Holiday FAQs

The overall success of a family ski holiday depends on planning and so we have put together some information to help you:

Resorts & Ski Areas

Accommodation

Ski schools & Kindergartens

Childcare 

Resorts & Ski Areas

When to go?  Easter ski holidays are a lovely time to go, the Easter break is earlier this season (2010), with most schools finishing on Thursday 1st April 2010.   The days are longer and the temperatures warmer (sometimes skiing without a jacket) and although it is more expensive, many resorts will have lower prices for lift prices and tuition.  But you must consider the warmer weather means higher snow lines and so snow consistency may not be as good as mid-winter.  The slopes can get quite slushy in the afternoon, freezing again overnight and so making it icy in the mornings.  Good late season, high altitude resorts (usually between 1500 and 2100m) worth considering are Tignes, France, Yllas, Finland, Obergurgl, Austria, Saas-Fee, Switzerland.  At least you'll be able to ski back to the resort and the nursey slopes won't be a lovely green field.  A good specialist Travel Agent will be invaluable in advising you.

Booking in low-season is more child-friendly January or February (avoiding half term) and can reduce costs with the added benefit of less queuing at ski lifts. 

Check the snow reports and piste maps for each region (see links page).  Low lying resorts can end up with lots of piste closures or icy nursery slopes if there hasn't been much snow.  Check if they have snow cannons (artificial snow) for periods without snow fall, but even these often don't cover the ski school area.  It is much harder for little ones to learn to ski on ice and not as much fun.

To summarise, when choosing a resort you need to consider:  altitude for late season skiing, transfer times, accessibility to ski schools and variety of runs.


 Family Friendly resorts worth considering, with approx transfer times, as suggested by variety of travel companies:

COUNTRY RESORT  Chambery Geneva
Grenoble
Lyon
Turin
 FRANCE  Alpe D'Huez
2h 30
 3h 30
1h 45
2h 00
2h 45

 Valmorel 1h 15
2h 15
2h 00
2h 15
2h 45

 La Rosiere
 2h 15
 3h 45
 3h 45


 Les Deux Alpes
 2h 30
3h 30
2h 15
2h 45
2h 00

 Les Arcs
 2h 30
 3h 30
 3h 30


 Les Coches
2h




 Morzine
 1h 15



 Courchevel 1h 30
2h 30
2h 15
2h 30
3h 00

 Flaine 2h 30
1h 15
2h 00
2h 45
2h 45

 Puy St. Vincent



2h

 La Plagne
 2h
 3h




 Salzberg Innsbruck


 AUSTRIA  Bad Gastein
 1h 15




 Zell am See
 2h




 Kitzbuhel 1h 45
 2h 15



 Kaprun 2h 15




 Galtur
1h 45



 Gerlitzen 3h




 Niederau 2h 30
 1h 30



 Katschberg 1h 30




 Rauris 1h 30





Turin
 Verona


 Italy  Champoluc
1h 45




 Cervinia 2h




 Claviere 1h 45




 La Thuile
 2h 15




 Sauze d'Oulx
 1h 15




 Sestriere 2h




 SWITZERLAND
 Geneva  Sion  Zurich

 Saas Fee
 3h


 Flims



 Villars  1h 40


 Wengen  3h 15
 3h 00

 Zermatt  3h 30 1h 30 





BULGARIA
Sofia
 Plovdiv

Borovets
 1h 30
 2hr 30

Pamporovo
 4h 00
 2h 00





CANADA
Vancouver
 Montreal

Whistler
 2h 30


Tremblant
1h 30





USA
Boston
 Denver
 Eagle

Killington
 3h 15


Breckenridge
2h

Vail
2h 30
 45m

Click here for Thomson Ski

A really useful starting place is a series of guides compiled by the Telegraph.co.uk giving comprehensive, up-to-date information on the best ski resorts in Europe and North America, featuring the best ski slopes, hotels, restaurants and bars, plus practical advice on equipment hire and travel

visit: www.telegraph.co.uk

The Skiing specialist travel agents are very good, their knowledge of the resorts and the local ski schools are extremely important when trying to decide where to go.  Booking indedependently is a good option, you often find smaller resorts which may suit you.  Try looking at websites like skyscanner, where you can compare flights from a majority of low-cost carries, including all the add-on charges and taxes, making the research much easier.


UK Skyscanner banner 728x90


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Accommodation

Hotels can really vary and this is where your Travel Agent can come into their own.  A good Travel Agent can advise you exactly what to expect.   Some hotels are not flexible with eating times, while others offer a sitting for children then an adults sitting and provide baby monitors so you can have a relaxing dinner. 

Crystal Ski Plus

Some hotels have crèches and kindergartens in the complex making childcare easier for smaller children. It really is worthwhile speaking to an Agent who knows the hotel inside out and if done correctly, a hotel can give you a welcome break from making beds, cooking and cleaning and be a real relaxing holiday for the whole family.  We have had some fantastic family holidays in hotels which have been worth every penny, the advice given was invaluable.  Our links page has specialist travel agents and their websites.

Chalets are a good idea if you are going with a group of families and can fill the chalet.  There will be no need for baby monitors or babysitting as they can be asleep while you relax and socialise downstairs.  Often they have big roaring fires and someone will come and cook you an evening meal and sometimes afternoon teas after a busy day on the slopes.  They vary greatly in size, some are small apartment chalets sleeping 4, with larger chalets sleeping up to 30.   With regards to location, some are close to the slopes while others are further away but transport can be organised.  Some are geared to families and have child safety equipment such as stair gates so again a good specialist travel agent who knows the areas and the chalets can be invaluable in tailoring the holiday to your party size and needs.  www.familyski.co.uk  is one worth contacting.  You can also search independent holiday websites where you can find some little gems.  One great example is in St. Martin in Austria. 

You need to check how far your accommodation is from the slopes and the Ski Schools, especially if you have children of different ages and skiing abilities.  The last thing you want to be doing is rushing around dropping one child to one childcare facility, catching a ski bus to the ski school and then finally getting to your nice black run, only to get one run in and having to turn back to pick them all up.

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Ski Schools & Kindergartens

Before booking, it's worth seeing if the ski schools have websites for further details.  It will be money well spent if the ski school combines play with the learning.  Look out for Kids Parks which are "learn and playground" areas for beginners and more advanced children.  They have many training aids devised from the newest technology. Only course participants of the snow schools can use the equipment such as conveyor belts (very important as little ones get so tired if they keep having to walk up the slopes, however small the slope), carousels (pulls them around like a roundabout and gets them used to the skiing position), along with brightly coloured arches to ski under or around, see the ESF section below for more details. Most offer weekly ski races at the end of the holiday with medals, certificates and photos.  Older children can even participate in slalom and speed races.

As standard, they should all have security bibs as they might not stay on the nursery slope. By mid week they are taken up ski lifts and onto blue and red runs.

Just remember, before ski school to have a good breakfast and lots to drink as they will use lots of energy.

You can book private ski lessons, group weekly lessons (5 days usually) or sometimes a few days in a group.  

To plan your skiing and other childcare you need to know exactly when they will be skiing.  Please check with each Ski School but generally the times are as follows:

Austrian ski schools are usually from 10am to 12pm, break for lunch, then 1 - 3pm.  (Lunch is usually up the mountain so you don't pick them up).

French ski schools often have the choice of morning, afternoon or all day lessons, some include lunch as well. 

Ecole du Ski Français is the largest ski school in the world, with 2,000,000 pupils taking 800,000 tests every year.  In 2007 there were 250 ESF offices with 16,000 instructors so you should find this well respected ski school in your French resort.  The first stage from 3 yrs to 6yrs is Club Piou Poiu, everything is organised so that they treat skiing as something fun and a game: with a protected area featuring special equipment including:

a rope tow,esf french ski school mini-ski tows, moving carpets, structures and welcoming figures
a Piou Piou Club medal at the end of their stay to encourage learning
male and female instructors to supervise and instruct tiny tots
The Piou Piou Club organises tests for the 'Ourson' qualification (the bear club), the first of the ESF's ability tests.  The following link takes you to the ESF website and shows a video clip of what to expect for the first time toddler skier.

http://www.esf.net/en/tests/enfant/pioupiou.html

The next stage if you passed the above or are aged 7-12yr old is the ourson.  It is worthwhile once starting on the ESF ski schools, seeing them through the stages as they are standardised to each resort to ensure continuity.   Video clip of ourson and details of ability:

http://www.esf.net/en/tests/enfant/ourson.html   at the end of this stage they will be parallel turning down the slopes.

The final stage criteria is the Flocon (snowflake) and you can see a video clip of the standard here:  http://www.esf.net/en/tests/enfant/flocon.html

Once you have the snow flake badge, there are three stages and a further bronze and then the gold star.

If you have been with other ski schools, they will assess your child on the first day and put them in approriate group.

Snowflake individual stage descriptions

There is always a medal presentation at the end of the week.

Other French ski schools tend to be specific to the resort you are visiting and can be numerous.  Your travel agent should give you details on what the school offers, and ensure you do check as not all ski schools have the level of equipment as ESF so don't expect the information above to be a standard of all schools.

Italian ski schools usually start around 10am until 1pm. Often the last two days are until 4pm with races in the afternoon.

Check if lunch is included and if they have English speaking instructors. 

Do put your mobile phone number in your child's rucksack and leave it with the instructor.  It is very common, especially mid-week, for young children to get tired and therefore tearful and you can be contacted to pick them up early.  

Ski kindergartens are for children up to the age of 3 years and is basically child care on the nursery slope.  This varies greatly from resort to resort and can involve some ski practice, playing games, building snowmen and sometimes they have their own indoor playroom with toys, DVDs and art and crafts. 

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Childcare

Many tour operators, hotels and chalets offer some level of childcare, from private nannies to on-site crèches and kindergartens.  It is essential to book early and to establish if the staff are fully qualified and if they speak English.  Stories of bored children who don't understand the language have been known, so do establish what activities are available, i.e., do they go off site (some hotels have their own nursery slopes which they take the children tobogganing or just to play) and what hours do they operate? 

Travel companies such as Neilsons offer their own childrens' clubs run by experienced English speaking nannies as do the Family Ski Company and Crystal, but these are very popular and are booked up early.  Often these are grouped according to age and activities vary accordingly. Crystal's crèches take infants from 6 months to 4 years and costs around £100 for 6 morning or afternoons (lunch extra).  Its older group, The Whizz Kids, take children from 3-11 years and drop and collect your child from ski school, adding valuable time to your available skiing time.

Staying with one of the big tour operators also means they often provide baby sitting services in the evenings too.

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