Please tell me about Serfaus!

A snowHead

In a fit of optimism I've booked a a family trip to Serfaus for Feb '22. It'll be our daughter's first ski trip, she'll be 4 years old. It's a risk, who knows what will happen but I just need to booking in my calendar to restore some hope.

It looks like it's incredibly well set up for kids, which is why we booked it. We're staying a kiddy friendly hotel and if she's up for it we'd be happy to put her in lessons which look like they'd be great fun. That said, it's a family holiday so we want to spend as much time as possible as a family, but I'm aware I'm probably not going to be a great ski instructor so we might mix and match.

I have a couple of questions. It seems the main kids area is at the top of the Komperdellbahn, but apart from that lift I don't anticipate she'll be using any other lifts, so do kids need a ski pass for that? Also, if I was just taking her up there and not skiing myself would I need a lift pass just to use the Komperdellbahn? I've looked on the SFL site and it's not obvious Smile

The hotel has a pool, so I'm hoping that will be a big attraction off the mountain. Are there any other activities out there worth doing with a 4 year old?

If all goes well I'd lake to head out for a day or 2 off-piste, are there any outfits that do freeride days? The SFL website mentions freeride days but then says "by private booking only". Ideally I'd like to join a group rather than pay for a 1:1 guide.

Any other general advice on SFL and/or skiing with a 4 year old gratefully received Very Happy

A snowHead

Can't help with the area (it's one I have been meaning to visit and is still on my radar) but skiing with a 4 year old - take spare gloves and tie them together with a cord that goes inside the sleeves of the coat so the gloves won't get lost. Then take some more spare gloves

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

My experience is your daughter will be skiing the other gentle slopes in the resort by the end of the week.

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We stayed there xmas 2018 and loved it! The ski area is lovely, enough to keep good adult skiers busy for the entire stay. Lots of gentle slopes and they also have the super fun alpine coaster!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You've made a perfect choice. I went two years ago at the suggestion of a snowhead, and liked it so much I booked a return trip but it was dashed due to covid. Their website is not perfect, as you've noted. Looks like you know some German which will help, as the level of English spoken there is among the lowest of the resorts I've visited in the Alps. My innkeeper said I was the first American to ever stay in their hotel! I thought the dining in town sucked, but on-slope it was great, including a fantastic, affordable soup joint at the top of Komperdell. As for your four-year-old, since you're going to a place that appears to be the pinnacle of little-kid-skiing, let the pros handle that part and get some vacation skiing in yourself! They also have a helluva sled-on-rails thing that looks like the bomb for a little one, and maybe all of ya. This is gonna be great!

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Great, sounds like we made a good choice, thanks for the info!

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@sah, wot @Scooter in Seattle said. You'll love it!

After all it is free

Went with my then 7 year old nephew
He could ski
Improved dramatically
Superb for children

You've made a great choice sah.

It's where my oldest daughter J learnt to ski aged 4 too. She's 26 this year, skis like an angel, and was already burning me off the pistes aged 11, so the teaching clearly worked.
My wife and I actually went two times. The first being on our own a few years B.C. (Before Children). We liked it so chose to go there again when J was old enough to learn to ski.

I haven't been back to Serfaus since back then so the info I give will surely be out of date, but for what it's worth:

The resort is unusual in that it has an underground railway line to take you to the main lift and back. Very useful because the village is long and linear and all the lifts are at one end only.
It was very strange though to be standing on the platform as if in London waiting for the Tube, but wearing ski gear as were all the people around.

To help with this to and fro there was (is still?) an enormous boot and ski depot by the lifts so you could go there in normal shoes and not have to cart your ski stuff around every day. We appreciated this muchly as on both trips our accommodation was up a steep hill on a side street which would have been a much bigger effort with ski boots on and carrying skis.

The Komperdell restaurant was highly geared for children - to the extent of having child sized seats and tables, even miniature toilets - amazing.

Our mistake, and one to avoid is that because J was in ski school all day and didn't like leaving us, we thought she'd be happier if we met her for lunch. This was an option as the ski school took care of lunch so we didn't need to be there. But it didn't work out well, as she was upset at us leaving two times a day not just the once. Would have been better if we hadn't turned up at all.

To your questions, it might be that your 4 year old gets a free ski pass - seems so up to the age of 5 says this link:
https://www.onthesnow.co.uk/tyrol/serfaus-fiss-ladis/skipass.html

I imagine when you are just taking her up you can get a Komperdellbahn ticket only, like the people going sledging would.

I hadn't tackled off piste (at least not intentionally) when I was there so can't help. Would like to do it there though as I am into it now.

Other than skiing there may still be an dinner and dance for all the family in the Komperdell one evening with a flood lit sledge ride down to the village at the end. We loved that. The photo we have of 4 year old J hanging onto some strangers back like a monkey as we all did a conga is treasured.

Lastly, probably not useful info but quite a story - if you are driving there watch out if it is snowing heavily. Applies to all resorts of course but one trip was special for us. When we got to the bottom of the hill to go up to Serfaus although we had winter tyres the police were stopping all traffic to make sure everyone had snow chains on. Not a problem, I put them on and got to the village easily. Down the main street was fine, then turned right up steep side street, got within 10m of our Pension and... problem. The last bend was tight and steep and the family motor which was non-4 wheel drive - an Opel Astra Caravane (Vauxhaull Astra Estate in UK) slid backwards uncontrollably with its terrified occupants inside until it came gently to rest alongside a wooden fence. The lady running the Pension called Franzi and his tractor who pulled us the rest of the way. (With more success than the next guest who applied too much accelerator when being pulled and drove his car into the tractor.) That's where I learnt the trick I saw a Swiss driver doing which is to reverse up a hill if you have a front wheel drive. Then the weight is over the driving wheels at the lowest end and also you can steer to safety if you start sliding. Worked a treat in Laax a following year when our accommodation was on a snowy forest track, it was standard procedure to turn the Astra round and reverse up with the groceries.

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Dunno about kids but the skiing is fantastic. Extensive and varied. Been twice and loved it

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The hotel we have booked seems to have a horse riding and farm center of some sort, looks like it might be interesting for kids.

https://www.darrehof.at/de

Serfaus is a great place.

Will be interesting to see how different it might feel to the last time I went.

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Serfaus is an excellent resort, and the one ticket combined Serfaus Fiss Ladis area has one awards for best family ski areas. We have skied there many times, most recently January 2020 before Covid cleaned everyone out. Serfaus is the most "ski village" like town of the three, although Fiss also has some great accommodation options if you want an apartment or half pension arrangement. The kids' ski school in Serfaus is at Komperdell (Berta's Kinderland I think it is called), whereas in Fiss it is at the base area.
You can get foot passenger tickets to Komperdell but Serfaus also has an "adult accompanying kids to Berta's" ticket which is only Euro 8.50 single day and about 28 Euros for five days. That said, if you want to ski, lift tickets are reasonably priced in my view, although as an Australian all European lift tickets look like good value!
A wonderful excursion is out to the Masner's area for lunch (big restaurant there). A number of lift rides to get there and generally intermediate at the most terrain, you can stand at a lookout in Austria and see Italy, Switzerland and Germany. Closer to Komperdell, the Plansegg area has great blue and red skiing, although the chairlift can get busy. Food options aplenty too. A favourite of ours is the woodfired pizzas at the top of the Lazidbahn at the Lassida restaurant - the second half of the gondola from Serfaus to Komperdell. They are very popular though, so get there early or be prepared to wait.
Over the other side, the Fiss Northside area is good skiing for poorer weather, with a lot of tree runs to help visibility.
Overall, Serfaus Fiss Ladis has excellent linked lifting, very extensive snow making coverage, world class grooming and one of the biggest ski schools in Austria.

Welcome to snowHeads @johnnet56,

Helpful post!

You know it makes sense.

Booked for Feb. HT week! All the hotels we were interested in were fully booked so we're going to stay in Ladis for the first time! (after 7 or 8 times in Fiss and twice in Serfaus). I know it's lower and at the far end of the ski area, but on the plus side, I get to explore a different village (there is a lake which becomes an ice rink in winter) and the kinder hotel was a very good deal (for the same standard, it was much cheaper than any other ski areas/big enough in Tirol). Now getting excited! @sah, if u're there the week starting Feb 12, let me know. Im also keen on offpiste stuffs.

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

A snowHead

@sah, unfortunately we’ve just cancelled at Christmas which we are all gutted about, however I’m sure you’ll have a great time. Can’t think of many better family resorts in the world.

Firstly the ski school is brilliant. Our kids did Snowstars which is for slightly older kids, the only flipside with kids is that they are in all day so you get limited time to ski with them although you can opt for an earlier start time to finish early. We used to end up just putting them in for a few days so we got at least half the holiday skiing with them. However if they are doing well and progressing then she may want to stay in all week as the kids ski races and prize giving at the end of the week are all highlights for many of the kids. Obviously there is the option to go private too which is a bit lumpy but generally very good.

The set up at Komperdell is superb and if she enjoys it and progresses all the three chairlifts at that level access ideal terrain for beginners: Familienbahn, Alpkopf and Plansegg. For total beginners the terrain with the magic carpets etc is ideal at Komperdell. You know what kids are like there is every chance you’ll be taking her up to to Masner etc by the end of the week, you’ll get the chance to scope it out and see where she’s at and what the terrain is like but there are plenty of long easy runs up there.

In respect of off piste, the beauty of Serfaus is that you will often find powder, days after a fall, easy to access. There are plenty of Freeride routes in bounds which are patrolled and safe, not necessarily offering great steepness but they do the job. I’ve got some of my own routes now which I’ll often end up lapping most of the day and take the kids on too where the pitch is safe.
The first year I joined the top class at ski school for a day as they ‘ski off piste’. To be honest it was carnage as hardly anyone could ski powder so I’d be careful with that one, maybe the thing to do is check in with the ski school during the week and ask them what the top group are doing that week and try and get a feel for level. I’ve never done a Freeride day as my son isn’t old enough so we tend to hire instructors/guides to go off piste. There are a couple of guides in the ski school and you can ask for them specifically (I’ll try and remember names). However the Level 3 instructors can take you off piste, we used Hari last time and had a great time. Although Freeride days are cheaper they are all day so unless you leave early private may be more convenient. Private lessons get cheaper progressively through the week.

An alternative is to join a Touring group, I’ve had great feedback from German friends, one of the big day tours is across to Switzerland and they skied untracked all day last time. All equipment is available to hire at the base and on mountain.

Off the slopes, when my Kids where younger ‘Play Serfaus’ at the base station was a winner, climbing wall and play area I reckon that will more than do the trick along with the pool.

One thing we’ve never bothered with was night skiing but we did it last time and would go again in a heartbeat, it’s great fun. We hired race carvers, the piste was perfect and set up was great.

A snowHead

Just a quick note that the unparalleled family situation at Serfaus should not deter others, particularly those who might avoid "family" resorts, from going there. The kid areas are well segregated so you can rip in relative safety. Terrific area.

And do consider the night skiing, there or anywhere, if you haven't done it. Tons of fun, starting with: often better visibility than during the day.

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

@Scooter in Seattle, absolutely. If I hadn't read it was a good family resort I wouldn't have known at all. There aren't kids everywhere on the mountain.

And pre covid the Patschi was one of the best apres bars I'd been to in Austria.

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Excellent info, thanks! @Guernseyfreerider, I'll look in to Freeride days, might be able to get out for one or 2. Smile

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Now it's looking like it might actually happen I'm starting to make a few plans. Looking at the ski school, we're going to try the little one in group lessons and see how she gets on, she is actually very good at making new friends and doesn't get too scared about meeting new people, so I'm 90% certain she'll enjoy it. If it doesn't work out then that's fine, it's a holiday and we'll have fun as a family but I'm very aware I am not the best person to teach her (I'm qualified to teach skiing but not sure that cuts any ice with her Smile

) The pricing seems very sensible, you can pay for jut one day and see how it goes before committing to more days).

So, quick question for Serfaus experts - is there any reason to choose kids beginner lessons at the Murmli Park in town, over lessons up the hill at Kindershneealm? I'm thinking the weather might be kinder in town, and it's easier to get to in the morning, the downside is we'd have to get back there for 2:30.

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@sah, we have done both and definitely use the area up the mountain as the area in town is quite far from the base lifts. Only exception is if you are staying at a Kinderhotel who are happy to drop-off and pickup. The mountain base is amazing and caters for all ages. Also recommend you store skiis and boots at themountain base at top of the main lifts.

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Our Kids attended Bertas kinder garden in Fiss which is part of the same ski area. Fantasic faciliteis with creche skischool combined. just what young families require. And lessons on piste and off for older children is superb.
Fiss markets itself as a family destination and has won awards for it.

After all it is free

@omas brumm, we also stayed in Fiss and used Bertas which was great. I prefer Fiss to Serfaus as not as busy but further to reach the very high elevation areas on the other side of Serfaus but that did lot really bother us.

There used to be a hovertrain

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@hobbiteater, there still is.

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@Ozboy, good point, we're in the Loewe so drop off is an option Smile

@sah, we stayed at the sister Hotel Bär on 3-4 occasions before going to Fiss a final time. For our eldest we tried the spot in town but decided to take our second up the mountain when she stared skiing. The hotels provide mountain buggy’s so you can push them all the way to the gondolas. The main issue with the ski park in town it’s it’s difficult to come back if you wanted to watch them ski while up the mountain they will also look after them for the whole day and can easily watch them. They setup is great up there.

You know it makes sense.

@Ozboy, thank you, sounds like good advice, I think we'll do the mountain one. She's old enough to manage the lifts etc (in fact, she'll love the train and the lifts).

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

@sah, train gets very busy and easier to do the 15min walk as you’ll have your gear up the mountain. You rent at the shop at the bottom of gondola when you arrive on day zero and arrange for them to be waiting at the top at the storage facility at top of mountain for the first morning.

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A snowHead

@sah, yup. They can also arrange for your shoes to be waiting down the bottom if you let them know that you’ll be skiing to the bottom at the end of the day. You can also rent sleds to come down instead of downloading at the end of day.

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

Serfaus sounds great and is one of my 2 main options to book this season. I have a question though and its about ski school but some info first

Dad with 2 teenage kids - 16 and skied for 3 weeks, fit big and strong but rough on technique. and his sister, 14, 2 weeks, very capable but not at the same standard
I'd like to put them into ski school for 1/2 day, every day and ski with them in the afternoon - bit of family time etc

However, am I right in thinking that the ski school only has lessons something like 10:30 - 14:30? - sort of ruins the day a bit - very strange times. I only found one ski school, are there more?

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@Gaz_H, think there is only the main ski school which is controlled by the resort. It’s generally accepted as the Gold standard in ski schools and their program is excellent and they take good care of your kids and feed them in a really cool dedicated restaurant. They also have a great medal giving ceremony at the end of the week in an auditorium with a fair atmosphere (although not sure about covid impact). You can ski with them 14:30 to 17:00.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Agree with walking rather than squeezing on the underground in the morning. You can use the ski depot in the Talstation.

There is a dedicated kids' restaurant for the ski school kids to have lunch in - my two loved it.

There is more than one ski school so you should be able to find one that does 9-3 or similar.

Definitely take your 4-year old sledging, from the top of the gondola, it is a very long and scenic ride down and great fun. You can hire toboggans in the Tal- or Bergstation, can't remember which.

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@Ozboy, thanks............ yeah, doesn't really work for us, cant see my 16 yr old (who's at college) being 'looked after' at lunch time? I either dont put them in lessons, not a route I want to go down or pick one of my other resorts - really fancy Serfaus though

Third world problems!!!

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After all it is free

Hmm I must backtrack on the ‘more than one ski school’… could have sworn that was the case but apparently it’s monopolised in Serfaus, sorry! Times are either 9.30-2.30 or 10.30-3.30. We always skied with the girls either before or after, or both.

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@Gaz_H, the ski school info I found said lessons are 9:30 - 14:30 OR 10:30 to 15:30, both include an hour for lunch. The times are staggered intentionally to avoid crowding at start and end and at lunchtime.

As our girl is very young and a total beginner we're not 100% what we'll do, but I'm thinking we'd do the early slot then head back down for swimming / play area etc. If she really takes to it and wants to ski more we'd do that of course, but I suspect not. I know the hotel does pickup for kids but we want to enjoy the holiday time together so we're not maximising ski time this trip.

Help!!

Please tell me about Serfaus!

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