Going on a ski holiday with the kids? You'll need a family-friendly skiing destination with all the right facilities for a stress-free trip. Ideally, the ski area will have a child-friendly ski school and a dedicated children’s area with nursery slopes where the kids can make their first turns on skis. A family-friendly ski area should also have a magic carpet and a practice slope with a drag lift, as well as some gentle blue slopes for more advanced children. Thankfully, nowadays more and more ski schools have English-speaking ski instructors. This will make your family ski holidays that much easier!
You’ll know the family ski holiday was a success when you pick up the children after their ski lessons and find them with big smiles on their faces! But the skiing is just one component of your holiday. It’s also important to book family-friendly accommodation – it helps if you can count on childcare, a playroom and maybe a swimming pool to keep the kids occupied in the hours after skiing. As we all know, family ski holidays don’t come cheap. But luckily, many ski resorts offer special family packages with discounts on ski passes to make your holidays a little more affordable.
Family ski holidays: Nursery slopes & children’s practice areas
The most important mission of a family ski holiday is for your kids to have a good time and learn to love skiing! They’ll most probably click into their skis for the first time in the dedicated children’s ski area. Usually these come with a magic carpet and mascots and obstacles so they can learn to ski (or snowboard) in a safe, fun environment. Once your child is feeling confident, it’s time to tackle blue slopes or easy funslopes!
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The best children’s areas
1: Fiss: Berta’s Kinderland
2: Grächen: SiSu Zwergenparadies
3: Stubaital: BIG Ron's Kinderland
4: Nauders: Nauderix Kinderland
5: Les Gets: L’Espace des Mappy’s -
Nursery slopes in the village centre
1: Westendorf
2: Obergurgl
3: La Norma
4: St. Vigil in Enneberg
5: Savognin
Kids ski free
Winter holidays with the family can be a strain on the old budget, especially if you have more than one child that needs ski lessons. The following ski areas offer free lift passes and some even offer free ski lessons during certain dates. Consider choosing one of these ski resorts if you want to save money on your next ski holiday with the family!
Ski pass prices |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Ski area | Free until | Children | Adults |
| Stubaital | Age 10 | €115.50 | €231 |
| Pitztal | Age 10 | €160 | €266 |
| Dolomiti Superski | Age 8 | €191.00 | €273.00 |
| Ski Arlberg | Age 8 | €155 | €300 |
| Wipptal | Age 8 | €101.50 | €205.50 |
Ski areas with free children’s ski lessons
- Ferienregion Imst: Kids’ ski weeks at Hoch-Imst
- Innsbruck: Silberregion Karwendel (all winter)
- GenussSkigebiet Venet: Kinderskiwochen Venet (incl. ski pass and equipment rental)
- Wipptal: Ski lessons free at the Bergeralm (incl. ski pass and equipment rental)
- Hochoetz: Happy Family Weeks (incl. free ski pass)
Family-friendly hotels
A child-friendly hotel is the ideal accommodation for a ski holiday with the kids. At these hotels, the youngest guests will be welcomed with open arms and will find everything they need for a comfortable stay. The evenings offer hours of entertainment – maybe they’d like to splash around in the pool, or play games in the playroom. Parents, for their part, can relax knowing that childcare, children’s menus and other technical details have been taken care of.
Ski resorts with English-speaking ski instructors
Skiing and snowboarding can be intimidating when you first start, and it’s nice to have lessons in your own language! If you want your kids to feel comfortable on skis, try to book with an English-speaking ski instructor. This is a little easier in high season, when extra temporary staff are hired; but it should be possible to find English ski lessons throughout the winter if you do your homework. Here are some ski resorts to get you started on your search.
Ski holidays with the whole family: Gran and Gramps
Planning a ski holiday with all three generations? Count on Gran and Gramps to take charge for a while. They’re sure to be enthusiastic about activities like sledging, making snowmen or going for a ride in a horse-drawn sleigh. If the kids are a little older, you can also go on a lovely walk through the winter wonderland surrounding the village. Many ski resorts offer a large network of winter hiking trails of all difficulty levels. When the kids are tuckered out, you can stop in at a mountain hut and warm up with a hot drink or a delicious local meal.
Winter hiking destinations |
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|---|---|---|
| Location | Hiking trails | Tip |
| Tannheimer Tal | 81km | 2.2km trail to Neunerköpfle |
| Engelberg | 50km | SkyWalk, longest suspension bridge in Europe |
| Kleinwalsertal | 50km | Hiking Burmi-Winterraadsel |
| Paznauntal Kappl/See | 60km | Hiking Kappl – Sesslad in the ski area |
| Feldberg | 550km | Panoramic trail in ski area |
Ski areas with (free) childcare on the slopes
Most ski resorts offer childcare within easy reach of the ski area , usually at the gondola station. This makes it easy to drop the kids off, ski for a few hours and come to pick them up later without the hassle of walking across the whole village. It’s a good option for kids who are too young to ski or who are simply skied out from the day before! Daycare is a great way to make new friends, play in the snow and generally have a great time without Mum and Dad. The following ski resorts offer convenient childcare – sometimes free childcare!