 Poster: A snowHead
|
Overview
We are just back from a week’s skiing in Tignes with the family over the UK half term break. We were spoilt by the weather which was tropical, probably the best 7 days of weather I have ever had in an alpine area. No wind, just beautiful clear days. I would have expected that snow given the heat would have deteriorated and whilst I can’t comment on off piste, the pistes in Espace Killy were fabulous. I was really surprised as there wasn’t even a hint of slush come the end of the day, despite the sun and warmth.
We stayed in a self-catered apartment Tignes Le Lac which whilst not the prettiest village is well laid out and everything is in easy reach (Ski hire, Ski School, Mini-Mart the piste). Being half term it was a little busy in the village, but I was surprised at how empty some of the pistes were once you were away from the main areas. As for the runs themselves, they are a good variety of nice long cruisy blue/reds; long tough technical blacks and sensational adrenalin filled steeps. The ease with which you can ski from Tignes into Val D’Isere is great too. It means that you can really use the whole resort and cover some distance if that is your thing.
Off the piste we made use of Le Lagon, in the centre of Tignes Le Lac, where entry is free with a weeklong lift pass. The kids spent an hour snow tubing and loved it. They also went trampolining and sledding etc. Heaps to do when they weren’t skiing and they were no bored.
Flights
Flew from Gatwick to Geneva via BA on super Saturday.BA Flight was around an hour delayed taking off, but they made good time so we were only 30 mins late getting into Geneva.
Accommodation
We booked an apartment though AirBnB. It was located on the lake across from the Tignes Espace recreation centre less than 10 minutes into town. The apartment was on the lower ground floor, 2 bedrooms. Plenty of space for a family of 5 and good facilities, though no oven or washing machine. Decoratively it was a little shabby, but with 3 kids aged 8, 7 and 5, this suits us. Key was centrally located, easy access to ski school and the piste. It ticked both those boxes!
Transfers
We got a private transfer from Tignes Taxis for €700. Thanks to our AirBnB Chalet host who put us in contact with Renaud who arranged it all for us. His contact details are +33 6 13 18 07 57 and I would definitely recommend. They met us at Geneva Airport, and the driver was easy to find. The trip to Tignes took around 3.5 hours with a small stop for a wee near Albertville.
On the way back we set off just after 7am. It took around 4 hours to get to Geneva. The traffic through Bourg St Maurice was at a standstill and our driver took a circuitous route around saving around 40mins. We had a small wee stop at the McDonalds in Albertville.
All in all are pretty uneventful transfer!
Ski School
We put the children into ski school with Ultimate Snowsports - http://ultimatesnowsports.com/ . They were brilliant! The girls (8 & 7) were in the Green Goblins Group. 6 Children 1 instructor. The group was a good group and Tom the instructor quickly assessed that the 6 kids were more advanced than Green Slopes so they skied a lot of the blues in and around Tignes and Tignes Le Lac. He was great with the kids, firm, fair looking to challenge, but making sure they had fun. At the end of the week, they had a time trial down the Rosset run, where they had to weave in and out of cones. It was brilliant to see how confident the kids all were.
Our 5 year old was with the Ultimate Snowsports White Wizards. Their lessons were from half 12 to half 2. There were 3 kids in the class and the instructor was Ben, assisted by Claire. Again wonderful. They made use of the gratis lifts in and around Tignes Le Lac so there was no need to buy a lift pass and our boy’s skiing came along fantastically. He has graduated to Green Goblins next time!
All in all a great ski school. Really fun instructors from what we saw across all levels and our kids certainly came away having had a good time. What more can you ask for.
The Nanny Company
Having 3 young kids’ means that childcare is important. In keeping with last year we decided to hire an in resort Nanny. We looked at a number of Tignes/Val based nanny services and decided on Boo Bird Childcare (formally Bluebird Childcare) - https://www.boobirdchildcare.com/ . They are a small agency run by an English lady, Catisha Creighton. You can find them on Facebook and Google. What’s really great about them is how flexible they are. We didn’t have to pre-purchase 6 x 8 hour days. They were quite happy for us to nominate the hours that we wanted and they would fill them for us.
AS it worked out we decided not to have a nanny on the Sunday, but use the day to take the kids out on the slopes, have a swim at Le Lagon and have some relaxing family time. This mean that we arranged childcare from 8:30am to 4:30pm Mon through Thurs and then 8:30 am to 2:30pm on Friday so again we could spend the afternoon with the kids.
Our nanny was an Australian girl, Cait, and she was fantastic with the kids. Ski school pick up’s, drop off’s, hot chocolates at the top of Toviere bubble, snow tubing, sledding, trampolines etc our kids had a fab time. She even did a couple of evenings babysitting so my wife and I could get out and have a meal and a little bit of après. At £14 per hour it worked out to be around £750 for the week. Pretty reasonable.
Ski Hire
We hired skis from Mountain Story, just near the Palafour lift in Tignes Le Lac. We hired direct from Mountain Story and not through Skiset who they are a reseller for, mainly so we could take advantage of their ski lockers that they hire, €60 for the week. We hired their ski performance skis for my wife and I. This meant I got a Head V Shape 4V and my wife got Atomic Cloud 8. Skis were in great nick. Lovely edges and well waxed. No complaints at all from these guys on the kit and you really can’t beat them for convenience. Total hire for a family of 5 (inc helmets & ski lockers) was €555.
Restaurants/Bars
We self catered, but we did manage to eat out a little:
1) La Planche, Tignes - https://www.facebook.com/LesPlanchesTignes/ - we ate here twice. Once with the kids and once just us. Really nice place. Great food – sharing platters of cheese and charcuterie, but great vegie options if you like this. Wine and drinks were great – service was superb;
2) The Marmot, Tignes – this became my post skiing beer spot given I was next door to the Mountain Story lockers. €6.50 for a pint, reasonable by French resort standards;
3) The Loop, Tignes – managed an early evening drink here. Lively with a guy banking out favourite tunes. All in all pretty. I had pints of beer, the wide drank Aperol’s €15 a round, again is sort of reasonable…..
4) The Sherpa – yes it’s a mini-mart, but for self catering people it also does pre-cooked meals. From Rotisserie chicken, Tartiflite to Beef Bourginon its is a saviour if you don’t want to go out, but don’t have the energy to cook.
I can’t remember the mountain places I ate as I tended to use the self service places. My favourite was the one at the top of Chaudanne lift. Great of a 2pm late lunch with awesome views across Tignes and Val Calret. The Panoramic self service is pretty special too, mainly for the views, but the food is good.
Overall
We loved it and will be back. It just seems that everything we needed for a ski holiday was easily accessible without having to rely on the Navette’s. Maybe it was the glorious weather (that certainly helped), but I couldn’t ask for much more from a ski resort (well maybe some padding on a few of the older lifts). Best bit for us though was that we got to ski with our kids. For the first time as a family all five of us skied a run together and enjoyed what family skiing is all about. It was magic doing a circuit up the Palafour, around to Aiguille Percee, down corniche and then Petit Col back to the Village with my 7 year old. This was topped by our 5 year old confidently getting down Rosset….first time on real piste. Ski holidays wont be the same!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
What a super, happy, report - great! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
@FrediKanoute, nice report, thanks! It brought back memories of 10 years ago when my pair were first out on the main slopes with us. Enjoy being able to keep up with them whilst it lasts! Skiing "en famille" is fantastic, even if half of the "famille" is nonchalantly waiting for you at every chairlift as you bust a gut to get there with dignity intact.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| The Flying Snowplough wrote: |
| @FrediKanoute, nice report, thanks! It brought back memories of 10 years ago when my pair were first out on the main slopes with us. Enjoy being able to keep up with them whilst it lasts! Skiing "en famille" is fantastic, even if half of the "famille" is nonchalantly waiting for you at every chairlift as you bust a gut to get there with dignity intact. |
I am beginning to get that feeling. I said to my wife that she was no longer the 2nd best skier in the family......
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| FrediKanoute wrote: |
| The Flying Snowplough wrote: |
| @FrediKanoute, nice report, thanks! It brought back memories of 10 years ago when my pair were first out on the main slopes with us. Enjoy being able to keep up with them whilst it lasts! Skiing "en famille" is fantastic, even if half of the "famille" is nonchalantly waiting for you at every chairlift as you bust a gut to get there with dignity intact. |
I am beginning to get that feeling. I said to my wife that she was no longer the 2nd best skier in the family...... |
All successful skiing families need a "Tail End Charlie". Some people take years of training to develop the requisite skills. Others, like me, are born to it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@FrediKanoute,
Glad you enjoyed your trip to Tignes.
Your report highlights lots of things that do not normally get reported about Tignes.
Easy access to the slopes, free beginners lifts, free swimming pool & generally lots things to do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@FrediKanoute, great report, glad you had a good time ... you just can't beat the Espace Killy ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We had 5 or 6 great family trips to Tignes when my kids were younger. We are back in Tignes in 4 weeks but my boys are now 14 and 16 so it's a different holiday (in a good way). And we are also reaching the stage where the boys wiat for us at the lifts.
Not sure if you already considered this, but we really enjoyed using the direct Eurostar from London to Bourg St Maurice rather than flights and a long transfer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
