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Best ski resorts for families

Skiing with the whole clan? We've got you covered

Colin Nicholson
Thursday 07 November 2019 11:15 GMT
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All the family can enjoy a snowsports holiday
All the family can enjoy a snowsports holiday

Plenty of ski resorts claim to appeal to families, but it’s no mean feat finding the perfect balance of all-age activities coupled with varied terrain for all abilities. Do a little research, though, and you’ll find there are places that fit the bill.

Here’s our pick of the best resorts to keep everyone happy, from kids and teens to parents and grandparents.

The Independent’s ski holiday recommendations are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and book, but we never allow this to affect our coverage.

Obergurgl, Austria

Charming Obergurgl combines a pretty village, centred around an 18th-century church, with snow-sure slopes – even its lowest runs are above 2,000m. Terrain is best suited to beginners and improving intermediates, with plenty of long, winding blues and a smattering of exhilarating reds as part of the area’s 112km of pistes.

Tuesday evenings are great for families: a fireworks extravaganza accompanies a weekly show with skiers on stilts and speed-riders from the (highly rated) ski school performing stunts.

Obergurgl has a new lift and motorbike museum

Last-season Obergurgl lift passes are also valid in Solden, 20 minutes away by bus. Not only does this offer access to a further 142km of slopes, but also to the fascinating 007 exhibition, a must for Bond fans (the skiing shots of Spectre were shot in Solden).

Staying there

Esprit Ski offers seven nights’ half board at the Hotel Alpina Deluxe from £1,779pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a family room), including flights and transfers, departing 21 December.

Are, Sweden

Are has nearly 100km of slopes catering for different ability levels. A nice legacy of hosting the World Championships in 2007 is that a series of tunnels – built for spectators – has been turned into pistes under the former race courses. Beginners can pass under the fastest black runs to explore cosier, more romantic trails zigzagging through the trees. The ski school, one of the world’s best for skiers with disabilities, has a great reputation.

The town itself has plenty of characterful half-timbered buildings, and there’s a quaint rack railway dating from a century ago to chug visitors to a popular apres-ski spot on the slopes.

Staying there

Ski Sweden offers seven nights’ self-catering at the Grand Residence Apartments for £960pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a two-bedroom apartment), including flights and transfers, departing 5 April.

Courchevel, France

The Three Valleys remains the world’s biggest ski area, and many families prefer the Courchevel end to busy Meribel and treeless, blockish Val Thorens.

Courchevel 1650 (rebranded as Courchevel Moriond a few years ago) is a strong choice for families. One of the quietest parts of the Three Valleys, it offers gentle blue and red runs, groomed to perfection. For ski lessons, the British-run New Generation is excellent. The new Aquamotion Centre near Courchevel 1650 is also popular with all ages, offering water slides plus spa facilities.

Staying there

Pierre et Vacances offers seven nights in a studio apartment – sleeping four – in the centre of Courchevel 1650 from €875 in total, departing 21 December.

Arabba, Italy

The Dolomiti Superski pass covers more than 1,000km of pistes, offering spectacular views of the Dolomites’ beautiful rose-tinted rock formations. Not all are connected, admittedly, but one of the delights of the area is doing the Sella Ronda circuit, which makes for two fun day-trips, as you can do it in the clockwise or anticlockwise directions.

Get a taste of the Dolomites in Arabba

History students can also learn a lot about the First World War here. The resort of Arabba is the closest to the mighty Marmolada glacier, where there’s a free museum displaying artefacts from the war – such as uniforms and weapons recovered from barracks dug out of the glacier.

Staying there

Crystal Ski Holidays offers a week’s half board at the Sporthotel Arabba from £1,681pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a family room), including flights and transfers, departing 15 February.

Andermatt, Switzerland​

This swish resort is looking better every season thanks to a £1.2bn cash injection. And with general improvement has come improvements for families: now linked to the neighbouring towns of Sedrun and Disentis, Andermatt offers a wide range of slopes for all ability levels. The local ski school’s Matti KidsArena has gentle beginner slopes, magic carpets and a snow playground. Plus the slopeside Matti family restaurant has a large play area and a Matti “bear cave” for kids to explore.

Away from the piste, there are three tobogganing slopes and an ice rink.

Staying there

Ski Solutions offer seven nights at the Radisson Blu from £1,245pp, B&B, including flights and transfers, departing 14 December.

Nendaz, Switzerland

Nendaz is a pleasant village in the huge Four Vallees ski area, but you can stay there for a fraction of the price you would pay in better-known Verbier.

It’s a great base for families where the children are strong skiers, thanks to its off-piste itineraries – unpisted trails – for which the area is famous. These give a taste of powder and off-piste fun minus the danger.

Night-skiing in Nendaz

Nendaz also holds a monthly evening of moonlit skiing, during which you get a lift pass for the evening, an aperitif, copious helpings of pasta and a glass of vin chaud, all while being serenaded by alpenhorn players.

Staying there

Skiworld offers seven nights’ chalet board at the Chalet Altair for £1,658pp (based on two adults and two children sharing two rooms), including flights, transfers, lift passes and ski hire (or ski carriage), departing 4 April.

Saalbach-Fieberbrunn, Austria

Saalbach is a charming town, with fresco-adorned spa hotels and cobbled streets. But charm doesn’t equal small here: the resort gives access to the biggest linked network of pistes in Austria.

There’s plenty of fun to be had off the side of the piste too, in the form of slalom courses, allowing families to race one another – plus there are dedicated runs with speed cameras which tell you how fast you’re going.

The fascinating Alte Schmiede is a good lunch-stop for families, with a working indoor water-wheel and loo museum.

Staying there

Sunweb offers four nights’ half board at the Hotel Lindauhof in Fieberbrunn for £665pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a family room), including flights, transfers and ski passes, departing 22 December.

Cortina, Italy

Travelling with grandparents who don’t ski? Cortina lends itself to a gentle pace of life – 70 per cent of visitors never set foot on the slopes, instead spending time in the boutiques, cafes and restaurants that line its car-free cobbled streets. There’s also a lovely and extensive cross-country ski area at Fiames.

Cortina has plenty to offer on and off the slopes

For the rest of the family, there’s enough choice: the three main ski areas are superbly pisted, with plenty of beginner-friendly runs alongside pistes challenging enough to allow Cortina to stage the World Championships in 2021.

Staying there

Inghams offers seven nights’ half board at the Hotel Majoni from £1,199pp (based on two adults and two children sharing two rooms), including flights and transfers, departing 21 December.

Baqueira Beret, Spain

For those who like their skiing sunny, Baqueira Beret in the Spanish Pyrenees has an extensive network of linked pistes that stretch up to 2,610m.

There are plenty of other activities on offer too, such as dog sledding and cross-country skiing on the plateau at Beret.

For parents dropping off their children at ski school for a day, affordable heli-skiing is possible in nearby Vielha.

Staying there

Ski Miquel offers seven nights’ half board at the Chalet Hotel Salana for £652 (based on two adults and two children sharing two bedrooms, or £577 sharing a family room), including flights, transfers and afternoon tea, departing 4 January.

Le Massif, Canada

Le Massif is one of the world’s most intriguing ski resorts, with pistes that immerse you deep in the woods then appear to lead straight into the mighty Gulf of St Lawrence below. Its off-piste will challenge expert skiers, but beginners can have great fun too, with signs marking the easiest way down the mountain.

The resort also has the third longest sled run in the world at 7.5km, and recently introduced dog-sledding and helicopter rides. Alternatively, visitors can explore the cross-country and snowshoeing trails at the top of the mountain.

Swap skis for sledding in Le Massif

Many visitors stay in historic Quebec City, a 75-minute drive or bus trip from Le Massif.

Staying there

Frontier Ski offers seven nights’ room-only at the Chateau Le Frontenac in Quebec City for £1,450pp (based on two adults and two children sharing a family room), including flights and SUV hire to drive to Le Massif and two other ski resorts close to the city, departing 15 February.

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