Short ski hops continued (2)

Last updated at 12:56 03 March 2003


The budget meant that the best transfer was a coach from the airport on a two-and-a-half-hour run through the Veneto and up into the Dolomites.

In Cortina, the hotel Montana is only a two-star, but it was cosy and comfortable, and right in the heart of town.

You can save money on weekend ski trips by buying a half-day pass on the first or last day, and I saved a few pounds by taking my own skis and boots.

The full-day pass was about £19, which covers the Cortina valley. There's plenty of good skiing on sunny pistes, though experts will not find themselves too stretched.

Cortina's selling point, though, is its scenery, with a bowl of jagged peaks enclosing the town, and there are several decent restaurants that provide terrific views of the panorama.

You can expect to pay just over a fiver for a chicken and pasta lunch on the mountain.

Down a side street we found a busy local pizzeria for dinner with not a tourist in sight, where a ham and cheese pizza cost £3.70, beer was £1.50 and tiramisu £2.15 - the perfect ski meal.

If you want to ski in a five-star resort without five-star prices, it is possible. And if you don't like it, there's always Venice.

Travel facts

easyJet as before. Hotel Montana (tel: 0039 0436 860498).

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