Ski holidays. How do they work?

[Scramble]

Might not be for a while yet but always fancied a ski holiday with the kids.

But how does it work? Say I see a hol for £239 pp, what do you actualy get?
Does it include any equipment, passes or lessons? How much does all that cost?

How do chalets work or do most of the deals you see mean hotel type accomodation?

Someone please give me the idiots guide to ski holidays.

Meant to ask, could I book one of these and just relax not ski and just have fun with sledges ond visiting places. Or are the places totaly set up for skiing and I would be some sort of non ski freak. I can ski but wondered about just haveing a nonski but snow hol as I saw some good prices.

ime most prices don't include equipment, passes or lessons - but you need to look at the individual deal. they generally include flight, transfer on a coach to the resort and accommodation. not sure how much the extras add up to - varies hugely - but it's not cheap - you're looking at maybe £150 for a weekly ski-pass. ski-hire is less. not sure about lessons.

chalet - imo the best sort of accommodation if you can fill it. not great if you have to share with strangers but can be ok. chalets usually include breakfast, cake and tea, and a substantial dinner. some will do seperate tea-time for kids - depends on the operator.

hotels are expensive and have the disadvantage, imo, of sharing - the nice thing about a chalet is having your own sitting room. a small hotel can work similarly - but again dependent on who you're with. the sitting room thing is pretty important ime - you are knackered - you need somewhere comfy and cosy to lounge around in your tracky bottoms.

you can have fun without ski-ing - but depends on the resort - most have ice-skating, swimming pools, and - obviously - snow. plus the lifts for you to visit mountain-top restaurants. visiting places doesn't particularly appeal to me - not sure how easy it would be. you get buses running around from resort to resort but geared up for skiers. taxis anywhere else are v. expensive. but you can ski and relax - have lessons in the morning, go to a nice restaurant, get yourself a vin chaud, then meet the kids for sledging in the afternoon

you can always do the ski-lite type thing... i went a couple of times and while the others would ski from dawn til dusk, my sis and i would maybe go down slopes once before looong lunch followed by lots of hot chocs and mulled wines in cafes

skiing can be v expensive, but does depend. i have a friends who's not-very-well-off family would go every year. they'd self cater, lay off the expensive night life and go for group rather than private lessons. also, resorts to vary a lot. andorra etc much better bet that the val d'iseres

am v ... i only went twice but loved it and would love to be able to afford to go again

Most headline rates will not include any hire of equipment , passes, lessons etc - which can easily add £200 - unless they are Learn to Ski packages so you can pick and choose whether you participate or not. Soem resorts are more geared towards non skiers than other (French ones are often purpose built and activities focus on the slopes). Look out for ones with non-skiers lift passes, gondola lifts and cleared walks.

The cheap prices will also be for early morning flights , off peak season, from main airports and possibly B and B or last minute to fill-up-a-chalet type arrangements, so be prepared for supplements. Accommodation can be pretty basic but is usually functional and clean either in a chalet (which may also have a large group of people who already know each other), b and b, hotel or self catering apartments. In a chalet you are often expected ot eat all together in one sitting, with kids having an earlier evening meal, catered for by tour operator staff whose standards can vary. In hotels they have taken rooms in a hotel open to the public (although chalet hotels are often exclusive) and you can benefit from their facilities such as a pool. hth

There are a few companies which do all-in ski holidays - have a look at Equity or Interski.

Thanks everyone that makes it a bit clearer, I don't fancy the chalets much if I am likely to be with big groups and sharing facilities with people I don't know. It would be me plus 2 kids.

Hatwoman when yoy say ski in the morning, have lunch then meet kids, who looks after the kids during the morning and lunch? Is that if they go to ski school thing. I bet that is pricey.

My kids would love the ski school, but I would be worried about them getting lost and seperated from their class, freind was telling me about them using the tows and sounds a bit challenging for an 8yr old, to tackle a tow poss sitting beside a stranger, getting off at the right time and then finding the class, I am bad enough on tows myself .

So we could go on one of these and do some skating, sledging and walking then. DS would happily snowboard everyday but DD never done any skiing or snowboarding. Idealy we would all go to our ski/ snowboard class in the morning. Collect them for lunch then faff about in the afternoon together either on the slope or of but that would be expensive I fear.

It is unusual bt not unknown for kids to be separated from their groups. On lifts they go with kids formhteir gorup or an instructor and beginners tend to use pommels/buttons so go one at a time anyway . Class then gatehrs right at the top of the lift. If they fall off they are expected to wait at the side of the piste until their group comes down to meet them. ds has been skiing since he turned 4 and is only 9 now , a scarily competent skier !

in one respect ski-ing is a brilliant family holiday - but only if you're prepared to have some time apart. there's no point taking them if you're not going to put them in lessons - they'll just see loads of people having a brilliant time and they won't be joining in. so yes - I meant pick them after ski-lessons. there's also no point in having family lessons - kids learn in a totally different way to adults and most appreciate some time off from mum and dad! the kind of package you get varies with age and what you want to do. if you want to ski yourself most of the day and the kids are themselves too young to ski all day you can find an operator that picks them up from lessons and takes them on to an afternoon club - or some similar system. . but when they're older you can ski-with them in the afternoon. or you can play with them - as I suggested. it's such a brilliant holiday - lots of fresh air, exercise, time apart, and great time together. I really can;t recommend it enough

It does sound good, I am quite happy to be seperate from kids, just a bit worried about how they would cope following a group around, I suppose DS has done a bit of snowboarding , he has been away twice with the scouts, DD hasn't skied or boarded but very sensible and quick to make freinds.

I know I would get very stressed about all the arrangements and who goes where when and worry a bit about them getting seperated and lost.

I think I will leave it for this year and let DD do the ummer school week at the dry slope to see how she gets on, finances are tight this year so I will have to wait anyway.

Thanks for all the info, I might pick up a few brochures to see who does what. .

Don't think I have the stamina to ski all day even with a long lunch .

I used to go to the dry slope for 3 hrs a week, 15mins skating did me in the other week.

no it won't include equipment or passes or lessons.

Ski pass upwards of £100/week; lessons prob similar; equipment maybe £30-50/week. Haven't been for years tho so my figures may be out of date.

It will include flights and transfers, accommodation and meals if stated (ie HB/chalet/hotel) but at that price I'd suspect SC (which would be fine with the kids anyway).

Chalets give you all yr food often inc tea as well as dinner but are more like a giant house party than a hotel - you do have to get on and there may not be en-suite bathrooms for example. Some people prefer this, some don't.

Some resorts are better than others for non-skiers - you need to check this out with the resort itself.

lol at tyaca ski-lite, sounds fab actually

You don't say how old the DCs are, age makes a difference. I also think that you said it was just you and the DCs. I have been with just me and DCs. Chalets may be fine if you have a big group but I have never wanted to do it with just 3 of us as you don't know who you will get!
I took my DS from the age of 2 but he was miserable in the nursery. I then took my mother who was a non skier and she took him to and from lessons. We found a group to go with one year with lots of children and that was ideal and his skiing came on enormously.
Going with my brother and family has been the best option but we find it difficult to have the money at the same time. It is expensive.
I last went with 2DSs when the youngest was 10 and they were able to manage on their own in class, we all had different classes in the morning and met for lunch and skied together in the afternoon. They were old enough to carry their own skis which is helpful. Make sure that you pick a resort with English Speaking instructors, they are generally very good because falling off a drag lift half way up is fairly common.Also get a hotel near the nursery slopes so that you don't have to walk far or contend with ski buses.
I love it.Get the Good Ski guide-it will recommend resorts for children.

Good ski guide will also tell you which places have other options for activities other than skiing. When my mother came she enjoyed trips out, to places like Innsbruck, for the day. A hotel with a swimming pool is good but they do tend to be more expensive.

Thanks again for all the info, big learning curve, it all ads up I know, passes and all that are expensive esp whe you multiply it by three. DD is 8 and DS is 11.

It is def something I want to do with them, but I can see it being quite stressfull, worrying about getting the right clothes, the right classes and getting a good place to stay, not to mention falling off tows and other stuff that makes my neck tense up so much my head might fall off, but I want to let my kids do as much as possible and challenge my comfort zone when I can.

much as I love ski-ing and want my kids to grow up doing it as much as possible and much as my comfort zone is so big that in fact I can't usually find my uncomfortable zone I have to confess that I have to shut my eyes and stick my fingers in my ears when it comes to my babies on chair lifts. (hat leaves computer with fingers in ears singing and blocking all images from her mind. it's enough to make me want to make them obese then they wouldn;t be able to slip through...)

Scramble, aged 8 and 11 is a good time. I started much earlier because I love skiing but under 7 is very hard work, after that they can manage to carry skis and cope much better.
I can see your fears hatwoman, when you see a class of 3 year old being fed onto a chair lift it seems frightening, however they always put them on with an adult.
You don't need to worry about the lifts, they start on the nursery slopes with very short drag lifts and can be seen immediately when they fall off so the instructor can just ski down and help them. You can practise on thse lifts on your own with them. There is usually a very short chair lift to try first. They won't go further up the mountain until they have the basics.Children don't have the same fears as adults!
I have always gone with a package tour when I have be on my own with DCs, this may work out more expensive than booking flights, hotels etc on the Internet but you have the security of someone being in charge. They will also organise your lift pass for you and give you vouchers for the ski hire shop and explain everything to you.You also get to know other families and you can see the rep if you have a problem.
It is a fantastic holiday (as long as you all take to skiing)you never have the prospect of being bored-you put your skis on in the morning-stop for breaks and keep going until the lifts close!
I should think that you could see a Good Ski guide in the library, I bought one very cheaply on Ebay and it is a mine of information. My main advice would be try and get a hotel near the nursery slope and have English speaking ski school.Any ski class I or DSs have been to have been very friendly and other children would say if a DC had fallen off a drag lift.
Go for it-I think people like Crystal and Thomson do special beginner packages and they also have recommended resorts for children.

hi scramble, I live in a ski resort and my kids have been skiing since they were 3 years old. a lot of people come to ski non stop for the whole of the week they are here and some don't, its really up to you what you want to make of it.

Overall a skiing holiday is not a cheap option although there are many ways to keep the price down, you can buy passes from 1 day to 6 days, imo to get the best out of the holiday one should always have a couple of lessons unless either you or the kids are already expert.

A lot of families go self catering in small apartments which allows you some control over the budget plus its also nice, say if you have another family along that you each have your indivdual space and are not sharing it with lots of people you don't know.

usually there are other activities besides skiing, snow related to course like sledging or building snowmen, or ice skating. I find that its great to have a mix of both especially if you have young children as they can sometimes find 6 days of group lessons a little tiring.

All in all its a great experience and that you should go for it.

Abbey - it doesn't stop me. we go every year. I just pretend they don't go on chair lifts

dd(6) has skied 2 weeks so far and has yet to be taken on a chairlift. Depends on how resort is set up but most instructors would use drags or gondolas first. It is a scarmble to get sorted in the mornings but much easier with over 7's (who can even help carry equipment!)

Scramble, I take my kids to Scotland each year. It's a bit of a gamble, as you can end up with no snow, but usually there is some. We go Easter time, when it is either fantastic or not great, February is cold but slightly more reliable.

It is LOADS cheaper, there is a sledge park (depending on which resort you stay at - we normally stay in Aviemore), there is loads to do if you don't ski,

I teach the kids myself, although this year is looking pretty good so far in terms of snow, so I may put at least one of them in ski school.

Price wise - we pay about £500 for a chalet for a week for 4 of us, no flight costs, but petrol costs - one tank gets us there, so £50, then ski hire/lift passes on top of that (I have my own equipment so obviously no charge, but kids need to hire) - lift passes are about £18 a day - you can get weekly passes, but I wouldn't do that in Scotland as the weather can be very unpredicatble!

There is a saying among skiers - if you can ski in Scotland you can ski anywhere - and it's true - it isn't the Alps, but there is a unique atmosphere and camaraderie among Scottish skiers (by which I mean people who ski in Scotland!).

8 and 11 are good ages. Last year I took mine up for the first time - ds1 was 5, dd 3, and it was VERY hard work! Worth it as they loved it, but I didn't take them on any tows as they were just too small, so had to walk back up the hill each time, carrying their skis! Another good reason for ski school!

(Just realised, the chalet is for 5 of us, not 4!)

Skiing in Scotland can be great, I went twice can't remeber which slopes and DS been to aviemore with Scouts, going in March again.

I like the idea of sending them off to ski school and just pretending they don't use the tows or lifts, I could try that .

Perhaps I will save up for next year then, Legoland is more than I can cope with right now [sigh emotion].

Hatwoman - that is also my fear re DS 2 sliding out under the bar on the chair lift!
I alwyas go with just the DC as DH's knees are shot so skiing is too painful for him. We usually stay in a hotel, but last year were in a shared chalet with stranges in la Rosiere. The week before we went I was dreading it thinking they'd be couples from Putney who all knew each other - in fact ironicaly two of the fasmilues were, but were very nice and we had a good time, so are doing a chalet again this year.
Dh And I used to do shared chalets before the Dc and have always enjoyed it - more friendly than a hotel.

last year we took the plunge with strangers - it was like a cross between a large chalet and a small hotel. we were a group of 3 families and then there were 4 more - all sitting together for meals and sharing the same sitting room - I was really nervous about it - but it worked really well - the kids in particular loved it - lots of new friends. two families (who came together) were a bit up their own arse and unsociable but the others were all really nice.