Regardless of whether you or someone else in the family has skied before - either as a child or with friends and acquaintances, it can seem overwhelming to have to throw yourself into planning the family's first, combined skiing holiday. Time, place, equipment and learning to ski are many things to overcome - especially if you have children in tow. That is why we at brugteski.dk have collected the 10 most important tips you should know before you and your family plan and set off on your first ski holiday.
1. Choose your ski resort carefully
The most important thing to consider when planning your first family ski holiday is where you want to ski. If everyone in the family is brand new to skiing, you should consider going to a smaller ski resort with fewer people and lower prices. Conversely, you must prioritize a ski resort with good access to several pistes at the level you want to challenge and explore, if you yourself have good practice in skiing, but at the same time have children and other family members who need to spend more time on the green than the black pist. The idea is to make sure that you minimize the time you have to spend getting back and forth between the areas where you want to ski and the areas where your children and family ski, so that you have the opportunity to enjoy the time on a skiing holiday with the rest of the family, without losing the opportunity to hit the gas on some of the area's other slopes when the green just isn't enough.
If you intend to fly on a skiing holiday, it may also be a good idea to check how far it is from the airport to the skiing area. As a rule, this trip by bus or car is long and difficult, as most ski areas are located near or even on top of a high mountain. Therefore, research specifically how long you should expect to spend on transport to and from the airport - there can be a surprisingly "long" distance between the airport and hotel, even if the two appear to be close to each other on a map.
Still in doubt about where the ski trip goes? Read about where you can get the cheapest ski holiday .
2. Choose the right place to spend the night
If you have children skiing with you, it is recommended to book a stay at a hotel or in a cabin with so-called "ski-in/ski-out", if you can afford it and there is availability when you are going to leave. With ski-in/ski-out, you have direct access to the piste from your hotel or cabin, so you can get up in the morning, put on your skis and ski equipment and go straight out for what you went on a skiing holiday for: Standing on skis.
It may seem like overkill to spend time and money on finding accommodation with direct access to the ski resort's slopes, but our experience is that covering a trip of just a few hundred meters for two children and two adults in full suit with two skis each can feel like completing an ironman, to say the least.
3. Buy a lift ticket as soon as possible
Since COVID-19 really made its way into Europe and the rest of the world at the beginning of 2020, it has become virtually impossible to buy lift tickets at the ticket office at the ski resort after arrival. As part of the restrictions introduced to reduce the spread of COVID-19, most ski resorts have stopped selling lift tickets in their physical stores, and instead sell these exclusively online. In addition, many popular ski resorts have introduced a cap on the number of lift passes that can be issued daily to reduce the number of people on the slopes. It is therefore a good idea to order a lift pass as early as possible if you have already decided where and when you are going on a skiing holiday.
4. Book a place at ski school
If the skiing holiday is to go as smoothly as possible, it is clearly recommended to enroll the children in a ski school. Although there are many who are successful in teaching their own children to ski, the entire skiing holiday becomes a somewhat less stressful experience for you as a parent if you enroll your children in a ski school. The ski school gives your children a strong foundation for further learning to ski, while at the same time giving the parents of the family a breather during the ski holiday, which can possibly be used to explore and challenge the ski resort's more demanding slopes.
If you yourself are new to skiing, it can clearly also pay off for you to take a few lessons. In addition to developing your skiing skills much faster than you would if you were on your own, the ski school also gives you some great tools that you can use when you need to help your children on their way to skiing.
The price of ski school varies greatly, but it is usually somewhat cheaper if you book lessons for an entire group or family. Feel free to spend a few days at the start of the holiday at ski school. You quickly learn the most basic techniques, which you can use together for further learning on the slopes for yourselves.
Most ski schools have a limited number of places, which ensure that the teaching takes place safely and optimally, and sometimes these are taken away. It is therefore a good idea to book ski school at the same time you order your lift pass.
5. Consider buying used skis instead of renting
It goes without saying that you don't get very far down the slope without skis. In the high season there is a guarantee of long queues and poor service in the ski hire shops at the ski resort, and it can therefore be a good idea to have the equipment in place already before you go on a ski holiday, if you want to avoid the stress of hauling children and adults through a chaos of skis, poles, boots and all kinds of extras. However, it can be an expensive pleasure to pay yourself off from rental hell by going out and buying a pair of brand new skis, ski poles and ski boots for each member of the family. Therefore, you as a family should consider investing in used skis. It is - also in the world of ski equipment - cheaper to own than to rent, and a pair of used skis has thus already earned its own value within a few seasons.
Not sure where to start? Read our good advice for buying used skis , or go directly to our large selection of used skis right here !
NOTE: With all skis under 150cm in length, a ski exchange certificate is included, so you don't have to worry about the children outgrowing their skis between this season and the next. Read more about our ski exchange for children and juniors here , or go directly to our large selection of children's and junior skis here .
6. Wear warm clothes
It's really obvious, but at the same time so important that it needs to be emphasized.
You get far on your first ski holiday as a family with high spirits and a positive attitude towards having to learn to ski, but one of the biggest factors that determines how successful your ski trip will be is your clothing. It is almost impossible to try to enjoy the very special togetherness you get as a family on a ski holiday while you are cold and wet. Therefore, always make sure you are properly dressed. In short, this means: Ski socks, Ski underwear, outerwear (ski pants and jacket) and possibly a fleece or ski pullover between the ski underwear and outerwear on the extra cold days. In addition to ski goggles and ski boots , it is also crucially important to wear a ski helmet so that you and your family do not get hurt if you fall over when you are hurtling down the slope.
7. Plan your first day skiing
The first day on the slopes is the springboard for the rest of your skiing holiday, and it is therefore important to get off to a good start so that the rest of the holiday is not characterized by bad mood and low expectations. Therefore, make sure you get to bed in good time the day before your first day on the slopes, so that everyone is well rested and ready early for the next day, when it starts. Here are the most important things to keep in mind when planning your first day of skiing:
- Eat a good meal breakfast.
- Get on the slopes in good time.
- Remember to take plenty of breaks on the first day.
- End the day with a joint ski trip.
- Evaluate the day with the children. What went well? What was difficult?
8. Take food with you on the slopes
Having some snacks ready for the kids is a good idea no matter where you are in the world, but it's an especially good idea when you're on a ski holiday. Both children and adults get tired along the way when you spend a whole day on the slopes, so it's smart to have something that can keep your blood sugar up along the way. If you want to save good money on food on your skiing holiday, you can take a packed lunch with you on the slopes, so that you avoid the absurdly high prices that cafes, restaurants and hotels charge for food and drink on the mountain. We can recommend taking the packed lunch out into the soft snow cover in the off-piste, where you can enjoy both the view and privacy. Just remember to clean up after yourself and make sure you don't leave trash on the mountain.
9. Have some side activities ready for when you get tired of skiing
It may be tempting to spend every day on the slopes, but for some it may be a little too much time on skis. Especially if it is your first skiing holiday. Your legs and your children will simply get too tired. Therefore, it may be a good idea to ski 60-70% of the days on your ski holiday and leave the remaining days to other activities in the area. Go ice skating, tobogganing, book a sleigh ride or explore the terrain in a pair of snowshoes. Most ski areas offer a host of activities in addition to skiing.
Alternatively, you can spend the day enjoying yourself with the family at the hotel or in the cabin, which is usually either equipped with a bathtub or spa bath.
10. Remember to have fun!
Planning the family's first ski holiday can seem stressful, but luckily it's always fun when you finally get going. Happy skiing holiday from us at brugteski.dk!
