Followed by the winter season, your social media is starting to get filled of vacation pictures by the people around you. If you are tired of beaches and the city, why not try something different – ski villages?
Ski villages are suitable for people of all age, and are not limited to skiing professionals only! Aside from skiing, ski resorts are often filled with hotels, hot springs, premium dining and so on, it’s perfect for a vacation with friends, colleagues and even family. Here are six beginner-friendly ski resorts in Asia, where you can free your mind and experience skiing as a beginner.
Niseko Village, Japan
One of the most famous ski resorts in Japan, Niseko is known for its light powder snow, which attracts foreigners to snowboarding and skiing activities. Niseko Village is popular due to the predominance of ski-in ski-out accommodation, the varied beginner slopes, and the many English-speaking instructors for both adults and children. Niseko Village Ski Resort offers 27 marked trails (13 beginner, 9 intermediate and 5 advanced) and access to off-piste and sidecountry terrain. Niseko Village also offers family-friendly snow activities including snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, guided snowshoe tours, snow rafting, and reindeer sled rides.
Furano Ski VIllage, Japan
The Furano Ski Resort in Hokkaido finds a great balance for a Japan ski or snowboard holiday, as it is home to many well-developed amenities and services. Furano Ski Resort is a large ski area by Japanese standards, with 10 lifts, 23 courses and 839 metres of vertical (235 – 1,074m), which has enabled the resort to be put on the world cup ski racing map. Furano isn’t overly westernised, as it provides a good Japanese cultural experience, where you can find lots of Japanese restaurants particularly in the town of Furano. Furano accommodation offers reasonable value for money and kids 12 and under ski free.
Yongpyong Ski Resort, Korea
The Yongpyong Ski Resort is located in Pyeongchang County (South Korea, Gangwon-do). For skiing and snowboarding, there are 31 slopes and 0.4 km of ski routes available, with up to 15 lifts to transport the guests. A special fact of the place, the resort has hosted several winter games in the past. The ski resort is operational around the year, with family friendly facilities like bowling alley, waterpark, golfing, karaoke rooms and so on. Making it an ideal place for a vacation, even for people who are not into skiing.
Sky Resort, Ulaanbaatar
This sky resort is located in Mongolia, which is just a short drive from Ulaanbaatar center. Equipped with an Italian snow-making system, the Ski Resort has all you need for mountain or cross-country skiing. It is also equipped with a sledding slope and sledding lessons for children. There are 9 trails, with up to 6 km of slopes available. Just like Yongpyong Ski Resort, it is operational around the year with various facilities like camp-style hotel, sauna, restaurants, and a golf club.
Pyeongchang Alpensia Ski Resort
Ever since the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the ski resort has been gaining popularity for both amateur and beginner tourists who wants to try skiing during their vacation. With a total of six slopes that runs as long as 1.4km, there are exclusive areas for advanced snowboarders too. There are three main premium hotel accommodations in the resort; the Intercontinental Hotel, Holiday Inn Hotel, and Holiday Inn Suites. The resort boasts a variety of top-notch leisure facilities such as a 45-hole golf course, a shopping mall, and even a water park.
Kiroro Ski Resort, Japan
One can find quality powder in Kiroro Ski Resort, with a plus point of the enormous snow quantity there. The resort also offers fantastic lift infrastructure, as well as an extraordinary amount of non-skiing activities, for both kids and adults. For kids who are interested to learn skiing, there are kids’ group ski and snowboard lessons in English. Kiroro has a medium-sized resort spread over two mountain peaks. The resort has 23 runs, with an equal spread of green, blue and black piste. Furthermore, Kiroro Hokkaido is a good choice if you want to go skiing early in the season.
What to be careful while learning skiing 200
Skiing isn’t a sport that takes an hour to learn, it takes a lifetime. Even the most experienced skiing veterans are finding ways to improve. Here are some tips that may help to master skiing even faster.
- Dress in layers, and drop cotton!
When you are up on the mountain, the weather could get colder – and that’s when layering gets important! Cotton is not a good fabric for winter activities, as it can get heavy when wet and it takes a long time to get dry. Furthermore, dressing in layers makes it more convenient to take outer layers off during indoors.
- Get a Lesson
The fastest way to master skiing and snowboarding is to get advice from a trainer, as you will improve faster when the trainers give personalized advice to your skiing.
- Pick the Right Resort
Some resorts are more catered to skiing amateurs, while some are beginner-friendly. It is advised to pick the right resort that has beginner slopes and lessons.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Fall
As the saying goes, it’s better to fall and learn than to stand and watch! Falling could be painful, but it is a required process to master balancing. Skiing professionals went through this step too!
What to Bring during Skiing 100
Skiing is a sport unlike any other, and as such, it can be hard to make sure you’ve packed everything you need. Do a quick mental check before you leave your driveway and make sure you have everything. So here’s a quick checklist for the car.
- Skis (if you’re not renting at the mountain)
- Ski Boots (if you’re not renting at the mountain)
- Ski Poles (if you’re not renting at the mountain)
- Ski clothes & extra layers
- Dry change of clothes for the drive home
- Wallet
- Lift ticket confirmation (if you purchased online)
- Snacks
- Water
- Sunscreen
Introducing Agoda – your travel buddy
It requires a lot of back and forth communication with the resort management while looking for accommodations and making reservations at a ski resort. The majority of the time, tourists need to be informed of the best offers being presented by various ski resorts, and that’s when travel companies like Agoda can help in this situation. Thankfully, both businesses are Atome’s linked merchants, allowing their customers to divide their booking costs into three equal payments rather than paying them all at once.
Agoda is a great booking site that lets you see the best deals for cities worldwide. You can check out convenient hotel rooms and flights, and you won’t have to worry about finding good hotels. You can even book activities for your family to make sure you have a fantastic vacation.
All you need to do is download the app from its official website and register on it by creating an account. It can also be found on Google Play Store and App Store.
Headquartered in Singapore with over 15,000 partnered merchants and available in 8 markets, Atome offers its users the choice and convenience of flexible payment options for a variety of products and services. The app allows shoppers to split their purchases across three interest-free monthly payments by scanning a partner retailer’s in-store QR code or upon website checkout. By splitting their payments, Atome users will be able to better manage their budget while making quality products and services more reachable.
How to use Atome to plan the upcoming trip?
- Visit Agoda’s website and search for a hotel, flight, or activity.
- Initiate the booking process and select Atome as the method of payment.
- Log in to your account or create a new one.
- Review the payment schedule and pay the initial one-third of your bill upfront.
- Go ahead and take that comfortable vacation after the first payment only.
- The app will automatically deduct the other two payments on respective due dates.
