Whether you’re just starting out or are looking for new peaks to test your prowess – choosing the right destination for a snowboarding trip is absolutely essential. You want to find the best slopes, the most varied terrain, and any off-pisting opportunities, great resorts and great nightlife (well some of us do anyway). Whatever you’re looking for we’re on hand as we pick some of the best snowboarding destinations the world has to offer. There’s a little bit of something for everyone here and once you’ve chosen a destination that suits you all you’ll need is your wallet, gear and snowboarding travel insurance to be safe before you start carving up some fresh snow. So let’s head to the destinations.
Chamonix – France
It might be a fairly obvious choice but Chamonix is still one of the best destinations for snowboarding the world has to offer and it remains the free ride capital of Europe. It’s possibly not the best place for beginners but for more advanced snowboarders it’s paradise with easily accessible off-piste opportunities and miles and miles of challenging terrain. Also the nightlife is fantastic here if you enjoy that kind of thing.
Tignes – France
Our second entry in France is perhaps a little more surprising but for intermediate and beginner boarders this area is perfect. For the more advanced boarder there seems to be off-piste opportunities everywhere as well as some truly epic powdery bowls that will keep you entertained for hours. The area offers great access to nearby runs so there’s plenty of opportunity to explore to your heart’s content.
Breckenridge – Colorado
Breckenridge is able to be everything to everyone almost. For beginners it has miles of incredibly gentle slopes that will let you master the basics very quickly without feeling like you’re careening down a mountain with absolutely no control. For intermediate boarders there are a huge number of more challenging runs as well as more gentle ones but it is for experts that this place really shines. The park is world class and many Olympic teams train here regularly due to the amount of snow fall all year round. Colorado is included in those that can be visited all year round. Off-piste there is plenty of fresh powder and you can easily escape the crowds for something new and exciting.
Banff – Canada
Banff has a very well-deserved reputation for being one of the most excruciatingly extreme places you can ride on earth. The temperature makes freezing look warm, the amount of snowfall is staggering and the isolation is incredible. The area has amazing opportunities both on and off-piste and has some incredible double black diamond runs if you’re feeling very brave. If you’re an advanced boarder this is heaven.
The USA and Canada are great regions for ski – snow reports are handy to confirm where is expected to provide the best chance of a good run.
St.Anton – Austria
St. Anton comes up again and again in lists of great skiing and boarding destinations and there are plenty of reasons why. The village itself is lively and entertaining with some fantastic bars and great restaurants that seem to be lively all day every day. But t is of course the boarding opportunities that draw us here again and again. There are challenging and gentle runs for every level of boarder meaning you can set your own pace completely whilst the off-piste opportunities can throw up something new every day.