Most keen skiers started early, so only it’s natural they’d want to introduce their own children to the world of snowsports. But if you want to ensure your little ones have a pleasurable experience, picking a resort with plenty of alternative activities to try, plus engaging kids clubs, can make all the difference.
Prices are for packages for a family of four, typically with two under-12s travelling, during school holidays.
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Soldeu, Andorra
Once popular with the party crowd, Andorra has reinvented itself as a family destination, investing heavily in excellent snowmaking, fast, modern chairlifts and stone-cladding to soften ugly blocks. Its biggest area, Grandvalira, offers delightful sunny skiing on 205km of linked pistes through glades of bright green pines.
There’s snowmobiling, dog-sledding and snowshoeing – as well as ice diving and piste basher-driving sessions. And the state-run ski school has an excellent reputation with a huge number of native English-speaking instructors, particularly in Soldeu.
Staying there
Crystal Ski Holidays offers a week’s half board at the Hotel Sport from £955pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a family room), including flights and transfers, departing 22 December 2019.
Seefeld, Austria
Just half an hour from Innsbruck airport, Seefeld is more a charming, traditional Austrian village than a conventional ski resort. Around a church in the middle of a high, snow-sure plateau, you can ice-skate, try curling or go winter walking, snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on beginner-friendly trails. The ski area has a timed giant slalom run by the side of the piste, where parents and children can race each other in safety. Plus the Ski Plus City pass now covers 13 downhill resorts around Innsbruck, giving access to 308km of slopes, 111 lifts, and eight resorts with night skiing and tobogganing.
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“Star Wars” produced by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
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Sapporo’s local idol group, Team Crereco performs on a stage in front of a 10-metre high and 18-metre-wide ice statue of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
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Ice sculptures od Disney characters
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Visitors watch the projection mapping show at the snow statue of “the Central Golden Hall, Kofukuji temple in Nara”
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People gather in front of an ice sculpture entitled “Friends in the Southern Ocean”
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People admire the large snow sculpture of mammoths
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An animation is projected onto a large snow sculpture of “Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula” that is in India
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Thailand team makes their snow sculpture entitled “Buffalo Still Alive”
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A Narnia snow
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Star Wars snow statue
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Ice sculpture with real fish frozen inside
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Snow sculptures of seals and fish
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Visitors admire a large ice sculpture of former city hall of German’s Leipzig at Odori Park
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A soldier of Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces makes snow sculpture replica of the painting ‘Mona Lisa’ in three-dimension
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Visitors watch the huge snow sculpture of “the Antarctic” featuring the Japanese Antarctic expedition ship ‘Soya,” the Sakhalin huskies, Taro and Jiro and Antarctic animals
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An ice sculpture of the Palace of the Heart
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The Arc de triomphe de l’Etoile snow statue
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A family poses in front of the snow sculpture of the Disney character Stitch
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A large snow sculpture of the Hsing Tian Kong, a popular temple in Zhongshan Distric in Taipei
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A snow sculpture of Japan’s figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu
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Tourists visit an 18-metre high and 28-metre-wide snow statue of the Sultan Abdul Samad building
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An animation is projected onto a large snow sculpture
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“Winter Sports Paradise, Hokkaido”
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A singer performs on the stage of the Taipei Guest House snow statue
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Children look at the 15-metre-tall snow statue of “Attack on Titan”
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Visitors pose in front of an ice sculpture featuring Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building
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Japan’s game soft character Monster Strike
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Visitors look at a large snow sculpture called the Manila Cathedral of the Philippines
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Visitors gather around colorful ice sculptures
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Children play on a snow slide
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A ‘Taiwan’ snow sculpture
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“Star Wars” produced by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
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Sapporo’s local idol group, Team Crereco performs on a stage in front of a 10-metre high and 18-metre-wide ice statue of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
AFP/Getty
3/45 2009
Ice sculptures od Disney characters
Getty
4/45 2017
Visitors watch the projection mapping show at the snow statue of “the Central Golden Hall, Kofukuji temple in Nara”
AFP/Getty
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People gather in front of an ice sculpture entitled “Friends in the Southern Ocean”
AFP/Getty
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People admire the large snow sculpture of mammoths
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An animation is projected onto a large snow sculpture of “Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula” that is in India
AFP/Getty
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Getty Images
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Thailand team makes their snow sculpture entitled “Buffalo Still Alive”
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A Narnia snow
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Snow sculptures lit up
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Star Wars snow statue
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Getty Images
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Ice sculpture with real fish frozen inside
Getty
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Snow sculptures of seals and fish
AFP/Getty
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Visitors admire a large ice sculpture of former city hall of German’s Leipzig at Odori Park
AFP/Getty Images
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A soldier of Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces makes snow sculpture replica of the painting ‘Mona Lisa’ in three-dimension
AFP/Getty
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Visitors watch the huge snow sculpture of “the Antarctic” featuring the Japanese Antarctic expedition ship ‘Soya,” the Sakhalin huskies, Taro and Jiro and Antarctic animals
AFP/Getty
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An ice sculpture of the Palace of the Heart
AFP/Getty
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25/45 2017
The Arc de triomphe de l’Etoile snow statue
AFP/Getty
26/45 2007
A family poses in front of the snow sculpture of the Disney character Stitch
AFP/Getty
27/45 2015
A large snow sculpture of the Hsing Tian Kong, a popular temple in Zhongshan Distric in Taipei
AFP/Getty
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Getty Images
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A snow sculpture of Japan’s figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu
AFP/Getty
30/45 2014
Tourists visit an 18-metre high and 28-metre-wide snow statue of the Sultan Abdul Samad building
AFP/Getty
31/45 2015
An animation is projected onto a large snow sculpture
AFP/Getty
32/45 2014
“Winter Sports Paradise, Hokkaido”
AFP/Getty
33/45 2017
A singer performs on the stage of the Taipei Guest House snow statue
AFP/Getty
34/45 2016
Children look at the 15-metre-tall snow statue of “Attack on Titan”
AFP/Getty
35/45 2006
Visitors pose in front of an ice sculpture featuring Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building
AFP/Getty
36/45 2015
Japan’s game soft character Monster Strike
AFP/Getty
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Visitors look at a large snow sculpture called the Manila Cathedral of the Philippines
AFP/Getty
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39/45 2015
Visitors gather around colorful ice sculptures
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Children play on a snow slide
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A ‘Taiwan’ snow sculpture
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Staying there
Inghams offers seven nights half board at the Hotel Seefelderhof from £1,206pp (based on two adults and two children sharing two rooms), including flights and transfers, departing 21 December.
Ruka, Finland
For a long time, Finland’s two biggest resorts Levi and Ylläs attracted most British skiers. But Ruka has been investing heavily, last season extending its gondola, linking the existing village to a new pedestrian village on the other side of the mountain.
Just 20 minutes from the airport, Ruka is purpose-built in the style of Alpine resorts and has wood-clad bars, curio shops and restaurants decked with strings of lights in the pedestrian area at the foot of the downhill slopes.
There are plenty of kid-friendly excursions, including a visit to the snow and ice castle, snowmobiling, husky-sledding, reindeer sledding and even visits to see Santa.
Staying there
Crystal Ski Holidays offers a week’s self-catering at the Ruka Cabins from £847pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a cabin) including flights and transfers, departing on 16 February 2020.
La Clusaz, France
The five linked sectors of La Clusaz ensure that each day’s skiing is different. In Manigod, the most beginner-friendly, you can try out riding a ‘paret’ for free. This sledge looks like a bit like a hobby horse and every Tuesday and Wednesday evening at the Blanchot piste the resort brings out about 50 (along with mulled wine for parents) all free of charge.
Just seven minutes away by ski bus there’s also Le Grand Bornand, offering more terrain to explore and traditional Savoyard charm.
Staying there
Peak Retreats offers seven nights self-catered at Les Grandes Alpes apartments in La Clusaz for £452pp (based on four sharing an apartment), including Eurotunnel crossings, departing 4 April.
Borovets, Bulgaria
Bulgaria always tops the best-buy list for package ski holidays, and the Bulgarian ski school has a good reputation too.
Despite its 1980s functionality, older lifts and more limited snowmaking, Borovets offers a great-value base, with reasonably priced excursions including atmospheric candlelit walks in the woods, dinner in forest restaurants and snowmobiling. The village accesses three interconnected ski areas: Markudjik, Yastrebetz and Sitnyakovo.
Staying there
Balkan Holidays offers seven nights’ half board at the Hotel Festa Chamkoria for £929pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a family room), including flights and transfers, departing 15 February.
Arosa, Switzerland
From the town of Chur in Switzerland’s eastern Graubünden canton, a rack railway runs from the valley to charming, wooded town of Arosa, where horse-drawn sleds and carriages await to whisk guests to exclusive hotels.
Arosa’s 100km of pistes are supplemented by those of the neighbouring lift-linked Lenzerheide. The resort offers snowbiking – which is enormous fun, as you go over jumps, into natural half-pipes and along the ski school’s off piste trail – plus a maze of runs through the trees called ‘Inner Arosa’, which children adore.
Staying there
Powder Byrne offers seven nights’ half board at the Waldhotel from £2,695pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a family room), including flights, transfers, ski guiding and resort driver, departing 15 February.
Les Gets, France
Les Gets is at the western end of the giant Portes du Soleil ski area and benefits from its secluded location. Its ‘secret’ mountain – Mont Chéry – is rarely busy, as you need to catch a little train from the main ski area to reach it, and there is lots to do in the village, with its wooden carousel, mechanical museum and electric snowmobile circuit for children.
The piste map gives skiers directions on how to make the most of the claimed 650km of runs by going from one corner of the Portes du Soleil to the other, which is helpful.
Staying there
Crystal Ski Holidays offers a week’s self-catering at Les Fermes Emiguy from £687pp (based on two adults and two children sharing an apartment), including flights and transfers, departing 21 December.
Geilo, Norway
In Geilo, two modest-sized ski areas rise up either side of the valley, through which runs the train line that will bring you either from Oslo or Bergen airport.
Foreign holidaymakers mostly check into Geilo’s six big hotels, which have swimming pools and saunas. Norway is particularly popular with families; activities include dog sledding and a horse-drawn sleigh ride to the Vestila Hotel for dinner.
Staying there
Ski Safari offers seven nights’ half board at the Vestila Resort from £1,035pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a family room), including flights and train transfers, departing 16 February.
Lech, Austria
Elegant Lech has long been a favourite with families, but in the past few years a series of new lifts has vastly expanded the skiing possibilities. On one side a chondola – a combined chairlift and gondola – has linked Lech to its less upmarket neighbours Warth and Schröcken, near the German border, while the Flexenbahn now links Lech’s close neighbour Zürs to St Anton, so you can reach the legendary après capital on skis. Aside from the extra skiing, the links also provide a way to find cheaper lunches than in more high-end Lech.
Off the piste, little ones can enjoy sledding, snowshoeing, horse-drawn sleigh rides and ice skating, all offered in resort.
Staying there
VIP Ski offers seven nights’ half board at Hotel Theodul for £1,009pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a family room), including flights, transfers, wine and afternoon tea, departing 12 April.
Hokkaido, Japan
A trip to Japan remains a goal for many skiers, and an advantage for families of travelling long-haul is that the prices do not dramatically increase over half-term.
Plenty of cheap accommodation has been springing up in the principal resort of Niseko, which makes it a good base.
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Frank Lettiere’s eyebrows and eye lashes are frozen after walking along Lake Michigan’s ice covered shoreline
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Ice covers the Lake Michigan shoreline
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A harbor light is covered by snow and ice
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Temperatures dropped to -20 degrees F (-29C)
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Steam rising off the frozen lake
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Marius Radoi keeps his balance as he walks on the edge of Lake Michigan’s shore line
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Ice forms along the shore
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Ducks rest in Lake Michigan
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A young boy tosses a chunck of snow into Lake Michigan
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Frank Lettiere’s eyebrows and eye lashes are frozen after walking along Lake Michigan’s ice covered shoreline
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A man tosses hot water into the freezing cold air
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Meanwhile, at Rusutsu there’s just one vast hotel, inside which is a three-storey recreation of a Bavarian village surrounding a full-size carousel. Nor is the ski area any less remarkable. You can ski through a funfair, as the resort is a theme park in summer.
Staying there
Different Snow offers six nights’ B&B at the Green Leaf Hotel in Niseko and one in an airport hotel en route home for £2,650pp (based on two adults and two children sharing two rooms), including flights, transfers, lift passes and ski hire, departing 15 February.