 Poster: A snowHead
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hi there iv posted this again here as i think i posted on the wrong place before! i was wondering if anyone can help me, we are a family of 7 , 5 kids , 17 , 16 , 15 ,14 and 10 , we have never been sking before but hope to this xmas.i was wondering if any of you experienced skiers could suggest a reasonably priced resort for us in france? we have to hire absolutely everything also.
is it best to hire a chalet or stay in a hotel? and what price is it for the kids in a ski school for the week?
i would be very gratefull for any replies
thanks very much Carly xx
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Carly
Welcome to snowHeads!
Your best choice of resort will partly depend on the dates you want to ski, to determine the altitude you need to be skiing at.
Just as an initial tip, get hold of brochures from Ski France and Erna Low. They both specialise in French skiing - and, of course, the mainstream operators go there in huge numbers too.
With a big family I guess your transport is a big issue. Are you planning to drive, take the train (recommended) or fly?
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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?
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David Goldsmith, not sure why you recommend the train. If Carly's family have a big enough vehicle, I'd have thought that would be more economic and flexible. I'm not up to date with French train fares though.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Fri 10-02-06 13:07; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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th
ankyou david . we are hoping to drive from st malo and i guess we hope to arrive there by dec 22nd . 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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carly, any reason you are only looking at France ? other countries might be an option (Andorra, Italy etc)
The only thing I can suggest is check out resorts that have a good ski school rating, as this will be very important if you are all new to skiing.
some of the larger opperators do special ski school / hire deals.
We've gone with crystals for the last couple of years (though recently the've not been great) they are cheap.
hope this helps
PS welcome to Snowheads
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yes we have an 8 seater laundryman
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thanks rob and sharon , we dont want to drive for too long with 5 kids in the car they end up arguing 
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carly, if you are in the channel islands, possibly catching the ski train might be a good plan as it means you don't have to drive the whole way there and back.
lots of driving = tired driver (s)+ unhappy kids.
good luck
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Carly, this is a sad thing to say but Christmas comes with no snow guarantees. If you're going to pre-book all this, then bear in mind that snow is a gamble. During the winter it accumulates, which is why February to March, and April in resorts with high-altitude slopes, is the peak season (for weather also).
We've always done family ski trips in the Easter hols (2nd week) for great snow and weather. If Christmas is best for you, it could be fine (the chance of good snow is reasonably high), but to maximise your chances of great snow go to a resort with plenty of skiing above 2000m and - ideally - a glacier.
That's why Tignes could be a good destination. Or Les Deux Alpes. Or La Plagne (smaller glacier).
Alternatively, which is what I'd do, wait for the snow reports in the first or second weeks of December and see what's best. You'll still find plenty of accommodation choices then, and you might have more fun in a family resort like Les Gets or La Clusaz (lower altitude, but very nice) if the snow is lying low.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Fri 10-02-06 13:29; edited 1 time in total
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Carly - if cost is an issue then I would suggest self catering if you go to france, and somewhere with the option of a smaller cheap-ish lift pass. Valmorel, La Rosiere, Les Arc, Montgenevre all highly recommended for beginner and good for kids.
But as you are all beginners how about somewhere smaller and cheaper and get a hotel to save on cooking etc! I just got back from Bled/Bohinj in slovenia and think it would be a good place to learn - plus very cheap - see below. Crystal holidays do packages there and the guest we met were very happy with their choice (we booked independantly)
Example 6 days french (in a mid size resort):
ski hire: Adults E65, Children:45E
lift pass: E160 adult , E125 for child
Lessons: E160 (adult or child)
Lunch: 7-15E
drink on mountain: 2-7E
Example slovenia 6 days:
Ski hire: E60, E45child
Lift pass: E110, E75child
Lessons: E75, E65child
Lunch: 3-7E
Drink: 1-2E
HTH,
aj xx
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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thankyou for all replies so far ,will show to my husband tonight and will bear in mind all suggestions , have to go out now but will be back later as you all seem very helpfull .
thankyou.
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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.
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ah - sorry - lots of posts since I started! If it has to be early I think self catering in LDA might be a good choice? The lift pass is fairly cheap for france (it's the one quoted above in fact but there might well be family discount too, and there are a number of free lifts for everyone to use for the first few days which really keeps costs down). Our resident instructor extraordinare easiski provides very competetive lesson rates and can probably also suggest some good cheap self catering accomodation to keep costs down, and as it's a large ski town, the supermarkets aren't too much of a rip off either? And as a big town it should have a ncie lively atmosphere over xmas?
aj xx
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carly, I can recommend La Rosiere as a good resort for beginners, it's also very good for kids, there are some reviews in the resorts section. It's high; 1850 metres and also has a very good snow record, the resort usually opens by the second week of December, check out the Ski Club of GB's historical snow record, you can find a copy on our website www.tracksvacations.com we have a chalet in La Rosiere. For beginners the two nuresery lifts are free and the lift pass for the Espace San Bernardo, covering France and Italy, is remarkable value especially when compared to some of the nearby mega resorts.
Childrens skis school will cost you 160 Euros for 6 days or 98 Euros for 6 x 1/2 days based on this season's costs, you can access the Tourist Office website from a link on our site and you'll find full details there of lift pass costs, ski schools, there are 3 in the village and hotels, or see our ad in snowShops.
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You know it makes sense.
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So many things to think about, as previously stated accomodation at xmas shouldn't be a problem. But if you do decide to go s/c and wanted one v.large appartment, not sure how many of those are out there.(Don't book one just for 7 unless as a family you all do get on very well). We have been to Flaine reguarly at xmas with Erna Low (V. good value) and only once has the snow been really grim. But unless you book late that's always a risk. We go s/c and book only the appt early as they often give a discount, so in the worst case scenario thats the only cost i've lost. Always book tunnel last thing and buy lift passes in resort. You could consider booking lessons earlier
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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carly, You should be aware that only one of your kids will count as a kid - the others are all adults in French terms (13+).
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Poster: A snowHead
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carly, I would concur with ajhainey, try Serbia or Bulgaria (bansko or borovets). France prices would be heart attack inducing for 7 of you, I fear.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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brilliant , thanks so much for all your ideas , have been and got the brochures you reccomended and we are looking through them, maybe a little further will be more ecconomical for the 7 of us
will keep in touch
carlyx
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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?
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I went to Bulgaria at the beginning of Jan. It has always been touted as a cheap place to go and good to learn. I am a reasonable intermediate skier and although I enjoyed my time there I would not return. For me the cost was greater than many of my trips to Switzerland or France. The bulk of the group were beginners and they had lessons. They didn't seem to progress as quick as others I had seen in france or Switzerland. This may have just been down to the very large groups they had. The other thing with Bulgaria is that it is quite low so snow is less reliable. I would follow the advice of David@traxvax and others and pick a smaller resort in france.
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carly, La Rosiere is superb for families. Even better for first time families. And in 6 days time it will once again be perfect for our family and our friends.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Picking up what justapurrin wrote that is why I recommended slovenia (not bulgaria). I've heard bad reviews of bulgaria before (borovets and pamporova), but can say first hand slovenia was fine - it's not got much in the way of slopes, but what there is is a nice variety, very much suitable for beginners, and the accomodation was first class. aj xx
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ajhainey, I have heard a few good reviews of Slovenia but with no first hand experience I'll bow to your better knowledge. What I have heard is that it seems to be fine for learners / first timers.
Will
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Carly,
I have just come back from a week in La Rosiere with three kids (5,3 and 1 1/2). The resort is great for beginners and the Evolution 2 ski school was amazing, taking my wife (a non skier) from nothing to doing reds with me by the end of the week - she had 3 morning lessons the rest of her time was spent practicing with me what she had learned. My eldest daughter skied the blue run from the top of the mountain by the end of the week (amazing for a 5 year old who had never skied before).
We travelled with Esprit who were great for us having young kids, but I know Crystal and Thomson also go there for definate. Life passes arent as costly as other parts of the alps. My full reviews is here:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=257771#257771
Good luck with the trip, you will all love it no matter where you go I am sure. Let us know how it goes.
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great stuff , sounds like le rosiere would be a great place to start so will be looking into that one first for prices etc to see what we can come up with . 
thanks carly
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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another option not suggested above is alpe d'huez. high resort with good snow record. Reasonably priced for a french ski resort. ITs big advantage is there a big bowl of easier runs above the resort . all the very hard stuff is right up at the top of the mountain. You might want to give some consideration to self catering to cut costs -still gives you the choice of eating out in the evening. Its reasonably lively also as I guess trying to persuade the eldest not go out may be pushing your luck? Of other options suggested above I've been to La Plagne and tignes. Tignes has great skiing but this may not be ideal for beginners. La Plagne is not my favourite resort -goos skiing for beginners but no real village atmosphere
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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carly, I'll second keith904's recommendation for La Rossiere/Evo2. It's a sensibly priced resort & ideal for beginners.
With five kids it's good to see that you & your husband have found a new hobby .
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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.
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| Quote: |
have been quoted a price for xmas at 4193 for 8 of us (collected another adult along the way) at a resort in bulgaria
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I think you'll find that Bulgaria's snow record, never great, is particularly poor at Christmas. Rocks and crud are very offputting for beginners (or anybody else, for that matter). It's not just a matter of altitude, lots of other factors go into determining snow coverage. Anywhere can be good or bad for snow, at any time, and there are no certainties (the very high French resorts of Tignes/Val D'Isere and Val Thorens were pretty bad this last Christmas). But statistically, some places are better bets than others. Bulgaria at Christmas is statistically very likely to be poor and La Rosiere likely to be good. We went there as a beginner family and had a good time. Our resort, Les Saisies, has a superb snow record and is perfect for beginners, with plenty of gentle slopes and wonderful scenery dominated by Mont Blanc. More advanced skiers find it too gentle and easy, though it is now lift linked to more challenging slopes in the Val D'Arly. The resort has decided to make a virtue of its unchallenging slopes by promoting it as "the gentle resort my mummy takes me to" (it sounds better in French, and if you look at their website www.lessaisies.com you can hear the song). But being almost entirely French there are no group lessons in English, obviously a major disadvantage for your group. If there are enough of you to consider private lessons it would be well worth looking at - Erna Low certainly have the resort in their brochure. Private lessons are cheap there, and there are some good English speaking instructors. You could do worse than hiring an instructor for the day and letting them sort out what to do with the various members of the group. It might be more fun than being split up into different groups. They might be too booked up to do this, at Christmas.
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I would add a vote for Val D'Arly too.
I spent three weeks in Crest Voland last month and had excellent snow the whole time. I drove over to Val Thorens one day to meet some friends and was amazed at how bad the conditions were in comparison.
The lack of lots of advanced skiers means that the runs don't develop bumps or icy patches during the day.
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You know it makes sense.
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thanks again for replies we are still looking into things and last nite we found out there is a company over here in the channel islands that does ski packages so will look in to those and get your views also re costs etc. .. also is there an internet site where you can buy second hand ski wear ?
thanks Carly x
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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w/o stating obvious - Ebay and also occasionally here. Trespass sells ski wear at competitive prices
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Poster: A snowHead
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 thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| dan100 wrote: |
| w/o stating obvious - Ebay and also occasionally here. Trespass sells ski wear at competitive prices |
I got Trespass salopes at Makro very cheapa few years ago and they are really very good.
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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?
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Just to echo everyone else's sentiments, we took the family skiing this year and kitted out three children and my wife from TK Max, also things like snow boots from ebay are very cost effective - just give yourself enought time to find what you want, bid, pay and receive!
I didnt know Makro did ski gear - I will look there next season!!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I don't think that price is particularly good actually? Say the 10 year old is half price thats £560 per adult (7 over 14s) and £280 for the 10 year old. I think you could get self catering a lot cheaper in a more snowsure french or austrian resort..Looking at LDA, we did it over xmas for
£100 flight to grenoble
£40 per person in a cab
£135 each for the apartment
='brochure cost' £275 - for apartments in the centre of town (we stayed ina satellite village which I would not recommend) you might add as much as £100 but as you can see it's still a cheap way to go.
Then be nice to easiski and try and book well in advance for lessons and you could probably get in 4 private 2 hour sessions over the week, for both the 3 adults and the 4 teens for about 115E each. The youngest could join an ESI class for the week for around E120? No one would need liftpasses the first 2 days say, so you'd only need a four day pass (E120) maybe only two or three(E65/93) plus a couple of days ski sympa (16E a day). Thats all a lot cheaper than the package crystal are offering...The only thing that would cost a bit would be skis, but you are probably only looking at E65 per person per week. Just something to think about to give you some idea what is possible.
As for clothes if you can get to one Decathlon are very good, especially for slimmer women and teens as the kids clothes (vat free) are sized quite generously We kitted out a friend for £40 (jacket and trousers) which is amazingly cheap! There are some goog deals on ebay, but please dont be tempted to buy boots or skis - even if they seem very cheap - they need specialist fitting/alteration.tkmaxx have decent stuff, and outlet store is likely to be a good idea.
HTH, aj xx
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I've had 6 person bookings at Alp d'Huez for £235 per person, all adults in the bargain sections of the net. Search around a little and you may surprise yourself. It's fairly high so often has good snow.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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wow hannah thats brilliant , do you remember where you found it , ie company? thanks again for all of your suggestions we are taking each one on board .
carlyxx
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FAQ
thanks carlyx