  Airport
About SoldeuThe rolling hills at Soldeu are a beginner's paradise. Combined with a sunny climate and a world renowned ski school - this is a great place to have your fist skiing or snowboarding experience. The lively village is one of the most popular in the Andorran Pyrenees, with relaxed atmosphere, duty-free bargains and vibrant après-ski. As part of the giant GrandValira ski region, Soldeu is linked with neighbouring Pas de la Casa and Grau Roig under one ski pass - giving you access to 200 km of piste to ski. Recent heavy investment has updated old lifts to a modern system, meaning quick access to the slopes. Beginners will delight in the highly regarded ski school, excellent nursery slopes, flat plateaus and rolling hills to progress to. The massive amount of varied reds and blues across the GrandValira keep things interesting for a long time for intermediates, and experts have some challenging blacks. Pas de la Casa has the better runs for experts, with some steep Slalom slopes. However, there's not really too much to keep an advanced skier excited. Getting a snow cat tow to the Piz de Encampanada for wicked off piste will spice things up, as will the cheap heli-skiing. The resort spreads out over 4km in four different areas - El Tarter, Incles, Bordes d'Envalira and Soldeu village. The après-ski atmosphere is fantastic, with all kinds of lively bars and tasty restaurants on hand. Many young visitors flock here for the duty-free prices and fun ambiance, partying into the night. For young families and those looking for a more peaceful holiday, El Tarter is a quieter, more family friendly choice. To soothe your aching muscles after a hard days skiing or boarding, head to the fantastic new Wellness Mountain Spa at Sport Hotels for a variety of relieving spa and massage treatments. For beginners
The excellent ski school with many English-speaking instructors will guide you through your first wobbly attempts at skiing or snowboarding with ease, and have you looking like a professional in no time. Beginners will also love the many nursery slopes and easy green and blue runs which will help them progress without pushing themselves too hard. The beginner zone next to the ski school at Espiolets is a good place to start, and kids will love the Mickey Mouse run.
For intermediates
There's a huge variety of blue and red runs perfect for intermediates both locally in Soldeu and in the wider GrandValira area. Start locally and build your confidence up by trying different types of terrain, and then head over to Pas de la Casa. You can ski the entire Grandvalira route from Pas de la Casa to El Forn on red and blue runs but can be tough at times, so build up to it.
For the advanced
Locally at Soldeu, there are a fee tough black and challenging red runs, lots of good off-piste trails, and a cool mogul run. However, Pas de la Casa's slopes are more suited to experts, so head over there when you've exhausted the skiing at Soldeu. The new Explore Grandvalira tour itinerary gives you the chance to cover the whole ski area from Pas de la Casa to El Forn which passes through Soldeu.
Ski school
The ski schools in GrandValira and in particular Soldeu and Pas de la Casa have fantastic reputations and there 450 instructors working across the resorts, many of whom speak English as well as French, Spanish and Catalan. Meet for the Soldeu ski school in Pla Espiolets at the top of the two Soldeu lifts.Encamp Tel: +376 834 721 Après Ski
With a sunshine filled climate coming from the Mediterranean and affordable alcohol, it's not surprising that Soldeu has a rollicking après-ski scene. The great selection of bars are open all day, and get busy as soon as the slopes close. Avalanche is always a favourite, as are Aspen Bar, Esquí Pub and Fat Albert's. The real partying starts around 11pm and goes until 4 am, when the bars close and private parties continue elsewhere. You can get some great food here from casual to upmarket. Borda del Rector is an inviting authentic Catalan restaurant, while Cort del Popaire does succulent grilled meat. Off the Mountain
If you're after a bit of relaxation, Soldeu's Sport Mountain Spa and the Caldea spa complex in Escales-Engordany will do the trick with many different soothing spa and massage treatments. Otherwise there isn't the hugest range of things to do, but most will be kept happy on a day off. You can try: dog sledding, snow mobiling, snowshoeing, ice skating, igloo building, helicopter flights, dog sleigh trips (Grau Roig & El Tarter), paintball (Grau Roig), paragliding flights (El Tarter) and plenty of bargain shopping.
Getting there
There are no airports in Andorra, so you'll need to fly into Tolouse (177 km) in France and Barcelona (186 km) and Girona in Spain, all of which have a daily bus service to Soldeu. The closest airport is Toulouse, which has a taxi/rail/bus combination as well as the bus.
Airport transfers
Novatel runs a daily mini bus service from all three airports. There are 5 departures throughout the day from Barcelona to Andorra and a similar number in reverse from Andorra to Barcelona. Only one Novatel bus service goes daily from Girona and Andorra and one returning Andorra to Girona. There are two Novatel buses daily from Toulouse to Andorra and from Andorra back to Toulouse. Eurolines offer similar 5-6 bus departures daily in each direction between Barcelona and Andorra. By train
By train, travel to Soldeu - El-Tarter via Paris and LHospitalet-près-lAndorre before boarding a bus to La Vella, Andorra's capital, with a stop at Soldeu. From London Waterloo, catch the 17:09 Eurostar service to Paris, arriving at gare du Nord the same evening. Change to gare d'Austerlitz from where you catch the overnight train to LHospitalet-près-lAndorre, arriving at 07:25 the next morning. Trains to Puigcerdà station from Barcelona in Spain are also an option, with buses travelling from there to Soldeu. By car
To arrive by car from Calais, the ski resort of Soldeu - El-Tarter is a two-day drive via Paris, Orléans and Toulouse (1,160kms total distance); drive along the A-64, E-9 and CG2. The journey is three hours from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport along the A-18, C-1411, E-09, E-9, and then CG2 (210kms). It takes three hours by road from Barcelona's El Prat de Llobregat Airport.
Resort rating and reviews
12 November 2008
Traveller rating:
  Probably the best all round resort in Andorra. Not much for advanced i...
View full review 
Resort ratings out of 10
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Weather and snow report
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