Ski Trip Anxiety!

Just be glad she's starting from Essex! I did 2 trips from school (1 to Austria and 1 to Switzerland), and we started from west Devon! So that's over 5 hours just to get to Dover!
I do remember being very glad to be off the coach at the other end, but we all survived, and went back the following year, so it can't have been that bad! And coach travel now is a million times more comfortable than it was in the late 1980s.

wow. At ours they said you had to respond to say whether or not you wanted to go on list of accepting

then details sent out

then first come first serve to accept with deposit

what happens if you put deposit down but the final cost was way above budget?

I want her to have an amazing experience

@rookiemere does that sound like the OP is wrapping her up and stopping her from going?

My DM wrapped me in cotton wool when I was growing up a lot due to her own anxieties, I will not let that happen to DS.

The Op has no intention of stopping her daughter going

where does the Op anything about her “reaction” aside from posting about her anxiety on a. anonymous chat forum

Her DD no doubt has no idea!

@contactus I do indeed have a teenage DC and some of the things he does do scare me a bit, for example driving ( recently passed his test) in the dark when it's raining. But it's my job as a DP to manage my own reactions to allow him to experience new things.

My DM wrapped me in cotton wool when I was growing up a lot due to her own anxieties, I will not let that happen to DS.

Both my daughters have done it at secondary school- yes it was a worry - both had fun & have memories from it!

It’s still an expensive trip but to put on flights as well would be make it even more out of reach. The coach companies are set up for this usually a couple of drivers as well.

Just tell your daughter not to sit near the toilet - both my girls years apart said that was the worse bit (smell and state of it!)

do you have children?

driving is very normal for example,, doesn’t mean many of us don’t get anxious about our teenagers out driving.

Not you though @rookiemere !

you had to make the first payment before knowing any of the detail?

I honestly think you need to get some counselling to overcome your fears about this and possibly other perfectly normal things that your DD will do as part of growing up.

It would be my idea of hell too, but I did a similar length coach journey when I was 18 without a second thought. Yes a broken nights sleep, but you can handle that when you're young. She'll be with her friends and it will probably add to the whole experience. It's the teachers you should be feeling sorry for!!

YANBU hence i said no to my DD going on very similar

it is the transfer from the uk and back that put me off both in terms of the utterly appalling length of journey and the mountain roads at the other end no no no!

We did 36 hours from Yorkshire to Austria when I was at school that was quite tricky!

But the kids have fun. DS did the coach to Italy last year. I was worried about him being sick/tired/ not sleeping but not any danger from the coach journey. He had a blast.

I agree it sounds horrendous but my DS did three ski trips by coach at school and one at Uni (would have done more if Covid had not affected plans) .. he had a great time, loves skiing and the travel was just part of the fun.

23 hours in a coach is my idea of hell
but at her age, it’s 23 hours with friends, it’s part of the experience and I’m sure she’ll have fun
it’s as safe as pretty much anything else
accidents do occur, but they are so rare, that’s why we hear about them, they are not going to have a news report: 100 coaches traveled today, they arrived to their destination and the passengers commented “the coach was clean”

Flying won't work at all - many ski resorts are hours from the airport. Are you expecting the coach to divert to pick you up? Or are you going to hire a car (with winter tyres) and yourself do a 4-6 hour round trip to the airport /resort?

She'll be absolutely fine on the coach. Have done it myself. Bite size chunks (school - calais/ food and a wonder around ferry/ sleep for first part through France. Before you know it there's only 3/4 hours left....)

She'll be fine and love it :)

I can’t imagine the school would allow her to fly out separately. We wouldn’t at my school. A school residential trip abroad is a logistical nightmare at the best of times and as a trip leader I wouldn’t want to set a precedent for separate travel, which could make things really inconvenient if a few people decided they wanted to do it.

Your daughter will be mortified!
Where will you stay?
I think it's really inappropriate to even consider this.

Also, even if they flew, the transfer from airport to the resort will be by coach, at least a couple of hours, and it’s that part which has the winding roads up the mountain.

Coach accidents on trips like this are extremely rare. More common are problems with the coach and follow on issues around drivers and their breaks. My sister was stuck on the side of the road in France for an extra 12 hours one ski trip. The coach is part of the experience. Safety wise I think you're being way OTT - it'll be uncomfortable and unpleasant (for the teachers more than the kids), but character building!

You're being ridiculous. All school trips like this are organized by coach, it's the only practical way.

Mine have done several trips like that, in fact DD is on one now.

How old is she?

A couple of phone chargers mean she can stay in touch :-) though the last couple of coaches mine have been on have had seat power.