Booking a lesson in Sierra Nevada should not be a form you send and forget. Every trip is different: a family with children aged 4 and 11 does not need the same thing as two friends who already ski reds, or someone coming up from Granada for a single day. At Explora School & Club the booking is the start of a conversation. The more you tell us, the better we can advise.

The request comes in online. We confirm by email, we do not charge upfront and, if needed, we continue on WhatsApp or phone. The aim is not to sell you the longest format. It is to make the day work.

Why it matters that you write to us

A time slot on a chart does not know if it is your first time, if the group mixes levels, whether you sleep in Pradollano or in the city, or if you have to collect rental gear at 8:30 am. That information changes the recommendation.

Tell us, even in two lines:

Dates, number of people and ages (especially if there are children)
Real level: first time, greens, blues, reds… no need to dress it up
Ski, snowboard or telemark; if you have not decided yet, say so
Where you are staying (Pradollano, nearby or Granada)
Whether you need rental equipment and what time you can be at the resort

With that we can say whether a 2-hour private, 3 hours or a Full Day fits, whether the group should stay together or split, and how to time the lift pass and rental so you do not lose the lesson in queues.

If you want to compare formats yourself, there is the lesson-type guide and the rate chart. Advice is for when the table cannot answer: “we are coming on a Saturday with two adults and a beginner child” or “we only have the morning”.

How booking with Explora works

1. You choose a product, dates and group size at Book, or you write to us directly.

2. We get the email. If a detail is missing, we ask. If the format is a poor fit, we suggest another.

3. We confirm instructor, time and meeting point.

4. On the day, the instructor wears the Explora uniform. On a Full Day we can pick you up and drop you off on request, at the resort.

There is no online payment. The lesson is confirmed when both of us have a clear plan. Book before 1 November 2026 for 10% pre-season off.

Accommodation: we do not sell hotels, we do give direction

We do not take hotel bookings. We do tell you what fits your lesson and Sierra Nevada’s clock.

Pradollano (the resort village) shortens the morning: you park, rent, collect your pass and go up. It is the most comfortable option with children or if your lesson starts at 10:00 am.

Granada and the valley villages are often better value. The drive is about 30 km / 40 minutes on the A-395 if traffic is clear. You need an early start: in peak season, between parking, gondola queues and gear, you may need 90 minutes in Pradollano before lesson time. We explain it in getting there.

If you stay in a resort hotel and book a Full Day, we can arrange pick-up and drop-off on request. Tell us the hotel name when you book; we do not improvise it on the day in the gondola queue.

We will not recommend a specific hotel blindly. We ask about budget, dates and whether you would rather stay up the mountain or go down to Granada at night, and we give honest criteria.

Equipment rental: José Luis Sáez and 20% with Explora

The lesson does not include skis, board, boots or poles. You bring your own or you rent.

We recommend José Luis Sáez, next to the Al-Andalus and Borreguiles gondolas, in Pradollano. As an Explora student you get 20% off: mention it when you pick up. Bring ID. Directions to the rental shop.

At peak dates (long weekends, Christmas, Easter) rental books out. Collect with time to spare, not 15 minutes before the lesson. Gear that is the wrong stiffness for your weight and level slows learning more than an impatient instructor. If it is your first time, tell us and we will help with size and flex.

Helmet: strongly recommended; essential for children.

Lift pass: it is separate, and the type must match your lesson

Cetursa sells the lifts. Explora sells the teaching. Everyone who goes up — children included — needs their own lift pass.

The easiest way is to buy online at sierranevada.es. On the day you can collect it at the machines in the car parks and at the Village chairlift (Silla del Pueblo), or at Plaza de Andalucía. Add the resort accident insurance: it is a small cost and we recommend it.

The pass type has to match the timetable:

A 2-hour or afternoon 3-hour lesson: a half-day or short-hours pass can be enough, depending on what the resort offers that season
A Full Day, or skiing on your own as well: a full-day pass

A classic mistake is buying a half-day pass when the lesson runs until 4:00 pm. Another is arriving at the ticket office at 9:40 am on a Saturday. If you tell us the lesson time and whether you will keep skiing afterwards, we will say which pass fits.

What we want to spare you

Arriving late because the pass or the rental ate the morning. Booking 2 hours when the group needs a Full Day, or the other way round. Putting a beginner in the same private with someone already on blacks. Sleeping in Granada with no road margin. Not mentioning a 3-year-old.

All of that is solved beforehand, by talking. That is why we push email and WhatsApp: it is not paperwork. It is the actual job.

Tell us about your trip and we will build the plan

Book online, write on WhatsApp or use contact. With dates, group size and a little context we will propose a lesson, gear logistics, lift pass and, if you need it, accommodation criteria. Then you only have to arrive in time and enjoy the snow.