Feb half term ski holiday

[DarkAndDusty]

Wise skiers of MN, can you please give me some tips for planning a family ski trip in the Feb half term? I've been researching online but getting a bit overwhelmed with all the options and don't know the market very well so would be very grateful for any recommendations or general advice!

We are 2 adults & 1 child, who will be skiing for the first time so needs lessons/other kid friendly activities. Happy to go anywhere in Europe. Don't want to self-cater so would need a catered/all-inclusive set up.

Any suggestions of where to go? Or good travel agents? I'm hopeless

A recent thread on a similar theme:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/skiing/4663305-if-you-were-me?reply=121027481

Assuming you mean February 2023 then you are already quite late in terms of what will be available. As beginners your starting point should be the major Tour Operators (e.g. Crystal, Inghams, Nielson) and the TOs that cater for families (e.g. Scott Dunn, Ski Familie, Esprit). You could literally go anywhere, but I would recommend a smaller resort for your first trip - you don't need 400km of pistes as first-timers and you don't need to be paying for a lift ticket that covers such a large area. Avoid the glacier resorts, and the really hard-core places such as St. Anton.

What’s your budget? Are you all beginners or just DC?

@Havanananana thank you! I will have a look at that other thread. Eek yes I realise it is probably a bit late to be booking for Feb 2023...

@FlounderingFruitcake my DH and I are both novice skiers so will be looking for scenic and gentle rather than steep and fast!

Oh sorry re budget - I have no idea what people spend but I had something like £5k in mind. What does that get you?

Watching because I have been thinking similar. I don't think we can afford it. It's all so pricey if you want something nice!

Kinderhotels in Austria are nice -all inclusive and also have other activities and babysitting. If you are novice, I would make sure the place is ski-in - if you don't want to spend all day on slopes, you don't want to spend ages on a bus getting to the lifts. www.kinderhotels.com/en/blog/detail/20/family-skiing-vacation-in-austria.html

I would contact some agents and find out availability for smaller resorts. Check they have more greens/blues than reds/blacks. Given it’s your first time and you don’t want s/c my usual suggestions won’t be very helpful!

Tignes would be great for you all. Val d'isere is another great resort for skiing, I preferred Tignes. Aspen is wonderful but not Europe. ski schools in either of the resorts are superb and very supportive of all abilities. The runs are easily mapped out.

I had horrific altitude sickness in Val thorenes.

You can fly into Geneva or Lyon airport for the French ski resorts. Transfers are around 3 hours.

Looking at Crystal for w/c 11 Feb, £5k-£6k will get you to the resort, with flights, transfer and half-board in a very good hotel in a resort such as Saalbach. £7k will buy all-inclusive in one of the best hotels in town.

Then you need to add:
Ski hire - approx £300 in total for all three of you;
Ski school - approx £600 total for 3 x group lessons for a week (more for private lessons)
Lift pass - Approx £700 for 3 (depends on age of child)
Lunch on the mountain & beers/wine/cola etc - £200

And then add Winter sports insurance and ski clothing.

The total price for this particular example is going to be £7k - £8k+ for half term, but that's because it is half term everywhere in Europe and so demand is sky high, pushing up the prices. Outside of half term, the same basic holiday price might only be £3,000 but the essential add-ons will be roughly the same. At Easter some resorts offer reduced rates for lift passes, or even free lift passes for children.

Look at the TO websites - there will be cheaper, smaller resorts and cheaper hotels, but this outline is for a good quality hotel in a mid-range resort. If you want to know about a particular resort just ask on here and someone will know what's good or bad about it.

Don’t go ski in-ski out if you’re all novices because if you can’t ski it then then walk round by road is often a lot longer than other accommodations options, not to mention you’d be paying a premium for it.

If you go to France I’d go with one of the English ski schools over ESF who have large groups and a rep for being harsh on the kids. I’ve picked up lone crying children ESF have lost twice and so much as a thank you from the instructor.

Don’t go to Val d’Isere, it’s my favourite European resort but it’s very steep and the piste classifications are questionable, so not good as a beginner area and it’s expensive with loads of 5* hotels and Michelin dining. Tignes I’ve always thought the blues back into resort are horrific as they’re so narrow and crowded. Not sure about it’s offering for real beginners but for intermediates it’s a zoo. Meribel could be a good shout but I wouldn’t rule out the US or Canada either as it might not that that much more expensive given it’s not a peak week there.

Crystal is probably the biggest tour operator and will make it easy with a package so I’d start by searching their website.

Much as I love Tignes and have been there loads I'm not sure I would recommend it - or Val d'Isere for that matter - for beginners. Big ski area and, as beginners, you won't cover a fraction of it. There are free lifts for beginners in both resorts but you will need a ski pass after a day or two and will pay a lot of money for them - the cost has gone up hugely in the last couple of years and is something like 63 Euros a day, which is a lot if you're only doing a couple of runs.

Better option would be to go somewhere smaller with correspondingly cheaper pass and then go to a bigger resort once you've learned and can make the most of the bigger ski area.

We went to Bulgaria for our very first ski trip. It’s gentle, there’s other things to do like sledging and horse riding and was half board.

more importantly it was cheap comparatively speaking.

it was perfect for something we had never done before and wasn’t sure we would do again.

once we knew skiing was for us we tried France, Austria and Italy. I’m fond of them all and they’re all very different.

I'd say that's a tidy budget for three people. We spent £4k on our first (but we prefer to self cater) and this Christmas is costing around £5k as we've massively upped the accommodation budget for something much more luxurious. Still s/c but that's always our preference.

Have you looked at Sunweb? They usually have excellent deals that include the lift pass and they'll do all the work for you.

You can do 3 people on £5k but you may have to self cater if it’s Halfterm. I’ve got the same budget for 4 and we don’t need lessons. Everything has gone up alot in the last 3years!
How old is the child? Under 8 I’d take out of school and go in March tbh fraction of the cost, nicer spring weather and quieter slopes! You don’t need a big resort to learn as that just means more expensive lift ticket. www.onthesnow.co.uk/europe/skipass Shows you average cost of day pass. Avoriaz May meet your needs as only 2hr transfer from Geneva, high up and pedestrian village so no cars.

Clavier in Italy is good with beginners and was enough to keep my skilled but rusty DH busy.

Sauze D'oux is also good but there is a ski lift (seated not button lift) up and down from the town up to the ski area which freaks some people out on the first day

I think this feb the prices are around £1,600 per person half board with flights, lessons and hire in Italy

Would anyone recommend Val Thoren? Grateful for any good or bad feedback or tips about that resort

Not Val Thoren. In fact not France during half term. Austria or Italy are better bets. You have left it late though.

If they still have availability, go with a family holiday specialist - Ski Familie, Mark Warner, Ski Espirit (My personal fav). I'd also say avoid Scott Dunn - very expensive and crap in resort service, including very poor child care - think office junior who had never skied, being the child carer attached to a ski class.

If you can afford it, avoid self catering - your novices with a child. A hotel / catered chalet with other children will make it more fun for the child and you will have other parents to get tips and support from .

Don't forget in your budget for ski passes, equipment hire and clothing and classes for you all.

It's a great resort, but certainly not aimed a beginners. Part of a massive ski area that you wouldn't be able to to take full advantage of. Nice enough resort (as far as purpose built French resorts go), and traffic free in the centre.

Val T is a good resort. Loads blue runs, very snowsure as it’s the highest of the 3 valleys. Not the prettiest resort but there’s lots of restaurants, a new leisure complex, ice skating so plenty to do when not skiing. For kids lessons Oxygene are an English ski school and are pretty good!

Good point- if you go for it there’s no point paying for the 3 valleys ski pass, definitely get the local one.

Val Thoren - purpose built and the end of a valley, bit featureless. Very high - as someone mentioned, people can get altitude sickness - headaches, dizziness etc. It's a great resort for the more experienced ski-er. Having said that - with the right travel company it would be fine. For example I would go there in your situation above a self catering place in Italy.

I would definitely err on Austria or Italy for novices. And as a pp said, Val T is very high.

Go low and small for your first holiday

Thanks guys this feedback is really helpful. Val T came up because there happens to be availability on the right dates and in the right kind of hotel, which is what's driving our options. You're right I think we've left it a tad late 😬

The other option we're looking at is Zermatt. Any thoughts on that as compared to Val T?

I recommend neilson in Andorra. Great for beginners and more reasonably priced. All inclusive hotel is good too. El
tartar.