Short Ski Breaks Flying From Belfast

What are the flight routes from Belfast?

Major international airports:

• to Geneva - Saturdays and Sundays only
• to Venice - direct flights on Mondays and Fridays (though only in February and March, no flights in December or January)
• to Zurich - no direct flights
• to Munich - no direct flights

Smaller regional airports*

• to Salzburg - Saturday and Sunday direct flights plus some Thursdays throughout winter - 19 & 26 December, 2 January, 13 & 20 February)
• to Lyon - Saturdays only
• to Innsbruck - no direct flights
• to Chambery - no direct flights
• to Grenoble - no direct flights
• to Oslo - no direct flights
• to Turin - no direct flights

Ski weekends flying from Belfast

Our entire ski programme is open to indirect flights from Belfast flying via London or other major European cities. However, if you're looking for direct flights, which, let's face it are ideal, then you are quite restricted in short ski break options when flying from Belfast.

Flying into Venice

Venice is a good option from February 2020 onward, perfect for a Friday to Monday ski weekend in Cortina or Selva Val Gardena (Italy).

Flying into Salzburg

Salzburg can be a good option for a Thursday to Sunday break though only for five weekends for the 2019-2020 winter season.

What does this mean for short ski breaks from Belfast?

In a nut shell, it's rather tricky to grab a short ski break or ski weekend if you're set on direct flights out of Belfast. 

Italian skiing around the Sella Ronda is your best bet, a fantastic area with 1,200km on the lift pass to explore. Selva Val Gardena would be your gateway into the Dolomiti Superski area and it's well worth a visit. One of our favourite ski resorts in Europe in fact; brilliant skiing, stunning scenery and delicious food both on and off the mountain.

Which ski resorts are best for a short ski break or ski weekend when flying from Belfast?

Belfast is Northern Irelands busiest airport and the second busiest on the island of Ireland after Dublin. Even so, the flights to airports within striking range of ski resorts are limited. If you are looking to ski for six or seven days then you have all the resorts around Geneva at your fingertips but if you only want a few days on the slopes you have ski resorts near Venice or Salzburg to tickle your fancy.

A pre-Christmas ski weekend:

We've talked about Venice above so now looking at Salzburg you have a few more options but more restricted dates. Interestingly there's the pre-Christmas weekend flying out on Thursday 19th December 2019 you could have a cheeky three night ski weekend and fly back Sunday 22nd December in time for Christmas festivities at home. A few days in Zell am See beside the lake will get you into the Christmas spirit.

Skiing on the first weekend of 2020:

In addition to December, the first weekend of January could be perfect to kick off the new year with a little snow fix. Again a Thursday to Sunday affair flying into Salzburg from the 2nd January. I'm thinking Bad Hofgastein could be perfect for you to sink into the natural healing thermal waters after your days on the mountain.

Half term ski weekends:

The next available weekend flights into Salzburg aren't until mid-February with Thursday flights on the 13th and 20th February. These dates fall into the school holidays so it might be prudent to look outside the bigger name resorts and opt for somewhere that doesn't get overly crowded. St Johann could be the perfect resort for these weekends and you have Kitzbuhel 10 minutes up the train line if you fancy a day over there.

Here are our top picks for skiing from Belfast:

Cortina - Italy

Best for - mountain food and looking good, Cortina is where fashion starts in Italy and you have to have good food with that.

Fly into Venice - 2 hour transfer to resort (private transfer or car hire).

• Stunning scenery, we haven't found a ski area quite as beautiful as here
• High fashion town with seemingly endless shopping (and quiet slopes as a result)
• Great wine bars in particular, set just back from the high street
• Ski area split in two, either side of the town
• 95% of pistes are covered by snow cannons, all but guaranteeing snow
• A great destination for food and long lazy lunches. There are 44 mountain huts/restaurants
• Ski area - 120km
• Highest point - 2,930m

Selva Val Gardena - Italy

Best for - skiing with a real sense of travelling somewhere. There's so many areas to head to and fully explore.

Fly into Venice - 3 hour 30 minute transfer to resort (private transfer or car hire).

• It's impossible to miss the sheer scale and epicness
• Huge limestone mountains tinged pink at dusk and dawn
• Sella Ronda ski circuit; a huge circular ski route around a monolith with plenty of interesting off-shoots along the way (26km of skiing)
• Austrian heritage which comes across in the mouth watering food
• Fantastic varied skiing for all levels of ability
• Ski area - 433km
• Highest point - 3,270m

Zell am See - Austria

Best for - buzzing town and an interesting ski area with a huge lake as the backdrop.

Fly into Salzburg - 1 hour 20 minute transfer to resort (private and shared transfer, trains or car hire).

• Horse shoe shaped mountain and photo friendly lake
• Cobbled town centre on the lakeside with a lively atmosphere
• Plenty of tree lined slopes on the lower reaches
• Great intermediate skiing terrain
• Glacier just up the road if you fancy some high altitude skiing
• Year round town with plenty of non-ski activities including a local ice hockey team
• Ski area - 138km
• Highest point - 3,030m

Bad Hofgastein - Austria

Best for - slow paced ski holiday, soak in the natural thermal waters each evening.

Fly into Salzburg - 1 hour 10 minute transfer to resort (private and shared transfers or car hire).

• Wide cruisey red runs, perfect for confident intermediate skiers
• Pedestrianised village packed with cosy cafés, bars and restaurants
• Plenty of off-piste opportunities if you hire a guide
• Exceptional mountain spas with natural thermal waters
• Quiet après scene, it's all about the spas
• Lockers at the gondola to store gear so you don't have to walk around in ski boots
• Ski area - 86km local area and 200km in the valley
• Highest point - 2,685m

St Johann - Austria

Best for - friendliness; friendly slopes, friendly people, friendly après ski, it's a friendly affair.

Fly into Salzburg - 1 hour 15 minute transfer to resort (private and shared transfers, train or car hire).

• Year round lively town with 8,500 permanent residents
• Medieval town centre, cobbled squares and buzzing atmosphere
• Decent umbrella bars on the slopes and 20 mountain huts
• Beginner and intermediate friendly skiing with peak to town cruising
• North facing slopes with 90% snow cannon cover. At the end of two valleys the resort gets far more now than it deserves
• Ski area - 43km
• Highest point - 1,604km

Kitzbuhel - Austria

Best for - with pastel coloured buildings lining the cobbled streets this is a stunner of a ski town.

Fly into Salzburg - (private and shared transfers, train or car hire).

• Bustling pedestrianised town centre
• Serious mountain heritage and the annual Hahnenkamm race is a particular highlight
• Lower slopes lined with trees
• You can cover huge distances in this intermediate friendly resort
• Plenty of spas as well as a table dancingly lively après scene
• The beautiful resort, extensive skiing and buzzing town does come at a price however, cold hard moolah
• Ski area - 179km
• Highest point - 2,000m

After all that, how much does a ski weekend cost when flying from Belfast?

Currently, all of our website pricing is based around London flights, to get an accurate price when flying from Belfast give our ski specialists a call on 01962 587777. Alternatively, you could take a look at our offers and guide pricing to get a cost estimate, the prices shouldn't be too dissimilar to the prices on there for the above resorts. It's a good starting point, however, due to the flight restrictions when flying from Belfast don't be surprised if the actual prices are slightly higher than the London equivalents.