Arinsal

42° 34' 19.45" N 1° 29' 2.07" E [42.5721, 1.4839] (KML)

The main road up from La Massana [S] [M] which itself is up from Andorra La Vella [M].

There is a bus service between Arinsal [M] and Andorra La Vella [M], passing through La Massana [S] [M]. It is not very regular so it is worth checking the timetable before planning any trips. The cost is reasonable.

The road continues up out of the village and stops about another 1 or 2 up at another hotel. Then there is a semi-private road that winds up the mountain for about 3 or 4 miles to the top station of the cable car lift.

There is great mountain scenery all around and it is a really good location for starting out on any hiking or climbing trip.

The highest mountain Pic de Coma Pedrosa [S] in Andorra at 2942 metres (9,665 ft) is located in this area.

During the ski season which is approximately December to March or so, you can go skiing. There is a cable car up to the Arinsal [M] ski area which is located quite centrally in the village.

Arinsal [M] and Pal [S]

Arinsal [M] and nearby Pal [S] offer good skiing for both the novice and the intermediate skier, and first time skiers often head for Arinsal and Pal [S] for their first holiday or two before heading for Soldeu [S] [M] and Pas de la Casa [S] [M].

Arinsal [M] is a little different from Soldeu [S] [M] and Pas de la Casa [S] [M] too in that it has quite a few full time residents and the villages are 'year round' while the others are fairly seasonal. For this reason Arinsal and Pal [S] can be the perfect answer to those who are embarking on their first ski holiday as there is more than just skiing, Ordino [M] and her first class sports centre is easily accessed for example, and if you decide skiing isn’t for you, you do have other choices too.

Also the capital Andorra La Vella [M] is reachable by public transport, and the duty free shopping and department stores.

Arinsal [M] is good too for snowboard activities with a freestyle area.

Outside of the ski season you can hike around the mountains.

There are ski and snowboard shops in Arinsal [M] as well as a couple of supermarkets, but for the best shopping head for Andorra la Vella.

There is a very good range of restaurants in Arinsal [M]. If you want to try the local Catalan cuisine, there are several options including El Bosc, 360, and The Rocky. For international tastes, there is Surf (Argentinian Steak), Cisco's (Mexican), El Moli [S] pub & restaurant (pizza, pasta, burger, salad, thai curries, kids menu) and Quo Vadis (Pub Grub & Italian) to name just a few.

Arinsal [M] has many bars to choose from, and most are family friendly. Starting from the top, you have...

• The Rocky.  
• El Moli [S], Situated right in the centre of the Arinsal [M] Village opposite the Gondola, ☎ +376 835281, [1]. special prices on beer, après ski, live music, international Dj's, Sky Sports, free Wi-Fi ...  
• Bogarts.  
• Quo Vadis.  
• El Cau.  
• Surf.  
• Black Bull.  
• The Derby.  
• Bar Solana.  

• Hotel Arinsal [S] [M], (+376) 835 640.
• Princesa Park [S], (+376) 736 500.
• Aparthotel Crest [S], (+376) 835 866.
• Hotel Palarine [S], (+376) 835410.

• Aparthotel Poblado. Above the Quo Vadis pub. Clean simple rooms. Free Ski and Boot lockers, 2 minutes from Gondola. Rooms on roadside can suffer from traffic noise, gondola side rooms have white noise from the river. Very convenient for skiing, just grab your boots and skis from the locker and walk to Gondola.  

Text content was last edited at 11:28, on 9 April 2010 by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by David, Keith, Terence and Todd VerBeek, Wikitravel user(s) Scpccb, Burmesedays and Matthewbowyerau and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. A list of contributors is available at the original article on Wikitravel. This text content is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0.