Ski In The New Year At These Top Resorts

New Year’s Eve is supposed to be the biggest party of the year, but too often it is a letdown and no different to your average night out. This year, why not see out 2017 with a bang by jetting off for an exhilarating ski break? Ski resorts are superb places to see in the New Year as you can shred the slopes and then party till the early hours in the fresh snow under an endless blanket of stars. This certainly beats paying to go to the local pub back home!

There are plenty of great resorts around Europe that have wild New Year’s Eve parties and excellent skiing, but here are a few of the best:

Meribel

Meribel is always a cracking place for New Year and a favourite with Brits. The parties kick off with a cool torch-lit descent to the Chaudanne area where there is an enormous fireworks display. You are spoilt for choice for epic parties after this, and a lively atmosphere sweeps across the entire resort. Le Rond Point is a popular spot if you want to see in 2018 by dancing until the early hours, whilst Le Poste de Secours is the place to be for cocktails. Jacks and Dicks Tea Bar are also worth checking out.

In terms of skiing, Meribel has lots of great runs and easy access to the 600km slopes across Le Trois Valleys - perfect!

Tignes

The NYE parties at Tignes are legendary and the best choice for raucous party animals. They host the biggest free outdoor party in all of Europe, as the resort is transformed into a mammoth open-air music festival that goes on well into January 1st. Thumping tunes, fireworks and fire displays in the snow under the stars is the perfect way to end the year! Tignes always pulls huge names too, such as David Guetta and Joachim Garraud.

What better way to cure your hangover than hitting the slopes? Tignes has excellent conditions, 150 km of local slopes and access to Val d’Isère if you wish.

Val d’Isère

Val d’Isère is, in my humble opinion, the prettiest town in the Alps and a great setting for a special New Year’s Eve. It is home to many excellent bars, pubs and clubs, so you should easily be able to find something that suits your taste for the big night. Places like the Doudoune Club pull big names and even rival some UK clubs! Additionally, the town centre is an amazing place to be when the clock strikes 12 as everyone comes together for a grand countdown and champagne showers.

As most of the slopes being above 2500m, there will be terrific skiing on offer here too.

Mayrhofen

Mayrhofen in Tyrol, Austria is another popular destination for NYE thanks to the variety of options on offer. It is home to lots of cool establishments, most notably the Ice Bar and Gasthof Bruecke which both have wild NYE parties with live music and dancing on tables deep into the new year. Another reason that I recommend Mayrhofen is the New Year’s Eve train, which is a party train from Jenbach to Mayrhofen which stops off for live music and drinks at each stop! There is also a horse-drawn carriage procession to the snowy racecourse on New Year’s Day (if you’re not too hungover!).

Mayrhofen also has 159 km of piste and features Austria’s steepest run – Harakiri.

Any of these resorts would be a superb choice for an unforgettable New Year filled with snow, skiing, partying and joy. Shuttle Direct can get you, your troops and all your ski gear to any of these resorts with ease, so you can sit back and start planning how to bring in 2018!

Lukas Johannes is a driver for Shuttle Direct, the number one provider of shared and private airport transfers all over Europe and northern Africa. If you’re looking for affordable transfers for a holiday to spend New Year’s Eve in a European ski resort, Lukas and his colleagues can make sure that you and your luggage get to and from the airport swiftly and safely.

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