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Family lift pass deals

22nd October 2011, by Chris Gill

(c) Nendaz tourism

Here are some observations on skiing with kids – an extract taken from the Family chapter in Where to Ski and Snowboard 2012

Family lift pass deals

Don’t get too excited. This item is not going to give you an instant answer to the question ‘Where can my family ski for the minimum cost?’ What it might do, though, is alert you to the kind of deals that are on offer for children or for family groups. In each of our resort chapters in our guidebook we summarise in a margin box the lift pass deals available. We’ve had a look over the ones in Austria, France and Italy (we reckon not many families will be interested in Switzerland and North America, these days) to see what’s on offer.

As you might hope, infants basically ski free. But what is an infant? Typically in France it’s under five, but in Austria it’s generally under six and Italy under eight. That could make a big difference if your kids are in that age range.

Then there are discounts for older children. The age limits vary, of course, and the discount isn’t usually enormous, but there are exceptions. Cervinia gives a generous discount of 40% to the under 13s, for example. Look out for special deals like the one in Alpbach, where, in low season, children up to 15 ski free when accompanied by a fare-paying adult.

If you have older teenagers, look out for special family deals that give substantial discounts for kids as old as 17 or even up to 20 – there are local passes in the Trois Vallées resorts, for example, that give good savings in that age range.

Where to Ski family forum

If you make much use of website forums, you’ll know that activity breeds activity. We’ve had a forum on our site about family matters for years, but it’s been pretty quiet for a year or two. If you’re planning your first trip and have questions that more experienced parents might be able to answer, why not drop in and post them, and see if you can stir up some debate?

• families
• children
• childcare
• lift passes

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