Essential Travel Ski Guides

click here for a ski insurance quotation

Travel to Ordino Arcalis with travel insurance from Essential Travel

Ordino - Arcalis is located in a open and naturally preserved and protected area on the southern slopes of the Pyrenees, in the northwestern region of Andorra. El Serrat is four kilometres from the ski fields at the resort, while Ordino is 15kms away. The resort is blessed with having an abundance of high quality snow, plus an extended winter due to its northeast-to-northwest location.

The village of Ordino has a range of hotels along with an historic atmosphere and character; however, El Serrat is the nearest option for lodging close to the slopes. A variety of cafés and café-bars offer après-ski and night-time activities, while the resort also boasts duty-free shops and sports outlets offering great shopping opportunities.

The resort is low on crowds due to the diverse slopes suitable for all levels of skiers and the strategic placement of lifts, which have an uplift capacity of 16,510 skiers per hour. The longest slope at the resort of Ordino - Arcalis measures two kilometres, while the resort itself features 24kms of pisted runs. There is also a kindergarten and nursery available for children.

Andorra also has other ski resorts in the region including Pal-Arinsal, Soldeu and Pas de la Casa; all located within close reach of each other. Expert skiers looking for more slopes can travel to Soldeu and Pas de la Casa. Europe’s highest capital city at 1,029m is La Vella in Andorra, which is famous for its duty-free status; most of the stores are on Avinguda de Meritxell, the main shopping street.

The Ordino - Arcalis ski season runs from December to April, with mid-January and the beginning and end of the season offering cheaper incentives. The most practical way to get here is to fly to either Barcelona, or Toulouse, and hire a vehicle or take a regular scheduled bus.

Skiing in Ordino Arcalis

The ski resort of Ordino - Arcalis is completely integrated into the Andorran Pyrenees’ natural surroundings and covers a large ski area between the altitudes of 1,940 and 2,620m. Quality and quantity of snow are guaranteed throughout the season due to the resort’s geographical location and orientation.

The resort of Ordino - Arcalis offers 24kms of slopes divided into various levels of difficulty. Beginners get 25 per cent of runs, intermediate skiers get 29 per cent, advanced have 34 per cent and the expert receives eight per cent of the total runs, of which the longest is two kilometres in length. The resort also offers 12kms of cross-country trails.

Early February to mid-March witness the best snow conditions; while the start and end of the season, as well as the period after the New Year celebrations, offer the cheapest rates.

Public transport around the Andorran ski resorts usually involves numerous connections, with driving to the resort a preferred option. However, flying to the airports at Toulouse or Barcelona and hiring a vehicle or taking a bus is the best option when travelling from afar.

Apres-ski in Ordino Arcalis

The Ordino - Arcalis ski resort also provides other winter activities such as snowboarding, mono-skiing and heli-skiing. The local après-ski and nightly entertainment can be enjoyed at a number of cafés and café-bars, while pumping bars and discos can be found at the nearby La Vella.

El Serrat offers the nearest lodging options to the resort, at only four kilometres from the slopes. However the main historic area of Ordino is a charming village with a range of accommodation possibilities and Andorra’s famed duty-free goods. It is here that you’ll also find a number of cafés and restaurants.

Transportation to Ordino Arcalis

The ski resort of Ordino - Arcalis is near to the French border in the north of Andorra. One of the most practical ways of arriving here is to fly to Toulouse in France or Barcelona in Spain and hire a vehicle or transfer by bus. The most convenient option is to take the latter, with more daily buses available from Barcelona. A rail and bus combination, or self-drive from the UK, are alternative ways of getting to the resort.

Travel into Andorra itself is by road only. This is by autoroute via the CG1 from Spain and the CG2 from France. By travelling from France on the CG2, you’ll go through the magnificent Port d’Envalira, the highest pass in the Pyrenees region at 2,410m. From Calais, travel for 1,189kms to Toulouse via Paris and Limoges.

The main highways from Barcelona include the A-18, leaving the city to merge with the C-1411 at Manresa, which carries on north to include the N-260, N-145, CG1 and the CG3 into the village of Ordino. The main highways from Toulouse include the A-64, D-919 and the CG2.

Two hours south of Toulouse lies the French station of LHospitalet-près-lAndorre, the nearest to Andorra itself. A two-hour trip from there to Andorra la Vella via daily bus service, then a connection with a Cooperativa Interurbana bus, will get you to Ordino. In Spain, the station of Puigcerdà is nearest to Ordino at 76kms east of the resort. There are daily bus connections from there to La Vella, via Seu dUrgell.

The Eurostar service runs daily from London Waterloo leaving at 17:09 and arriving at Paris (Nord) at 20:59 daily. An overnight train to LHospitalet-près-lAndorre leaves Paris Austerlitz at 21:56 and arrives the next day at 07:25. A regular bus service runs from here to Andorra la Vella.

The railway stations of LHospitalet, La Tour de Carol and Ax-les-Thermes in France have buses travelling to Andorra, while Barcelona, Burgos, Madrid, Tarragona, Tuy, Valladolid and Zaragoza also provide buses to Andorra from Spain.

The airports at Barcelona and Toulouse-Blagnac are both around 200kms from the village of Ordino. Both are serviced by buses which travel direct to the resort. From Barcelona’s El Prat de Llobregat Airport, buses leave at 10:30, 13:00, 17:00 and 19:45 from terminals A and B, and cost €30 (one-way) or €56 (return). From Toulouse, buses depart at 10:00 and 18:30.

back to ski guides