5 Things to Consider For an Amazing Ski Holiday
Are you thinking of jetting off on a ski holiday this year? Then I’ve got some great ski holiday tips for you before you start planning your trip. I personally love skiing and try to head off to the mountain every year if I can. It’s such a fun type of holiday because you’re being active, creating great memories and constantly challenging yourself. If you’re planning a family skiing holiday then there are a few more things that you’re going to have to keep in mind in order to make sure it’s a great trip for everyone, especially if you’re traveling with family members of considerably different ages and different abilities. Here are my top 6 things to consider for an amazing ski holiday:
1) Think About Ski Passes in Advance
If you’re planning to be at the mountain for more than a week total, it’s often much cheaper to buy a pass because any longer can become extremely expensive going day by day. Certain mountains have special deals for families, or special packages that include gear rental. Obviously this is going to totally depend on where you’re going, when you’re going and how many people you’re going with. My advice is to look into this in advance so you can find the most economical option for your family because you can save serious money if you buy an early bird pass, even if you think it might not be worth it for the amount of time you’re going. The truth is, it’s often much better to buy months in advance, so now is the time to start thinking about this!
2) Be Smart With Your Accommodation
Consider staying in a chalet that provides child minding services so that you can really make the most of the mountain. Think about it – you’ve travelled all this way, to enjoy the beautiful slopes, spent a ton of money on mountain passes, but you have a young child that just wants to play in the snow and because you have no one you can trust to look after your child you’re stuck building snowmen with him instead of skiing. It sounds like a nightmare! With www.skifamille.co.uk you can avoid this terrible situation because the chalets come with trained childcare solutions that you can trust because all of their childcare professionals are enhanced CRB (now DBS) and reference checked and hold a first aid qualification. This is the perfect solution because you can enjoy the ski-fields while you know your children will be safe and having fun! There’s nothing worse than traveling half way around the world only to be stuck with no options for child care.
3) Pack Properly
One of the biggest challenges with winter based holidays is the packing. For summer holidays, it’s easier: the clothes are lighter, they take up much less space in your suitcases and you also don’t have to worry about about expensive equipment such as skis, boots, gloves, googles and so forth. If you’re only going to ski for a day or two, it’s probably going to be much more economical to rent everything. If your ski or snowboarding trip is for more than a few days or weeks, then it may be better to borrow your gear or to buy it. Check out the rental gear prices of the fields that you’re visiting before you commit. Bare in mind that you can also buy gear second hand, or in sales from the year before. When you’re riding the chairlift up to the top runs, it can get very cold, so I suggest investing in some good quality thermals to wear under proper ski pants and a ski jacket. If you’ve never been skiing or snowboarding before, it can be a good idea to rent a pair of skis or boards for at least one day before committing to buying so you can try some out to see what sizes you like.
Just be warned that skiing and snowboarding are very addictive hobbies! You may find yourself constantly planning your next trips back to the mountain.
Snowboarding and skiing clothing can be quite bulky to pack and can take up quite a lot of room. I suggest buying some packing cubes to help condense it so it fits more easily in your suitcase or backpack when you’re traveling. Here is a brand of packing cubes that I love and recommend.
4) Head in the Middle of the Season
If you’re planning a trip overseas to go skiing, I suggest planning for the middle of the season. If you’re spending a lot of money on flights, hotels and season passes for the mountain, then you don’t want to be left disappointed. The snow season is quite volatile, it can often be hard to predict and it would be such a shame if you went all that way only to find that the mountain had a light dusting and you weren’t able to go up. There are many commercial fields around the world that operate with snow machines and will pump out man-made snow even if there has not been decent dusting, ensuring that the show will go on. So maybe do the research to see if the field you’re considering is a sure thing, if not try to plan for the middle of the season to ensure that no matter what you can be certain you will be able to get some runs in.
5) Choose One With a Ski School
Even if you’ve chosen a chalet with childcare services, you might want some of your children to have a few lessons with a ski school so they can start falling in love with skiing. The truth is, I’ve seen kids who could barely walk skiing down a mountain better than I can! The younger children learn the ski, the more comfortable they’ll be and the faster they’ll be on the big runs with you. It’s a great way to get them learning a new skill, and it could be way to spark a new hobby. Because they’ll have the option to return with their childcare services, they can just do a little bit of the ski school to build up some confidence on the mountain and have fun with it, without too much pressure – the perfect environment to learn in!
Skiing is a wonderful family holiday, but with the option to find accommodation with included child minding services, it can be a holiday that the parents can really enjoy too! You can pop away in the mornings to enjoy some wonderful runs and then spend the afternoons together as a family, enjoying the local attractions – the best of both worlds. Keep these 5 things to consider in mind before planning your next ski holiday!