 Poster: A snowHead
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I normally go away for 4-5 days a year in March with the other half, but this year we have decided its time to take the four kids aged between 6-12 for their first skiing trip. Historically we fly to Geneva and last couple of years have just gone to Geneva, however for some unknown reason to ourselves we booked Lyon when the Easyjet flights came out months ago. These were fairly cheap, but we didn't do any research before and now I am realising it's not as easy as first thought.
Dates we are going are 15th to 20th Feb 2024, which again is against the norm but going over 2 difference half terms.
What I am finding is the difficulty in getting to any resorts if you are not going on a Saturday.
Looking for help in choosing a resort that isn't miles from Lyon airport, has transfer options for a thursday that aren't going to cripple me financially.
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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I have to say you're asking quite a lot on the accomodation front. You want someone who's willing to accept just 4 or 5 paying nights out of 14 of the highest earning ones in the season.
Taking the need for transfers into account you might want to look at hiring a 7 seater car, finding accomodation 'down the valley' and driving in/back each day. Yes having to drive every day/get children up and out the door even earlier is an extra hastle, but it's an extra hastle for everyone else so a better chance of finding accomodation willing to take 4-5 nights out of 14.
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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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Try looking at The Maurienne Valley, quieter then the big French resorts and not packed out, stay in the valley and decide where you want to ski and hire a car as it’s easy access from Lyon at about 1hr 45. Or pick one of the resorts in the area such as Valmeinier, Valloire, Val Cenis and look at a transfer by someone like alps2alps (never used them so can’t recommend but they travel to lots of resorts)
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@Mjit is right. Finding accommodation is the first hurdle - then consider transfers. It's not Lyon which is your problem, but your choice of dates! No wonder the flights were cheap. 
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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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Unfortunately its a blended family with two different half term dates so we are already having to take each set out 2 days from their respective schools.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@wyattjnr, welcome to SH's.
What's the old saying "I wouldn't start from here".
Aside from the accommodation is ski school for the kids. What was/is your plan for that.
Depending on your finances/budget I'd be inclined to bin the flights and start again.
Do your kids have two different HT's? What about Easter? The latter would be much better for a maiden trip anyhow.
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@layne thanks for the welcome.
Definitely not the most thought about trip, we just bit the bullet.
In terms of ski school we will go private and from the contacts I have seen there is actually some space in the larger resorts. Hoping its similar in the smaller.
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| Quote: |
What about Easter? The latter would be much better for a maiden trip anyhow.
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This. Your situation sounds tricky, @wyattjnr. Hope you can work something out - 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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@wyattjnr, yeah, privates might work
Accommodation wise first couple of replies you had are a good way to go - you are going to have to be inventive here.
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Valmeinier does look like a winner on first glance. Nice mixture of runs and accommodation and ski pass isn't too crazy
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@wyattjnr, I haven't been but know a man who has - and he was fine with it.
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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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I went long ago. It was v limited but I believe the awkward link with Valloire (which has a lot to commend it) is now much better.
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Pam - do you think kids would get bored in the evening? They are only 6-12 but would like to try and keep them entertained.
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You know it makes sense.
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@wyattjnr,
Check on the resort website as to what is going on.
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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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The link to Valloire is perfectly fine and opens the area up, and Valloire itself is a lovely proper French mountain village. Both have plenty going on with ice rinks, luge, cinemas, night skiing etc which I’m sure would entertain kids for just the few nights you are going.
The winter guide (albeit in French) may help
https://www.valmeinier.com/en/brochure/practical-guide-winter-2/
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just having a quick look on Airbnb I can see a few apartments available in Huez Village and L2A for those dates (more choice in L2A), at a variety of price points.
For transfers you can get the TGV from Lyon Airport to Grenoble, and then the Transaltitude local busses up to the resort.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| wyattjnr wrote: |
| Pam - do you think kids would get bored in the evening? They are only 6-12 but would like to try and keep them entertained. |
They're your children so you should know their personalities better than anyone but my experience skiing with different friends/their children is there often isn't as much down time as you'd think. The day is a round of exercising and feeding/watering, and by the time all that's over a few games of Uno and you can start seeing the younger ones off to bed, leaving the older ones with a choice of some more 'adult time' - or screen time seeing them off too. And all that leaves you one bottle of wine from bed yourself!
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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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If you can find somewhere in France that's great. If you cant but can rent a car I might be inclined to look through the Frejus tunnel at somewhere like Bardonecchia or the milky way resorts that aren't too far away . Italy tends to be easier to find part weeks than France in my experience, though I've not tried these particular areas.
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@wyattjnr, agree with @Mjit, about the kids. When they were younger post skiing they would do a bit of digging (beach spades useful) and/or sledging but then post bath/shower/dinner/board game they would be knackered and ready for bed.
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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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Yep, I can remember a lot of days that ended:
1. Ski, then recovery hot chocolate.
2. Playing in the snow (sledging/snowball fights/just running up a snow bank and sliding down on bums), then recovery hot chocolate.
3. Home to shower/change, the back out for/to buy dinner.
4. Roll stuffed children home, bit of family fun time, bed.
NOTE:
i) As an adult always wear warm socks as "playing in the snow" means them running around keeping warm/you standing around getting cold.
ii) Adults can substitute alcohol for hot chocolate.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@wyattjnr, if they have a chance, most kids are happy to play out in the snow till you insist they come in and get ready for bed. Kids in that age group also tend to enjoy the kind of "family games" which make older ones groan and roll their eyes (though once in their 20s they enjoy them again, and beat you effortlessly at everything). Having their undivided (with telly or other screens) parents' time is still special for that age group too.
Of course, when they finally come in from playing out in the snow they shed heaps of soaking wet clothes all over the floor - which you have to get dry before the morning.
They'll need good warm and waterproof boots - don't need to be at all expensive, but are essential. Try to make sure their trousers are pulled down over the top..........at least to start with.
And be prepared for the fact that if there is any dog shit somewhere under the snow they will find it but be unaware of it till it's not only on the floor but also on the bottom of the trousers they pulled off without paying attention.
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Must admit we never had the dog poo-poo problem. Just about every other type but not that one 
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Thanks guys, awesome hints and tips.
What a great forum this is. So helpful.
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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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@Layne, trouble was, that the grass out the front of our apartments, which sloped down to a path, was both a great place to play (the slope was about enough to slide down) AND the obvious place for idle French dog owners to take their wretched pooches out for a poo. It didn't happen often that the kids "found it" (a bit like the sixpence in a Christmas pudding.....) but after the first time I used to go out and chuck it down out of range if I spotted it in time.
Having an easily accessible "outside" playing space is a priority with kids in my view.
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Some of my grandchildren 2 metres outside the door of our gite at Easter. The little one is 3 years old and wearing the suit that the 17 year old (out of shot) had new.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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They can have fun even with less than perfect snow conditions!
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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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Just to add, our 6 and 8 year old are exhausted after day of skiing. A hotel with a pool also fills in time. Private transfers done a few times now via findtransfers from chambery and geneva. All been very good and on time, pretty expensive but ultimate ease and not having to get up at stupid oclock or wait around 2hrs after picking up baggage.., unless you get stuck in 4 hrs of traffic... ranging from 600 to 900eur return. Given its covering a min 2.5hr journey each way plus the driver getting to us its understandable to some extent..
Also not so exteme when consider the alpy bus or bens bus for the 4 of us is 200eur each way anyway. Private transfers make more sense the more of you there are.
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Personally a pool wouldn't appeal to me with young kids as I'd have to be in there too, whereas I can keep an eye on them playing in the snow whilst I sit in the warm with a glass of something.
Private lessons could make good sense for a family group 6 - 12 if they are all beginners. Two of mine, aged 5 and 11, shared privates very successfully at Easter (foreground two in my photo) because the 5 year old was incredibly "gung ho", fearless and very strong. The sort of girl who climbs any rock in sight and spends half the time upside down. A more stolid, sensible, thinking, listening, 11 year old cousin was a good foil
I took a group with 6 few kids to the Snowcoach chalet hotel in Valmeinier once. Booked at the Ski Show, and a huge bargain, with 6 kids sharing a bunk room, with free equipment hire. The coach trip was a bit arduous but gave us lots of extra time. But the chalet hotel was a mixed blessing. There was a hot tub which the kids were very keen to try, but it was monopolised by a gang of what my lot dubbed "big fat bullies" who tore noisily up and down the stairs all the time and were generally obnoxious. But the 6 of them palled up with some other, more amenable, kids in the chalet and they all went off in a gang on snowblades, mostly off piste as we subsequently discovered (yes, I know.....but Valloire is not full of terrible death traps.). One of them was a hot shot ice hockey player and dancer and quite brilliant on blades. His "turn out" was so good he could ski with his two blades end to end, like one long thin ski.
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You know it makes sense.
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Just stumbled across Montgenevre. Anyone got any experience of this resort?
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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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Twice we were in apartment block with a pool (not on purpose) when the kids were very young (4 and nearly 2) and young (7 and 5) and both times we used it once. It's a bit of pallaver, they get cold. In these cases it was just a pool not much else to it. It was a nice to have but not a necessity for us - and we never actively sought out apartments with a pool.
When they were 9 and 7 we went to Tignes and one evening went to the aqua centre there in Lac. We had to bus it down from Val Claret. It was free with the lift pass. It wasn't a bad session, they had slides and stuff, which was much more fun than a standard pool. But we all got cold again and we weren't in their for a particularly long time. We only went the once.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@wyattjnr, yes, I’ve skied there twice - what would you like to know?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Montan - great, is it set up for beginners? 4 kids who have never skied basically. Does it generally get good snow conditions? Did you enjoy it? How did you get there?
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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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@wyattjnr, I’m not 100% sure on the beginner’s facilities, as we were all experienced skiers. Snow cover/conditions are generall very good, certainly if you’re looking at February. We enjoyed it, it’s more family-orientated than a party town, with just a few bars, traditional restaurants, burger/pizza lunchtime places. We also skied to Claviere (French end of the Milky Way) and had a very cost-effective lunch in the slopes (everything much cheaper than the equivalent in Montgenevre). Beginners couldn’t do that but those with a couple of weeks skiing should be fine. Lifts are in the Main Street of the village, and there’s (what my non-skier friend said was) a very nice pool complex. There are some smaller hotels, catered chalets, and apartments all in good locations for village and lifts, but (again) your dates may well prove difficult. We flew to Turin, which is an easy transfer. Good luck
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Congratulations, you have picked the 2 busiest weeks of the season in France. Same for CH.
Wanting to arrive and depart on days other than saturday is nigh impossible. Unless there is a snag, like with your attractively priced flight tickets...
Some appartments you can book sunday till sunday.
Luckily for you, in Italy they don't have school holidays in February!
1. Bardonecchia. There even is a direct train that stops there from Grenoble, probably from Lyon as well. When going by car, also very easily accessible via the toll-tunnel, it's all motorway.
2. Sauze d'Oulx. A bit further than Bardo, but still very doable.
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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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Yes, Italy makes sense. Rent a car in Lyon and drive through whichever tunnel (Mont Blanc or Frejus) is open. Can't remember the discussion about the forthcoming closure of one or the other.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The France to Italy Alps trainline is currently shut.
Mega rockslide.
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However the (Frejus) road tunnel is open.
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@wyattjnr, A tip for next year: consider Alpe di Siusi (aka Seiser Alm) in the Dolomites. Stay in Siusi (Seis). Fly to Verona. (Innsbruck is closer but flights pricey in school holidays). It’s superb for beginners and children. Brilliant sunny hub at Compatsch. Lots of gentle runs. Good snow making. Cheaper than France. Great food everywhere. Horse drawn sleigh rides and tobogganing, if you want a break from skiing. I know it doesn’t help you this year, but worth planning better for next year!
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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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We went to Montgenevre in Feb half term this year with a very mixed ability group including children as beginners and everyone had a brilliant time. You would have no problem here, good beginners area and we did not find it especially busy even with it being peak season.
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| Montan wrote: |
| @wyattjnr, I’m not 100% sure on the beginner’s facilities, as we were all experienced skiers. Snow cover/conditions are generall very good, certainly if you’re looking at February. We enjoyed it, it’s more family-orientated than a party town, with just a few bars, traditional restaurants, burger/pizza lunchtime places. We also skied to Claviere (French end of the Milky Way) and had a very cost-effective lunch in the slopes (everything much cheaper than the equivalent in Montgenevre). Beginners couldn’t do that but those with a couple of weeks skiing should be fine. Lifts are in the Main Street of the village, and there’s (what my non-skier friend said was) a very nice pool complex. There are some smaller hotels, catered chalets, and apartments all in good locations for village and lifts, but (again) your dates may well prove difficult. We flew to Turin, which is an easy transfer. Good luck |
When you say easy transfer, rental car or what transfer company? Thank you
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