Ski trip with young family

A snowHead

Hi everyone!

So having intially resigned myself to waiting a year to bring the family skiing, I am predictably having serious pangs, and would love some Snowheads advice on whether we should just go this year, and if so, where.

We have a 6 yr old, 3 yr old, and 10mth old, none of whom have been before Smile

My wife has been once before, I've been lots but the vast majority of that has been snowboarding. In any event, although we may be able to get away the odd afternoon for a 'proper' ski, I did see some advice somewhere I really liked (prob on here) - that your kids will only learn to ski once and its wonderful to be part of it rather than trying to maximise your own time.

So I'd envisage us all taking group lessons together - as I say, its about being there with the kids rather than making great progress ourselves (and prob by day 4 they'll be past us anyway!). Generally it should be a family friendly, snow sure resort, relatively quiet. We would need good creche facilites for the 10 month old. Ideally our accomdation would be right on the slopes and the creche would be in or close to that accomodation to make it easier to check on him. We would also want the option of activities to do in the afternoon/evening with the kids. And of course for as cheap as possible Laughing

I don't think unrealistic on that though and don't intend scrimping too much to compromise on above. Thoughts on sort of budget I should be setting also welcome btw. Flying from Belfast/Dublin.

A snowHead

Fly to Geneva. Rent car. Flaine (very close and snow sure). Easter. Self catering apartment in Flaine Forum. Great for little kids as area to play in snow outside apartments.

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It might not be hideous if you're willing to take your children out of school and go last minute. Although annoyingly they don't do flights from Ireland, could you consider something like Ski Famille? They have some ridiculously good deals last minute, so if even if you have to stump up for childcare (which is available from 4 months), it should still be really good value...

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@fergs, i think you may struggle to get a group lesson together, it will be 4 different skiers at various levels, unless you pay for a private lesson, but even then i would have thought the instructor may advise against it.

your 3 year old would probably be in some form of ski creche

sorry, i cannot advise on any resort that may suit your requirements, but am sure others on here may have good advice

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@fergs, go for it would be my fist thought - we went when our twins were 14-months old!

Personally I'd say avoid group lessons, let the kids do their own thing without you. Seen too many kids acting up in lessons when the parents are "helicoptering" nearby!

Maybe outside of your budget but have a look at the ClubMed options, would tick all your boxes for lessons, piste side, creche and activities.

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Tks for responses. Sorry, yes, I should have clarified, happy to take eldest out of school at this stage in his education, and last minute is an option for us. I'll have a look at these suggestions

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Do not take lessons with your kids. That way madness lies.

Go to Grächen - lessons next to the free creche and enough to keep you busy for a proper ski a few hours per day.

After all it is free

As Frejul mentioned Easter is a great time, we've always had great snow (as long as you pick the right resort/ski area) and the benefit of kids not getting too cold cannot be overstated Wink

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@fergs, We've done this flying from Dublin. Cannot recommend Centrale Ski School in Livigno enough. Our 3 year old did two weeks of their 'Ski and Play' course and was skiing pretty competently after a few days, as well as messing about and having a load of fun. The ski school is integrated with the creche and the kids area at lift 23 backs right onto the town (at 1800m, so always good snow). It's fenced off and separate from the main runs so totally safe, and there are a couple of magic carpets. There are a load of ski-in accommodation options within a few metres of the ski school. You're close to a lot of lifts and it's easy to get up the mountain for a quick hour when you can. Plenty for kids and adults to do in town after skiing too (great pool with slides, spas, ice rinks, loads of shops, bars, restaurants etc.) It's also incredibly good value compared to other options I looked at.

The downside is a long transfer with kids, but it's worth it for us. Also February will be out this year with the olympics, but March and Easter will probably be fine.

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4 is a much better age to start than 3. Also, the difference between a "just three" and a "nearly 4" is huge. With a 3 year old an instructor is likely to be spending a lot of time skiing backwards in front of them holding their skis in a snowplough position, and the 6 year old (a great age to start) will be bored rigid. The average 3 (or even 4) year old will moan and grizzle if parents there to respond, whereas they are likely to just do what they're told with an instructor. One of my grandchildren was a nightmare at barely 3, with a highly experienced skier mother. The brat just wanted to whizz straight down hill as fast as possible and have mother overtake her, turn round and catch her before helping her back up the magic carpet. With an instructor, the following year, she was as good as gold, did what she was told and was controlling her speed down blue runs by the end of the week.

Put 3 and 4 year old in ski school (as suggested, probably a "ski creche" for the 3 year old) and you and your wife have private lessons together. Unless she's very sporty you, as an experienced snowboarder, will learn a lot faster though.

@Nadenoodlee's suggestions sounds perfect. Don't go in school holidays unless either you or your wife is a teacher!

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We are on our second week with Ski Famille in 14 days and would massively recommend it for your family setup. It costs but what doesn't with kids!

Some of their offers look great. https://www.skifamille.co.uk/offers/

You know it makes sense.

Third-ing Ski Famille - they are absolutely perfect for your set up as the 3 year old can be with the nannies if they don't want to ski. We had 3 very successful trips with SF when ours were similar ages; worth every penny.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Thanks for the responses, lots of pointers there - and I think we're all agreed group lessons for us altogether are a great idea... Toofy Grin

The key is that creche for the baby - it needs to be right at where we are skiing, and ideally that would also be where we are staying. Interesting that Livigno could be the solution - I've been there loads (sans family!) and love it but had thought this may be an opportunity to go elsewhere.

And will def have a look on the operator websites then, a lot to be said for having it organised for you!

A snowHead

My personal take, and what we did, was go on a fun snowy winter holiday to the Jura and the Alps and incorporate some skiing. Don`t think of it as a ski holiday.

Your 6 year old, if outgoing and gregarious could benefit from ski school (in English) if you feel that best, your 3 year old will likely just love spending time with Mum & Dad on the snow, the baby obviously won`t be out on the slopes Smile

We largely taught our kids to ski by taking them along with us, and honestly I have the best memories!! Our grandchildren are now learning and the oldest ones have started a bit late due to covid, really only starting on the slopes in the US at 3 & 5. I still had a blast watching them begin a couple of years back and picking them up from snowdrifts!

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@fergs,
Use a family friendly tour operator to sort everything out & avoid the stress. You can go cheaper when the kids grow up.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@fergs,

Have a look at this lovely Anglo-French operator for families.
https://www.snowbizz.co.uk/

We went 11 times, my kids became tidy skiers through their (non ESF) school, all the instructors are fluent English speakers. Costs such as ski rental and lift passes are modest by Alps standards. Either look at their travel options, or fly independently and hire a car from Grenoble, Turin or even Marseilles (we alternated depending on cost and flight times). Some bargains to be had on flying to Marseilles. Families kept coming back to Snowbizz. Puy St Vincent has a lovely feel.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@fergs, the Ski Famille stuff looks good above.

If you wanted another option, and I've no idea about flights from Belfast/Dublin to Austria, the Kinderhotels in several resorts are exactly what you're after in terms of crèche for the littlest one and loads of amazing kids facilities, pools etc.

They're not cheap but very good. They're not cheap but you get a lot with them. A great family resort with a well rated Kinderhotel is Serfaus.

It's got an incredible kids area which is at good altitude so guaranteed good snow (about 2000m I think). We went there with a 4 year old and 1.5 year old a long time back and they have lots of snow fun stuff (not just skiing) at the children's snow garden which was great fun. Roundabouts where they get swung the snow in inflatable doughnut type things etc.

Might not work for you but here's a link to the one in Serfaus:

https://www.loewebaer.com/en

After all it is free

Oh and I agree with others above, joint lessons for your whole group isn't practical, but with good kids instructors they'll enjoy it Very Happy

When I started researching my first ski trip and considering paying a private instructor to teach all four of us, the overwhelming advice was that children learn far better in groups with their peers. It's age appropriate, it's fun, and they pick it up quickly.

We opted for Austria where ski school is all day (with a break for lunch where we met them, fed them, and returned them to ski school at 1.30). However, I understand your point about wanting to spend time with your family. In France, lessons are 2.5 hours. They'll be done by 12, and then you still have the whole day ahead of you for family time. This can be skiing on the nursery run if they're up for it (mine were 6 and 8 their first time and loved showing off what they'd learned on the nursery slope), playing in the snow building snowmen and snow castles, or getting off the snow altogether and going swimming.

What worked for us was having the kids in group lessons and then we paid for a private instructor for my husband and I to share. As your wife has been once before, will she want some top up tuition? Could be that the baby goes into creche for the morning, wife and bigger ones go into lessons and you get the opportunity to hit some more challenging runs. If your wife just had a couple of days tuition, you could then have some quality time together on the slopes whilst the kids are in creche/lessons later in the week. Something as simple as a gentle ski/board to somewhere on the mountain for a peaceful coffee together before heading back for pick up.

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My child is 8, he has been every year bar COVID starting at 9 months old. He was 2 when he skied properly first.

My top tips.
Go somewhere relatively low altitude, it's easier on the little ones. Short not too twisty transfer if you are flying (we have a travel sick problem). We flew the first few years and have driven since 2022. Private lessons, these are really worth it. We don't like the 9am lessons, people seem to fight over them but afternoon has worked best for our child as it is much more relaxed getting up and ready. Take them out of school. We go in January primarily as it fits in with our work but it has the bonus of being quieter. Go to a family focused resort rather than an apres ski resort. We like Les Gets, they cannot help you enough with small children there and everything is family friendly. If you go into it with a fun family holiday attitude rather than must ski every waking hour attitude you will enjoy it more. Having our little one has hugely enhanced our ski holidays, he has been great fun to take out and about. He now skis better than his dad and I suspect won't be long before he out skis me too.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

On the above note about later lessons. Last year we went at February half term for the first time (usually Christmas and Easter), so the ski school we used had lunchtime group lessons from 1130 to 2pm. Hands down our favourite lesson time we've had. As pointed out, a more chilled start to the day.

Mine were 13 and 11 at the time so what that looked like in reality was them and their dad sleeping in, me up early and on one of the first lifts, getting in a couple of hours of skiing, before either meeting them at the meet point (along with my husband), or going back to the apartment for my lunch/their breakfast. Genuinely a real shame that it isn't an option at Easter.

If you go for Austria, and the full days, they're pretty chill about missing half a day if your child needs a break. My then 6 year old woke up crying on the Wednesday night, so tired out, and asked if he could take the morning off. We said yes. I explained to his instructor when I dropped his brother off, and they were fine with it. After a morning playing with toys at the apartment, and some lunch, he was quite happy to rejoin his class for the afternoon.
Other times parents would pull them out of the pm group because they wanted to ski together.

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Lunchtime is the ideal time to ski at half term, when everybody is making the restaurants horribly overcrowded!

+ 1 for Snowbizz as the resort they go to Puy St Vincent is perfect for your family and they will offer excellent childcare for the 19 month old, a short ski lesson plus childcare for the three year old and normal length ski school for the 6 yr old. If the set up is still the same the accommodation is at the foot of the slope and they have their own ski school. You definitely need to book adult lessons for yourselves.

alternatively look at Ski Famille or the Family Ski company who are both long established but I haven’t personally used them.

We went with Snowbizz when our two were 3 and 5 and both kids had an excellent time. From the next year onwards we used Peak retreats who offer higher standard self catering with pool etc in a larger range of French resorts and used ESF childcare and ski lessons.

Both children who are now adult still come on family ski holidays and the youngest is also going on her uni ski trip this year.

You know it makes sense.

If you are prepared to go in term time when prices are a bit more reasonable Clubmed can be actually a really good option for you. Our kids loved it when they were small as did the adults as there is something for everyone. We first went self catering when our younger one was just under two, he didn’t ski that year and we shared a nanny with another family and the older one was 5 and went to ski school. Next year we did Clubmed , and although they started lessons only from 4 yr old , there was an excellent ski nursery for our younger one just next door , and the year after that they were both in Clubmed ski school and loved it. The great thing is about that they had lots of other activities, kids club, lessons for adults at every level and of course food all included so this is as easy with kids as it can get.. l know there are lots of Clubmeds now that offer crèche for babies too. As our kids grew and so did the prices, we stopped using Clubmed years ago, but it was good while it lasted

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@fergs, adults and kids learn differently.

Neither of the private instructors that I used for my kids would have accepted the parents hanging around the lesson, for good reason. It affects the kids behaviour and undermines the instructor. Imagine asking to sit in on your kids lessons at school.

Most importantly, you’ll hold your kids back!

A snowHead

I've taken my daughter who just turned 4, and 10yo last 3 years running. Easter so it's warmer, cheaper, not busy even in UK holidays. Choose glacier resorts so there is skiing.
Though at 4 we are now going in Feb out of school, to get better conditions for the red slope 10yo 4th time.

At 1 i just carried her around a few walks and gondolas. Playgrounds in the valley. 1 chair that is used for mountain bikes in summer let her go on my lap in baby bjorn and me in trainers, to a mountain hut restaurant. I did that after getting a hour or so best of the snow in the AM whilst she's in crèche. Push her to sleep around the town after early lunch. Then ski again around 3-4:30 pm. Plus I got an evening or 2 solo night skiing.

At 2 we tried snow bike, little plastic skis that tie around the trainers. Sledding etc...plus crèche and swimming/soft play.

3 years + the ESF will take them in club piou piou. Parents can stay though IMO they all did better without parents watching. On gated off private kids areas. Hemel snow centre did 30 min private taster lesson from 3yo. Group lesson 1 hour from 4.
2 hour a day lesson in resort a day is enough, I think all day might be too much at that age. We just did morning 2 hours piou piou at 3yo. She was using the magic carpet and snowplough turning just about on 50m at a time by the end.

6 year old+ can do group lessons in Most places. Having a few snow centre lessons before is well worth it. Again 2 hours might be enough in resort then lunch and ski with parents/friends a bit after

We've always stopped for lunch to give them a break. Apply plenty of sun cream and glasses / protection from sun. Especially in Easter for kids. Gloves on wrist straps. Lip balm etc. Check their boots are comfy and not catching as they might not tell you.

In many resorts 5yo under are free lift pass anyway and discounted in hotels. I think it's great to start them any age.

Crèche, kids clubs and evening entertainment is good plan. Swimming pool also great though many resorts have public ones if your accommodation doesn't. Personally I wouldn't want to do self catering with youngsters. We've done half board or full board for convenience. I also fly (free car seat stuffed with boots, nappies, free stroller to the planes gate) then hire a car with winter tyres. Though coach, train or taxi could work.

I can highly recommend sporting hotel in passo tonale. Next to a long blue chairlift, private baby slope, water park, great food, soft play and good crèche, and small snow sure glacier (though it's a fairly limited ski area overall if bad snow trashes lower areas). Enough for beginners though. Great ski school near the hotel.

Then MMV hotels can be good. Particularly la plagne 2 domaines we used. Pool, kids club, crèche, buffet food. They have other hotels too. I can advise more if anyone interested

A snowHead

A I would recommend a German or Austrian kinderhotel. Mia alpina in fugen is great for little kids. Activities in the hotel for the kids and the ski domaine isn’t huge but very beginner friendly.

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Thanks so much for all the responses, really helpful and lovely to hear about your experiences with your (in many cases now grown up) kids.

I'll do more research this week and provide an update in case of use to others. I think it does make sense to get an operator to take care of as much as possible, but theres a few things to be clarified. One thing theres unanimity on though is that separate lessons are the way forward so thats v much taken on board!

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Try Montgenevre. I'm pretty sure ESF runs a nursery for 6 months plus which would be beside the ski school meeting points.
The 3 year old could do ESF Piou Piou in their enclosed garden beside the nursery.
For the 6 year old and adults I would suggest lessons with the APEAK ESI school (beside ESF).
Ryanair flies out of Dublin to Turin. Transfer is 90 mins or less if all goes well.
Look at the 2nd and 3rd weeks in March to avoid school holidays. Snow should be fine.
You could try Go Montgenevre for accommodation. They'll have a range of good quality apartments which will suit your family size.
Someone else mentioned Flaine which would also be a good option. Flights out of Dublin with Aer Lingus or Swiss to Geneva and a short transfer.
Any chance these is a grandparent that would be happy to tag along and help with some of the childminding?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Just to add on the separate lessons thing, you can still very much be a part of their learning journey once they are able to ski a few runs with you after Morning group lessons and a quick lunchbreak. You’ll be amazed how quickly they’ve improved and still get to take them to practice their skills. Plus it would be a long week without a little bit of grown up time to stretch your legs.

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A 3yr old won't have the will, attention span, or energy to take on skiing lessons.
They like sliding a bit, but love playing in the snow.
Put the 2 young ones into a childcare or leave them with relatives or on the step of a hospital.

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I can depend on the child but do in general agree that 3 is on the young side. However, my 3 year old did manage 2 separate weeks of morning and afternoon lessons in a nursery area with her 6 year old sister in a separate group with us watching on. It was 2 months before her 4th birthday the first time and 2 weeks before the second time and we managed to get her on the chair and do an easy blue towards the end of the holiday.

The critical moment was on the second day were the instructors were looking for some progress to move some of them on and despite them speaking good English there was an inevitable communication barrier you would have with a 3 year old. It was sorted by me taking her out of the lesson and pulling her skis about to explain that pizza only stops you if you also edge the ski! Once that was sorted she really enjoyed herself and quickly progressed through each group in the nursery area. Had she not got that concept when we took her out to explain I think would probably would have bailed out and let her sledge instead. So there are quite fine margins at this age. Some in the first clearly weren't ready for it and produced a constant stream of tears, bless.

After all it is free

Yes good point, at 3 mine did 2 hr daily Ski Tasters within the Creche I think.

My partner is swedish, so we took our 2 boys to Salen in Sweden for their first few years skiing, starting at ages 3 and 6. Loads of instructors available for both group and private lessons, and the resort is all geared up around kids. Valle the snowman regularly making appearances around the resort which the kids loved. Lots of kid friendly ski trails, with outdoor shows to enterntain them. And many warm huts where you can stop off for a picnic lunch. Loads of stuff to do in resort too like water park, cinema, bowling etc.

They're 9 and 13 now, very confident skiiers and we now go to the alps which they love. But sweden was a perfect place for them to start, I have many fond memories of salen. A really special time Very Happy

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Tks for all the recommendations and tips - even yours Frosty Laughing

going at the start of Feb with Snowbizz Very Happy

There were some incredible options above, and will be revisiting in future, but this seemed most suitable this year. The catered Ski Famille was definitely appealing and their offers are good value even with the addition of flights from Ireland, but none for the week that suits us. Everything being close by, family centric, and organised for us made Snowbizz the best option.

So now just to get sorted on this side, and hope for decent snow. Any tips on Puy St Vincent or further tips for getting us all through it are v welcome!

Help!!

Ski trip with young family

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