Half Term recommendations for beginner family

A snowHead

Looking for recommendations for half term next year for a family of 4 with 2 kids aged 5 and 3. Myself and 5 year old have skied 1 week and but wife and 3 year old haven't tried skiing. Mainly starting skiing as my 5 year old seems to like it and I'm getting older for some of the other board sports, so maybe skiing can become a family activity albeit once a year.

We'll most likely take a private instructor for my wife and daughter and another one for myself and my son every morning. Given we're all beginners, thinking to do family activities in the afternoon - dog sled, swimming, kids park etc.

I'm mainly looking at resorts in France that we can drive to. Happy to take a day off school and leave early friday to beat the crowd.

I've seen reviews about long queues and packed slopes at half term. Given we are all beginners, not sure how much this will matter, say if we have an accommodation close to a magic carpet and easy green / blue runs from the door. Also, if we are with an instructor can we skip the lift queues ?

Based on some initial research, does somewhere like Belle Plange, Flaine or Avoriaz sound reasonble ? Close by to magic carpets, good ski schools, decent spread of green / blues without having to take lifts first thing and family activities.

Any other resorts or is half-term going to be miserable whatever I try ?

A snowHead

@DJock,
If you are prepared to take the Friday off could you drive a little bit further to Switzerland or Italy, they are not that much further.
There was a rather depressing review of a beginner going to France this year having booked a private instructor and having it cancelled.
This would be unusual but it can be very busy.

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

Sainte Foy Tarentaise would be perfect for you all and the ESF is excellent and is less busy than the giants resorts .

Read this and make sure you get to the family bit at the end

https://planetski.eu/2024/03/03/sainte-foy-not-hidden-any-more-but-still-a-gem/

BTW put the kids in group lessons far more fun .

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To be honest there are very few resorts that are actually bad for beginners, they are the backbone of skiing as a winter holiday as they both bring new blood in and are more likely to pay for lessons/buy kit in resort. And I wouldn't worry too much about crowds. Yes, Half Term is as busy as a ski resort gets - but that applies to all ski resorts and is only really an issue a 'rush hour', so first thing in the morning when everyone's trying to get up and out skiing/to ski school, after lunch when everyone's flooding back out onto the hill, and at the end of the day when everyone's working their way home. At busy times like Half Term a lot of resorts have instructors working ski school AM and PM and only do private lessons during lunch, which would actually work in your favour. Nice relaxed morning only hitting the lifts when the crowds have gone and eating a late lunch after your lessons while everyone else queues for the lifts. And yes, while you're with an instructor you'll get to jump some of the queues as any busy lift will have a dedicated ski school lane - but you do have to share it with everyone else having lessons. Still much quicker than the main queue though.

All 3 you listed would be great for you, though I'd also throw Alpe d'Huez, and more specifically it's quieter neighbour Oz en Oisans in the mix. The whole AdH area is perfect for beginners and early intermediates but while the main "Alpe d'Huez 1800" resort's a big, busy, bustling place as soon as the lifts close Oz becomes a little 'island' where it's a lot easier to let little ones run wild without fear of losing them in the crowd.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You may struggle to get an instructor that would teach an adult and young child in the same lesson. A 3 yr old - It is more getting them used to having skis on their feet, monitoring their attention spans and fatigue.

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@DJock,
Talk to Steve Angus (posts on 'The view from Val d'Isere' thread in the Snow reports forum) - Brit ski instructor.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@DJock, any reason not to go at Christmas or Easter? Much easier/better all round than HT for a family trip IMO.

Is the age of the children now or at the time of the trip? As mentioned 3yo is still early and a struggle, 4 much better IME (2 kids now older teens). And yeah wouldn't work well in a private lessons with an adult I don't think. Keep it simple put everyone in ski school and just ski together in the afternoon.

After all it is free

I agree Oz-en-Oisan is a good place to stay, has a magic carpet and via the gondola's good access to beginner slopes.

Unless one of you or your partner are teachers, your kids are young enough to avoid half term.
I'd consider March, as it's when French holidays finish.
Les Menuires was great for us. (stay in the central bit - La Croisette). La Tania is great for beginners and small and quiet. Or Alp D'Huez.
As mentioned above, anywhere will be good. The main thing is try to avoid a bus to ski school drop off. You want to be as close a walk as possible to ski school. (So Ski-in/Ski-out accomodation)
If you can, avoid half term/school-holidays.
Also: Ski School for kids only will be WAY better. Meet up with them at lunch time.

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Thanks for the responses, its very helpful.

Half-term is 1 week and we dont do anything anyways so its a free option to try something new, whereas Christmas and Easter are longer breaks (3 weeks) and we do other family travels. Maybe in future, we could do easter. If you think its going to make a significant difference in our experience, then maybe we should reconsider.

Thats right, the kids will be 6 and 4. I am considering Piou Piou at ESF for the 4 year old but reviews on ESF are mixed and other schools such as Oxygene, New Gen and Evolution dont seem to take kids under 6 in their group lessons, hence decided on private lessons for the younger one but do get the point that a joint private lesson is unlikely to work.

Finding an accommodation thats within 200m of Piou Piou club, Oxygene/New gen/Evo group lesson meeting point, accessible lift and not too £££ on the wallet takes lot of effort hence keeping options to a minimum.

Belle Plange is probably the place I've looked into most closely and the ones on the far end facing the ESF village and magic carpet seem to tick most boxes.
If I'm to keep away from the crowded lifts at Bellecote atleast for a couple of days, is the option to ski to Col De Forcle poma from the magic carpet and ski down Ours/ Belle Plange ok for a confident beginner and a 6 year old ? Maybe I could do Blanchets as well ?

As for Flaine, I can find reasonable accommodation options in foret around 200m from Grand Vans but looking at the map, Front De neige might be more appropriate for us. Any suggestions on this ?

Avoriaz has more to do for the kids but seems to be a bit more expensive than the other 2 and I cant find the location of the magic carpet. Children's garden, beginner zone and school meeting points are spread around so not sure which part would work best for us. Is the festival quarter near the pool a good location ?

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Are Belle Plange, Avoriaz and Flaine still good options for April ? Any other places I should consider - VT, Courcheval 1850 or anything in Switzerland ?

@DJock, it's Belle Plagne. And Courchevel. It's difficult to generalise because these last few years the weather has been especially unpredictable. Do you have any budget in mind? Where and when did you and your 5 year old learn? There's something to be said for familiarity. And do you live near any of the indoor ski slopes? If you could catch the 4 year old and your wife up with yourself and the 5 year old, private lessons for the two adults together, and the two kids, would be much better.

You know it makes sense.

We used Prosneige last year in Les Menuires with a 4 year old. (In early March)
Prosneige are also in Val Thorens. They were great.

Courchevel 1650 will be more budget friendly and less busy than Courchevel 1850.

Seriously consider not-half-term.
March was great as no Frenchie school hols.

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

If you're set on half term then consider Norway. As a package holiday it can actually be cheaper than the Alps in Feb, and it's great for beginners.

The pistes will be quiet, you won't see many lift queues, and the last two years the snow has been excellent.

A snowHead

Thanks @Origen, with so many new names, haven't paid much attention to the spelling and pretty sure I cant pronounce any of these correctly either.

We took lessons at the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead and are transitioning from the trainee slope to the main slope. Hope to get a few more hours by next year. Its just over an hour away in on a sunday early morning and 1 1/2 on the way back, so wife isn't too keen on doing this regularly.

Budget for a self catering preferably 1/2 bed would be £300 p/n inclusive of service charges, cleaning fees etc.

Taking the kids off school for a week isn't an option so would have to be the week of March 30th next year if not half term.

A snowHead

If you go to one of the less "in demand" resorts you could get really very nice s/c apartments, well located, and with two bedrooms, for £300 p/n or less. I know that because I spent an hour or so last night trawling the Les Saisies resort website for accommodation for the 30th March week - just a few weeks away there are still some good places available and the choice months ago would have been much greater. Three and four bed places for less than 2000 euros. In half term they would cost much more. If you can only choose school holidays I'd go for Easter rather than half term every time. School holiday dates at Easter tend to make the whole journey less pressured and frenetic too.

So have you yet skied on proper snow? It can be quite different to a snowdome. Often much nicer, with longer runs and real mountains. But also combinations of snow, rain, thick fog and high winds (not usually all at once!)

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@Origen, Thanks for the suggesting on Les Saisies. It does seem to tick quite a few boxes for us. I'll keep an eye out to see if I can get a place close to Chardons magic carpet. ESI also have a kids area nearby.

A few have mentioned Norway but we're beginners and dont see the need to subject ourselves to the artic winters and nordic food just for skiing.

Preference is to drive to a reasonably high altitude area so if next year is anything like this one we dont have to spend hrs on lifts just to get to a magic carpet.

I do like the idea of easter skiing especially with more sun and longer daylight but it does reduce choices if slushy snow is to be avoided.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Les Saisies would suit you in many ways but it will be very busy at half term even though no British tour operators go there, and there are few British families. But you will not "beat the crowd" by taking Friday off - that's what lots of half termers do and channel crossing will be busy and expensive, and the road down choc a bloc too. There really isn't a smart way to beat the crowds and there are lots of threads here on Snowheads about the different ways to try. Getting into the resort either early (before 9 or 10 am) or much later (after 5 pm) is advisable to avoid the worst of the up-mountain queues.

As for Les Saisies, there is masses of accommodation quite near the "Front de Neige" and the Chardons magic carpet. But I'm not clear what skiing you've actually done. Being in ski school in busy weeks gives you big advantages - queue jumping, for a start.

But I still think you'd be better off going at Easter. I've had lots of good Easter skiing in Les Saisies but really, with so much to choose from. you'd be better advised going to one of the other places recommended above that late in the season - Ste Foy does sound good in many ways.

The ESI in Les Saisies is good.

After all it is free

As of now I have done 3x2 hrs and the 5 yr old has done 4x1hr on the trainee slope. By HT, we hope to have done atleast another 6 hrs with 2-3 hrs on the main slope

Wife and 3 yr old haven't done any yet. Wife will at best have 2x2 hrs on trainee and 3 yr old 2x30mins private on trainee.

I'm increasingly thinking about going for easter nxt yr. One of my concerns is that since we're beginners, we're most likely to be in the bottom slopes and hence with slushy snow.

If it was this easter, knowing how the winter has been - where would you recommend ?

Just curious - why Ste Foy ? its only 1550 and there's ony 1 lift out ?

Ste Foy seems to be less crowded than Les Saisies at half term and Rob Mackley, who recommended it, is an experienced and reliable reporter! I am a huge Les Saisies fan, had an apartment there for 15 years, and we ALWAYS came home to the UK for the French school holiday weeks. Easter was often fine, but the skiing tops out at 2000m so it's not a place you would recommend to someone who has the whole Alps to choose from.

Beginner areas are not necessarily at the bottom of the hill - and provided there's a gondola to go up (you won't be able to use chairlifts right away) it can be lovely to be right up there, with the views. It depends on the resort.

The key to the success of your first trip to the snow, really, is going to be the tuition you get. You've rightly surmised that not all ski schools are equal. Small groups can make a big difference but obviously cost more. The ESI in Saisies does great "small group" lessons at a higher cost. All schools will be flat out at half term - you will need to book lessons well in advance. I feel that for your first week on snow you would do well to all be in (small) group lessons all week. Probably four different groups! I know that's not what you planned but this is Snowheads, so you'll get lots of unsolicited advice. wink

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@DJock, I would definitely go at Easter. I have been to Val Cenis, Les Carroz, Montgenevre, sainte foy, Les arcs, La Plagne, le grand bornand and La rosiere in the first week of April with kids of ski school age and whilst all were good I would say that Montgenevre is the best for beginners and worth the slightly longer drive. It has green beginner runs from the top of the mountain 2500m to the front de neige 1800m on a north facing slope. The resort is usually open from December to May. There are two ski schools ESF and Apeak which are both very good. There are family oriented self catering residences. Le Napoleon is the best and most conveniently situated being close to ski school- it has an indoor pool, jacuzzi , sauna and spa etc

Le hameau des airelles is cheaper and has an outdoor heated pool but complete beginners would probably need to take the shuttle bus to ski school so I’d say it’s a better location for intermediates. There is the Monty express mountain coaster for apres ski as well as swimming mentioned above.

If you want a shorter drive than Montgenevre I’d consider les Saisies. Although I haven’t been to it at Easter.

If you are driving I’d recommend booking through Peak Retreats as they offer the eurotunnel flexiplus. The best way to go to Montgenevre is via the Frejus tunnel.

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This is very helpful!

Group lessons for the kids for sure with a suppliment of short private lessons of possible. For wife, thinking private lessons might be better and I might take a few as well. We are in the mid 30s and adult group lessons are likely to have a younger profile.

Looks like ESI at Les Saisies provides the option to have a 90 mins 9-10:30 private lesson before group lessons start at 10:30. So, in addition to the group session, might have 2-3 of these in the morning. Certainly cheaper than Oxygene/ New gen. The only concern is english communication esp if not many brits go there.

Oxygene at Belle Plagne, also offers 9-10 private lessons ahead of group lessons starting at 10. So this works as well but issue here is 4 yr old will have to go to ESF Piou Piou since no group lessons for 4 yr olds there. Also, Oxygene is a bit more expensive but can get english speaking instructors.

BP can be done in Easter but sounds like Les Saisies is better in HT.

I haven't look at Montgenevere, thanks for the suggestion, i'll take a look

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You know it makes sense.

@DJock, my sister did adult beginner ski school with Apeak in Montgenevre when she was 30 and it was fine. There were only three in the group. She supplemented it with a couple of private afternoon lessons.

In terms of your 4 year old they will be able to do club pupil piou which is 2.5 hour morning lessons. Some resorts have a lesson plus lunch club or even afternoon childcare for this age group. When our kids were 3 and 6 we did this in La rosiere. They had esf morning ski school plus lunch and on two days we paid for the afternoon childcare. You could check if the ESF in montgenevre offer anything similar. You could book the kids in with ESF and yourselves in with Apeak as they start in the same place although check if lesson start times are the same.

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

Just curious - why Ste Foy ? its only 1550 and there's ony 1 lift out ?[/quote]

What it lacks in lifts it more than makes up for in terrain, and as a beginner family with young kids, i d say is hard to beat

Its mainly north facing so yes the village is at 1550m....majority of the skiing is 1800m

kids get free lift passes, all runs pretty much lead back to base so

we went again this Feb HT, hardly any lift queues apart from the powder frenzy on the Friday on Marquise, but we are only talking 5 mins or so. We went to La Plagne last year and queues were bonkers apart from 12-2.

We ve been going to SF with the kids since they were 2...now 18.

A snowHead

A snowHead

Thanks for all the feedback.

I made a last minute decision to take the 5 yr old to Val Thorens this easter.

With prices sky high we flew out to GVA on good friday, stayed the night and took the first shuttle to VT. I booked a cheap airbnb near the medical centre, which seemed quite close to the Oxygene meeting point bu didn't realise how hard the 100m trek would be. Up and down twice a day was bit of a struggle for the first 2 days but both skied to class from day 3 and walked back from the Castor Pollux in the evenings. It was ok but would try to get something on the other side further down next time.

It was an interesting start to our skiing, staurday was heavy winds with the resort shut down but didn't matter as it was arrival day and sunday was chaos with most lifts still closed. We were both with Oxygene and I got just 1 run on the magic carpet in the entire 2 hr class. Afternoon was better, managed to get a couple of runs on the cascades green.

Weather improved significantly monday onwards with fresh snow every morning except for friday. Skiied loads of blues and on friday morning the instructor took my group to the Follie blue from pioneers. Made it without any incident Very Happy

On the way back with flights expensive, took the train to Paris, spent the afternoon there and took the last Eurostar back.

Both of us really enjoyed skiing, the long Cosmojet and lunch under the sun at La Face Laughing

Already looking fwd to the family trip next easter. not sure weather to go back to VT or try La Plagne / Les Arcs.

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@DJock, well done - sounds like a big effort, but got you going.
No need to make decisions yet about next Easter, except perhaps book flights as they do get expensive in holiday time. I find it's often quite difficult to discover the exact location of AirBnB places until you've committed yourself!

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@DJock, wow, that's a fair bit of work/hassle flying/training but well done. Clearly signifies you are hooked!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Help!!

Half Term recommendations for beginner family

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