Family ski holidays are always special. Seeing your kids make their first few turns on skis or watching them fly down a toboggan run with massive smiles on their faces are memories you’ll never forget.
The research, organisation and weeks leading up to the holiday can be a bit on the stressful side, so we’ve pulled together our top tips to help your family ski holiday run without a hitch...
Most resorts are okay for families, but some are more suitable than others and there are certain things you’ll want to be looking out for before choosing where to go.
Transfers: Shorter transfer times is a really important starting point, particularly if you have smaller kids. Try to get under two hours if you can.
Your accommodation: Try and stay close to the slopes. Being next to the slopes or under 250m will save you a long walk whilst juggling yours and the kids' skis every morning.
Other questions:Is there a dedicated kiddie ski area and does the local ski school cater for your kids’ ages? If you want childcare to give yourselves a bit of a break and a chance to ski or board, are there clubs available for your kids? Are there attractions for kids off the slopes like ice skating, swimming or a cinema?
If it's your first family trip to the slopes, it can get expensive kitting everyone out, so supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl now offer incredibly cheap but pretty good quality winter clothing. You can often kit your child out with winter boots, ski jacket, ski trousers and gloves for around £50. The chances are you could get a couple of year’s use out of them and then stick them on eBay afterwards!
Skis, snowboards and boots are a different story. It makes way more sense to hire these. Each year you can hire a pair of boots and skis or board that is perfectly suited to their size and ability level. It also saves you having carrying it around the airport along with your other luggage.
Ski holidays with toddlers means you can travel outside of the school holidays to enjoy quieter slopes and lower prices too. If you have school aged kids, it’s kind of difficult to avoid the school holidays.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go, just be smart about where you choose. The big named resorts will always be busier so head to lesser known places such as Val di Fassa in Italy or choose smaller, quieter resorts like Arinsal in Andorra.
Where you stay is really important. Firstly, choose what type of accommodation you want. Is ita hotel, catered chalet or apartment. After that, you’ll want to look for closeness to the slopes, larger or interconnecting rooms, games rooms or areas for the kids to run around and play, early meal times and maybe some childcare too.
The Neilson Hotel Del Clos in El Tarter, Andorra is a great example of a family friendly hotel as it ticks all of the above.
If you do plan a ski holiday with childcare for the kids, this gives you the perfect opportunity to spend some child-free time together. You could go off and ski or board together, ortry something off the slopes instead.
If the hotel has a spa or wellness area, treat yourselves to a couples massage or just a lazy afternoon in the sauna and hot tub. Or why not head out on a husky ride through the snowy wilderness (you might have to keep that one from the kids though!)
Booking your holiday earlier in the year not only ensures you get the flight, resort, accommodation and room that you want, it also means you’ll get some of the best deals. Lots of companies (us included) offer early bird incentives such as cheaper lift passes, free child equipment and big discounts on places to stay. Children under a certain age often get free lift passes anyway so look out for those.
There are other ways to save pennies too. Choose a half board or all inclusive hotel over a B&B, head to lower tax resorts such as Andorra and check for things like free Wi-Fi or free afternoon tea.
Going on a family ski trip is super exciting! You’ll create some truly wonderful family holiday memories in the snow that the kids will remember forever.
A good way to get the kids more engaged with their up-coming holiday is to plan a day out at a snow centre to either have a first go at skiing or boarding, or for a refresher from the last time they went. Another fun thing to do is to interview the kids on what they’re expecting from their ski holiday to make a cute clip for your home movie collection.
Take a look at our family ski holidays page for more info and ideas of where to stay.
The slopeside Neilson Hotel Aalborg is our most popular ski hotel with childcare,and it's easy to see why when you look at where it is, the facilities it has and just how good it is for families.
When you're organising a group ski holiday for family and friends, how do you keep within everyone's budget?
Like all sports, skiing and snowboarding has its own language that, as a newbie, you probably won't understand.
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