Home/By Occasion/Beginners in Davos Klosters

Best for beginners

Best Ski Resorts for Beginners in Davos Klosters

Klosters is the better base for beginners in Davos Klosters, because the sunny, gentle Madrisa mountain above the village is one of the friendliest learning hills in Graubunden. Davos works too, with the Bolgen nursery slopes at the edge of town and the quiet Rinerhorn for week two. I will be straight with you though: this big, spread out region was built for skiers who already turn, so a group of pure beginners should think hard before paying Swiss prices for terrain they cannot use yet.

By the Ski Resorts for Kings editorial team · Last reviewed June 2026

What matters

Learning to ski in a big mountain region

Davos Klosters spreads roughly 300 km of pistes across five separate mountains above one big town and one pretty village. For a beginner that scale is mostly irrelevant in week one: what you need is a calm nursery area, a patient ski school and snow you can trust. The region delivers all three, just not everywhere, which is why your choice of base matters more here than in a compact resort.

The snow itself is a strength, and as someone who plans trips around snow quality I do not say that lightly. The bases sit high, Davos at around 1,560 meters, and much of the skiing is higher still, so the learning areas stay cold and consistent from mid December to mid April. You will be learning on properly wintry snow, not the thin sugary cover that low resorts serve up.

The honest tradeoff is cost and logistics. This is Switzerland, so passes, lessons and lunches are expensive, and moving between the five mountains means trains and buses. Beginners who stay close to their chosen nursery hill will barely notice. Beginners who expect to wander everywhere on skis will be frustrated.

A snow covered mountain range at dusk in Switzerland — The high Graubunden peaks keep the snow cold and reliable

An instructor teaching a young child to ski on a gentle slope — The Madrisa above Klosters is built for first turns

A Swiss alpine village of chalets on a snowy hillside — Klosters keeps its quiet chalet village character

The ranking

Our beginner picks for Davos Klosters

Ranked on nursery terrain, ski school quality, snow reliability on the learning slopes and how kind the base is to tired new skiers at 4 pm.

Klosters and the Madrisa

The village base | the learning mountain

A gentle, sunny mountain above a quiet, pretty village, the clear beginner winner.

Klosters wins because the Madrisa is everything a learning hill should be: sunny, gentle, uncrowded and self contained, with a gondola from the village edge and a ski school that has taught generations of children, including royal ones. Nothing up there intimidates, and the wide blues let you progress without ever feeling hunted by faster traffic.

It beats Davos because the village is calmer and prettier, and because the Madrisa is a better shaped mountain for first weeks than anything on the Davos side. The catch is the quiet evenings; if you want busy apres, you are in the wrong ranking anyway.

Davos and the Bolgen

The town base | nursery slopes at the door

A big alpine town with dedicated nursery slopes and every convenience.

Davos is the practical pick. The Bolgen nursery area sits right at the edge of town below the Jakobshorn, the ski schools are large and professional, and the town gives you pools, shops, restaurants and trains for the off hours, which matter more than you think in a learning week.

The honest catch is atmosphere. Davos is a working alpine city, not a chocolate box village, and the best progression terrain is a bus or train ride away once you outgrow the Bolgen.

The week two plan: Rinerhorn, then Parsenn

The progression route | where you go next

The quiet Rinerhorn for confidence, then the long Parsenn blues as the reward.

This pick is a route, not a base. Once you can link turns, ride out to the Rinerhorn, the quietest family mountain in the region, and spend a day or two on its relaxed runs. Then take the Parsenn funicular and cruise the famous broad blues from the ridge, some of the longest easy descents in the Alps.

That progression, nursery hill to quiet mountain to legendary cruising, is what makes Davos Klosters worth Swiss prices for a fast learning group. Slow learners should bank on a second trip for the Parsenn.

Compared at a glance

The beginner shortlist

Base	Learning area	Character	Best for	The verdict
Klosters	Madrisa	Quiet, pretty chalet village	First timers, families	The best learning mountain in the region.
Davos	Bolgen, then Rinerhorn	Big alpine town	Convenience, mixed groups	Practical, with more for the off hours.

Both bases share one lift pass and a short train ride. For the full region picture, read our Davos Klosters region guide.

Save on the extras

Book the learning week well

Swiss learning weeks reward planning. Expect a full area day pass in the region of $75 to $90, though beginners can often start on cheaper sector tickets for the Madrisa or Bolgen, and only upgrade once the whole region opens up to them. Book lessons before you travel for February, and remember the brilliant trains: Zurich is roughly a 2 hour 30 minute to 3 hour transfer, and the rail line runs right into both Davos and Klosters, so this is one of the easiest Alpine regions to reach without a car.

Book the extras and save

Lessons, lift passes, transfers and ski hire are where a learning trip quietly leaks money. Booking ahead almost always beats the resort window price.

Find lessons Compare lift passes Reserve ski hire Book a transfer Travel insurance

Keep planning

Related guides

Read the full Davos Klosters region guide and our resort reviews of Davos and Klosters before choosing a base. Traveling with children? Our Davos Klosters for families guide covers childcare and the family mountains. If you are still comparing Swiss regions for a first week, see the best beginner resorts in Graubunden, and Davos vs St Moritz settles the canton's oldest rivalry.

Questions worth asking

Davos Klosters beginner FAQs

Is Davos Klosters good for beginners?

It is good for beginners who choose their base carefully. The Madrisa above Klosters and the Bolgen slopes in Davos are excellent learning areas with reliable high altitude snow. The wider region suits intermediates and experts best, so pure beginner groups pay for a lot of terrain they will not use in week one.

Should beginners stay in Davos or Klosters?

Klosters. The Madrisa is the best beginner mountain in the region, sunny and gentle with a gondola from the village edge, and the village itself is calm and pretty. Davos is the more practical town with nursery slopes at its edge, and it suits mixed groups who want more going on in the evenings.

How much does a beginner week in Davos Klosters cost?

This is Switzerland, so budget realistically: a full area day pass runs around $75 to $90, and lessons and lunches are priced to match. Sector tickets for the learning areas cost less than the full pass, and starting on those for the first days saves real money.

Is the snow reliable for learning?

Yes, among the most reliable in the Alps. The bases sit high, around 1,560 meters in Davos, the learning areas are higher still, and the season runs dependably from mid December to mid April. Beginners here learn on cold, consistent winter snow rather than thin low altitude cover.

How do you get to Davos Klosters?

Zurich is the nearest major airport, roughly 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours away, and the Swiss rail network runs directly into both Davos and Klosters. The train is genuinely competitive with a private transfer here, which is rare in the Alps.

Where do you go after the nursery slopes?

The Rinerhorn first, a quiet family mountain with relaxed runs, then the Parsenn, whose long broad blues from the ridge are some of the finest easy descents in the Alps. That progression is the real payoff of learning in this region.

Have it arranged

Tell us the dates. We price the trip.

If you want a Davos Klosters learning week priced by specialists, give us the dates, group and budget below and we will route your brief to operators who know Graubunden. No fee to you, ever.

Every brief is read by a real planner. You will hear back within two working days, in season.

Free and no obligation. Your brief goes to vetted operators only, never to advertisers.