Mountain holiday with 5 - 12 yr olds - suggestions?

[nestypirate]

Hello. After a fab holiday to the Pyrenees two years ago, we want to go to mountains again. Ideally with lots of good things to do very close by and good public transport so we don't need to hire a car.

The kids are 12, 10 and 5 and love swimming pools (warm) and all the slides etc, zoos, cable cars & ski lifts, horse and pony treks, easy walks with great views, a stunning location, treetop adventure courses. Cheapish would also be good.....

Where should we go? I am thinking of Austria/ Switzerland, Czech Republic, maybe Pyrenees but a different bit.

Last time we went to the Keycamps resort (very small but nice chalets) in the French Pyrenees closest to Lourdes. Would highly recommend it, but the world is too small to go back to the same place twice, IMO.

So where should we go?

I should mention that we will be going in August, so no skiiing for us! I'm way too chicken for that!

Hi,

We have been to Switzerland for the last 3 years on holiday. First time two weeks to Brunnen on Lake Lucerne, then 2 weeks in Montreux, then 1 week Evian (in France but so close to the border we kept crossing over to do things), followed by a week in Crans Montana. Our son is now 6 and has loved holidays there, mountain trains, cable cars etc. Out of the three places we have been I would say Brunnen was the best for things to do for children (although I enjoyed the other places as well). It has everything around the area that you are looking for. We had different things to do every day for two weeks, and there were still places on the list we didn't visit. One of the best trips we had was going over the Furka pass on a steam train, really great day out. We didn't have a car and went everywhere by public transport (same in Montreux) with no problems at all, just a bit of planning.

But, and it could be a big but depending on your budget, it was very expensive. Self catering accommodation was very reasonable but the cost of everyday stuff such as food etc was a lot. Some of the cable cars and mountain trains were also very expensive. However, kids under 6 were generally free for everything, and there were lots of family offers available for older children. In Montreux the tourist offices gave free cards that gave half price entry to many of the attractions. But, it was still costly. In Brunnen we stayed in a flat in the town centre but just outside there was a holiday complex that looked very good (and well served by public transport) - the Swiss Holiday park at Morsach - www.swissholidaypark.ch/

A cheaper alternative may be the French alps or Austria, but for me there are not as many things to do there. We were looking at Zell am See in Austria this year (but now decided on France instead, mainly as DH didn't want to go to Austria), I thought it looked really good, with some good offers on flats and hotels from the tourist office linked to a holiday card giving free or reduced entry to lots of places. In France the area around Chamonix is also good, but again for me not as much there as Switzerland.

Hope this is helpful, we will probably go back to Switzerland again next year - having a change this year just for the change and to not spend quite so much (although we may do in the end!)

PS - forgot to add that even in August the weather can still be brutal sometimes in the Alps - storms and torrential rain. In two weeks you are probably going to get a couple of days where any outdoor activity is impossible, so wherever you go I would plan for somewhere where there are a few indoor things you can fill a couple of days with. You may be lucky and have great weather all the time, but never happened to us in the last 20 years!

Thanks yonker. Sounds like you had a good time. How did you find out all the offers and places to go? I am a dab hand at doing it for the UK (action packed fortnight in Lancashire coming up!) but don't seem to be able to get a good level of information aboout the sort of places I am looking at. Any handy hints?

Is not speaking Swiss (looks like german to me) a problem?

Swiss German is a lingo apart but most instructors speak English. ds has skied and climbed with non English speaking groups and it isn't an issue. Try this site for ideas and family friendly accommodation. Morsach is a nice spot but the people staying there are more likely to be Swiss or Dutch than if you rent an apartment or stay in a hotel in a more traditional ski resort. Engelberg is close to Lucerne and offers many of things you are asking about. Saas Fee is another resort with good facilities and great scenery.

Hi Zesty - consider Serre Chevalier, Southern Alps. We go there every year and (without wanting to jinx ourselves) have had superb weather almost every day in the last 5 years. The region prides itself on its sunshine record of more than 300 days per year.

There is a string of villages making up the area, which is stunning. We stay in Chantemerle. There is an outdoor, slightly heated pool there with a slide. There is also a cable car, horse riding, white water rafting, via ferrata, mountain biking, a bouncy castle village, trampolines, go-karting, paintballing, treetop adventure park, the list goes on and on. We love it and spend most days picnicing in various spots near rivers or lakes up mountains as well as enjoying the activities (though our dc's are younger so not yet able to do lots of the stuff available). DH loves riding his bike up mountains - the Tour de France usually has mountain stage through the area and I think he pretends he is in it !

Although the exchange rate is not great any more it is not particularly expensive. There is a big town - Briancon - with supermarkets 5 minutes drive away.

You would be best flying to Turin and driving 1.5hrs to the resort - also possible to go to Grenoble or Lyon, with a bit longer transfer. The downside is you do really need a car though.

Thanks Lizs & sleepie! Will follow it up.

Still open to suggestions....

Italian Lakes are good.

Last August we went to Morzine in France. The lovely chalet was £440 for a week, (might have been with simply-morzine but not sure - basically August is their low season so quite cheap accomodation available. We flew with easyjet to Geneva (the plane landed in Lyon due to thunder storms, but that's another story and wasn't easyjets fault) We got 'summer passes' through our chalet people for 1 euro per person per day which allowed FREE access to all the ski lifts in the area, a mountain bus to go to different resorts, and all the swimming pools in the area (about 5 - the morzine one was just having a covered area put in to make it an 'indoor pool', and also the lifeguarded lakes that you could swim in. There was also ice-skating, tennis courts, a summer toboggan run, mountain biking, paragliding, tree trekking/go ape type stuff EVERYWHERE, rafting etc etc. We loved it, and could have done more if our kids were older. NB we didn't use the bus, we rented a car, but it seemed like public transport was ok.

We went to Morzine. We had hotel with pool, hired bikes, played tennis etc. (also went in August)

Wey hey - this is great - thanks all! Am moving over to Google now - see you later.....

My googling has led me to Klosters - anyone been there? Quite fancy a day on the glacier express train which I have heard fantastic reports about.

Nice area , not sure if they have a go-ape type course but think there is a summer toboggan run. Very large resort and Davos is a close neighbour with good facilities and alternative mountains to explore. Doubt it is cheap though !

Italian Lakes have everything. We stayed at Riva on Lake Garda. Youngest 4 yrs-eldest 14 yrs. You can swim in lake, we took local buses, trips on the lake and you can get up into the mountains- by cable car if you want.There was a big water park that we got the bus to one day-lots of slides etc for all levels.

Can I suggest the Alto Adige? It's a beautiful area in north eastern Italy, bordering with Austria. The Dolomites are wonderful, and you can go trekking, mountain biking, visiting castles etc. Lots of pools and spas. Fab food. Here is a link to the association of family friendly hotels operating in the area. www.familienhotels.com/en/search-book/index.asp

Agree with Yonker re: Lake Geneva area.

FiL lives 25 mins from Evian and have visited with the DCs regularly for the last 10 years. We never run out of things to do.

If the weather is good then the outdoor pool at Evian is fantastic. 2 large pools and one gated under-six pool with stunning views over Lake Geneva. We often spend the entire day there and there is an onsite cafe and bar.

If the weather is dire but you still want to swim, there is an indoor pool in Bouveret (just over the Swiss border). It's great fun with the kids with a pirate ship, whirlpools, plunge & dive areas, a rapids type area where you sit on donut inflatable and get whipped along a toboggan-style run! The cafe there is dire but serves a purpose on crappy weather days. Alternatively there is a regular indoor pool with wave machine in Thonon (next to Evian). Staying out of Thonon centre and making your way down to the waterfront, you will find a selection of cafes and restaurants next to the yacht club. Great place to eat with kids as all the children seem to congregate and play together on a small play area - regardless of who they came with :)

Also at Bouveret there is a miniature steam railway park which is possibly the best landscaped version I have ever seen (DS1 was train mad so we have seen quite a few!). Lots of lovely restaurants by the water there too.

You can walk by the lake in Evian - lots of play parks and cafes. There are the dancing fountains - great source of entertainment for us and DCs :o

Thollon Les Memises is a nice area for walking - you can park in the village and take the cable car up to the top of the mountain. Very basic but very cheap.

There are beautiful abbey ruins, museum, gardens & cafe at St Jean D'Aulps.

Yvoire is a lovely car-free medieval village (although can get busy here).

Chillon Castle (near Montreux) really captured my DC's imaginations.

The weather can be very cold even in August but equally we have had weeks of perfect sunshine too.

The roads are very easy to drive and never seem to get busy even in the height of summer.

I imagine Morzine has loads of summer activities as will Les Gets and other resorts.

I've been to Klosters in the winter to ski, but my IL's go there often in the summer also, theres lots of walking and its very pretty.

We have been to Kaprun in Austria (nr Zell am See) with Esprit and that was fantastic - plenty to do there and kept us fully occupied for 2 wks, seeing the alpine dams, castles, waterfalls, visiting the house Mozart grew up in Salzburg, summer tobogganing, etc etc. This year we're doing esprit again in France, to Belle Plagne.

We use Esprit primarily for their kids clubs.

Hi again,

You have loads of replies now so really can't add much - trouble is you are now spoilt for choice! As regards the question about finding stuff out I usually have a vague idea of where we want to go (can be as vague as lakes and mountains) and then have a look on European maps to see where may be OK. Then have a look at the tourist office websites for things to do in the area - vary in quality but give you an idea and narrow it down a bit. Then with 2 or 3 places in mind have a really good search of websites re things to do - tourist offices, region websites, tripadvisor etc. Also search in the language of the country you are going to. Even if you don't really speak the language some basic phrases can lead you to stuff to do. For the offers the tourist office websites, national rail sites are good. I have found that the tourist offices are also useful if you e-mail them re offers etc - I have done it a couple of times and always received prompt and helpful replies. Also when narrowed down a bit sometimes pick peoples brains on forums . Once the town or area is picked go through the same process for accommodation, look at all the websites, read reviews etc. Wonder now how we ever managed to have a non-package holiday without the internet.

Never been to Klosters but have the idea it is horrifically expensive - although I could be very wrong (it makes me think of Crans Montana which was so expensive - takeaway (crap) chinese meal for 2 cost us about 60 euro). Pre DS we went to Kitzbuhel which was great for walking, at that time they had very cheap summer passes for entry to the really nice pool, and gave free travel on buses and very much reduced on cable cars. Also been to St Wolfgang, very nice but not really high mountains there. Another place was Gmunden in Austria - less well known as a tourist place but had a lovely holiday there (been think you may need a car to see the best of the area).

Tulpe is right that Lake Geneva is a great area. I originally suggested Lake Lucerne in preference to it for you as for mountain walking, cable cars etc you have to drive a bit whereas in Lucerne it is really on your doorstep. That said we have had 2 holidays in the area and it is great. My son now believes that a trip to the miniature train park on holiday is as essential as oxygen to breathe (going to be disappointed this year). All the things Tulpe has suggested we enjoyed as well, also went to the salt mines at Bex (DH played golf and we went on what he described as our 'geeks' day), which was great, one of the best tours I have ever been on. Also the trip to the Emosson Dam by funicular and mini train, worlds steepest funicular, train and another funicular - great trip on a good weather day.

OK - am rambling now as on my own tonight and like talking about hols so will go back to my beer

Sure you will have a great holiday wherever you go

If you want to go to the mountains its got to be the home of the von trapps, austria!

I am a fount of knowledge on searching things out on google. See you there in August!

Wow - all this info is great.. With such a vast amount of info I can now be a bit picky and ask which country is cheapest? Austria/ Switzerland/ Italy/ France. Is anyone lucky to have visited all of them and can compare?

Thanks for the search tips, Yonker. This search has led me to my own dear sister ( yes, I mean you, Tunip von trapp!) and so I will pick her brains in a month. I was trying to get a head start....

Also, I am quite embarassed to admit that we were taken around Austria as teenagers to quite a few of the places mentioned above, and (shame on me) I don't really remember much about them except the names... Just goes to show that holidays are wasted on kids.....

Thanks all.

Switzerland is eye-wateringly expensive, ime. If you were interested in Lake Geneva, I would find a base in France and drive to Switzerland. Alternatively, and always very exciting for DCs, you can take the boat from Evian to Lausanne and then trains and buses from there.

Austria and Italy are the most reasonable in my opinion, and experience of being there in the summer and the following winter.

If you want the von Trapps, then you have to go to Salzburg and take the Sound of Music tour...

In order of least to most expensive

Italy
France
Switzerland

Not sure really where Austria would be as a few years since I have been but would think about the same as France. As Tulpe says Switzerland is hyper expensive, the exchange rate for Brits in the last few years has been terrible, now at about 1.5 francs, I can remember 2.5. However that is offset for us by relatively reasonable and good self catering accommodation, under 6's free most of the time, good family offers and it is a country where public facilities are very good and it has a great transport system. Also don't mind paying a bit extra for a holiday I know we will enjoy. But the week in Evian last year was exactly for the reason Tulpe said - cheaper than Switzerland but close enough to visit.

I was swooning around the summerhouse just like Liesel von Trapp(only older and wrinklier!) last summer, was quite disappointed that Mr Turnipvontrapp wouldn't play Ralf. The boys were not impressed with all my warbling, and I thought I sounded just like Liesel!

History repeating itself nesty? Not remember mum and the austrian hills?

We are doing Innsbruck then German Alps, driving there so we can take the bikes and I can pretend we are the von trapps (minus curtain dresses, boys refuse to wear them).