Tedious skiing novice thread alert....

[elliott]

Want to go on first skiing trip as a family next year - ds's will be 6 and 4. I've never been on a skiing holiday and I don't knwo where to start! Some questions:

1. Easiest flight destination is Geneva - resort recommendations please?

1. Should we go for package or independent booking? What company I haven't done downhill skiiing before, dh has done a little. I am wondering about whether to get private lessons for myself and ds's together but haven't a clue how to go about it! Alternative is ski school for them I guess but what about me?

1. Might be good to have some childcare available, but not essential. what kind of accommodation and food options are there - would be nice not to have to cook, and also we don't want to share a room with ds's.

Sorry these are kind of dull and basic questions - suppose the most useful would be some recommentations of good companies so I can browse some brochures!

Self catering is cheaper, and probably nicer with children, we stay here , which is fantastic, but probably not the cheapest. There's a hilton hotel just on the ski road. Or there's High Range - again self catering. I've stayed there once, but prefer Silverglades. The Cairngorm Hotel is also nice - we've not stayed there, but have eaten there.

If you did decide to try Scotland, I can hold your hand while you sort out what you need!!!!

why not try flight to innsbruck and go skiing in Austria? We've been now 3 times to Tyrol. Great for young families, particularly like serfaus. We also stayed in Kinderhotels

elliott, four of us 2 A = 2C sc apt in france, £800. we booked about 7 weeks ago. and are going this weekend. Kids gear we bought from TK £25. a jacket £20 trousers. Then helmets, gloves googles etc off e bay. TBH someone has already mentioned Andorra, I know this year the snow hasn't been so good, as in metres of the stuff, but there is always enough to ski on. Andorra is cheap, Duty free, there is Andorra la vella, which is the capital. so has loads to do, as in fantastic shopping and Caldea which is a spa and the locals in resorts tend to be Aussies, SA,or Kiwi's so are really friendly. I would really reccommend Andorra for a first timer, because of the English speaking ski school, (who are brilliant)and there is so much to do outside of skiing, (skating, swimming,shopping etc). Then you could always book for spring time and bask in the sun. (I've seen bikini's tops out up the mountain!. We spent alot of time comparing Europe to Scotland this year. We found for us (right down south) we would have to fly, which really put the price up. Was also put off the idea of the winds, have heard it can be really windy so much so they close the mountains. I'm sure Tortoiseshell can put us straight there though.

Twirly - you're right, it can be very windy in Scotland. That's one of the reasons we avoid February when the winds are most likely. The nice thing is that if they do shut the mountain, there's lots more to do in the village - you're not miles away from anything, so it's not a wasted day, it's just a non-ski-ing day.

We drive from Bristol to Scotland, but we do stop at my parents halfway. We have done it in one go which was a marathon drive - about 500 miles, but it wasn't fun!

With the excellent exchange rate you can do a week in Canada for £4-£5,000 at the moment. We stayed here at 1/2 term and it was brilliant - collect your skis and walk straight out to the the ski school meeting place. The kids lessons run from 9:30 - 3 and the adults from 10-2:30 so it is easy to drop off and collect your kids and fit in the lesson. You can get really good deals on flights and there is a shuttle or a 2 hour drive from the airport.

LizP can I pick your brains on Tremblant? How busy? What sort of queue time? Did the instructors all speak English? How may kids per class? Sorry for hijack but I have been looking at it longingly....

Jan - Tremblant was brilliant but very cold. Our first day (a Saturday) we were rather shocked by the number of people - the rental line took ages and there seemed to hundreds of people milling about the village. But the lift lines them selves seemed to run pretty smoothly - the longest wait was about 15 mins for the gondola first thing when the ski school all get priority. But you don't need to take it - you can use the chairs instead. Think my maximum wait was 5 mins. Even at the weekend the runs weren't crowded and mid week it was quiet - mainly other Brits over for 1/2 term and retired local people. All the instructors spoke English and French and in the mixed groups would teach in both, but the majority of people in ski school spoke English. The kids ratio was 7:1 I think. ds1 was in a group of 14 with 2 instructors, which I don't think worked so well - but he still had lots of fun. ds2 was with 6 kids and 1 instructor and made better progress. ds3 went to the creche which was OK - nearly pulled him out on day 1 but then it got better and by the end he walk in with no fuss. Everyone was more French than Canada in outlook there I think so maybe we had different expectations ? If you have a teen you really need to book ski school in advance. This was the one bit that seemed full - which meant we had a gung-ho but not technically good skier of about 13 in our group of more mature, competent, but cautitious adult. Think he would have had much more fun with a group his own age. We will definately go again once ds3 has had a few years on skis, because Feb was definately too cold for him

Thanks Liz. That's really helpful.

Thanks again everyone - just been away for a couple of days, wasn't ignoring the responses!
A colleague has also recommended Andorra - does anyone know a good company based there?

We've been to Andorra and various places in France. Tbh you don't need a package holiday, and it's cheaper to go independently, especially if you self-cater. Andorra - get a cheap flight to Barcelona, hire a car and drive up. We've stayed in Canillo, driven the car to the base of the gondola station in Soldeu each day and taken the gondola to the main ski area. We searched the web and booked the Roc de Castel (sp?) hotel. Excellent ski school in Soldeu, especially good for children. The only hassle is the queue to book ski school on the first morning. France - from Geneva, again, hire a car (make sure it's booked for the French side) and you then have the pick of French resorts. (We haven't skied in Switzerland, so don't know about Swiss resorts which would be closer). Meribel Mottaret has great ski-in ski-out convenience, is relatively snowsure, and you'll be able to book an apartment there - try this site . Whatever you do, don't book the French ski school, the ESF - Magic in Motion are a good alternative. Andorra is much less expensive than the 3 Valleys - wherever you go, you'll only need a local lift pass if you're beginners. You will need snow chains if you drive - the car hire company will hire them to you.

Thanks mamhaf - is it possible to book ski school in advance in Andorra?

I think it is if you go through a tour operator, but not if you book the holiday independently...at least that was the case last time we went there about 4 years ago. It may have changed since then. Coincidentally a colleague of dh has just booked for February half term 2008 in the Sport Hotel - don't know which tour operator - and got a package for £1600 for five people - that doesn't include evening meals...but would be excellent value.

Yes that sounds good. Any ideas what tour operators go there?

Dh's colleague has booked with First Choice from their 2007/8 Winter Ski brochure.
But virtually all the major tour operators go to Soldeu.
For convenience, the Sporthotel Village wins hands-down - it's built around the gondola station which whisks you up to the main nursery area.
The queues for the gondola are huge in the morning though as everyone tries to get to ski school for 10am...leaving at around 0830 avoids that, but who wants to get up early on holiday?
You could consider booking ski school in the afternoon instead - the disadvantage of that is that it's hard to pace yourselves so you're not too tired by then - although at 6 and 4 your ds's probably have plenty of energy.
Good luck - although we've spent a fortune on family ski-ing over the years, I don't regret a penny - we've had such fun and it's a lovely bonding experience with the children.
It's really worth making an effort for you to get fit before you go - especially as a beginner - it can be very tiring!

I should also warn you that the transfer time to Soldeu is quite long - 3-4 hours from most airports...which obviously isn't a lot of fun with two children. That's mainly why we now go independently...you can stop the car when you like to take a break. But if you book a package, try to find a tour operator that guarantees you don't have to wait for other flights to arrive before the people from your flight can leave on the transfer coach.

Sounds interesting - are there operators that guarantee you don't have to wait for another flight?
This has always been the big downer on arrival - for some reason we are never that flight that is waited for, always the one that does the waiitng... - almost considered the private transfer route, but alwayd hopeful this time might be different... The worst was last Easter with Crystal from Geneva to Morzine, where not only did we have to wait for the Manchester flight, buit then they stopped for an hour in a layby half way (not even a service station - leterally, a layby to swap some passengers over from and into different busses...very irritating

I think the more upmarket ones do - not sure if any of those go to Andorra though - but worth checking. We had such bad experiences on coach transfers - apart from the waiting and early start on the last morning, both dds, on separate holidays, threw up as the coach went around mountain bends. Poor travel rep wasn't very amused.