Top tips for skiing with kids!
Ok, so you want to go skiing with the kids? It’s a great idea and you’ll create memories that you’ll talk about for years, whilst also having the little ones learn some really useful skills. However, as with everything now you have kids, it’s going to be different to any ski trips you may have done without the little ones in tow. Having done many many trips with my kids, I’ll give you a few top tips that I’ve learnt through the years about going skiing with kids.
Travelling
You’ve got to travel to the airport, time at the airport, a plane journey and then a coach journey (or a long car journey if you’re thinking of driving out). The aim of the game here is to minimise stress as much as possible, there is nothing worse than having a huge barney with your significant other, and making the kids cry on the first day of your magical ski holiday.
You need to be mentally and physically prepared so make sure your hand luggage game is on top form. A few essentials for us;
- Snacks, snacks and more snacks
Go heavy on the snacks. The greater the variety, then the happier your children will be. Try and avoid too much sugar if possible or you’ll be chasing them around the departures lounge and then have to deal with the inevitable sugar slump later.
- Drinks
You need to be really careful with drinks, you don’t want your child desperate for a wee every 5 minutes. Ski transfers can be long, especially on school holidays and some of the transfer coaches don’t have toilets. Halfway through the flight, I would be taking their water bottles off them and not letting them have them back until closer to the resort.
- Entertainment (this is a big one)
Have as many forms of entertainment as possible to entertain the children on the flight/transfer. There is nothing worse (for you and the entire plane/coach) than a bored child with nothing to do, who decides they’re going to kick off majorly as they’ve had enough of this travelling malarkey.
- Tablets with films and TV shows already downloaded from your streaming platform of choice. Remember that you won’t get much Wi-Fi / data on an aeroplane or a transfer, and it may be also be limited once you get into the mountains, so you need to remember to download a good selection onto your tablets before leaving.
- Consoles and phones with all their favourite games. If you bring a console do be careful if they change the games, you don’t want them to drop a game and not realise until you get back to the UK and have no idea where they’ve lost it!
- Get each child a pair of proper, over the head, headphones (loads of good cheap ones available these days). Kids can’t do ear plug ones (you’ll spent the entire time trying to get them in the kids ears…) and that makes everything more stressful.
- Another good tip if your children are sharing one device is to get a headphone splitter so 2 or more people can listen to the same device at the same time without there being fights that someone has moved and pulled the others headphones off.
- Battery packs. I would recommend getting a couple of decent ones that can recharge a new smartphone 4 times. These should last you the full journey.
- Not everything needs to be technological. There’s nothing wrong with the more traditional options of books which you can all read together, colouring and travel board games.
Location, location, location
Doorstep skiing is ideal with young kids as you will soon realise that if you have to walk anywhere then you are going to end up carrying most of their equipment (if not them) as well as your own, and after 10m you are panting and sweating everywhere.
If you can ski from your door straight down to the lifts or to the ski school then you are laughing. Another alternative which makes your life a lot easier, is to try and get somewhere with a bus stop right outside it that will take you directly to the slopes. Most resorts do have free shuttle buses that you can just hop on and off as you please, and they run frequently.
The shuttle bus in Val Thorens stops directly outside Les Balcons de Val Thorens, runs 8am-8pm and every 20 minutes. Simple!
When skiing with kids it’s also important to have a think about what resort is going to suit you. One of my absolute favourites to travel to when I have the kids with me is Flaine. The transfer is shorter than a lot of other resorts at around 1.5 hours which is a huge benefit. There are lots of beginner areas with lovely greens and blues, there are fun areas for the kids including tobogganing, and it’s got a slightly quieter night scene than some other resorts. Flaine is also situated in a bowl, so no matter which piste you decide to take, you will always end up in the same place, meaning it’s near impossible to get lost and you’ll meet up with your group at the bottom.
Private transfers / Car hire
Have you ever spent 4 hours on a coach that doesn’t have a toilet with 2 young children? Trust me, it is no way to start or end your holiday.
It’s really important to think about your transfer options. Shared transfers can mean waiting at the airport for up to 2 hours and do take longer. Consider opting for a private transfer, these are door to door with a driver waiting with a sign in arrivals. No waiting, you will get straight onto your transfer and leave immediately. It would also give you the possibility of scheduling in stops at services for toilet stops or a supermarket before you get into resort.
You could even hire a car at the airport meaning you can travel in your own time, get to the supermarkets when you want and even venture a little further out of the resorts if the kids are fed up with skiing by day 3.
Non-skiing options
Skiing is tiring for us adults, let alone when you’re only a little one! Generally, kids can’t last a full day skiing (well, without a number of temper tantrums throughout the day which aren’t the easiest to deal with in the middle of the piste) so it’s important not to push them too far. Check out what non-skiing activities the resort and accommodation has, to give the children a break in the afternoons. Swimming pools are great for the kids so it’s definitely worth paying a bit more for an accommodation which has one of these included. If not, a number of resorts do have leisure centres within the resorts giving you access to swimming pools. Ice rinks are also a fun alternative for kids.
Think about catering options
This will depend on each family and what kind of eaters your children are. If you have fussy eaters, it may be easier to stick with self-catered apartments so that you can buy foods you know they will like and cook them within the apartment at a time most suitable for the kids. Mealtimes are also something to think about, especially with young kids. Some restaurants might not open until 6:30/7ish so if your kids eat earlier than this, you need to make sure that you have scouted out restaurants that are open before this or opt for self-catered.
Travelling with kids is always going to have its ups and downs but I love going skiing with the kids, and seeing them learn to ski is something really special (although they’ll be better than me very soon…). As long as you take the time to prepare, you can definitely enjoy your trip!
If you need any help with getting things sort to get skiing with kids, don’t hesitate to contact us and we can go through some options!