To be so confused about how to book a ski holiday

[sideeyes]

Never been on one. Have two young kids and a partner. I want to self cater. How do I get to ski slopes every day? Where do I hire ski equipment from? How do I get to my accommodation from the airport? Do most people self-cater? I’ve looked at all inclusive and the places look gross so far - any recommendations for non gross ones? It is a whole new world…

www.seitenalm.at
I can recommend this hotel, fly to Salzburg and hire a car.
There is a ski school at Radau, where you can hire equipment and, if you don't want to drive the 10 minutes up the road, the ski bus stops just outside the hotel.
The food is excellent as are the hosts, we have known them for about 25 years.
Just to add, there may be an option to be collected from the airport these days, but we always drove down from Frankfurt, so never looked into this.

How much have you got to spend?

You may find it’s easier to use a travel agent if you haven’t been before.

• Yes you can self cater. Pierre & vacances are good in France for this
• transfers you can get a bus or taxi. Look at alpybus. Some resorts are connected by train.
• How you get to the slopes depends - most big resorts have regular shuttles.

If you have never been before, I’d probably go with a tour operator just to make your life as easy as possible. It’s quite a full on holiday at the best of times, so doing it that way will make it easier (and so more enjoyable) for a novice.

Give Hayes Travel a ring. They offer package ski holidays and can talk you through ski hire etc. Ski Holidays 2025 / 2026 | Ski Packages - Hays Travel

We've usually just used Crystal and gone full package holiday. I am not convinced booking separately is cheaper - transfers in particular can be astronomically expensive.

If you want cheap you could drive and self cater in which case Sunweb are your best bet.

Ski passes, ski hire and lessons are a doddle. Just Google it for resort you are staying in - or book through travel agent as above.

Nb - when you say all inclusive are you talking about package holiday rather than meal plan. Because you want half board not AI

Some people self cater some don’t.
most resorts have a load of restaurants and one or two very expensive shops. Pierre et vacance is good for French slopes self catering although beware it’s in French and aimed at French people and reception usually speak French but not necessarily anything else.

most resorts have two or three ski hire shops where you can hire skis, boots, poles and helmets. You need to have your own socks, thermals, and outer jacket and trousers.

some accommodation is what they call ski-in ski-out so it is literally on the slopes. Some you have to walk to the lifts. Some is further away and you might need to get a bus. Getting a bus with all your ski equipment is not fun so most people try to avoid those types of accommodation.

If you are all first timers you may find it easier/more fun/get more skiing if you go on a package that includes ski lessons. If you are putting it together yourself and going in school hols make sure you book lessons in advance.

Start with deciding where you want to go, and look at a resort map to see where the ski lifts are.
The closer to the lifts, the more expensive the accommodation, but also the much easier it is. I choose to pay more for the convenience of being able to walk a short distance to the lifts, as the faff of carting kids plus skis, in ski boots, a long way on foot - or even worse, on a shuttle bus - is a headache too far. Also double check the lifts are the ones that go to the slopes you'll be using (eg blue/greens if you're a beginner). No use being right next to the lifts if it takes you to a host of red runs and all the easier runs are elsewhere.

In terms of kit, you can pay £££ for doing it through a ski company so we just do it ourselves. Look on Google maps to see the shops in resort and book direct with them. Intersport are good and reasonably priced. Again, pick one near your accommodation so it's easy to go back to swap your boots or whatever if they're not right.

I've never been self catering so can't comment on that, but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along soon.

Oh and lessons- if you are beginners you will need lessons. Half days are enough at first, as even if you are very fit you are likely to be knackered by lunchtime and wanting a bit of a break. I completely underestimated how tired I would be at the beginning... and I run long distances for fun. It does get easier though!

Club med is all inclusive and does all day ski school so great for beginners. Although pricey.

You don’t need a big resort (forget Val d’Isère and the 3 valleys). Find a small one with greens and blues. Maybe the odd red run. I suggest you look in the crystal or similar brochure. First time it will be helpful to book a package. And check where the supermarket is in relation to the Appartment if you don’t have a car (I’d assume you’ll fly). Lots of threads in here with more advice on what to take.

have fun! ⛷️🎿⛷️

Have a look at Crystal ski if your going outside school holidays I’ve found their prices reasonable recently. We’ve always done self catering and booked independent but this year I used them as the cost of transfers had gone up so much it made it economical as we could go outside peak weeks.

We took ours skiing for the first time last year, they loved it! We booked through a company called WeSki who do various locations and all options of build your own holiday right up to flight, stay, transfer and lift pass all in - we got the 4 of us for about 2,400 in January (low budget was key for us)! Gear we rented in resort. I second the above advice to book somewhere with decent beginner slopes too.

Would definitely use WeSki again so absolutely recommend!

Thanks so much everyone for the advice! From a very non-ski background and it all feels a bit alien.

Often the accommodation has ties with equipment rental places and some even have places in the basement etc.

You could look at a resort like avoriaz which is very close to Geneva with lots of bus transfers. For 4 people a taxi is pretty cost effective as well. Avoriaz has lots of self catering and is very family friendly. I'd book ski lessons with anyone except esf. And find the closest ski hire to your accommodation as they are all so similar. You could look at Heidi for flight and accommodation booking. They seem to have good prices. Good luck...best holiday ever imo.

For example... Les Gets is popular with Brits... fly to Geneva, Alpy bus to Les Gets,
We used https://www.chaletsdirect.com/search/ several times. .. or https://www.lesgets.com/en/where-to-sleep/discover-the-accommodation/chalets-and-apartments/..

Lift passes..
https://www.lesgets.com/en/lift-pass/skipass-prices/

Ski lessons and equipment..

https://www.lesgets.com/en/what-to-do/winter-activities/sports/skiing/

It is a good idea to stay close to the 'Front de Neige' but equally the buses are pretty good.

There are also many catered chalet options in the area.... and in nearby Morzine..
My favourite people are Treeline.. We also loved ChillyPowder and Family Ski.

Les Arcs..
https://www.pierreetvacances.com/fr-fr/de_location-arc-1800.

Self catering, Shops, Ski hire and Lessons .. all in close proximity.

We have skied a lot in the French and Swiss Alps because we live nearby... it is really busy in half term and there are a lot of logistical elements to skiing.. it is best to take things slowly, one step at a time, try not to pack too much in.

There are many different ways to structure a Ski holiday and different price options, getting your bearings cam be challenging while it seems that everyone around you knows it all, already.. so opting for a supported package can take a lot of the stress out of the first holiday but it will come at a cost.

Have a look at sunweb.they do really reasonable packages with lift passes, transfers and ski hire included

Have a look on the Snowheads forums. It’s possibly going a bit quieter on there for the summer but it’s regular skiers and will cover most resorts.

Ecen as a staunch avoider of the tour op package holiday when it comes to skiing myself due to being experienced, own kit, no need for lessons, enough competence in the major ‘alpine languages of German and French I will save money or have more flexibility at the expense of object convenience. For the first time, with kids, you probably could do much worse than seeing what people like Crystal or Sunweb have got as a package, as you’ll need kit hire and lessons and getting that bundled in. A designated coach from your flight into the resort etc rather than navigating the ‘public’ transfer system will make it easier too

If you want to get the family into skiing, spend as much as you can afford on convenience in the early years, and make your economies 5 years down the line when you don’t necessarily need full weeks of ski school, possibly own a bit more kit, have a resort you’ve been to before and know the best supermarket/bus timetable etc.

Its a long game but fresh mountain air and the views get addictive.

Go with club med if it's your first time. Everything will be sorted from the time you arrive at the airport.

As first-timers with the family, I agree with the others that you should book with an established Tour Operator. Crystal, Heidi, Nielsen, Inghams are probably the largest and they organise everything for you. There are also numerous smaller, niche operators such as Ski Famile. Most offer hotel accommodation with half-board or B&B, although some have self-catering options. Some hotels are "apartment hotels" which give you the option of self-catering or using the hotel restaurant.

To get from the airport to your accommodation - if you're with a TO, a transfer coach will be provided. If you have organised the trip yourselves, there are usually shared taxi services or holiday shuttles from the local airports to the major resorts. E.g. Salzburg Airport has a page on the website listing all of the transfer services, and Lyon, Geneva have something similar.

Getting to the slopes - walk if you live close enough, or use a ski bus (some hotels offer their own minibuses) or use a taxi. Beware of ski-in/ski-out as this often requires you to actually be able to ski a steep run to get to or from the hotel - which as beginners you obviously can't (yet).

Lessons are a must - group lessons are fun and the children should also have group lessons with their peers. You'll probably learn faster in private lessons, but these can be expensive. All instructors in Austria will speak English. France and Italy can be less certain, but most schools will be able to provide an English-speaking instructor, and the TOs will have a contract with one of the schools (usually the one with the most English-speaking instructors).

You'll be able to hire skis, boots, poles and a helmet from any one of the numerous hire shops in the resort. The TO will have a recommended provider, and will also organise the lift passes for you. Unless you're staying close to the slopes, if possible, find a shop that lets you store your skis and boots overnight at the shop, so you don't have to carry them to and from the accommodation every day.

You need to provide everything else (jacket, trousers, fleece, neck warmer, ski thermals, ski gloves, ski socks, goggles, sunglasses etc.) which you can beg or borrow from friends, other families, work colleagues etc. or look on Vinted, ebay, charity shops etc.

You don't need the big, expensive resorts like St Anton, Courchevel, and other mega-resorts as you'll be paying for a lift pass that you'll hardly use. The TOs will indicate which resorts are beginner-friendly.

There is actually a separate skiing forum here on MN - and a helpful forum for skiers over at Snowheads.com

How old are the kids? You want a resort with lots of easy (green) runs for the kids and if you can get ski in ski out onto an easy run that is great - have only done that once but when the kids were tiny it was amazing as they could only really manage a short time and then we needed to come in for a hot chocolate and snacks. We have been to Scandinavia skiing and that was good for families and several resorts are well connected by train

Scandinavia is actually a good option of families with small kids - but not at Christmas and New Year because it is far too cold, and maybe not in February as the resorts can get very crowded at Scandinavian half-term. Easter would be an ideal time to go to Hemsedal, Trysil or Are, with far better snow conditions there than in most of the Alps.

Scandinavian resorts are very child-friendly, and all of the staff and instructors speak excellent English.

Look at Neilsons too. If it's your first time I'd definitely book a package rather than trying to do everything separately. Ski Holidays 2024/25| Ski & Snowboarding Holidays | Neilson

I agree with going with a package if it’s your first time.

Ski Solutions is an agency that can access packages from various companies, they can also put together a bespoke package for you.

If you’re tied to school holidays, I recommend the first week of the Easter holidays. Much less crowded and expensive than half term and the snow has been surprisingly good at that time in recent years. If going at Easter choose a high altitude resort (1800m+) for good snow. Or Scandinavia could be good at Easter as a pp says.

Also agree with a pp that smaller resorts are fine for beginners and avoid the prices and crowds of the big resorts.

I also recommend accommodation very close to the slopes / ski school meeting point, as walking in ski gear is horrible especially with little uns. But be warned that “ski in ski out” accommodation is often not ski in ski out for beginners.

I would definitely go with a package if it’s your first time.

But otherwise:
Pick resort and find suitable accommodation. If you have young kids choose somewhere that is a short walk (not ski since you can’t yet) to the ski school meeting point so you’re not dragging all the stuff too far. To get there you could drive and book parking or else book flights and transfers- there are lots of companies that do the transfers, once you know your route you can research this. There will be loads of ski rental shops and they’re much of a much. Look on google to find one close to your accommodation and pre book online to collect the afternoon you arrive so you’re set for the first morning. The package should be skis, boots, helmets and poles although young beginners won’t have the poles. Book lessons for everyone, kids normally do ski school where they’re in a group with kids of roughly their age and ability and in France at least there’s always a choice of ski schools so you can look up reviews once you’ve picked your resort to find a good one with timings that suit you. You will also need lift passes- you’ll buy these in person when you arrive in resort unless your accommodation can sort for you ahead of time.

I've been skiing for years and I always booked a package when the DC were young. It's possible to self organise but it's a headache and the tour operators often have wrap around clubs and that sort of thing which just makes life a lot easier (assuming you want to ski).
Self organised means you'll.have to do lots of research and book kids into ski school etc yourself. Many big resorts will have free shuttles so you don't need to work out how to get around, but if you go to smaller less popular ones then you'll likely need to drive to the ski Base station and then drive home again. Again this is all doable but hassle with kids.