Come and help a freaked novice please

Wiggle

Hi there,

I have never been skiing and am feeling anxious but very excited.

But I really need some help....please.

We are planning on going skiing but its all very last minute, week of 4th January, for one week, with two kids, 10 and 8. I am looking at Austria and Andorra. My head is melted. The package deals seem very expensive so we will be doing it on our own. I have read all the helpful info on the littlemiss thread so know what I need to bring.... now I just need somewhere to bring it to : )

Can anyone recommend a good place to go for beginners, and kids, trying to avoid huge groups in the schools... bet the kids are skiing rings around me on day 2. We would like an apartment as its easier with the kids for breakfast etc, somewhere near the ski school and bus stops, restaurants and bars. We wont have a car. Not asking for much I know. Soll is looking good, but no clue which apartments are nice, some of them look very 'uncomfortable' and I feel I will be in pain from all the landing on my arse. Somewhere with a pool would be ideal for the kids but presume that is huge money, so not major factor.

Any family friendly apartments (chalets .... although I don't know what the difference is to be honest).

Any suggestions would be a big help. Thank you.

Matt_Trakker

Alpbach, Austria.

Cheap flight to Munich and then organise a taxi for yourself from there. (look up a company called Four Seasons - https://www.tirol-taxi.at/)
Great place for beginners, lot of blue and red runs, not so many blacks.
3 gondolas and a ton of chairlifts.

Ski school costs around 100 quid as far as I remember, you get an instructor for 4 hours, from 10-12, lunch, then 13-15.
Tons of instructors too, all good English speakers.

Plenty of apartments around too, booking.com should have loads listed. Only problem is that you're leaving it pretty late to be booking for January, so places might be hard to get.

Buses run every 10mins to the gondola...up until 10am I think, then after that they are less frequent, coz most people are already skiing by then anyway.

Really nice place, I've been going there for near 10 years, been to other places in Austria/Italy and France too, but Alpbach's a special place

Fattes

Wiggle:
First off Austria, Austria and Austria best spot for newbies minimal transfers compared to Andorra with kids etc They do beginners ski holidays to perfection. The packages are expensive due to the time of the year Russian Christmas, Russians tend to hit bigger well known resorts so avoiding them will help keep cost down.

I would think long and hard about doing your first time with kids going solo, some TO will give free child places, passes etc. There is also an element of security and support from the TO if you need it. Some lessons at Ski club of Ireland or the Ski Centre before you go will be a big help especially with getting used to prepping the kids every morning and yourself.

Add extra kids gloves the the littlemiss thread! Trust me they will lose at least one pair!

Soll has a 1m bus ride too & from the slopes every day, add two tired kids into that and it becomes an added hassle. Look at the multiple family friendly resorts some examples below. These are resorts that specialize in catering to families. Also Inghams are doing good deals from Belfast right now.

Apartments and swimming pools are pretty rare but a lot of alpine villages will have a public pool or a hotel that allows non guests in for fee. Difference between a Chalet and an apartment is a Chalet is full board and hosted by staff and you will be sharing with randomers or not depending on bookings. CHalets are more French than Italian but there are some.

Alpach as above would be a pretty good option, great resort a lot quitter than most of the bigger Austrian resorts and also more cost efficient.

Ellmau On the ski welt (Near Soll) much more family orientated, slope access direct from the village and very child friendly again probably better value as its less popular with Irish and UK customer.

St Johann in Tirol Again pure family orientated resort, set up for exactly what you are looking for.

Best of luck what ever road you go down don't be nervous it will all be fine and the kids will love it.

CardinalJ

Id 100% agree with Fattes re package holiday.

Having someone else worry about getting you places if flights are delayed etc is well worth paying for. I go with a largish group every year and we still do packages as it's much less hassle.

fannymagee

Hi Wiggle,

I would recommend Soll 100% with kids!! It's a great resort, ski school is fantastic and it's really family friendly. Lots of nice restaurants, and an amazing toboggan run!My boy absolutely loves the place, he can't get enough of it!! We'll be there on Jan 4th too :-)

Fattes you don't need a bus transfer from the slopes in Soll, it's an easy stroll to the village, good for loosening up the limbs after a day on the slopes! You can ski to the village either, but it makes life easier to store your gear in the garage under the gondola.

Yes kids will be skiing rings around you in no time!! Tell them to be prepared to be impatient at the beginning, it'll take them a little while to get swooshing so they need to grin and bear it at the beginning- a couple of prep lessons on this side might speed up the learning curve for them? But it also might put them off, so have a think about it. Either way they'll figure it out! And the instructors are great, they take care of everything once you drop the kids off. Ski school is 10-12, and 2-4. Same for adults.

You can email the tourist board here http://www.wilderkaiser.info/en/soell.html, tell them what you want and they'll send you a list of available accommodation that suits your requirements. Plenty of apartments, and that week is a good choice because the Christmas rush will be over. You can also get nice B&B acommodation, but it's nice to have our own living room after a long day so apartment is better with kids. Bring a pack of cards & a couple of board ames and you're laughing.

If you decide on Soll I can help you out with apartment locations, transfers, equipment rental etc just PM me, no prob at all.

As others say, package might work out handy if you're a total novice, but it actually won;t be difficult to DIY it in Soll, just book your flights, accommodation & transfers, everything else can be done easily when you get there.

Agree re: kids losing gloves, but if you make sure to get ones with wrist attachments they'll be fine. Make SURE they attach though, because they'll drop them off lifts & all sorts. Its a very reasonable resort though, so if you need any extra gear whenyou're there you can pick it up quite cheaply :-)

Hope that helps-You're going to love it!! Any other advice needed just shout. And see my other post re: ski gear on sale for the kids :-)

Fattes

it's an easy stroll to the village, good for loosening up the limbs after a day on the slopes!

With 2 kids!! Seriously!

fannymagee

Fattes, are YOU serious?! It's a 5 minute walk, and there's the ski bus to your apartment if it's past the village.

Fattes

Yep you ever skied with Kids or had to teach a group of them? They get tired and cranky really quick and its 1k from the village to the slope? Because I have all to often thankfully not my own and trust me even with strings on their wrists they still lose their gloves!! Anything that adds to the effort of traveling with Kids on a ski holiday especially your first one should be removed where possible.

fannymagee

Fattes I have skied with kids for years, there is a reason why Soll is the place I've chosen as my favourite. They are so friendly, helpful, child oriented, kids instructors are excellent and they know how to make everything so easy.

The OP asked for advice on skiing with their own kids, not teaching a kiddy group. It's very different.

It is 500m from the gondel to the village, not 1k. If 500m is too far to walk, there is a ski bus every 5 minutes.

Wiggle I am by no means saying Soll will definitely be right for you, I'm just saying that based on my own experience I would have no hesitation in recommending it to you for a holiday with kids. I'm sure that wherever you choose will be great and you'll have a ball, skiing is a fabulous family holiday.

That said- I really wouldn't recommend ruling out a resort because it is a short walk to the village. That makes no sense to me!

Fattes

One kid or 10 if you had any experience you would know how quickly kids can become irritable and difficult, after a days skiing when they are wet, cold and cranky that according to Soll's tourist office its 1KM you say 5OO either or would feel like a hell of a lot more when you have a cranky child in tow.

fannymagee

Fattes wrote: »

One kid or 10 if you had any experience you would know how quickly kids can become irritable and difficult, after a days skiing when they are wet, cold and cranky that according to Soll's tourist office its 1KM you say 5OO either or would feel like a hell of a lot more when you have a cranky child in tow.

According to the tourist office? And if I had any experience??! Here we go again- having a go at me is not helping the OP. So you're basing your advice on info you're picking up online, you haven't been in Soll in years, never with your own kids, and you're saying I lack experience of what I'm posting about?

Stick to the ski racing Fattes.

Lol.

Fattes

fannymagee wrote: »

According to the tourist office? And if I had any experience??! Here we go again- having a go at me is not helping the OP. So you're basing your advice on info you're picking up online, you haven't been in Soll in years, never with your own kids, and you're saying I lack experience of what I'm posting about?

Stick to the ski racing Fattes.

Lol.

3 years to be exact and the last time I was there I actually work as an instructor between the racing so I have a fair amount if experience in dealing with tired kids.

Always good to double check the memory with facts not sure what issue you can see with that? I actually thought it was about 700 but hey the official site says 1k dealing in facts is no personal attack in you it is ensuring quality if information

As above any one with experience if dealing with children will know how difficult that walk can be with a cranky tired child & tire adult too. Any argument against that suggest either an enormous amount if luck or a lack of experience in having to deal with it.

fannymagee

The local signage at the lift station says 500m to the village, and the Austrians like to be accurate about that sort of thing.

I'm sure you're a wonderful kiddy instructor, but my experiences are different to yours. I find that (once the parents are gone), a bit of patience, a sense of humour and the promise of hot chocolate work wonders in even the tiredest of kids. If they're wet and cold that's different, but that's what good gear is for. If it rains, get off the mountain sooner rather than later and you'll hopefully avoid that situation.

Most of my advice applies to any resort, but the OP asked about Soll, that's why I responded with my experiences of the place. It's a hugely popular resort for families with kids, it's not just me with this opinion.

Aanyhoo, I didn't intend to get sidetracked into a debate about how many meters to the village and who knows more about skiing with kids- sorry about that OP!

Best of luck with the planning :-)

loobylou

I brought my kids skiing in Soll and don't ever remember the walk to the village being an issue. Mind you we were staying in a campervan in the carpark at the time so maybe they were just glad to be outdoors:D

Spook_ie

Been skiing a few times with our two kids - we've done the package and DIY, and I have to say we loved Obertauern and we stayed in the Steinadler Apartments. We flew into Salzberg with Lufthansa, now some of you will die with shock when I say the route we took was Dub-Fra-Szg, but we got the flights for 140e each for New Years, and changing in Frankfurt was easy. There are loads of companies that do transfers from Salzberg to Obertauern. The lift, ski school and ski hire shop were all visable from our Apartment.....ahhhh bliss !

fannymagee

loobylou wrote: »

I brought my kids skiing in Soll and don't ever remember the walk to the village being an issue. Mind you we were staying in a campervan in the carpark at the time so maybe they were just glad to be outdoors:D

A campervan in the carpark Loobylou?! Haha brilliant!! Sounds like a proper adventure :-)

loobylou

fannymagee wrote: »

A campervan in the carpark Loobylou?! Haha brilliant!! Sounds like a proper adventure :-)

Was a great holiday. We flew to Munich where we picked up a rental motorhome. 12 years ago but the "kids" still remember it as their best ever ski holiday.

Fattes

staying in a campervan

This is how a few of the US ski team travel for their European races!!! Handy for the resorts that have the facilites & make them available in winter (Most of them now do)

The lift, ski school and ski hire shop were all visable from our Apartment.....ahhhh bliss !

This is what you want for your 1st trip skiing especially if you have kinder in tow. Maybe a bar too.

Spook_ie

Fattes wrote: »

This is how a few of the US ski team travel for their European races!!! Handy for the resorts that have the facilites & make them available in winter (Most of them now do)




This is what you want for your 1st trip skiing especially if you have kinder in tow. Maybe a bar too.

There is a bar in the Steinadler plus a couple of restaurants approx 75-100 metres away......yes....definately bliss !!!!

fannymagee

loobylou wrote: »

Was a great holiday. We flew to Munich where we picked up a rental motorhome. 12 years ago but the "kids" still remember it as their best ever ski holiday.

Ah that's a great idea!! Yeah they're the things they remember- the odd bit of tiredness is quickly forgotten! You must've been first to the lift every morning lol ;-)

Wiggle

Thank you all for the great info, its all very daunting at first.

We are currently looking at Obertauren, possibly Hotel Steiner, as a friend has highly recommended it, he is a friend with deep pockets though. I have just had a quick glance at their website. its looks amazing... beyond our budget I would imagine. Has anyone stayed in this Hotel.

Spook... do you know if the Steinadler Apartments are part of the Steiner hotel... or just similar names. I prefer the idea of an apartment anyway, dragging tired kids down to breakfast is not fun.

Thanks again, so much knowledge on this site.... and whats a few metres between friends?? ; )

Fattes

Wiggle: That is the one big advantage of a hotel over apartments, someone else does the cooking!!!

fannymagee

Wiggle wrote: »

I prefer the idea of an apartment anyway, dragging tired kids down to breakfast is not fun.

Thanks again, so much knowledge on this site.... and whats a few metres between friends?? ; )

Haha!! Exactly. You can come to Soll next time & I'll race you to the village lol ;-)

Would defo agree with you on the apartment, you need somewhere you can chill out & make your own snacks and give the kids their own food, let them eat in their PJ's etc.

Also makes washing clothes easier, you might need to do a bit of that! I don't usu bother though, he lives in his ski gear- day and night lol. Long johns make perfect PJ's & no shivering in the morning ;-)

Spook_ie

Wiggle wrote: »

Thank you all for the great info, its all very daunting at first.

We are currently looking at Obertauren, possibly Hotel Steiner, as a friend has highly recommended it, he is a friend with deep pockets though. I have just had a quick glance at their website. its looks amazing... beyond our budget I would imagine. Has anyone stayed in this Hotel.

Spook... do you know if the Steinadler Apartments are part of the Steiner hotel... or just similar names. I prefer the idea of an apartment anyway, dragging tired kids down to breakfast is not fun.

Thanks again, so much knowledge on this site.... and whats a few metres between friends?? ; )

They just happen to have similar names - no connection. I have to say we much prefer apartments over a hotel. Another plus with the Steinadler is that they have a Bread ordering service so the night before just order your croissants/pain au chocolat/pastries or whatever and collect it from reception in the morning. There are 5 types of apartments and we stayed in type 3b and the apartment number was A61 it was absolutely amazing, nothing can beat looking out the window and seeing the kids arriving back to the collection point of the ski school. They also have a ski guide in-house which was free on sundays when we were there. Transfer time from Salzberg was less than an hour.

Fattes

Spook_ie wrote: »

they have a Bread ordering service so the night before just order your croissants/pain au chocolat/pastries or whatever and collect it from reception in the morning..

This is the greatest thing ever! Why do more places not do this!

fannymagee

Sounds like you have found your place Wiggle!! :-)

Wiggle

Wow. . . Sounds perfect. Bread delivery. . . I am sold. Fingers crossed they have availability now. Thanks all again

fannymagee

Well if not I'll book you a campervan space in Soll. I'll even drop off a few bread rolls on my way past in the morning ;-)

Wiggle

Sounds like a plan. . . enjoy your own trip. Tks again

Although i may be back here if this place is full. . . .

fannymagee

Ah I'd say you'll be grand. Don't worry if you land back here though, I'm only too happy to talk ski until I run away to the mountains myself- SO EXCITED!!

Let us know how you get on, and I'll be dying to hear how the trip goes! :-)

Spook_ie

Fattes wrote: »

This is the greatest thing ever! Why do more places not do this!

I know Fattes ! its a fab service....oh god I'm just remembering all the lovely artisan type breads you could order too which were great for lunches....I'm hungry.

Wiggle - let us know how you get on....the week of the 4th January should be quietish, will keep the fingers crossed for you.

Wiggle

Its free. . Hubby booking flights today. Will come back and let you know what i think of skiing. thanks again everyone.

juke

Wiggle, have a ball in Obertauern....I go every year

It will be quietish that week - so few queues for the lifts and not too crowded on the piste.

Hope you all love it.

Spook_ie

ah thats great ! flights are a good price for that week too ! Have a ball and will be dying to hear how you liked the Steinadler.