The BEST Ski Tours in Europe: 2025 Ultimate Ski Touring Guide
In This Article:
- What Are Ski Tours?
- The Advantages of Europe’s Ski Tours
- Skill Requirements
- Top Picks: Best Ski Tours in Europe
- Tips for Staying Safe
- When is Ski Touring Season
Ski tours have become a staple in freeriding and off-piste culture. And with good reason – they’re a challenge worth undertaking, with incredible views, wild terrain, and breathtaking experiences you just can’t have at your regular old ski resort.
Even though ski tours sprung up in North America, Europe is quickly catching on since there are many advantages to European ski trips.
Today we will uncover what they are – and WHERE to ski tour in Europe. So you can save money and worries in picking your next winter escapade destination.
Quick Definition - What are Ski Tours?
Glad you asked.
Ski tours are off-piste uphill hikes, where the intent is to eventually ski down. This is usually done in wild terrains, but may also take place in controlled resorts. These adventures are usually undertaken in the company of mountain guides.
The Advantages of Europe’s Ski Tours
Ski tourers in Europe will find that their backcountry skiing is often superior to that in North America, although it does have its inconveniences.
- Better infrastructure: While North America’s wilderness is more vast, Europe sports a more convenient infrastructure. This includes more accommodation options for hut-to-hut adventures, transportation and guidebooks.
- Reliable rescue: Because of the convenience of the infrastructure, ski tourers can be more reliant on rescue, in case a trip goes south. On the other hand, skiers in America should be more self-reliant.
- Much cheaper: All forms of skiing are cheaper in Europe. Ski tours are more available in or around ski resorts – you can plan your piste ski trip alongside a ski tour starting from the resort.
- Culturally loaded: Most ski tours in Europe are intertwined with local mountain culture and cuisine. Trails may also lead you to historic villages. Meanwhile, American backcountry skiing is more focused on wilderness solitude.
Whereas North American snowfall totals are usually higher in places like the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. Still, the European season and powder are impressive in their own right.
What Skill Level is Required For Ski Tours?
Ski tours are not recommended for beginner skiers. The terrain can be difficult – hence the need for ski guides and, in most cases, specialized equipment like an ice axe and shovel.
Ungroomed snow is wildly (pun intended) different than piste terrain. And due to the fact that most of the time is spent hiking upward, you should sport a good level or fitness and at least an intermediate level of skiing.
Our Top Picks: Best Ski Tours in Europe
Now, to the meat of this article. Our team has compiled a list of our favourite European ski tours. These are diverse picks that offer a good challenge, rich cultural experiences, and an opportunity to explore very different landscapes depending on your preferences.
Tatras Ski Tours (Poland or Slovakia)
Southern Poland and Northern Slovakia are by far the best areas for a ski mountaineer to find adventure. While resorts like Zakopane offer limitless great skiing slopes, the surrounding wild terrain of the Tatras is very welcoming for splitboard and backcountry touring enthusiasts.
Authentic traditional chalets provide comfortable accommodation, while the marked trails offer both challenging and newbie-friendly ski tours.
This ski tour includes:
- Highly customizable adventures: small to big groups, 1-6 days of skiing;
- Traditional chalet basecamp;
- Culturally dense town to explore;
- Beginner friendly & challenging terrains, depending on skill;
- Transfer (can be on horse sleigh!);
- Certified guides.
This part of the Tatras is quite accessible and affordable, making for not only a fantastic ski tour but also a holistic European apres and ski experience.
Ski tours start from only £100 per person!
Pirin Ski Tours (Bulgaria)
Bulgaria is famous for the Bansko ski resort. But a lesser know fact is that Pirin makes for a great spliboarding/freeriding adventure in the winter.
From Bansko (and the surrounding towns and villages) there is a large range of off-piste ski terrains where you can explore some of the highest peaks in the Balkans.
This ski tour includes:
- Personalized ski tours, up to 6 days, but more is possible;
- Hut-to-hut touring available;
- 1-5 hrs of hiking daily;
- Certified guides;
- Transfers to starting point;
- Optional accommodation at award-winning ‘’Best Ski Chalet’’ in Bulgaria.
Steep ski wild descends, incredible food and Bulgarian hospitality are a given. One-day ski tours can be as cheap as £55, but 6+ days of ski touring are possible – and even hut-to-hut.
Lyngen Sail & Ski (Norway)
For a more unique ski touring experience, look to Norway’s Lyngen Peninsula. A jaw-droppingly scenic route by yacht leads you to over 15 peaks ready to be scaled and skied. If you’re lucky, you might witness the infamous Northern Lights too.
Your skipper and ski guide will take you on an incredible journey through the Norwegian fjords, starting from Tromso. Going as high as 1800m with routes ranging from 4-9 km.
This ski tour includes:
- 6 days ski touring, 7 nights lodging;
- Full yacht accommodation;
- 15+ peaks to explore, up to 1800m;
- Professional guide & skipper;
- Airport transfers to/from boat;
- Incredible views – possible Northern Lights sighting.
Home for the journey will be the cozy, yet functional Bruce Roberts – New York 46 model yacht, offering ample deck space, high-speed internet, and reliable heating.
Yes, you’ll sleep on the boat!
Cat Skiing in Shar Planina (Macedonia or Kosovo)
If you want to skip the hiking part of the tours, and just ski, try cat skiing. The ski cat is a vehicle that takes you and your group high up the mountain. You’ll save a lot of time and energy and put it into wild snow skiing.
With the cat ski, you can cover over 3000m+ daily descends, in an area as wide as 150sq km in the Shar Mountain Plateau. The season is consistent from December to late April, thus granting reliable snow.
This ski tour includes:
- Modern ski cat;
- Accommodation in either Popova Shapka (Macedonia) or Zappluxje (Kosovo);
- Highly customizable trips (you can do Macedonia AND Kosovo);
- Certified guides;
- Safety equipment;
- Great food;
Keep This in Mind When Choosing Ski Tours in Europe
You want to make sure you don’t fall for some of these mistakes. Here are a few tips when planning your European ski tours.
Snow Conditions & Ski Touring Season
In most ski resorts and off-piste tours, the season generally lasts from December to April. However, conditions may differ. For example, December is generally not a good month for ski touring in Norway as days can be dark and the weather too cold.
As a general rule of thumb, March and April are generally the best ski touring months, since the climate is softer and the snow has set well.
Consult your potential ski guides to get an idea of when you can snag the best date for a ski tour.
Be Prepared
Pack well, but pack light. In most cases, the ski tours’ organizers will provide you with skiing and safety equipment – paid or free. But it’s important to bring warm clothing, medicine, and a drinking bottle (preferably made of metal) are some of the essentials.
Be Humble
Splitboarding hikes are tiring. If your fitness level is currently at a low point, we recommend taking longer walks or hikes in the weeks prior to your ski trip. Don’t be overconfident, because most tour guides will curate the adventure according to your estimations of your own endurance and skill.
Make sure you are at least at an intermediate skiing level and listen to your guides, as they know the wild areas well and will keep your safety as their number one priority.
Thank you for reading
We hope you enjoy your ski tours in Europe. Feel free to send us a message at hello@snomads.co.uk in case you need help figuring out where to go to taste some wild snow. Our team will help you pick a destination according to your skill level, personal tastes, and budget.
Related reads:
Ski Touring in Zakopane – The 5 best ski tours in the Polish Tatras
The 5 best ski tours in Pirin – explore the mountain like a local
The Ultimate Zakopane Skiing Holiday Guide – Everything You Need To Know
How Much Does It Cost to Ski in Europe – Best Budget & Luxury Options