Poster: A snowHead
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I fancy giving Austria a crack. Mostly because their ski school is 2 sessions each day & so we can drop the fun clubs we’ve been using since 2. My only experience of Austria though has been lots of ski buses that I’m not sure works great for a will be 8 year old. So favourite place in Austria with kids & why (it’ll be his 4th year on skis)
Thank you x
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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First of all, great choice. The all day ski school is a very good reason to ski in Austria, and make sure your kid has lunch with the instructor too so you‘re free to ski until 3pm!
As for places where you don’t need a ski bus, most of the well known resorts fit the bill. St. Anton, Lech, Obertauern and Serfaus are all super easy and have great ski schools. I’m sure there are plenty more, Sölden probably works well and Leogang looks great for learners. Just make sure your accommodation is in walking distance from the ski school meeting point. We used to leave everyone’s skis in a ski depot near the ski school so mornings are a doddle - get kids in their gear, drop them off, collect own skis and off you go. Do the reverse in the afternoon
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I like St Anton for many reasons, but its slopes aren’t the easiest, even the blues (in a non-pandemic era) are very busy. In my experience.
Recommendations for your needs:
Serfaus
Rohrmoos (Schladming)
Hochgurgl
Zurs
Alpbach - but avoid early or late in season.
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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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Maria Alm - it's really chilled and pretty.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Many 8 year olds who've been skiing for 4 years are pretty good company out on the slopes in the afternoons. A few more years and you won't see him for dust. Obviously it all depends on the family dynamic, but skiing together in the afternoons after everybody has done their thing in the morning seemed to me a fun part of the holiday.
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We used to collect the kids after ski school at 3pm and take them for another hour of skiing when they were still learning. Later on, once they could keep up with us, we added a full day with them either at the beginning or the end of the holiday. That way everyone was happy and got to make the most of skiing at their own level. As someone who got taught by her dad, I would definitely have preferred ski school!
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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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‘I remember all day ski school then & don’t ever remember being exhausted & grumpy.’
The daughters used to bounce on the sofas in our holiday apartment after a day of skiing. They seem to have endless energy at that age!
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St Johann in Tirol!
Great ski school, small enough you can keep an eye on them if you want to (either skiing past, or going over their heads in the gondola). They always said where they’d stop for lunch (with €10 in their pocket) so I could meet them, but if I did my son (9) pretty much pretended not to know me. Enough to keep you occupied and if you only do ski school for part of the week then there’s also the bus to Steinplatte which has a great fun park for an 8 year old, or train to Kitz.
Like it so much we might go for a third time next year
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We're off to Kuhtai end of March, can let you know then...
Cons
Quite a small resort for the grownups, so possibly not for everyone... also when we went before there were loads of buttons in case you have boarders with you, but i think nany of these are now replaced?
Pros
Only 30-40 mins from Innsbruck, so no long transfer after flying. Small resort = never far from anywhere, plus most accommodation is near as ski-in, ski-out and most provide lunch, so less need to eat on the mountain
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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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@EarthWindandWater, Kuhtai is a nice compact resort - but the pistes are very red. We went a few years back (kids in their 2nd week) and whilst the ski school set-up was great, the pistes were quite tough for them. We did actually go down to Hoch Oetz on the last day (same lift pass) which was a nice change with some genuine blues and tree lined runs. The lift system in Kuhtai was pretty good (we certainly didn't use any buttons / T-bars).
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Am off to Kaprun on Friday with our 4 and 7 year old so can review later. Kaprun looks to have a pretty decent ski area with the Alpin Pass (many parts needing a ski bus from Kaprun thou) and about 1hr from Salzburg. Supposed to be quieter and more family orientated so will see!
We're with the kids first time skiing so I dont expect to get a huge amount of skiing done my self just sticking to the glacier area as kids only have 2.5hr private lessons in the AM. Prob put them in proper ski school next time we go but this is our "tester" visit so most afternoons will be with them on nursery slopes/ seeing how they progress.
https://www.kitzsteinhorn.at/en/winter/information/ski-map-opening-times
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You know it makes sense.
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Have a look at Kappl. You will need to book direct as no UK tour operator does it but it has a great kids area mid mountain. You're just up the road from Ischgl, so you could spend some time there too. Spent 3 great holidays with the kids there when they were younger, albeit not in ski school. We tended to get lessons on local dry slope and ski school for first 2 holidays - thereafter we skied with them. It's not long before they ski better than you. My younger 2 kids (18 and 21) are both now ski instructors
Have a look at Serfaus too. Have never been but know folk who have been and thought it was great for kids.
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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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Suggest you take a look at Surfaus - Fiss - Ladis. Big modern resort - top 10
most visited in Europe - but relatively unknown in U.K., and very child friendly. Hotels have great facilities for kids and they have gold standard ski school. Kids are central to all aspects of the resorts including playgrounds at mountain restaurants. We’ve been on four occasions in February and it’s where our kids first skiied. There are a few others on showheads that have been and will recommend. Try searching Serfaus.
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Poster: A snowHead
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just (on Sunday) back from Kappl (driving)
-excellent family resort
-brilliant snow at the moment
-impressed with ski school=proper selection to establish level of skills, flexibility with hours/days
-plenty of all sort of accomodations in close proximity of the slope
-lovely village with decent size shop
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