The British public want to learn to ski and Austria is the perfect place to do that this winter...
Fancy a winter holiday but never clipped into skis? You’re not alone. Fresh research conducted with the Ski Club of Great Britain shows that half of Brits who have never skied would like to try it. Naturally, young adults are keenest to learn to ski, with 85% of 18–24s, 73% for 25–34s, and 66% for 35–44s.
However, less than 1 in 10 Brits have ever been on a winter sports holiday, versus 66% who’ve been on a beach holiday. Only about 3% of the population actually head to the mountains for a ski holiday each year.
So if you want to try skiing for the first time then Austria is the ideal place. It is a perfect place for beginners to learn, with wide sweeping slopes, beautiful food, and Instagram-worthy panoramic views of the Alps at every turn. There's also high quality food, fantastic apres-ski night-life, and friendly people.
DEALS AND BEGINNER PACKAGES
For winter 2025/26, several ski schools in Carinthia are offering a new course format for beginners aged 14 and over: “Learn to ski in three days – guaranteed.” The promise is simple: if participants can’t confidently ski after three days, they’ll get their course fee refunded. As of late August 2025, ten ski schools have joined the initiative, including locations in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Nassfeld, and Turracher Höhe.
Siegi Tours specialises in beginner-friendly packages in Austria’s Ski Amadé region, including ski school, accommodation, and evening entertainment. They even offer a money-back guarantee if you don’t learn to ski.
Crystal Ski runs dedicated “beginner weeks” with flights, transfers, accommodation, and ski lessons bundled together. They’re one of the UK’s biggest ski operators, making things smooth and simple for first-timers.
Inghams offers beginner-friendly trips with ski school access, lift passes, and equipment hire arranged through their “Learn to Ski” deals. They’ve been taking UK travellers to Austria for decades, so you’re in experienced hands.
BEGINNER-FRIENDLY RESORTS
Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis: Sitting on a sunny high plateau above the upper Tyrolean Inntal Valley, Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis, a joint winter sports resort of three traditional mountain villages, is one of Austria’s most beginner-friendly spots. Newbies can check into the region’s ski schools and take their first turns under expert guidance, choosing between group and one-on-one courses, then show off their skills on the 21 blue pistes. There are wide practice slopes and dedicated beginner areas throughout the region, as well as plenty of traditional mountain huts for relaxing lunch breaks.
Bonus: Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis is also home to the world’s highest underground, and offers fun activities such as a Skyswing, a flying fox, and PistenBully tours.
Altenmarkt-Zauchensee: Charming Altenmarkt-Zauchensee in the heart of the Salzburg Sport World and Ski amadé comes as a twin pack: Snow-sure and challenging Zauchensee-Flachauwinkel, the highest ski area in the region and a World Cup venue, and the family- and beginner-friendly Radstadt-Altenmarkt. Local ski schools in the latter offer beginner courses in English and take newbies to beginner areas. And once they feel fit to hit the regular pistes, there are 9 km of blue runs to test those newly acquired skills.
Altenmarkt-Zauchensee also scores with its beautiful winter hiking trails and its popular (night) tobogganing runs, both perfect for times spent away from the slopes.
Zillertal: Tirol’s Zillertal is an XXL resort at up to 3,250 m, allowing beginners to work on their skills well into springtime. There are 25 ski schools and more than 500 skiing instructors, teaching in 17 languages. Every resort in the region has its own practice areas and blue pistes, giving beginners plenty of options no matter where in Zillertal they’re based. The ski areas of Penken and Ahorn (including Mayrhofen) are especially popular, thanks to their practice lifts and pistes right at the mountain stations.
Zillertal has a total of 80 mountain huts and plenty of fun options for heavy leg days, including the Hintertux Nature Ice Palace, and the Zillertal Brewery.
Ischgl: One of the largest linked, cross-border ski areas in the Alps, Ischgl in Tirol’s Paznaun Valley is the go-to place for skiers valueing top-notch pistes, events, and a tad of luxury. There are plenty of beginner areas here, including at Idalp (conveniently reachable by gondola), Viderböden (practice areas with a conveyor belt and button lift) and the Alp Trida (multiple blue pistes and a practice lift). Adult newbies to the sport can also book beginner courses at the local ski schools.
Evenings and skiing breaks can be spent exploring Ischgl’s famous culinary scene, singing your hearts out at the popular Mountain Concerts, and relaxing in the Silvretta Therme spa.
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