Skiing In Spain - Sierra Nevada Granada
Places To Visit
Published: 28 February 2013 14:43 CET
Updated: 14 July 2017 12:36 CET
People often wonder how it’s possible to ski in this region, but when you consider that the highest peak in Spain is located in the Sierra Nevada range (Mulhacén 3,841 metres), you can see why it is possible to enjoy both pastimes during your trip.
When is the Ski Season in the Sierra Nevada’s
The Ski season is fairly long and lasts from the end of November to end of April each year. The longest season ever recorded was from November 2008 until the 17th May 2009.
Skiing and Resort Facilities
The Sierra Nevada resort has many great ski and leisure facilities including
- 102 kilometres of piste, set over 115 runs
- 16 Green runs, 40 Blue runs, 50 Red runs and 9 Black runs
- Two gondolas, 16 chair lifts and two T-Bar drag lifts
- Ski schools
- Night skiing Saturdays 7:00pm to 9:30pm
- Bars and restaurants
- Shopping
- Cinema
- Montebajo Sports Club
- Day care facilities
- Mirlo Blanco children’s activity area
Sierra Nevada Weather and Snow Reports
The snowfall in this region is usually very good with depths of around 400 cm a regular occurrence. In the unlikely event that there is low snowfall, the resort has a number of snow cannons on standby. So a lack of snow is not usually an issue.
The Sierra Nevada’s offer some of the best spring snow conditions anywhere in the world. But please be aware that the Sierra Nevada’s ski slopes are very open and exposed and weather can change very quickly.
Accommodation Options in Sierra Nevada
The resort is separated into three different zones which are the lower, mid and top zones. Each zone offers different types of accommodation. The lower zone where the majority of bars and restaurants are located offers mainly hotels including the two 4 star Melia Hotels (Sol y Nieve and Sierra Nevada). The mid zone and top zones are comprised mainly of self catering apartments.
Most of the self catering accommodation is fairly basic. If you are looking for a slightly cheaper hotel option, you may want to consider the Hotel Mont Blanc or the GHM Monachil.
Another cheaper alternative is to find accommodation in Granada and travel the 30 minutes or so into the resort each day.
Childrens Facilities
If you’re visiting the resort with young children, you will be pleased to know that there are a number of daycare facilities available including the creche which is located at the base of the Al-Andalus gondola. The Creche can cater for around 25 children from 4 months to 8 years of age.
There is also the Dreamland and Snow Garden daycare facility which is located at Borreguiles and can cater for up to 40 children from 3 - 6 years of age.
There is a landscaped area called the Mirlo Blanco area where there are a number of activities for children including an ice rink, ski-bike, chair-bikes, toboggans, mini-snowboard, mini-ski, and the Trineo Ruso sled rollercoaster.
Restaurants, Bars and Nightlife
Most of the nightlife and après-ski is located in the Pradollano main square which offers everything from tapas bars to lively disco’s. Most of the clubs do not really get going until around midnight, as in this part of the world, people do not usually eat until around 10pm - 11pm. Most clubs will run until the very early hours of the morning.
Lift Passes, Equipment and Ski Hire
Ski and equipment hire readily available with the main hire shop being Rio Sport which is located close to the Al-Andalus gondola. The shop is open from around 08:30 and closes at 20:00. You can also try the Luis Sanchez Sports 1 hire shop which is located at Edificio Impala 3 local 2.
It is not usually necessary to hire the equipment in advance as there is normally a good supply available. During peak seasons, it may be wise to book your equipment the day before to prevent unnecessary queueing. Please see the following page for current equipment prices.
http://www.sierranevada.co.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=69&Itemid=575&lang=en
Lift passes are obviously essential and cover you for all of the lifts within the resort. The cost of the pass does vary and depends on which time of year you visit. Children of under 5 years are free and pensioners also receive a discount. There is also a discount for disabled children up to the age of 11. There is not much point in purchasing your lift passes in advance as the weather can be very unpredictable. So much better to purchase these on the day.
For a full list of the current list pass prices, please visit the following page at
http://www.go-sierra-nevada.com/en/ski_slopes/lift_passes.html
Getting There
Travelling by car is pretty straight forward with the trip from Granada airport taking around 1 hour. Malaga airport is around 1.5 - 2 hours away by car.
If you are flying into the country, it’s feasible to fly into one of the other airports including Seville, Jerez, Almeria, Alicante, Murcia but the drive into the Sierra Nevada’s will be much longer.
There is no public transport or trains available into the resort, but there are some private coach providers that offer transportation to and from the resort including http://www.autocaresjosegonzalez.com
You can also get a bus from Granada to the Sierra Nevada resort (Sol y Nieve) which is provided by Autocares Bonal. For schedules please see http://www.go-sierra-nevada.com/en/arrival/bus_schedule_nevada.html
There are also a number of minibus transfer companies who offer transfers including Shuttles Direct https://www.shuttledirect.com/en/ Shuttle Malaga http://www.shuttlemalaga.com or Economy Transfer http://www.economytransfer.com/sierra-nevada.htm
** If you are travelling by car to the resort, please make sure that you have a set of snow chains available in case of any sudden snowfall. If you do not have any chains in your vehicle and are stopped by the police, you could be turned back.
Images courtesy of juanpg on Flickr.
Updated: 14/07/2017
