn't it? It really does.
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  Depending on who you ask, it's either the ultimate budget hack
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  for families, a duty free paradise where the gin flows
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  cheaper than water, or it's a concrete trap at the end of a
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  dark valley. Exactly.
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  It has this completely polarizing reputation.
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  You hear these whispers of the budget Alps, or you know, the
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  duty free heaven, but then you hear other people calling it a
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  British colony in the snow, right?
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  So we've got a massive stack of research here today, logistical
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  assessments, cost breakdowns, terrain maps, forum deep dives.
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  And the reality, it seems, is way more nuanced than the
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  brochures suggest. Absolutely.
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  And the central tension we need to resolve for you today is
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  pretty stark. Is a rinse all a hidden gem for
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  families looking to save a significant amount of money?
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  Or is it a logistical nightmare that you will regret booking the
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  moment you step off the plane? And looking at the data, it
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  suggests it's a bit of both, often at the same time.
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  It just really depends on how you navigate the the specific
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  hurdles this unique little principality throws at you.
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  We found, I think, 3 specific insights in the research that
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  act as these reality checks. Almost like slaps in the face,
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  you know? Yeah, that's a good way to put
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  it. They just contradict the glossy
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  marketing version of this place. I want to highlight them right
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  up front. OK, so the first one is the
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  scale. Yes, it is deceptively, almost
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  shockingly small. Yeah, if you book the wrong
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  accommodation, it doesn't feel cozy.
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  It feels. Claustrophobic.
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  Claustrophobic. Exactly.
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  It is not a sprawling resort. And the second one is the food.
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  Yes, the food. If you're imagining some kind of
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  Spanish tapas feast on the mountain just because you're
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  near the border, you were going to be so disappointed.
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  The sources describe the on mountain lining as what was it,
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  Hardy fuel. Hardy fuel, not gastronomy.
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  Definitely not. And the third slap.
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  The culture, Yeah, It's this confusing, fascinating mix your
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  sandwich between France and Spain.
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  Yet the dominant language you hear on the street often isn't
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  Catalan or French. It creates a very, very specific
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  vibe. It does, but our mission today
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  is to unpack the logistics, the hidden costs, and the very
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  specific traps of a family ski trip to this unique little
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  principality. So where do we start?
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  Geography. Let's.
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  Start with geography, because I think this is where most people
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  make their first wrong assumption right?
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  They look at a map, they see see mountains between France and
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  Spain and they just assume it's another version of the Alps.
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  But Arinsul is geographically, well, it's distinct.
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  It is to really get the experience, you have to
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  understand the topography. Arinsul is part of the Val Nord
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  ski area. It's physically linked to
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  another resort called PAL. But crucially, and this is where
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  people get confused, it is not part of Granvilleira.
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  Which is the big famous one? That's Sildou El Tartr Pastela
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  Casa. Correct?
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  Granvilleira is the massive sprawling domain that I mean
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  that rivals the big French resorts in size.
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  Our insults a different beast entirely.
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  The source material describes our insult as sitting in a dead
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  end valley. And they mean that literally,
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  they do. I found that description
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  fascinating because it just dictates the entire vibe of the
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  resort. The road, It literally just
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  stops there. You drive up the steep gorge and
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  then you hit a wall of mountains.
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  It changes your expectations immediately.
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  Completely. If you're picturing A sprawling
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  winter Wonderland where you can, you know, wander seamlessly from
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  village to village, this is not It is a linear strip of hotels
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  along a river shattered by very, very steep mountains on both
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  sides. Which sounds dramatic, and I'm
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  sure visually it is striking. But the research points out a
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  pretty big downside to that drama, or the lack of it.
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  Exactly because the valley is so steep and so narrow, the sun
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  doesn't hit the valley floor for very long.
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  Especially in deep winter, it can feel a bit dark.
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  Yeah, the village spends a lot of time in the shade.
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  And because it's a dead end, there is no through traffic,
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  which is good for noise I suppose.
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  Sure, but it means everything is concentrated on that one single
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  Rd. It just feels tight.
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  Now, zooming out slightly, we have to address the political
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  elephant in the room. This is a principality, A
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  sovereign state. Why does that matter for someone
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  who just wants to book a ski holiday?
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  Well, it matters for your mindset and for your wallet.
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  Andorra is not in the European Union, right?
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  Uses the euro effectively, but it's not an EU member state.
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  And that means when you cross that border, you are leaving
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  the, let's call it, the regulatory safety net of the EU.
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  So it's not that seamless drive across the border in your rental
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  car experience you get between, say, France and Germany, where
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  you don't even tap the brakes. Not at all, no.
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  There are real border guards. There are customs checks.
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  You have to shift your mental model from domestic European
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  travel to international excursion.
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  You might actually get stopped. You might get stopped, you might
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  get searched for cigarettes and alcohol on the way out because
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  of the tax differences. It adds a layer of friction.
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  You just don't get in the UPS. It feels like you're you're
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  leaving the system. And Speaking of the environment,
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  let's talk snow. We're in the Pyrenees.
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  Does that mean it's warmer than the Alps?
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  It's more erratic, that's the keyword the sources use.
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  The village sits at 1550 meters, which is actually quite
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  respectable, higher than a lot of Austrian villages.
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  The slopes go up to 2560 meters, but the weather patterns in the
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  Pyrenees are heavily influenced by the Atlantic and the
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  Mediterranean. You're just closer to the ocean.
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  So what does that mean for me, the skier?
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  It means volatility. You can get glorious sunshine
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  one day and then rain at the base the next.
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  You don't go to Andorra expecting waist deep powder for
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  seven days straight. It's not Japan.
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  It's not Utah. Definitely not, no.
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  You go for the groomers, you go for the man made snow
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  reliability, which to be fair, they are excellent at.
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  They've invested heavily in snow cannons because they know the
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  weather is fickle. If you get powder treated as a
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  lucky bonus, not a guarantee. OK, so we know where it is, what
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  the weather's like. Now we have to actually get
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  there. And reading through the
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  logistics assessment in the source material, this seems to
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  be the single biggest hurdle. The transfer is described as
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  brutal. Logistical nightmare was the
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  other phrase that kept popping up.
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  And honestly, this is the price you pay for the cheap skiing.
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  Most people fly into Barcelona or Toulouse.
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  Which makes sense financially. I mean, those are major hubs.
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  Flights are cheap and frequent, right?
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  But the transfer from those airports, you were looking at 3
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  1/2 hours. Minimum.
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  And it's not a smooth, straight highway cruise like, you know,
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  driving to Munich or Geneva, once you hit the foothills of
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  the Pyrenees, it is just relentless switchbacks.
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  The source is called This a major gamble for children with
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  motion sickness. I would go further.
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  I'd say it's a strategic failure point.
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  If your kid gets carsick, this trip is effectively over before
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  it even begins. You are spending 90 minutes of
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  that 3 1/2 hour drive winding left and right up a steep valley
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  gorge. It is intense.
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  It's physically draining. And there's no train option, is
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  there? That's the other thing people
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  always look for. No trains in the Andora.
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  No the train line stop at the foothills in France or Spain.
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  You have to take a bus or a private transfer.
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  You are trapped in a vehicle for the duration.
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  OK, so let's assume we've survived the the Vomit Comet, as
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  one form user colorfully described it, and we arrive in
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  the village. Let's talk first impressions.
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  What does Aaron Salt actually look like?
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  The aesthetic is very specific. The sources describe it as stone
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  and slate. It really doesn't have that
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  timber framed, you know, chocolate box charm you get in
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  the Austrian tie roll or the Q jellies of the French Alps.
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  The phrase Architectural Brutalism meets Mountain Lodge
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  really stuck out to me in the notes.
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  It's accurate. It's very Gray.
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  It feels fortified. Most of the development happened
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  during a boom period. So it's functional.
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  And because of that valley shape we mentioned, it's vertical.
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  This is a crucial detail for anyone booking a hotel.
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  You might see a listing that says 300 meters from the left.
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  Which sounds great in London or New York.
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  That's a 3 minute walk. Right.
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  But in Erinzel, that 300 meters could be 300 meters straight up
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  a 45° hill. And.
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  If you have to drag two kids, four sets of skis and boots up
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  that hill every morning, you're going to be miserable.
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  The topography is unforgiving. So checking the topography on
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  Google Earth, not just the map distance is it's mandatory.
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  Absolutely mandatory. You want to be near the gondola
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  or near the main road where the ski bus runs.
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  Do not get stuck halfway up the mountain on the wrong side of
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  the river unless your hotel has a shuttle.
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  What about the vibe on the street you mentioned earlier?
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  Feels like a British colony. That seems so odd for a country
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  between France and Spain. It's a fascinating cultural
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  bubble. You're in the Pyrenees, you're
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  sandwiched between these Latin cultures, but the dominant
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  accent on the street is from Manchester or Liverpool or
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  London. Why is that?
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  How did that happen? It's a historical commercial
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  strategy, really. British tour operators, Nielsen,
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  Crystal, all those guys, they identified Andorra decades ago
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  as the perfect budget destination for the UK market.
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  They've been pushing it heavily for 30 years.
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  They built the infrastructure, they filled the hotels.
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  So you arrive and the smell is wood smoke and diesel, right?
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  But the sound is English. Is that a good thing or a bad
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  thing? It depends entirely on what you
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  want from your holiday, doesn't it?
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  If you want an exotic cultural immersion where you, you know,
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  struggle to order a croissant and feel like a sophisticated
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  traveler. This isn't it.
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  This is not it. You will be disappointed.
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  You're not going to be practicing your Catalan.
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  But there's a flip side. A.
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  Huge flip side, if you want a stress free family dinner where
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  the waiter understands chicken Nuggets and chips immediately
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  and the ski instructor speaks your kids language natively,
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  it's a godsend. It just lowers the cognitive
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  load of the whole trip. It does.
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  The source called the village ugly pretty.
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  It's functional, it's got Duncree shops, it's got pubs,
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  but it's not a place that hugs you.
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  That's a great way to put it. It's utilitarian.
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  It is a machine that's been built to service the mountain.
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  It's not a destination you would visit in summer just to, you
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  know, look at the architecture. OK, let's move on to the traps,
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  because even if you survive the transfer, there are some
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  specific planning mistakes that can just ruin the trip.
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  And the first one involves where you sleep.
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  This is the capital city mistake, right?
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  A lot of people look at the map or the hotel prices and they see
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  these incredible deals in Andorra Lavella, the capital
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  city. It looks tempting online.
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  It looks fancy. Shopping spas, bright lights and
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  often the hotels are five star for the price of a three star in
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  the actual resort. Exactly, you think oh great,
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  I'll stay in luxury and just commute to the slopes.
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  That idea. Terrible idea.
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  The reality is traffic. Remember this is a narrow
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  valley. The traffic between the capital
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  and the ski lifts in Aaronsol is horrendous.
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  The source mentioned a 45 minute to one hour transit just to get
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  to the gondola. Yes, and imagine doing that
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  standing on a public bus, holding your skis, sweating in
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  your winter gear, surrounded by other frustrated commuters.
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  It just destroys the relaxation of the holiday.
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  You save money on the hotel, but you pay for it in stress and
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  lost time. So the fix is simple, stay in a
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  rental. Or La Masana, which is the next
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  town down but it's connected by a direct gondola.
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  Just do not stay in the capital unless you were there to shop,
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  not to ski. Trap #2 and this is the one that
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  hits the wall at the hardest, the roaming data black hole.
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  Oh, this one is brutal. I didn't realize how severe this
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  was until I saw the building example.
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  This catches so many people out because we're so used to roam
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  like at home in Europe. You.
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  Know, of course. If you live in the UK or the EU,
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  you go to France, Italy, Germany.
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  Your phone just works, you don't even think about it.
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  But because Andorra is not in the EU.
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  It is a black hole for most carriers, especially UK carriers
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  and many EU ones. Andorra falls into rest of world
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  or some special zone for pricing.
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  The local telecom monopoly charges a fortune for foreign
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  access. We saw examples of bills hitting
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  6 lbs per MB. £6 per MB to put that in perspective, if your kid
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  watches 1 standard definition YouTube video on the bus ride
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  into the country. Oh no.
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  That could cost you €500. That is a terrifying thought.
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  A €500 Peppa Pig episode. It happens every single season.
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  We see horror stories on the forums constantly, someone
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  forgets to toggle the switch, they scroll Instagram for 10
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  minutes and their holiday budget is just go on.
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  So what is the fix? What do you do?
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  The fix is absolute discipline. Turn off data roaming before you
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  even see the Border Patrol by a local esim.
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  There are apps like Aerilo or a Holafly.
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  Or just stick to Wi-Fi but do not trust your home plan unless
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  you have triple checked the fine print.
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  OK, trap #3 involves leaving the Sunday exit.
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  Yes, the Great Escape. This is a traffic flow issue and
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  Dora is a massive destination for day trippers from France and
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  Spain, right? They don't come to ski, they
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  come to fill their trunks with cheap alcohol, cigarettes and
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  fuel. They just flood the country on
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  weekends. So Sunday afternoon, everyone
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  tries to leave it once. Exactly.
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  The queue to get out of the country can be miles long.
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  It's a total bottleneck. If you have a flight to catch in
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  Barcelona at 7:00 PM and you leave Aaronsol at 3:00 PM, you
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  might miss it. It'll be sitting in a gridlock
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  of cars filled with cheap whiskey.
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  So what's the strategy? Ideally, fly midweek.
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  If you absolutely have to leave on a Sunday, leave before 7:00
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  AM or wait until after 800 PM. Just do not join the herd at 4.0
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  PM. Got it.
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  OK, let's talk about money. The whole reputation of our
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  insole is that it's cheap. Is it actually cheap or is that
• 14:17
  just marketing? We need to define cheap.
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  You know it is not Bulgaria cheap.
• 14:21
  OK, if you go to Bansco you are paying significantly less for
• 14:24
  everything. But compared to the big French
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  or Swiss resorts, yes it is western year of affordable.
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  So let's breakdown the costs. What are we looking at for
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  accommodation? Let's say for a family of four,
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  if you go low budget a self catered apartment in La Masana,
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  you could do it for 800 to €1000 a week.
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  That is very hard to be in the Alps.
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  Very hard. A similar box in Val Thorn's
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  might be double that easily. And what's the sweet spot?
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  The mid range. The Sweet Spot is a three star
• 14:53
  hotel in Erinzel half board so breakfast to dinner are
• 14:56
  included. You're looking at around 1800 to
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  €2200 for the family for the week.
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  Which, when you factor in that you aren't paying for dinner
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  every night, is pretty decent. It is, but the real value wins.
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  They're in the day-to-day spending.
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  This is where the duty free status actually impacts your
• 15:15
  wallet. The alcohol prices jumped out at
• 15:17
  me. A beer on the slopes for four or
• 15:19
  five euros. Compare that to 10 or 12 euros
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  in Core Chevelle or Valdez Air. It really adds up.
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  It does. A bottle of gin in the
• 15:27
  supermarket is €8, coffee is under €2.00.
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  You don't feel like you are being gouged every time you open
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  your wallet. And lunch on the mountain.
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  A family of four can eat for €60 if you do sandwiches, maybe 100
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  if you do a grill. Again, reasonable.
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  What about the skiing itself? Lift passes.
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  An adult six day pass is around €260.
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  Kids under 6 ski free. Though there is some paperwork
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  involved, you have to bring birth certificates to the ticket
• 15:54
  office. Good to know.
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  But that's about 30 to 40% cheaper than the major Alpine
• 15:59
  resorts. And ski school.
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  This seemed to be a major selling point in the data.
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  This is the massive value in Group lessons for five days are
• 16:08
  around 130 to €150. In France you are easily paying
• 16:13
  €250 or more for the same thing and the quality is often better
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  because of that language factor we discussed.
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  So the daily burn rate is just significantly lower across the
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  board. Exactly.
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  But and there is always a but you have to factor in that
• 16:28
  transfer cost we talked about. Yes, A.
• 16:30
  Private transfer for a family is expensive.
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  You're looking at about €400 return for a taxi or a private
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  van. That's a big chunk of change
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  that eats into the savings on the beer.
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  It does. You can take the bus for about
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  €160 total for a family. But then you're dealing with the
• 16:45
  motion sickness and the luggage hassle, so you have to do the
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  math. You save on the resort costs,
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  but you pay a premium on the logistics.
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  To get there, you have to view the budget holistically.
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  Let's pivot to the experience itself.
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  We've arrived, we've saved some money.
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  Now we are actually on the ground.
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  What are the safety and comfort factors?
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  Well, in terms of crime, it's virtually non existent.
• 17:08
  It's one of the safest countries in the world.
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  That's great, but there is an environmental hazard that the
• 17:13
  sources highlight repeatedly. The ice.
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  Because of that dark valley floor we mentioned.
• 17:19
  Right. The sun doesn't melt the snow on
• 17:21
  the pavements. Effectively, they become, as a
• 17:24
  source puts it, lethal sheets of ice.
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  Oh wow. It's not fluffy snow on the
• 17:28
  sidewalk, it's hard packed glacier ice.
• 17:31
  So leave the fashion sneakers at home.
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  Absolutely. This is not the place for moon
• 17:35
  boots with no grip or smooth sole.
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  Training cleaners, wear hiking boots with good tread or even
• 17:40
  buy those little crampon spikes that slip over your shoes.
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  Walking to dinner shouldn't be an extreme sport, but an errand
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  soul. If you aren't prepared, it can
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  be. We read multiple reports of
• 17:51
  people slipping and injuring themselves just walking to the
• 17:54
  pub. And medically, you mentioned the
• 17:56
  border changes things. This is critical since it's not
• 17:59
  in the EU. Your E, Chi E or GHIC card, that
• 18:03
  European health card everyone carries does not work here.
• 18:06
  So if you break a leg, you are paying out of pocket.
• 18:09
  The medical centers on the slopes are private.
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  They are excellent modern facilities, but they are
• 18:14
  businesses. You need specific travel
• 18:16
  insurance that covers winter sports and, crucially,
• 18:19
  repatriation from Andorra. Repatriation is the keyword
• 18:23
  there. It is if you need to be
• 18:25
  airlifted out or taken by ambulance to a specialist
• 18:27
  hospital in Barcelona or Toulouse.
• 18:29
  That bill is astronomical. Without the right insurance,
• 18:33
  we're talking 10s of thousands of euros.
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  So do not skip the insurance. Do not skip the insurance.
• 18:37
  As a detail that could so easily be missed.
• 18:39
  Good to know. Now let's talk about the skiing.
• 18:41
  The sources call Arensol the University of Skiing.
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  Why? Because it is perfectly designed
• 18:47
  for learning. The terrain layout is just
• 18:50
  unintimidating. It's wide open and gentle OK,
• 18:53
  and the ski school is highly, highly praised, the instructors
• 18:58
  almost all speaking as fluently, often because they are British
• 19:01
  or from the Commonwealth or South America.
• 19:03
  That makes a huge difference for kids.
• 19:05
  Huge. If a four year old is cold and
• 19:07
  scared, they need to be able to communicate in their own
• 19:09
  language and they have this baby club or snow garden for the 4 to
• 19:14
  8 year olds that is fenced off and safe.
• 19:16
  It's a very contained environment.
• 19:17
  You can literally sit at the cafe and watch your kids learn.
• 19:20
  But what if you're an expert? What if you are an expert skier?
• 19:25
  That's the limitation. If you are an expert, the dad
• 19:28
  who shreds as the source puts it, you will get bored.
• 19:31
  By day three. Easily, maybe day 2.
• 19:34
  The terrain is limited. It's a resort for comfort
• 19:36
  cruising, not for challenging yourself on steep collars or
• 19:39
  deep off pissed. They're only a handful of black
• 19:41
  runs, and even those would be considered red runs in France.
• 19:44
  But there were some highlights mentioned.
• 19:46
  It's not just a nursery slope. The connection to Powell seems
• 19:49
  to be the saving grace. It is.
• 19:51
  There's a big cable car that connects Aransol to Powell, the
• 19:54
  neighboring resort. It's a spectacular ride, great
• 19:58
  views and Pal just feels different.
• 20:00
  It's wider, it's sunnier and you get to ski through trees.
• 20:03
  It makes the resort feel twice as big.
• 20:06
  And there was one specific run mentioned, Limurad, yes.
• 20:09
  OK, this is the run that goes from the very top of the resort
• 20:13
  all the way down to the village. At hundred 550 meters.
• 20:17
  It's a 1000 meter vertical drop. That sounds like a proper leg
• 20:20
  burner. It is.
• 20:21
  You ski through the trees, pass old barns.
• 20:23
  It feels like real travel skiing.
• 20:26
  The source described doing this at sunset when the valley is
• 20:29
  turning blue and skiing right up to the bar at the bottom.
• 20:31
  That sounds amazing. That's the magic moment.
• 20:33
  That's when you understand why people come back.
• 20:35
  But it wasn't all magic. The food on the mountain.
• 20:38
  Yikes, cafeteria sludge. That was the quote.
• 20:41
  That was the quote, and it's harsh.
• 20:43
  It is harsh. But accurate, according to the
• 20:46
  report, because the Mountain restaurants have a captive
• 20:49
  audience. The quality is just low.
• 20:52
  Mass produced, lukewarm spaghetti Bolognese, overpriced
• 20:56
  burgers that tastes like cardboard.
• 20:58
  It's purely functional feeling. So what is the recommendation?
• 21:02
  What do you do? Pack a lunch, go to the
• 21:05
  supermarket, buy a baguette, some cheese and some ham and eat
• 21:09
  on a rock in the sun. Or find the one decent Cal
• 21:13
  themed restaurant at the top of PAL called the Cowbella.
• 21:16
  But generally save your money for dinner in the village.
• 21:19
  The On Mountain dining is a solid 3 out of 10.
• 21:22
  And the Apreski, I assume with all the cheap booze it's a big
• 21:25
  party. It is, but it's a very bar
• 21:27
  focused party, and for families that's actually a downside.
• 21:30
  There isn't much else to do. There's no big Aquatic Center in
• 21:33
  the village, no cinema, no bowling alley.
• 21:36
  If you aren't in a pub, you are in your hotel room, right?
• 21:38
  The source painted this picture of kids playing Uno in a pub
• 21:41
  while the parents drink cheap beer.
• 21:43
  Which is fine, but it's not exactly Disney World, you know?
• 21:46
  Yeah, you have to be OK with creating your own entertainment.
• 21:49
  OK, so we've got a pretty clear picture of Aaron's soul now, but
• 21:51
  how does it stack up against the alternatives?
• 21:54
  If Aaron Soul is the budget British University, what are the
• 21:58
  other options? Well, the most obvious one is
• 22:00
  right next door Grand Valero. So so do.
• 22:03
  Or El Tartar. And who goes there?
• 22:05
  People with higher budgets who get bored easily.
• 22:06
  It's bigger, it's posture. The hotels are NASAR but you're
• 22:10
  paying 30 to 40% more. If money isn't the primary
• 22:14
  constraint, so do it is objectively better skiing.
• 22:19
  It's world class. Aaron Soul is charmingly
• 22:22
  provincial. What about the foodies if
• 22:24
  someone really wants that tapas experience?
• 22:26
  Then you go to Baquera Beret in Spain.
• 22:28
  The King of Spain skis there right he.
• 22:30
  Does, and the food reflects that.
• 22:31
  You get tapas on the slopes, Spanish chic, better wine, but
• 22:35
  the logistics are harder. It's further from the airports,
• 22:38
  but if you care about culture and cuisine, Baqarah beats
• 22:41
  Orensel hands down. And for those who just want that
• 22:43
  pretty timber framed village, that classic look.
• 22:47
  Outback in Austria it's often voted the prettiest village in
• 22:50
  Austria. Similar transfer time, similar
• 22:53
  cost, maybe slightly higher on food, but you get that modern
• 22:56
  Austrian infrastructure and visual charm that are insult
• 22:59
  just lacks. You lose the cheap.
• 23:01
  Gem You lose the cheap gem, but you gain the cute village photos
• 23:04
  for Instagram. So we've arrived at the verdict,
• 23:07
  the is it worth it matrix. Let's run through the profile so
• 23:10
  you can self select to. Do it.
• 23:12
  First up, the backpacker, the person purely looking for the
• 23:16
  cheapest snow possible. Verdict No.
• 23:19
  Why? The accommodation is geared for
• 23:21
  weekly rentals, not hostile nights, and the ski passes,
• 23:25
  while cheaper than France, are still expensive compared to
• 23:28
  Eastern Europe. If you're a backpacker, go to
• 23:31
  band school in Bulgaria or JASNA in Slovakia.
• 23:33
  You'll get more for your money and the nightlife is Wilder.
• 23:36
  Next up, the luxury traveler. Verdict Hard no.
• 23:41
  Because of the brutalism. The concrete, the bad food, the
• 23:43
  brutal transfer. If you want luxury, you go to
• 23:45
  Core, Chevelle, St. Moritz or even Soul do Aaron.
• 23:49
  Soul will just annoy you. You'll feel like you're
• 23:50
  compromising constantly. There's only one five star hotel
• 23:54
  in the area, the Diana Park, and even that struggles to compete
• 23:58
  with True Alpine luxury. The mid range couple.
• 24:02
  Verdict. Maybe.
• 24:04
  That's a soft verdict. It is.
• 24:06
  It depends entirely on their skill level.
• 24:08
  If they are beginners learning together, it's great fun.
• 24:11
  If they can already ski, they will kill each other out of
• 24:14
  boredom by day three. And finally, the family, the
• 24:18
  target demographic. Verdict.
• 24:20
  Yes, 100%. Why is it such a slam dunk for
• 24:23
  them? Because it is a functional tool.
• 24:26
  That's the best way to describe it.
• 24:28
  You are there to build skills without going bankrupt.
• 24:30
  You can afford the private lessons, you can afford the
• 24:33
  gear, the logistics. Once you were there, just work
• 24:35
  for kids. It is safe, it contained and it
• 24:37
  is English speaking. The source called it the
• 24:39
  University of Skiing. You go there to graduate and
• 24:42
  then you move on to the Alps. Exactly.
• 24:44
  You do two or three years in a rental, the kids get confident,
• 24:47
  you save a ton of money, and then you book the expensive trip
• 24:50
  to Val Thorens once they can actually appreciate the big
• 24:52
  slopes. It's part of a life cycle.
• 24:54
  You don't start at the top. You earn your stripes in a
• 24:56
  rental. So if you are going to do it,
• 24:58
  what is the summary strategy, the winning formula?
• 25:01
  OK, grab a pen. One.
• 25:03
  Book a hotel near the gondola and check the elevation.
• 25:07
  Check the hill 2. Swallow the cost of a private
• 25:10
  transfer to avoid the vomit comet.
• 25:13
  Three. Put the kids in ski school from
• 25:16
  10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Four.
• 25:18
  Ski over to Powell in the afternoon for the sun 5.
• 25:22
  Eat early, sleep early. And buy the gin.
• 25:24
  And buy the cheap gin, it helps with the sore legs.
• 25:26
  You know, it seems like Ernsel's greatest strength is actually
• 25:29
  its lack of pretension. I think that's right.
• 25:31
  Yeah, it has a scrappy charm. It's honest.
• 25:33
  It doesn't pretend to be Aspen. No, it knows it is a tax free,
• 25:38
  stone clad, British loving ski hill in a dead end valley.
• 25:42
  And sometimes that honesty is actually more relaxing than the
• 25:45
  high pressure glitz of the big resorts.
• 25:47
  It's the ski resort equivalent of a trusty station wagon.
• 25:50
  It's not a Ferrari, but it gets the whole family where they need
• 25:53
  to go safely and reliably. Perfectly put.
• 25:56
  That's all for this deep dive into the budget slopes of
• 25:58
  Andorra. Whether you're booking that
• 26:00
  transfer or just dreaming of snow, thanks for listening.
• 26:03
  Safe travels, see you next time.