 Poster: A snowHead
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I am looking for ideas for a friends and his young family making a trip to Europe next February.
They are wanting to get a taste of skiing / snowboarding ANDthe ability to see some nice European cities/towns i.e. not ski every day (... until they discover the joy of it of course  )
I think this may be a bit problematic because they have a 3.5 year old and a 1.5 year old. I am pretty sure the 1.5 year old will need creche facilities, but I don't know whether the 3.5 year old would be allowed to ski?
So far my ideas of where to stay that has nice town and nearby slopes would be:
- Somewhere good for beginners near Salzburg (Never been to Salzburg nor this area so cannot really comment so cannot comment)
- Sierra Nevada ... Granada is nearby (but while I think Granada is stunning in Summer, I am not sure about it in Winter or the Sierra Nevada as a great skiing location?)
- Dolomites ... Venice is nearby'ish ...
Are there any other options I could suggest to them? (Preferably cheaper so St Moritz is out!)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There are a number of small resorts/ski areas within 1.5 hours of Rome in the Central Apennines. There is actually quite a lot to see up in the mountains without limiting yourself to skiing - the town of Aquilla is a very atmospheric place; there are some crazy old villages in the mountains which look like something out of "The Name of the Rose". Snow is probably no more or less reliable than the Sierra Nevada. It's a really interesting area and hasn't been colonised by Brits like, for example, Tuscany
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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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Salzburg is wonderful, though my experience of trying to find creches for small children (in the major nearby resort of Saalbach) was problematic.
The French seem to be better at this. I'd maybe look at Grenoble, which is a really lovely place to walk around and has a local friendly ski area called Chamrousse - not very well known to Brits, but it's where the 1968 Winter Olympics skiing was held. It's got a fair selection of green and blue runs, so should be fine for the beginners. It's a pretty ski area - I liked it. I'd hazard a guess that they've got a good set-up for children there. The website only seems to be in French:
http://www.chamrousse.com
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brian
brian
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David Goldsmith, Grenoble is a bit on the industrial side though, no ?
Geneva's quite a nice city and the Jura areas are only 20 miles away ... or of course, Chamonix, PdS etc. within an hour or so.
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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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Certainly Grenoble has ugly outskirts, but the centre is lovely. The mayor was very progressive in pedestrianising it, and put in a superb tram system.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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agavin, Being a fellow womble, I would like to suggest that you go the whole hog and go to the Czech republic. Spindelruv Mlyn is a smallish resort with some quite good skiing well suited to your needs and is not far from the magnificent town of Prague which in my opinion is the second most beautiful city in Europe after La Rosiere 
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brian
brian
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David Goldsmith, I know I nearly got run down by one, damn quiet these trams !
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LARGEZOOKEEPER, Thank you fellow Womble.
... That may be just the thing as they are on quite a tight budget and I would guess this may be cheaper. Any idea as to whether they would be likely to find English tuition and chilcare there? I agree that Prague is the 2nd most magnificent town in Europe .... after La ... Venice
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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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agavin, It didn't seem very expensive when I was there but most things were paid for us, however food and especially drink were definetly on the cheap side especially beer(should be good for the 3 year old!) As for childcare and tuition I'm not sure but a lot of people there seemed to speak english.
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Innsbruck is served by BA at reasonable prices.
Airport is close to the town.From the town itself many smaller resorts are a short way away. Bus connections are available.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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For Austria, Salzburg is pretty central and you can get direct trains to places like Vienna, Innsbruck, Kitzbühel, Süd Tirol, Munich, even Zurich, Budapest, Bratislava (if you want to travel that far) plus numerous Austrian thermal spa baths (good if they don't take to the winter sports).
Saalbach is Apres Ski lively but there are many other local family reorts to Salzburg.
http://www.bergfex.com/sommer/salzburg/
Certain hotels offer childcare or you could contact the Tourist office of the resort(s) you are considering.
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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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How much experience do they have of Europe? Having holidayed with kids that age, I would guess that a base which is welcoming/sympa/gemutlich where the little one could be looked after close by by people they had met would be vital if both parents were going to ski together - and could be on call by mobile phone if the baby was very unhappy. You can't really drive somewhere new, dump the baby and disappear (well most people wouldn't...).
If Europe is generally new to them and they like the idea of a friendly family base there are some British run chalets in Megeve which sound good and which include introduction to skiing, tuition, help with getting to the slopes etc. Elsewhere people have commented favourably (Simon Butler is one). Megeve is an attractive, sophisticated, town with a pedestrianised centre with horse taxis - and Geneva is only just over an hour away (though personally I find Geneva very boring if you don't want to do personal banking or buy a stupidly expensive watch).
If they are complete beginners they couldn't really dip in and out of a group lesson, and the cost of private lessons (though it would obviously suit them much better) might be a problem.
There's a recent thread on age of children learning to ski - 3.5 should be OK for a really independent and fairly gung ho child, if English language tuition is available. But 4 or 5 is better unless parents are able skiers. But it can be difficult or impossible to co-ordinate dropping and picking up a child that young into ski school if both parents are also in ski school - it depends on the resort geography and timing. The UK run chalets where they have nannies to do this sort of thing are supposed to be excellent (Mark Warner for example) though personally I could never afford them, and took granny instead, or struggled. Do they have a granny? She'd be worth the airfare!!
The holiday is bound to cost at least £500 a head, more with much travelling, car and equipment hire/lessons etc. and if they try to cut the budget too much it would be hard to make it enjoyable, unless they are very tough and used to roughing it. Why don't you go with them agavin, and act as ski/tour guide and baby sitter? 
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You know it makes sense.
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Zurich, Bern & Luzern are all very good and within easy reach of the mountains if they want to do the stuff in blocks (and with a multi-day pass their travel costs can be kept to a budget). Locarno & Lugarno are also not too far from the mountains.
Milan & Turin are other alternatives. As is my favourite suggestion of Aosta from where they have a host of ski resorts (inc. Pila direct by bubble from the town), as well as being within day-trip reach of Milan & Turin. Aosta itself is not huge and is a bit industrial round the edges, but it has some good Roman ruins and there's plenty of other visitable places nearby (inc. Courmayeur & Monte Bianco).
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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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agavin, get your next trip in as soon as possible. Everything is 100% easier with a 6 month old than an 18 month old, with ideas of their own.... and mobile. And 1000% easier than with two babies of any age. Keep working on those grandparents. My flute teacher had a baby two years ago and when she bemoaned the difficulties of ski trips, and I suggested grandma, she retorted that grandma would be far too busy heliskiing to do any babysitting. I am now a grandma but I can't afford heliskiing and can't wait to take my grand-daughter skiing.
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Poster: A snowHead
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agavin, what about Briancon? - not been there but hear that it is a pretty (?spa) town and then could ski Serre Chevalier
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Also, from Evian and Thonon it's pretty easy to get to some ski resorts. Thollon (not been) is very close.
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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 agree that Prague is the 2nd most magnificent town in Europe .... after La ... Venice
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Venice and Cortina always 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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Most resorts have a ski-kindergarden (or equivalent) for toddlers. Whether they're open for unbooked day-trips is one question I guess.
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I agree skanky - the difficulty is childcare for not-yet-toddlers.
I forgot to say, the place above is bookable down to just a single half day.
It does charge a one-off fee of 5 euros to "join".
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| Quote: |
| I agree skanky - the difficulty is childcare for not-yet-toddlers. |
Yeah, that's why it's another year before mine comes. 
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Folks ... thanks for all your responses. I think I am going to leave the ball in their court, saying that:
1. They would do better to commit to a week of skiing and not trying to do everything i.e. expand their list of resorts and learn to ski for a week ... or decide to sight see cities instead ...
2. They consider leaving it a few years until they can learn with their kids and everybody can enjoy it so much more as I think the childcare issue could seriously snooker their plans (and budget!) ...
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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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Yes, Venice is wonderful at any time of year and from the Dolomites it quite doable. Padua (the Giotto frescos etc) and Vicenze (Palladio buildings) are also near. Personally I prefer other places than Cortina, which is a big town with a fringe of bits of skiing. the Sela Ronda area might be better (Arabba for good skiers).
When I was once in Kitzbuhel with my non skiing wife she did a day trip to Salzburg (1 1/2 hours away) which they organised from there. Bavaria is also not far away (Munich and the counter-Reformation pilgrimage churches and mediaeval fortified towns). Soll and the ski Welt and Schladming (1 hour) Saalbach (1 1/2 hours). St Anton might be a bit far from Salzburg at just over 3 hours... but then again.
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One alternative not covered would be Istanbul with it being about 2 hours from the Uludag resort in Bursa. Flights on Easyjet are about £70 return and thanks to a great exchange rate the money will stretch a long way while there.
Time it right and the snow will be great and will be pretty much deserted (although not a big resort). Weather in Istanbul could be a bit dodgy though!
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FAQ
... with my own shiny new 9 week old I am already having to plot our own ski strip next year 'carefully' (grandparents not excluded from ideas!) ... I suspect it will be very different to normal 
