Family Group First Ski Holiday

A snowHead

Hi I am trying to organise a family ski holiday. There will be a group of 15 to 18 people with age ranges from 3-62. There will be 5-6 people in the group which have skied before. There will also be 1-2 people who won’t be skiing at all.

Ideally we are looking for a ski in/out accommodation. Was thinking of a large chalet? It would be great if the area had some additional activities for people not skiing also activities for kids in the evening time. Thinking of going around Mid term (Fed 2025). Be nice to have a good covering of fresh snow.

I am looking for any advice on possible locations and accommodation types best suited to this type of group. Any help would be much appreciated. I hope I have given a good description of what we are looking for.

Thanks,
Patrick

A snowHead

@PatrickSki, welcome to SH's.

HT is busiest time of the season - many on here recommend going to Italy at that time. However that is a bit counter to your ski in ski out request.It is possible elsewhere but France tends to be the key for ski in ski out.

18 person isn't easy. Catered chalets aren't the thing they once were - though it's still possible.

I presume the group is restricted by school holidays - if so have they considered going when schools break up before Easter? Great time to go - though it is countered by having good snow at resort level.

As you may have figured out by now - there are compromises to be made.

What about budget?

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@Layne, We are open to all options to be honest. I just put the wish list up in case somewhere ticked all the boxes Smile

We have 3 teachers in the group so really restricted with school holiday which I know is probably the worst time.

Ski In/out I was just thinking would be good with the kids to save buses etc but would be open to it for the right overall resort.

Budget like anything we are trying to keep it as tight as possible but again wouldn’t mind pay a little extra for the right resort to suit the overall group.

Answers are probably a little vague but at this minute I am open to all and any suggestions.

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@PatrickSki, welcome to snowHeads

where you should get a lot of valuable information but not necessarily always what you want to hear.

Definitely Easter better than February half term. Longer daylight hours, usually warmer, far less crowded, better value.

School holiday ski trips in a ski in/ski out location don’t really mix well with tight budgets. Can you be a bit more specific about your preferences?

For example, do you prefer to book a package with flights and accommodation all included?

Or do you prefer to book own travel, accommodation etc separately?

Self catering or food included?

Would the very young family members have someone looking after them, or do you need childcare?

Any idea of budget per person and what you expect that to include?

The answers to these questions should help narrow down very broad options before specific areas/resorts/accommodation start getting suggested.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

We stayed here last January:
https://www.belambra.com/locations/auvergne-rhone-alpes/club-les-saisies-les-embrunes-winter
Les Saisies was absolutely brilliant for beginners and a lovely little town. This hotel is ski in/ ski out even for beginners. There's also a really good bus service down into town.

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If France at HT then that would be a great suggestion. But be sure to book ski lessons for all who need them. From right outside. At HT being in lessons is ideal, to get lift priority.

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@PeakyB, Thanks for the reply. I really don’t have a definite what list. This big thing really is to find a location where everyone in the group will have something to do either during the day skiing or in the evening.

I would like to think of a catered chalet where we could all dine together but if budget doesn’t work self catering would work fine.

We won’t need childcare.

I don’t have an idea of what this will cost but it would be good to get the trip in for 1500-1800 per person for full package. Flights, accommodation, ski hire and ski pass. Maybe I am way out here.

The last place we went was La Plange 1800. We stayed in self catering apartments right beside a ski lift. It also had the ski school beside the accommodation. There was a ski school for the young skiers (probably 3-4 years of age) which I thought was brilliant. Just a small square area with a small escalator. It had loads of skiing for beginners when you went up to the next village and a good shuttle bus service. It also had a heated outdoor pool and bob slaying which was on a short bus trip for the evening. Overall this area was good but not sure about the larger group here. Maybe a different village in this area would be good.

This is the only experience I have. Maybe there would be somewhere in Italy, Austria which would have a resort to suit our group.

After all it is free

@PatrickSki, that helps a lot I think.

There should be a decent choice of options within that per head price range.

One decision that would take you down different routes is whether you go for Feb half term or Easter.

There are trade offs. Feb will be busier and more expensive but opens up a lot of lower altitude options, whilst still having a good chance of decent snow conditions.

Easter cheaper, likely better weather, less crowded but really pushes you towards higher altitude and/or areas with plenty of north facing slopes.

To me, Feb half term Is he thinking more about Italy and Austria. Easter I’d be thinking France and areas like Paradiski, 3 valleys. That’s a very broad generalisation though.

I think with such a large group an early booking is needed and often a good way to get a discount.

Hope that helps…Feb or Easter?

Just asked in a group chat we have and they think Feb mid term would suit best.

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@sugarmoma666, This place looks great and has so much extra to offer apart from the skiing.

Where did you fly into?

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We don't fly. We caught the train to Albertville, which is around 40mins from resort.

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Flights to Geneva probably your best option from Ireland with a large group.

I'd also ask what sort of budget too. As for a a large group like that there are catered chalet options everywhere. Just very top end pricey.

I'd say go pre Christmas when the teachers are out of school too. Chalets will be at their cheapest (not Christmas week itself)

You know it makes sense.

OK I read down the thread. I saw the budget. Plenty of scope for catered chalet with that budget. Ski in out might be tickier at that level though.

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

A snowHead

@PatrickSki, May I suggest https://www.skiolympic.com/les-arcs. It's right on the pistes so you can literally put your skis on at the front door and return at the end of skiing. Vallandry is excellent for beginners but it is a bit of a walk down to the village for absolute beginners (that's the trouble with ski in ski out - walk in walk out isn't so easy).

However the big trouble is that Febuary is going to be the busiest time of the season and the resort will be rammed full. In many years Easter would be a good choice, but with it being so late in 2025 the snow outside the chalet will be difficult to negotiate, hard pack in the morning and slush from luntime onwards.

A better choice might be somewhere a bit off the beaten track. In another post I suggested looking at the Appenines in Italy or the Tatras in Poland/Slovakia. If you want activities for kiddies in the evenning then Zakopane has a magnificent swimming pool complex and there are spas etc for adults to lounge in. These places are not ski out/ski in but need a bus or shuttle to the slopes and you stay in half board hotels.

The perfect ski resort doesn't exist. Only you can decide on what is the most important part of the compromise.

One final thought search on the internet for an old copy of Where to Ski and Snowboard from 2016, the last year the book was published. It gives an excellent and still relevant view of most of the major ski resorts. (Final pedantic point should the title not be Where to Ski or Snowboard. Very few people do both)

A snowHead

I'd start with this thread: https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=167136

This gives you a view of all which countries have school holidays when, you can then find a country where it will be less busy.

Practically this means avoiding French ski resorts whenever Paris is on holiday (this looks like a clash for you at Feb half term but you'd need to check).

If you are tied to Feb HT then Austria or Italy look better. There will be less ski in/out available but you can fairly easily find accommodation close to the lifts.

Off the top of my head Obergurgl (or Hochgurgl) might be worth checking out because it is very snow sure, is good for beginners and has accommodation close to the slopes. https://www.gurgl.com/winter/ski-area.html

If Innsbruck flights are blowing the budget then train travel may actually be a good option because as a large group (10+) so you can book before the tickets go on general release and get a good price (you might need a travel agent to do this).

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Surprised no one has suggested the Dolomites. Vast amount of skiing for all abilities, very reliable piste conditions, stunning scenery, top quality food. It is a better location for a non skiing winter holiday than any of the high altitude French places and less affected by half term overcrowding (Italians generally only ski weekends, no French, German & Dutch holidays more spread out). With such a large group probably makes sense to fly to Venice and get a small coach transfer. Innsbruck is closer but far fewer flights. Suspect catered chalets are very few if any but plenty of self catering apartments (you might find half board is surprisingly affordable and usually very good).

If Austria then I would look at Saalbach or maybe Ski Amade. Catered chalets few and far between (mostly St Anton but that's not suitable here) again apartments are plentiful plus half board in hotels.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Henwc, if the majority of the group will be in lessons, is the need to avoid France quite so great? Lots of families seem to manage to enjoy holidays there and presumably with lessons you'd be dodging any queues for at least half the day?

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@sugarmoma666, You are right it may be better for the people in lessons.

I have enjoyed holidays in France when clashing with Paris HT although I still actively avoid it because of the in resort experience, perhaps it's just the large resorts that have the problem? The worst for me was les Arcs 2000 Feb HT a couple of years ago. We went by train with a Lille stopover which was good but I said never again with all the lift queues for the easy blues my son liked.

Recently we have gone to France at Easter instead which is lovely and quiet.

It's probably down to personal preference, I have only ever been to Les Saisies in mid Jan so I would not know how busy it would be at HT. I did note that it would have been an excellent beginner resort though.

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

@Henwc, Obergurgl is a no go if a chalet is a must. Which with young kids and what looks like grandparents staying a bit longer in the accommodation then its not ideal to be in a hotel.

After all it is free

@PatrickSki, what exactly are the dates of the Feb 2025 half term in Ireland?

@afterski, True Obergurgl wouldn't have chalets. I was trying to think of somewhere in Austria with resort level snow, accommodation close to the pistes and reasonable beginner runs. My parents (i.e. my son's grandparents) love a decent hotel with good facilities to stay in. Although we are a much smaller group and I can see how a sole occupancy chalet would be particularly lovely with a big group.

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I tend to agree that the Dolomites would be a good choice for February (though not for Easter if there was a change of mind from the group).

Problem is there are very few chalets. Very little ski in/ski out either. Lots of good hotels though, very close to pistes. Lots of other advantages, which many threads on snowHeads elaborates on.

If somewhere high in France was preferred then I think the Ski Olympic option in Vallandry is a good one, having stayed there recently. It wouldn’t be an exclusive chalet for your group, as it has about 70-80 beds I think, in case that’s an issue. Blue piste directly from/to the terrace. Don’t recall the walk to the village being a problem, just a good uphill cardiac workout back up the hill. Not so much to do close by for non-skiers but a decent bus service to other Les Arcs villages and also Bourg St Maurice, in the valley.

Lots of options in Austria but again, the chalet market has shrunk dramatically, so more likely to find hotels.

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I'd also add that it is probably too late to get the decent large chalets now. Most in that size that are reasonable and ski in out are most likely booked up right now. I can say that for sure as I've been looking myself for Saturday 1st February weekend for some larger chalets.

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You’re right and I agree, if the choice is February half term.

You know it makes sense.

@Layne, Being based in Bavaria I never see the Dolomites = Italy, its Südtirol round here Very Happy

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

@munich_irish, Laughing

fair enough

A snowHead

@PatrickSki,
First up I'd recommend Tignes as it covers you for ski in/out for certain accommodation, and has many non-ski and kids apres ski activity options.
For a group that size I'd look at approaching a tour operator or a specialist ski travel agent (eg Peak Retreats or Alpine Answers) to sort out the logistics.

A snowHead

@munich_irish, in Italy it is Dolomiti. Dolomites is the English word and it refers to the mountain range not the region. Sud Tyrol is the region. Are some of the dolomites in the vento region?

Now we can enter a debate as to whether the Brenta are part of the dolomites or a separate range.

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Does @munich_irish also reject Alto Adige as a name for the region* which contains the mountains known to the British as the Dolomites?

[*I think strictly, the majority of it on the Bolzano side].

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I think this thread might be going off at a tangent Very Happy

Or perhaps the OP is interested in the finer points of the history, geography and culture of that part of the world?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@johnE, Somewhat thread drift. There is a matter of perspective here. Where I am folk say "I am going skiing in Südtirol" which might well not be strictly true but means we are off to somewhere in the Dolomiti Super Ski area. Most of that was in Tirol prior to 1918 - Val di Fassa etc is now in Trentino and the Ladin speaking areas around Arabba & Cortina were transferred to the Veneto (there was a move to transfer back into Trentino / Südtirol but that was not popular with the Veneto government). Yes the Dolomite mountain range extends further into the Veneto eg Alleghe well known to SHs. Perhaps the most iconic of the Dolomite mountains Drei Zinnen / Tre Cima were always on the border of Tirol & Veneto there is even the site of the old border post on the adjacent pass (Passportenscharte).

I would say the Brenta Dolomites whilst geologically identical to the mountains east of the Adige river are in practical terms more associated with the Adamello group and in skiing terms part of Madonna etc which is not the "Dolomites"

For me if someone says "skiing in Italy" I think Cervinia, Val d'Aoste, Livigno, Bormio, Sauze d'Oulx etc. Perhaps memories from 1980s with tales of dodgy lifts and dodgy ski instructors not the image of the well ordered towns & villages of the Dolomiti Super Ski area!. When I drive over the Brenner "Italy" never really seems to start before the Lago di Garda Sud turn off when the church architecture changes from a "central European" to a "southern European" style.

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@munich_irish, The area does have a long and interesting history. With lots of evidence of the white war and the old border around places such as the Falzarego pass, Passo Fedaia etc. . There does seem to be an increased effort to Italiantise the names with places such as Wolkenstein often refered to in this forum as Selva (the di val Gardena bit often seems to be lost so I confuse it with Selva di Cadore). The north end of Lake Garda was part of Austria. I think Cortina was alway Italian, but the railway from Toblach was Austrian and a different gauge to the Italian one to the south.

It is an intersting area of study without even considering the rise of fascism.

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

After all it is free

I agree that a large catered chalet would be much the best option for your group. Easy access to ski school meeting place will be the key factor for your beginners. I have a fair bit of experience of big family groups and I don't think "evening activities for children" are necessary especially if there is snow to play in outside the chalet. I am currently organizing a family Christmas with kids and grandkids and have opted for a big self catered apartment. We are experienced self catered but I think your group is a bit big for self catering unless you have a supreme organiser! I am 77 and expect to be spending a fair bit of time on my own in the chalet when the others are out skiing. Indeed, am looking forward to that! I shall want comfortable living area, ability to get myself snacks and drinks, and would absolutely NOT want to have to choose between being in my own bedroom or properly dressed in public area of a hotel. I agree Italy would be ideal in some ways but you will be more likely to find the right accommodation in France.

However, as already pointed out, places accommodating big groups do book up v early. I had a real scramble to find a 5 bedroom place last week; most were already booked. You might have left it too late.

One option could be adjoining apartments in one building. Peak Retreats, mentioned above, might be able to help with that but they don't deal with logistics beyond giving you a return ticket on Eurotunnel.

The suggestion of Belambra in Les Saisies, above, is by far the best on this thread so far but they might not have space for half term.

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