Tell me about Les Arcs 1950

[lostinthoughts]

So I've finally booked accommodation for our ski trip in Feb 2023. Please tell me all about it as I'm a complete beginner and kids are too.

Bumping for you OP. I have never been to Les Arcs but I hope you and the DC love it. The mountains and snow are so magical.

I’m booked there this Christmas so can tell you after that!

We've been there a few years ago, it was my first ski trip. I wouldn't go back with little kids, I found the whole 'ski everywhere' thing terrifying as grown adults were whizzing past the little kids practice slopes, an accident waiting to happen.
The place itself was ok, lovely fresh air and sun.

Thanks all. I must admit I didn't really think about the ski in/out business until after I'd booked it but I can imagine it might get a bit dicey. Instead I assumed it was a good thing and meant it was very close to the slopes. We've booked a deal which seems a little too good to be true so I'm kind of waiting to find out what the catch is.....

The place itself is beautiful, but we went in Summer not for ski season!

Book a learn to ski session or several at an indoor centre before you go so you not total total beginner and waste first day learning to put skis on

Arc 1950 is lovely. You’ll need to book ski school - in advance if you’re there in peak season. I’ve found ESF in 1950 pretty good. Depending on when you arrive, a private lesson can really help with getting started.

Big discount if you book skis in advance.

The traffic is dreadful driving up for Feb half term… on Saturday afternoon, the last 50 miles can take 3-4 hrs. Can you avoid that by travelling early or late?

Just looking into booking ski hire now. Just the lift passes and lessons to book next. It's all a bit of a minefield! As a beginner I'm hoping a local lift pass will do rather than the whole region ones? I don't think we'd get the chance to do that much exploring while the kids do half days at ski school

Book lessons asap — equipment and passes can wait until closer to the time (and you can still keep an eye out for discounts in the meantime). But lessons go fast especially in Feb half term. Hopefully you will be able to walk to the lesson meeting point — ski in ski out is not really suitable for a complete beginner unless it’s on a nursery slope. Or get to the snow dome as suggested for some beginner lessons; it’s definitely worth it to make your first morning a lot easier!
I agree on the ski pass. Local is fine for your first week. Check with the ski school — sometimes the instructor will ask for an upgrade so you can access a wider area on the last day or two but possibly not for a beginner group.

I've been to the Les arcs area.

You don't need the bigger lift pass as a beginner. You'll find plenty of skiing without it. I liked arc 1950. No cars so easy to get around. Make sure you all have good snow boots for when you're walking around after skiing.

We at stake mini Mars bars to put in the kids pockets for ski school. Some ski schools say for kids to have 2/3 euros to buy a drink or snack part way through the lesson.
If you haven't booked lessons yet do it now. There'll be full very soon if not already.

I went to Les Arcs last year and would agree that you don't need the region ski pass. The pass for Les Arcs will do as there's plenty of skiing and nice wide slopes. Definitely look at booking ski classes now as they do get booked up.

There's also a couple of nice bars we went to -La Folie Douce and Ice Bar (it's an Igloo by the Arcabulle lift in Arc 2000). Both are open during the day and my kids loved the ice sculptures inside!

Les arcs have 10% off lift pass till ??18th booked mine yesterday. Ski lessons are getting full as one of my options wasn't available.

Oh and the alpinresorts website saved us a lot on ski hire. Code ALPISKI for extra savings.