Planning a family skiing trip

To ski or not to ski?

Skiing is an experience that any mountain lover should try at least once in their lifetime. When I ski I feel closer to nature and so alive! I had to take a long break and the last time I put on the boots feels like a lifetime ago (I had 2 kids in the meantime). Now it is finally time to share this passion of mine with my eldest daughter who is now 7 years old and loves sports. If you are ready to experience skiing with your family for the first time than this post is a must read for you.

Booking a skiing trip

Okay so you’ve made up your mind and want to give skiing a try. A skiing trip is not just like any other trip. It involves much more research and planning beforehand if you want to make it enjoyable. If you are doing it for the first time it may be overwhelming. Here are some considerations to keep in mind:

Long travelling

Ski resorts are quite far from airports so travelling for a short break is not very worth it in my opinion. You will most likely spend your first and last day travelling. I would suggest a minimum of 4 nights.

Budget

A skiing trip is not a budget trip. You must keep in mind that it involves paying for lessons, renting equipment and skipasses. Accommodation is also on the expensive side if you are travelling during the skiing season (usually between mid December and mid March). All these will add hundreds of euros per person. If you do not have suitable winter clothes you must also sum them up to these expenses.

Entertainment

We booked our first family skiing trip yes, but only half of the family was skiing. Leyla just had her 3rd birthday and she is too young to ski. Mind you there are lessons for 3 year old kids. However my daughter is still very unstable so I choose to wait for now. Therefore it is just me and my eldest who are skiing this time. If not all of you are skiing you must choose a destination where there are other things to do (look for places with kids snow parks, snowtubing, horse riding, indoor pools) to keep everyone entertained.

Weather and Hours of sunshine

It is highly likely that you will find very cold weather in the mountains. Travelling to northern Europe was out of question for us since we were afraid of finding extremely cold weather and days are very short. We wanted to travel somewhere with longer hours of sunshine and a higher chance of milder temperatures.

Clothing

This is the biggest headache if you are travelling with young kids. The following worked perfectly for our family and we kept warm for daytime temperatures hovering around -7/-10 degrees during the day, while skiing.

We usually had 3 layers

– Base layer (A long sleeve cotton t-shirt/polo neck and thermal tights). Inside it gets very hot so we prefer being able to remove the thicker layers to keep comfortable inside. There are also thicker merino wool base layers but we felt they are too much, since once inside you cannot remove them.

– Mid layer: A fleece top was just perfect. We also wore lined pants.

– Waterproof and windproof top layer – this is in my opinion the most important piece of clothing. Invest in a good skiing jacket & trousers – proper ski wear must be windproof, waterproof and has pockets in your arms where to put your ski pass.

Accessories – Skiing gloves (I wear 2 pairs of gloves), neck buff, head band (in Italy a helmet is mandatory so you won’t need a hood).

After your skiing lesson is over make sure to have a good pair of boots that has a good grip and can keep your feet warm in sub zero temperatures. We also bought hand and feet warmers which we are useful if you are doing activities like horse rides, snowmobile or have kids which are still in the pushchair.

Finding the right resort

Finding the skiing resort that ticked all the boxes was quite hard and I spent hours and hours on the internet to find the perfect place for us. We wanted a destination that would allow us to visit some nearby towns as well. We were travelling during the new year period so there were still Christmas markets going on. We wanted to visit some of them in the evening if possible.

Skiing Lessons

When booking skiing lessons you need to choose whether you are booking a group lesson or private lessons.

Group lessons vs. Private Lessons:

Cost – group lessons are much cheaper obviously and cost around 20/25 euros per hour, while private lessons start from 55 euros per hour and can go up to 80 euros per hour depending on the resort.

Language – group lessons are perfect only if you speak the native language. If you wish lessons to be in English than you will require private lessons in most ski resorts.

Socialize – joining a group offers you a perfect opportunity to make some new friends, however you might have less individual attention from your instructor

Flexibility – group lessons schedule is fixed and must match your itinerary. They usually start on a Sunday or Monday and the course is 5 days long (some ski schools may offer shorter courses but finding them is very tricky). If you wish your lessons on specific dates/time you must opt for private lessons.

Tried and Tested Ski Resorts

Here are some ski resorts which we have been to, some with kids and some before having kids. So far we have always been to Italian ski resorts as we are comfortable with the language.

Andalo – Trentino

Value for money – ski passes and lesson costs are medium budget. Accommodation is quite expensive though, however there are apartment options that are quite affordable. Finding accommodation that is worth it, requires booking in advance.
Flexibility – we could start lessons on any day and have a shorter course (during Xmas period). As I wrote above, most ski resorts will require you to start lessons on a Sunday/Monday and do a minimum of 5 lessons. This allowed us to join a course since both myself and my daughter speak Italian. My daughter was very happy to be with other kids and she also made new friends.
Entertainment – there are plenty of other activities than skiing in the village and also on the slopes where we had our lessons. Our younger daughter was equally entertained while we were doing our lessons. Andalo life was the perfect place for her and she also stayed in the Biblioigloo (an indoor play area on the the mountain) when we were doing our lessons in Prati di Gaggia. There are also go karting experiences, skiing by night, mountains huts to visit on foot, snowshoeing activities etc.
Piste conditions – Paganella ski area is one of the top destinations with modern lifts, optimal piste conditions, and pistes for beginner/intermediate levels. However the skiing season is shorter than other destinations. Andalo is located in the southern part of the Dolomites so snow may start later and also end before other higher altitude snow resorts. Usually January and February are the best time to visit Andalo. What I did not like is the fact that the pistes are located on the western side of the mountain so skiing in the morning on the shady part of the mountain makes it harder and colder.
Connection – the nearest airports are Treviso and Bergamo. However they both are over 2 hours away. If you are renting a car, make sure to have winter tyres/snow chains. Andalo is also perfect if you want to visit nearby places like Trento, Bolzano, Molveno, Val di Non, etc. All these places are less than an hour away by car. So if you are interested in skiing, yet wish to visit other places Andalo is perfect!
Best for: Absolute beginners and people who wish to visit nearby places after the skiing lessons are over

More info on Andalo Tourism Website here.

Livigno – Lombardia

Value for money – ski passes and lesson costs are for a a higher budget. Accommodation is also very expensive, however there are also apartment options that are more affordable.
Flexibility – skiing lessons are not very flexible in Livigno. Lessons start on Sunday/Monday and you are obliged to do 5/6 lessons.
Entertainment – there are a lot of other things to do in Livigno for non-skiers – snowmobile, indoor pools, shopping, showshoeing etc. Check out my previous blog post on Livigno here for other things to do in Livigno.
Piste conditions – Livigno ski conditions are top of the tops in Italy – it is one of the highest skiing resorts and the season is very long. Usually you can start skiing in the beginning of December and the season is open until mid May. You can ski on both sides of the mountain, so you can stay in the sunshine all day long.
Connection – this is in my opinion the biggest disadvantage of Livigno. The nearest airports are all over 3 hours away. Bergamo is the closest one but still requires almost 4 hours of driving. In winter Zurich airport is actually the closest airport, since some mountain passes are closed in Winter. If you are choosing Livigno you cannot visit nearby towns/cities in less than an hour. Bormio is the closest town and is still an hour away.
Best for: all ski levels if you wish to stay in the same village when the skiing lessons are over and longer trips as the travelling distance is quite long

More info on Livigno Tourism Website here.

Val di Fassa – Trentino

Unlike the previous suggestions this is a whole valley stretching from the northernmost village of Canazei to Moena in the south.

Value for money – ski passes and lesson costs are the highest of all. Val di Fassa is part of the Dolomiti Super Ski skiing pass. It is very popular as the most scenic part of the Alps and thus prices tend to be higher. However there are promotions like end of season sales that you can look out for.
Flexibility – skiing lessons are more flexible. There are several skiing schools in the valley depending on the area in which you wish to ski and some schools offer weekend lessons or shorter lessons during Christmas and Easter holidays.
Entertainment – you can hop from a village to another in the valley and visit kids snowparks, snowshoeing, indoor pools, etc. However the main focus in Val di Fasssa is skiing.
Piste conditions – Again piste conditions are excellent. From the highest village (Canazei) you can connect with the Sellaronda which in my opinion is the most scenic ski tour you can do. I have done part of it (first picture on the right) and the views are absolutely breathtaking. The views are the best I have ever seen while skiing. However this is not an area for absolute beginners. There are other options in Val di Fassa suitable for all levels, like Vigo di Fassa and Alba di Canazei where there are several blue pistes.
Connection – the closest airport is Treviso airport.
Best for: the best views in the Dolomites and shorter trips as it is not that far from airports. You can also visit nearby villages for your après-ski

More info on Val di Fassa Website here.