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Thinking of planning a European ski trip. need some insight and all the tips.

Magnatude

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've only done the independent holiday version in Europe, but it wasn't particularly complicated, and it did end up being fairly cost effective.
We spent 2 weeks in Val d'Isere in France, in Jan 2019. Flew into Geneva, and took a train to Bourg St Maurice, which I think was direct, or maybe only one change, then took a pre-arranged, pre-paid taxi up to the resort.
Accommodation was a 2 bedrm apartment (either through Air B&B or VRBO) which was very reasonably priced, the very helpful French owner lived next door, and was probably only a 15 minute walk (or a free bus ride) to the village centre and lifts. It meant we could do our own cooking (small supermarket in the village centre) or sample various restaurants, and was a safe, comfortable and warm place for our then-teenager, who has a chronic illness and couldn't do much skiing, to hang out for the day.
Two four-day backcountry clinics with a British-owned ski school (guiding and lessons) was a real highlight, and we rented skis at the resort, which allowed us to swap them out for different conditions. I found a lift pass deal that was essentially discounted day passes that were electronically added to our account each time we passed through the first gate in the morning, with every 5th (or something like that) day free.
Sure, it took a bit of organising compared to the everything-included Club Med type of holiday, I was anxious about the real possibility of rail strikes, and I speak/write extremely rudimentary French, but it all went smoothly. We opted for the train over renting a car because the road up to Val d'Isere can get quite congested with ski traffic which can make it a very long, slow trip.
Having done a season as a chalet maid in my youth, I was determined not to have that kind of holiday myself. All-inclusive chalet holidays essentially minimise interaction outside their bubble, which doesn't
offer as much of a foreign experience, if that's what you're wanting.
 

cloudysky

Diva in Training
Piggybacking on this post - I did club med valmorel two years ago and had a great time (everything is just made to be easy). This year I booked a nice hotel in La Plagne that includes half board, and I’ll put kids in a week long morning-only program. Here’s my question for those that have done the non-all inclusive European ski trip:

The adults are just intermediate skiers, and I recall out of my one week at valmorel, there were like 3 days of low visibility up in the mountain. I was so glad we did club med because I only skiied with the instructor while I was there. I’m thinking of getting two half days of instructor for La Plagne so we get familiar with the terrain but still worried about the low vis potentials - how do people deal with it?? I can’t imagine it being easy even for advanced skiers who don’t know the mountain (alps is just so so so massive)
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
No question about it. Low vis in the alps is really hard..... just watch the neon piste markers and make sure you're on the correct side...
 

Eera

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Piggybacking on this post - I did club med valmorel two years ago and had a great time (everything is just made to be easy). This year I booked a nice hotel in La Plagne that includes half board, and I’ll put kids in a week long morning-only program. Here’s my question for those that have done the non-all inclusive European ski trip:

The adults are just intermediate skiers, and I recall out of my one week at valmorel, there were like 3 days of low visibility up in the mountain. I was so glad we did club med because I only skiied with the instructor while I was there. I’m thinking of getting two half days of instructor for La Plagne so we get familiar with the terrain but still worried about the low vis potentials - how do people deal with it?? I can’t imagine it being easy even for advanced skiers who don’t know the mountain (alps is just so so so massive)
We skiied Paradiski in January and for the two weeks we were there only had a couple of days with low vis due to snow, but no foggy ones at all. There are a lot of tree runs in the area around the Vanoise Express, and also between Plagne Aime 2000 and Plagne Montalbert which will keep you occupied if the snow sets in, or take the Vanoise over to Plan Peisey and do the runs which go up from that point - my family loved Grizzly; that's where one of the Club meds is, so watch out for the ski school, oh and the people walking dogs that hate skiiers.

I used an app which overlaid my position to the trial map (it was either Trailforks or Yuge, can't remember which) so i always knew where I was in relation to the runs - I was really nervous about taking my kids as they're at the "adventurous but stupid" age where they can end up anywhere; our previous trips to NZ and Japan were all at places where all the runs pointed towards the same place, Paradiski? Nope, take the wrong turning you're in a different province, but it all worked out OK. Before we went I plotted out a number of routes with trailforks that would interlink and take me back to the same place, and as there are soooo many runs (it really is paradise), I was able to extend them out each day to new areas. Husband made it him mission to get on every lift on the les Arcs side and got close to it, it really is easy to navigate and the piste markers point to the nearest village as well.

Would also recommend getting a day's guiding or something; I booked my kids into Ski School with the ESF and the instructor Eric ended up taking them through all these little mountain bike tracks between the trees that they would never have found otherwise.

And we are returning in 2025!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
We were talking about planning a family European ski trip sometime in the next year or two. Its been a hot minute since I have planned a vacation, and even much longer since I have set foot in Europe as a 20 year old. So I would love to hear pros and cons of planning out things independently vs. something like Club Med (my husband thinks it would be cheesy and not what we really want). I just want easy-ish and ways to include things like lessons/guides, etc. Also, hoping to keep it as reasonably priced as possible. Airfare will be expensive regardless, unless things change.
There is a planning thread for Europe by an Australian you might find useful. The original question was for Italy or France, but other countries were brought up eventually. The cost of lessons for children is clearly very different at the European ski resorts in comparison to N. America.

Started January 2024
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
They use Lufthansa and they charge $$$$$ to transport skis!
Also, would be cautious of LH for carryon boots, as well. They can be finicky when it comes to carryon dimensions.

simply because my family have crap taste in food and don't appreciate the high-end, wonderful dishes that Club Med do; and the kids don't want to have lessons anymore.
I found this so relatable, @Eera . Le sigh indeed.
 

edelweissmaedl

Angel Diva
Does anyone have experience with Mayerhofen in Austria? That's been recommended to me.
I can't speak to the skiing, but if you plan rent a car from Munich or Innsbruck plan for traffic delays arriving if you do the typical Saturday arrival. I was in the Oetztal Valley last week and we endured traffic delays due to the Zillertal (Ziller Valley) traffic congestion. The nearby towns blocked all the side streets via police to prevent vacationers from trying to shortcut the main road.
 

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