Family going to Switzerland/France on March 29

A snowHead

We are planning to go skiing in the Swiss or French Alps in late March. As our group has advance skiers to beginner to non skier in it, we are looking for suggestions for a varied place to stay so that everyone has something to do. We also need to consider the late season. Zermatt seems to be an obvious choice for our group. Please help us in choosing.

A snowHead

Puffhead, welcome to snowheads.

You'll get more focussed and helpful suggestions if you can give us a bit more idea of the sort of thing you want. Late March isn't really "late season" - you have loads of choice.

What sort of accommodation? Self-catering, hotel, catered chalet, B & B?

Budget?

Package or put your own DIY package together?

What kind of apres ski? Lively/noisy/quiet/bars with music/good choice of restaurants

For your beginner you'll want somewhere with a good ski school.

What sort of non-skier? Some like to go walking, snowshoeing, reading. Others might want shopping, beauty treatment, etc etc

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Hi
Although there are no doubt a number of places that would meet the needs of your group, I would certainly agree that Zermatt is one place that would undoubtedly fit the bill. We go every year at exactly that time and we have never been disappointed with the conditions, though of course many days are 'spring like' and soft at the very bottom. On the plus side, the weather is usually glorious, and sitting outside having lunch gazing at the Matterhorn and listening to live music is pretty good compensation. Equally, we have often had good snowfall in the first week in April which tops things up nicely.
Spring time is a good time to make the most of the links to Cervinia in Italy which opens up lots of nice cruisy intermediate skiing. There is plenty for the advanced skier, on piste, on itineraries or guided off piste if that is what they prefer.
For the non skier, there are nice winter walking trails, or the lift system connects well with a lot of the nice mountain restaurants so they can join you for lunch. In the village there is an interesting museum, cinema, shops, spas and so on.

However, the questions above are all good ones, and no doubt other ideas will be forthcoming depending on your answers. Although we have skied in a number of places, Zermatt is the one we know best, so happy to answer any further questions you might have about there in particular.

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I thank you both for your comments. We are a family of three generations : my parents, my sister and my wife, and my two sons.

We prefer to stay in a hotel since the grand parents do not want to become the caterers for the skiers as they do not ski. They do like to sight see and walk or come up to the mountain restaurants for a lunch. I am concerned that they are not bored after the second day. So having the choice of a variety of activities for them is essential.

As for our budget "reasonable" is what I am looking for. We are not looking for luxury but a good clean hotel with comfortable rooms and beds fits the bill. Of course both lift access and village center proximity would be nice.

We are arriving in Geneva by train so any resort that you can suggest from there would be appreciated, including the best way to get there.

The après ski for us is good food but not overly fancy or expensive and lively places to visit afterwards.

In general we are looking for a memorable place to visit that keeps everyone happy especially my parents .

Last but not least the quality and variety of skiing is important since half the family are good intermediate to advanced skiers.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Puffhead, Hmm. Where have you been skiing up to now? Favourite places? Things you disliked?

What "activities" will the older generation want? Walking, maybe snowshoeing, watching the skiers, reading? Those can be found just about everywhere. If they want to go to art galleries, concerts, sophisticated shops, they're more scarce.

I've not been to Zermatt. It's clearly a fantastic place in many ways. But expensive - and maybe not the easiest place for a beginner?

In France, Megeve has an attractive pedestrianised centre, plenty of very good hotels and restaurants, some fancy shops, plenty of skiing, beautiful scenery (Mont Blanc is nearby). Lots going on. A casino. Concerts etc etc.

Chamonix has just about everything - skiing from easy to very advanced and off-piste opportunities (with guides). But it's a sizeable town - some people would prefer to be in a small, quieter, place. Needs a car to get around easily - the ski areas are spread out.

Personally, going to Megeve or Chamonix, I'd want a car, especially if people were wanting to do different things at different times. But there are buses to both resorts.

Will your skiers want to stay somewhere they can ski in/out? That would severely constrain choice, obviously.

Some of the most snowsure places in late season in France (e.g. the Espace Killy, Val Thorens) are not exactly attractive places for non skiers.

I expect there are some good high altitude resorts in Switzerland - but I don't know about those.

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Zermatt is easy for beginners. Slopes at the top are nearly flat and it's possible to avoid skiing down by taking gondola. Classic destination with beautiful scenery, good skiing, great service and good food.

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

Having read your additional comments, I still think Zermatt would fit the bill. No car required, (no cars allowed). Travel by train is straight forward, from Geneva you take the train for Brig, get off at Visp and transfer to the mountain railway up to Zermatt. If you are coming from outside Switzerland, amd only travelling Geneva- Zermatt- Geneva the Swiss transfer ticket is the best option, but must be purchased outside Switzerland. Children 16 and under travel free with a family card(just ask for one when purchasing). Hotels have their own electric taxis that will pick you up at the station. Easy walking in the village, restaurants, museum etc as I said above.
Undoubtedly Zermatt can be very expensive, but doesn't have to be . Friends who came regularly with us always said their holiday in Zermatt cost a fraction of their other regular holiday in Courchevel.
You don't say the ages of your children, but if born 2003 or after they don't pay at all for a lift pass, which makes a big difference. 10-16 pay half price and all children ski free on a Saturday (if you are staying over a Saturday). Hotels that describe themselves as 'garni' means bed and breakfast only, but to be honest hotels offering half board are a very good option, usually 4/5 courses every night for a very competitive additional cost, compared to the general cost of eating out. So unless you are very determined to eat out every night, look for a half board option. The restaurant choice is excellent, but can add considerably to the overall cost.
Great après ski on the slopes, and lively bars for all ages in the village. Your parents would enjoy Elsie's Bar I'm sure.
Not sure if that helps, feel free to ask more.

After all it is free

scotsgirl, Thanks for the detail information. Do you have any suggestions for luggage handling. We were initially thinking for checking-in our luggage with the rail company to have it delivered to us. However it seems that there could be delays of up to three days to have them delivered. What do you suggest.

So far as luggage is concerned, we have in the past used the fly luggage system (though I see you say you will be arriving in Geneva by train). We stopped using that system (which is essentially the same as the luggage delivery service advertised on the SBB webiste)largely due to arrival times at the airports which meant that we were unlikely to get the luggage the same day. I was interested to note that the website now suggests luggage delivery can be up to two days later. It depends on your point of view, but to be honest I wouldn't want to wait two days into a week long holiday to get my luggage, especially for skiing! I suppose with clever packing you could have some bags delivered using this system, and take some with you, but we always take ours with us, to be honest. We tend to pick trains at less busy times of day (the SBB website indicates how busy they expect each train to be) and the only bottleneck can be the change at Visp, when trains from Geneva and Zurich coincide with travellers heading to Zermatt. The trick I have found is to pay close attention to the announcements and signs at the station telling you where the first or second class carriages will stop (sector A,B,C and so on) and position yourself so the door stops in front of you! We also shamelessly put our children to work getting on the train and securing seats while the baggage is loaded. I think probably taking your bags with you is unavoidable, but just be canny about where you get on, and perhaps get the grandparents and children on first to secure seats together. If using the transfer ticket system then if you can stretch to it first class is definitely worth it for a group like yours, the carriages will be less busy and so on. Of course as you will know 29th March is Good Friday and so likely to be a busy travel day, with visitors from the UK, Germany and Holland all arriving in Zermatt.
One other thing, the train from Geneva, unlike Zurich, has limited or no catering. Any food, snacks, drinks etc you may require for the journey should be purchased beforehand.
Hope that helps.

Help!!

Family going to Switzerland/France on March 29

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