Help Please - Family Skiing Holiday

deva

www.crystalholidays.co.uk- have good website and competitive prices- there is a holiday for 4 hb in bulgaria on the 15th which is just under £2500 including ski school, passes, skis etc. this is in between the nursery slope and in a family room
but there are many other options too
https://bookings.crystalholidays.co.uk/crystalskipayment.do;jsessionid=xz1GphDgzWAtqgaa4-+kbQ**.wa01node1

cazziebo

I went skiing to bulgaria last year with my two teen daughters and my sister and her two younger children (8 & 6). Wouldn't recommend it at all. The ski classes are huge (16 to 20 for the children) and the skiing is very limited. The result of that is that the green runs ice over quickly making it very sore when you fall. (Which you do a lot whether beginner or not!). We were there Christmas week and it was very very crowded on the nursery slopes. Also - the black and red runs finish on the nursery slopes - very scary watching people coming whizzing through a group of unsteady 6 year olds! None of the kids liked the food in the hotels. We stayed in the Samokov and my sister in the Rila, both in Borovets. We came back in a plane with several people with plaster casts - not from skiing but from slipping on the uncleared, very icy paths! It really doesn't compare to France, Austria or Italy.

The first time we went was with Esprit who specialise in family ski holidays. They were fab - including the nightmare of the first day ski fitting. Esprit organise it so that you get fitted as soon as you arrive and your skis are ready to pick up next day. They also run their own classes - my girls had an instructor to themselves who was a former Belgian Olympic team skier. By the end of one week they were really accomplished. We shared a chalet with another family with younger children and their kids loved their lessons.

the downside is that it was a really expensive holiday (although everything is paid for up front - including wine -so you hardly spend any money when you're there). We paid about £2k for three of us for Christmas week and that would be about 5 years ago. However, if you have the nerve, wait until the last minute and their prices go down by about two thirds. Of course then there is less choice over resorts. but I've skiied all over Europe and the only place I didn't enjoy was Bulgaria. I'm not a good skier by the way - just love the mountains. My daughters are both great skiers - and that's after only 4 holidays.

You'll love it. And the best thing is that even though my two are older, they'll still come on a ski holiday with me so we get to have family holidays for that bit longer. Great fun.

shockingmoment

Mid Dec is taking a bit of a chance with the weather....esp after last year!

We (family of 4) always book flights (£200 to £300), car (£170) and apt (£500 to £700) as seperates. Check floor area of apts. Examples:
Geneva, Chambery
Les Gets, Morzine, Serre Chevalier
Toulouse
Andorra (Soldeu, El Tarter) - some of if not the best ski schools in Europe (imvho)

zml

Couldn't recommend Bulgaria either. We went to Pamps mid Jan this year. We were beginners 2 adults and 2 kids 10 & 8yrs. We won't be going back. There were 18 of us in ski school including 4 kids under 12.
Ski instructor spoke very little english and quite frankly was a complete waste of time. My husband had only skied once before about 23yrs ago and he still managed to teach my 8yr old daughter more than the ski instructor!:j
Conditions were very poor so that didn't help either. The slopes that were open were very crowded and this was during term time aswell.
Despite all this we have not been put off and have booked to go to Killington USA Feb 2008 for £2000 including ski hire and lift passes. Booked an arlybird with inghams and they had some very good deals on offer.

gibk80

excape junction 32 M62

magic_pants

I certainly wouldn't recommend Bulgaria. Really do not like the ski resorts there. 15th Dec is very early so you will have to go high high high! France is your best bet for the snow at that time I'd say. Tignes, Flaine, Les Deux Alpes? But to pretty much be sure of snow at that time then USA/Canada are the places I would suggest.

GIRLPOWER_2

We went on our first family ski holiday in mid Jan this year ( 3 children aged 5, 5 and 15)

Booked flights with BMI baby to Geneva for about 50 pounds each and a catered chalet

http://www.demipiste.com/images/title_chalet.jpg

in Chamonix, France where all breakfasts afternoon cakes and coffee and full 3 course evening meal with unlimited wine and after dinner Brandy/ port and coffee were included.

The chalet was fantastic, getting in the hot tub after a day on the slopes with a glass of wine overlooking mont blanc was priceless.

Don't know if you ever watched the no going back series on BBC a few years back.... well this was the couple who appeared on that.

I would totally recommend the chalet and the resort, Chamonix is one of the highest resorts so you are more likely to have snow there than anywhere else in Europe which is why we booked it.

HTH

Nikki