Recommended ski resorts chosen by a true ski expert

Choosing the right ski resort can be a headache, especially if you're traveling with a larger group. Of course, you can always pick your personal favourites that you've visited before, listen to recommendations from friends and acquaintances, or search online to find the ski resort that suits you best. Or, you can listen to the experts.

Englishman Alf Alderson is a ski expert who has skied at 250 resorts worldwide. In an article for National Geographic, he has listed his favourite ski resorts in various categories.

Ski resorts recommended by Alderson

Alderson has chosen his favourites in eight different categories. It probably goes without saying, but these are, of course, his personal opinions and may not necessarily align with yours. Nonetheless, this can be a great source of inspiration when deciding where to go on your next ski trip. Below are all of his favourite ski resorts for each category, along with our comments and recommendations for other options.

Best Ski Resort for Beginners - La Plagne, France

For beginners, he selects La Plagne in France, where the ski system is built around 11 different villages and includes at least one free ski lift, allowing beginners to practice skiing without needing to purchase a lift pass. Other advantages he mentions are the many ski schools with English-speaking instructors and the resort's relatively reliable snow conditions due to its high altitude.

Comment: La Plagne is an excellent choice. However, if you still prefer to go to Europe while keeping costs down, Andorra's Pas de la Casa, Poland's Zakopane, or Bulgaria's Bansko are good choices for beginners.

Best ski resort for intermediate skiers - Cervinia, Italy

For those who are competent skiers but not looking for the most difficult slopes, Alderson's top pick is Cervinia in Italy. His reasoning is that the resort offers plenty of blue and red slopes (90% of all runs) and is sun-drenched due to its southern location. Additionally, with slopes above 3,000 meters, snow shortages are rare. The views, featuring the Matterhorn, and the resort's connection to Switzerland's Zermatt are also major pluses.

Comment: Choosing a resort in this category is not easy, as there are countless options, especially in the Alps. Cervinia is a solid choice, and we agree that it's a fantastic resort for intermediate skiers, as well as for those with less experience.

Best ski resort for advanced skiers - Red Mountain, Canada

For seasoned and advanced skiers, Alderson recommends Red Mountain in British Columbia, Canada - one of his personal favourites. The reasons for his choice include the variety of runs through forested terrain and deep powder, as well as the relaxed atmosphere of the small ski resort.

Comment: Having never personally been to Red Mountain, it's hard to dispute Alderson's pick, but his praise certainly makes it even more intriguing. As an alternative, we'd highlight Jackson Hole in the USA, and for those wanting to stay in Europe, we recommend La Grave in France.

Best all-round ski resort - Les Arcs, France

For those who want a ski resort that has a bit of everything, Alderson's top pick is Les Arcs in France. In addition to world-class skiing with varied terrain, he selects this resort due to its extensive accommodation options, wide selection of restaurants and bars, and its easy accessibility.

Comment: Excellent choice. Other notable resorts in this category include Chamonix, Bad Gastein, and Canazei in Italy.

Best ski resort for non-skiers - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

If skiing or snowboarding isn't the only thing you want to do on your ski trip-or if you're traveling with non-skiers-the resort needs to offer more than just skiing. According to Alderson, the best ski resort for this is Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy. This is especially true next year when the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held there, but other reasons for his choice include the abundance of shops, high-quality restaurants, and additional activities such as snow hiking, ice skating, and day trips to nearby locations.

Comment: Cortina certainly ticks all the boxes. Other great alternatives include Davos in Switzerland and Chamonix. Spain's Sierra Nevada could also be a contender, particularly for day trips - it's just a 30-minute drive to Granada and just over an hour to the beaches of Costa del Sol.

Best value-for-money ski resort - Livigno, Italy

According to Alderson, the ski resort that offers the best value for money is Livigno in Italy. The combination of affordable accommodation, reasonably priced bars and restaurants, and the opportunity for cheap lift passes during low season, along with reliable snow conditions, makes it his top pick.

Comment: This depends on how you define "value for money." Compared to other Alpine resorts, Livigno is not the most expensive, and you certainly get more for your money than in the larger resorts of neighbouring countries. However, if "affordable" is the primary criterion, then the ski resorts in former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Zakopane, Bansko, or Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic, offer even better value.

Best ski resort you've never heard of - Brundage Mountain, USA

Perhaps the most interesting category is the "best ski resort you've never heard of," and for this, Alderson picks the tiny Brundage Mountain in Idaho, USA. It has just five lifts, a snowcat for cat-skiing, and 30 kilometers of groomed runs, but it also boasts deep powder and plenty of untouched off-piste skiing. And, since it's a little-known resort, there are practically no lift lines.

Comment: Definitely a resort we hadn't heard of before - so he's spot on! :-)

Best luxury ski resort - Lyngen, Norway

For the best luxury ski resort, Alderson's choice is quite unexpected, Lyngen in Norway. However, his definition of luxury isn't about flashy hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, or high-end boutiques. Instead, he defines luxury as the experience of skiing in breathtaking natural surroundings.

Comment: This is clearly Alderson's personal interpretation of luxury. If we're talking about luxury in the more traditional sense, you can read more about some of the most exclusive ski resorts here.