Why Sierra Nevada?
For the uninitiated, the Sierra Nevada mountains, just outside Granada, are home to Europe’s southern-most ski fields, boasting warm sunshine and probably the longest ski season of any resort in Europe. Oh, and only 1hr from Granada and within a two hour drive from the beach!
During the winter season (which can last from November to April!), the Sierra is a mecca for skiers, snowboarders and winter junkies from Europe and around the world to get in one last run before the summer onslaught. In summer, those same long, downhill runs become excellent mountain biking and hiking trails and sometimes you can even see the Mediterranean sea from the peaks.
Transport
So if you decide you want to enjoy all that the Sierra Nevada has to offer, how do you go about getting there? You really have only two choices: the bus or use your own car.
ALSA is a bus company in Spain which runs an affordable service to the Sierra Nevada snowfields from the main bus station in Granada. Buses leave Granada at 0800 and 1000 and return at 1300 or 1600 daily from the slopes. An adult return ticket will cost you 9 euros, so it’s pretty good value and an easy way to travel. Buses arrive and leave adjacent to the central Plaza de Pradollano, so you’re in the right spot for ski hire, food and to get to your accommodation.
You can also hire a car (or check for a BlaBlacar to get there) and drive from Granada or other surrounds and park at the snowfields. With a car you get the opportunity to stop along the mountain road and take pictures of the scenery and the mobility to come/go as you please. Once you arrive by car, you can either park on the mountain close to your hotel or in paid parking garages underground. Finding a free and available park during the season can be very difficult and even during low season periods, parking on Friday through to Sunday nights will be an “every man/woman/child/dog for themselves” situation. Parking can cost anywhere from 5 – 19 euros per day.
All in all, I’d recommend catching the bus depending on where you’re staying (i.e. in Granada) just due to the convenience and the cost.
Ski/equipment hire and lift tickets
If you’re travelling from outside of Spain and the Sierras is not the focus of your trip, I’m going to take a guess and say you aren’t lugging around a snowboard or ski jacket with you. Researching ski hire for our Sierra Nevada trip didn’t turn up a whole lot, so I really didn’t know what to expect before we arrived. Hopefully, you won’t have the same problem after reading this article……
There are PLENTY of hire shops in Plaza de Pradollano to choose from and you can get everything you need: ski/snowboard boots, skis/boards, jackets, pants, gloves and helmets. Quality obviously varies depending how much you pay but all of my gear appeared to be pretty good. Our friend managed to get a deal from one of the shops (Pascual in Plaza de Pradollano) for 55 euros per day for the whole package including a helmet with a GoPro mount attached. Speaking of which, these appeared to be in short supply. I visited four to five shops before finally picking one up for 8 euros a day at Pascual. I’d also recommend two other shops for hiring gear: Iglu and the British Ski Centre, both around the main plaza. Iglu was advertising skis and boots for 15 euros per day when I was there (I didn’t see their complete package price for pants and jackets, etc) and I hired my gear through the British Ski Centre. These guys speak English and you can book both your equipment and lift passes online to avoid the queues at the ticket office when you arrive and you can pick them up together at the shop. Note you need to order your lift passes at least three days before to allow them time to organise it. I ended up hiring a snowboard and boots for 56 euros for three days and pinched, borrowed and stole clothing from Spanish friends to cut down the costs.
Here are a few things I would suggest if you’re trying to save money on your equipment:
- Gloves, sunglasses (used in place of ski goggles) and beanies can be bought from sellers who will undoubtedly be waiting for you as you leave the bus, but remember to haggle. I bought a pair of glasses for 10 euro but I’m sure I could have gotten them for 8 euro;
- Alternatively, buy your gloves from a ‘Euro’ or bargain store (every town will have one) for between 4 – 10 euros (or haggle for these prices from street sellers when you arrive);
- If you have a lined/thermal, waterproof jacket bring it with you as the temperature was warm throughout the day and I didn’t think a ski jacket was necessary (at least when we were there in early March);
- I borrowed a pair of fleece hiking pants which was more than enough for the weekend and I didn’t freeze once. Though I really missed the padding when I fell on my ass!
- While helmets were pretty common, many people just used either a beanie or didn’t wear anything. Make a call based on your level of experience and your budget but safety should always be a key consideration.
Lift passes will hit you hard at around 40-45 euros per day depending whether it’s high or low season (click here for prices). Visit and ski Monday to Friday if possible during the low season and you’ll save a little on the lift pass and probably accommodation as well.
Accommodation
Through Booking.com, we chose Hotel El Duende, set up the mountain from Plaza de Pradollano and in a top position to get to the lifts. Accommodation on the mountain is divided into different zones: lower (baja zona), middle (media zona) and upper (alta zona). I couldn’t find any information about the different zones and accommodation before I went so I’ll lay it out here for you. From Plaza de Pradollano, the different zones are connected by a series of stairs which are an excellent cardio workout! If you stay in accommodation in the alta zona, you will be walking up probably 5 or 6 flights of stairs with all of your gear and it won’t be pleasant. There is a chair lift which can take you up the mountain, but for those without a lift pass it costs 6.60 euros return PER TRIP. I would definitely recommend places in the lower or middle zones just for their convenience and easy access to all of the lifts/restaurants around the mountain.
Some of the hostels we went past appeared pretty basic but if you are just in Sierra Nevada for the snow and a great weekend with friends, it won’t let you down. It’s no 5 star resort but you won’t get hepatitis… probably.
Restaurants
During our stay we ate at heaps of different places such as pizzerias and the like. But I have to give a shout out to La Antorcha, a restaurant in the media zona which served up one of the best steaks I’ve had anywhere, in or out of Spain. You get this crazy ‘sausage tree’ as an entrée and we followed it up with an amazing steak cooked on a hot stone. Thoroughly recommended but a very busy place so either get there early or make a reservation during the day.
There are also plenty of cafes and cervezerias in and around Plaza de Pradollano with all the usual Spanish cuisine if you’re feeling tapas or bocadillos. Prices vary but expect to pay around 5-7 euro for a bocadillo and slightly more for different platos.
Snow conditions
So what about the actual snow conditions? I can only speak of the conditions in March, which is getting towards the end of the season in April, but it was pretty icy. Overall the runs are long, really well suited to intermediate skiers and boarders and you just can’t beat the sunshine! My only gripe was probably the lack of snowfall and snow cover. Imagine a thick layer of frozen ice with a thinnish layer of powder from the snow guns and you are pretty close to some parts of the resort. But it was March so you can definitely catch better conditions earlier in the season if you are after the powder rush.
Check out the video for an overview of some of the runs and the resort!
Please feel free to leave a comment or add any additional information!
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Reading your post virtually put me on a journey on the snow fields. Loved the hints and guides on the post. These will be a great help to plan my trip … one day…