THIS WINTER'S 11-DAY ESCORTED SKI GROUP VACATION HOLIDAY TRIP to the ALPS in ITALY - 7 nights in SELVA/WOLKENSTEIN DI VAL GARDENA, in the DOLOMITES - Plus 2 nights in VENICE - Designed especially for SENIORS & 40's and over -  Leave Friday February 24th, 2012 - Return Monday March 5th 2012.

On the last weekend in February 2012, Ed Pollock will escort a small group of skiers over age 40, to  Val Gardena in the Dolomites in the Italian Alps in Europe - Ed's favorite ski destination, with more lifts and ski runs than in all North America.

 And unlike North America, you can ski all the marked runs even if there has not been much snowfall, because 95% of them have snowmaking and grooming every night. So you do not have to worry about snow conditions. 

PRICE* per person (tentative - Canadian or U.S. dollars):

$2900* Double occupancy.

$3150* Single occupancy.

>> INCLUDING <<

>> **FLIGHT to ITALY << Air Fare and flight taxes. Depart from Toronto Pearson airport Friday February 24th, 2012 in the early evening on a connecting flight to Venice Italy, arriving in Venice late Saturday morning February 25th 2012.

>> TRANSFER << by Private Bus from Venice Marco Polo airport to the resort hotel in Selva Gardena/Wolkenstein, about three hours drive. We originally planned to have a lunch stop in Cortina d'Ampezzo, but the transfer company wanted to charge about $100 extra per person to do this. For the same amount of money we could hire a local guide for a few days instead.  

>> 7-NIGHT'S RESORT ACCOMMODATION << in the 3+ star HOTEL OLYMPIA, with sauna, etc., including buffet >> BREAKFASTS << and Three Course Italian >> DINNERS <<.

Selva/Wolkenstein di Val Gardena is a beautiful small town, ideally situated at one end of Val Gardena. St. Christina and Ortisei/St, Ulrich are only a few km away and can be reached by local bus service close to the hotel.

There is a good variety of shops locally and in the nearby towns and villages, offering rentals and new downhill and cross-country equipment, as well as clothing, plus all the regular kinds of stores you would expect to find.  And of course there are the bars, cafes, discos etc. for your après-ski and evening enjoyment.

>> 6-DAY'S of SKIING << in the Dolomites, Sunday February 26th to Friday March 2nd 2012. You could ski a different ski area every day. Val Gardena - Selva/Wolkenstein, St.Christina, Ortisei/St,Ulrich, Alpe di Siusi, ski tour Sella Ronde (including the Val Gardena downhill run & Corvara) or even to Alta Badia or Passo Sella or other nearby ski areas in the Dolomites, perhaps seldom skiing the same run more than once.

Note: The Ski Around program is not for beginners. Skiers who might not be comfortable with some of the ski around program slopes may choose to ski other areas or slopes, escorted part of the time by the tour escort.

There are more than 120 ski lifts around the valley - 8 cable cars, 7 gondolas,  more than 50 chairlifts (5-seaters, quads, triples and doubles) and more than 40 surface lifts. The resort altitude is 1300m, highest peak 3284m, longest run 6km and vertical drop 2060m. And more than 250km of marked downhill ski runs, nearly all with snowmaking - 40% easiest blue runs - 45% intermediate cruising red runs - 15 % more difficult black runs. In addition, the area has over 100km of cross-country trails, many with snow-making and track setting.

On Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 - after 6 days of skiing, leave the resort hotel in mid morning after a buffet breakfast, for a 3-hour Private Bus << TRANSFER >> to Mestre, and check into the hotel for the next two nights - the ideally situated 4-star Hotel Plaza, right across the street from the train station connecting to Venice.

>> 2-NIGHTS ACCOMMODATION in MESTRE/VENICE << Saturday March 3rd to Monday March 5th, 2011 at the 4+ star HOTEL PLAZA. Just a 20 minute train ride to Venice. Nearly all the trains going to and coming from Venice stop at the Mestre station, so you don't have long to wait for the next train.

Buffet >>> BREAKFAST <<< Sunday morning. HOTEL GUEST ROOMS are all soundproofed, equipped with air conditioning and heating controllable from the room, satellite television, minibar, radio, and telephone with direct external line. Each room has its own private bathroom, with toilette accessories and hairdryer. 

Buffet >>> BREAKFAST <<< Monday morning before leaving for the airport.    

>> TRANSFER << from the Hotel in Mestre to Marco Polo Airport Monday morning.

>> RETURN **FLIGHT << Monday, March 5th, 2011 leaving Venice just after noon arriving back in Toronto early in the evening evening after spending nine full days in Italy. 

>> LOCAL ACCOMMODATION TAXES and HOTEL GRATUITIES << for both hotels are also included. 

>> ESCORTED << by Ed Pollock right from Toronto Airport to the hotels Italy, daily during stay in Val Gardena & Venice, on Transfers to and from airports in Italy as well as on each day of skiing. This will be Ed's eighth ski group trip to the Dolomites in Italy, in addition to more than a dozen previous ski trips to ski areas in the Alps. A senior and ski writer, Ed has also skied all over North America at many of the major resorts both in the east as well as the west.  

<< NOT INCLUDED >>

<< SKI PASS >> Super Dolomiti 6-day ski pass is not included, because seniors born before November 26, 1946 receive a discount when their pass is purchased at the ski area. Certified ski instructors and others with acceptable documentation also may qualify for an additional discount. This also reduces the cost of advance payments, travel insurance and Canadian sales taxes. The adult 6-day pass can be purchased for €241 and seniors for €217, less any additional applicable discounts, to be paid in Euros on arrival.

<< SKI RENTAL >> 6-day ski rental prices last winter were €60 for good carving skis.

More Information:

Click here if you would like more information on Skiing in the Dolomites and Val Gardena.  You'll find links to other sites and especially check out the inter-active area maps to find out more about all the slopes, lifts and other facilities. If you do it early in the day you can see it live on the web-cams. (Italy is 6 hours ahead of us). 

*TRAVEL AGENTS - Contact us or The Vacation Station for wholesale information.

**FLIGHTS can be arranged from anywhere in North America. 

 Click here for Ski Trip Tour Conditions & General Information