Hi,
I'm looking at a 4 day trip from Tuesday or Wednesday April 18th or 19th with my 3 year old son. Any resort/hotels/ski school suggestions?
My son is pretty good on skis and can get up and down a magic carpet by himself for the most part. Any well regarded ski school should do the trick for him, but I guess a big factor is what ski schools learning areas will still have snow by then.
I've looked around and seem to be narrowing in on Obergurgl, Val Thorens or maybe Lech/Oberlech as good snow sure options. (Some other options I looked at like Ski2 in Champoluc and Powder Byrne in Zurs finish up the week before.) Tignes is another option but seems similar to VT and an extra 25 min drive.
Am I missing any places? There seem to be good hotel options in all the resorts that are convenient to the ski schools. The transfer time to Val Thorens is longer than from Innsbruck to Obergurgl or Oberlech, and VT is definitely less attractive place, but I can be swayed either way really. Does anyone have any idea of how much snow is usually on the ground at resort/ski school level in these places by mid to late April? Or any standout experiences with little ones in those ski schools?
Thanks a lot!
Marc
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Saas Fee - you wont find a better beginners area and it is pretty snow sure. Ski school is good with youngsters too, although they normally like then all to start on a Monday
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@marcs44, sounds like you are flying? You could look at Scandinavia. Snow should still be good, and it caters well for families. Mid-week, I think flying to Oslo and going to Trysil, Norway would be best (flights for Åre to Ostersund or Trondheim probably won't be as good). You will need to book accommodation for Sunday-Sunday, but should be cheap that week. Check out the skistar website.
Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated. I've done more research and keep coming back to Obergurgl. In terms of transfer times,convenience, the ski school and hotels with kids clubs it seems to tick the most boxes. Now I just need to decide between some of the hotels with kids clubs - Edelweiss & Gurgl, Lohmann - or maybe the Esprit chalets.
Thanks
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@marcs44, Esprit you will need to do a full week.
We have booked Esprit going out on 16th April to their place in Val d'Isere.
@marcs44, we stayed at the Edelweiss & Gurgl apartments from the 10th April for one week last year. Think the apartments are called Gletscher Blick. Really nice apartments, very modern and great location. Resort was very empty (second to last week), in fact a few hotels were already closed. Only problem with the apartments is that to use the hotel pool you have to pay each time which we thought was a bit of a rip off but to be honest we would use the apartments again they were so nice. Ski school is just over the road 20m and boot room at hotel very convenient.
Hotel seemed nice, mainly English. But as I didn't stay there I cannot comment on the rooms. We prefer apartments with the kids.
Easy easy runs. Lots of cruising on easy blues and reds. Blacks are like reds. Great place for kids.
Oh and snow was good given how late in the season it was.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Hi,
Just reviving this thread as I haven't had a chance to plan anything until now....
Given the current conditions around would Obergurgl or Tignes/Val Thorens be a better bet for next week? From looking at webcams the French resorts look a bit snowier at resort level.
Thanks a lot,
Marc
After all it is free
After all it is free
Quote:
You could look at Scandinavia. Snow should still be good, and it caters well for families. Mid-week, I think flying to Oslo and going to Trysil, Norway would be best
Out of curiosity how long does it take to get from the airport to Trysil (either via some form of public transport or cab/minibus)?
I seem to remember reading it took 2.5 hours, which is a bit off-putting, which is a shame as it looks like a good resort for us (for next year now).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@vjmehra, about 2.5 hours by cab, maybe longer in a bus. Not that bad a transfer. Hire a car and drive yourself. Dead easy driving in Scandinavia. Whatever you do, don't speed - fines are hooorendous.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I'm not sure I've ever done a transfer that long! Definitely not with a 3 year old...its a shame as Trysil looks interesting, but combined with the flight that will be too long a transfer (in that respect Are is fantastic, although as @Themasterpiece mentioned the flights are less regular).
Is there anywhere else in Scandinavia that has a good number of greens and is a bit closer to the airport? (we're pretty keen to return to Are, but no harm in planning another trip too
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@vjmehra, nowhere springs to mind with direct flights from the UK. Maybe some of the small resorts near Bergen e.g., Myrkdalen (not been but want to). There are a number of places if you change in Stockholm, such as Vemdalen (or any number of resorts around there) from Sveg airport, although most Swedes will drive 5-7 hours from Stockholm to get to Sälen and the places further north. There's Hemavan where we are right now - I can see the runway from our room. But more faff than Åre.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
I think Vemdalen you can fly into Ostersund too and its a similar transfer time as Are actually, so may check that out.
I thought about flying into Bergen, but I'm not familiar with any of the resorts and a quick google suggested the transfer times could be quite long too (I gave up pretty quickly to be fair, so hopefully someone with better knowledge than me has had better luck)!
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
In Trysil now. There is snow and it should last if the temps stay where they are. All lifts and runs are able to be opened. Snow (rain) is forecast over the next few days.
The drive is a doddle. The trip should really be shorter than 2 1/2 hours from the airport but the speed limits are rather conservative for the roads and there are a few cameras albeit marked but some are average speed ones. There is a bus that runs directly to the main resort drop off point from Gardermoen airport but we rented a car.
Loads of nippers about. Our 6 year old is in ski school on the Hoyfjellssenter where there are several green runs that beginners can easily access. Most of the resort can be navigated purely on blues and greens. A few fast modern chairs but lots of surface lifts though with some long tricky t-bars and pomas which these aged legs aren't thanking me for.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
vjmehra wrote:
I thought about flying into Bergen, but I'm not familiar with any of the resorts and a quick google suggested the transfer times could be quite long too (I gave up pretty quickly to be fair, so hopefully someone with better knowledge than me has had better luck)!
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