Ski school or private instructor, from what age, how many hours, and the three mistakes that ruin a first week in the snow.
It’s the request I get most, and by far the one where my advice is most often ignored, before being asked for again the following year, word for word. A family ski week hinges on three decisions taken before departure, and not at all on budget.
Ski school or private instructor?
The real answer is neither: it’s both, but not at the same moment. Group lessons teach children to ski among children of the same age, and that matters enormously, a child laughing with three others progresses faster than a child alone with an adult. The private instructor, by contrast, unlocks in two hours what group lessons take a week to correct.
My formula, the one I suggest nine times out of ten: group lessons every morning of the week, plus one or two private sessions placed mid-stay, once you can see precisely what isn’t working. It costs far less than a daily private instructor, and it works better.
The exception: families who already ski well and want to progress together. There, a private instructor for the whole family, half a day, transforms the stay, and it’s often the best money spent all week.
From what age
- Under 3: the crèche, without hesitation, and don’t feel guilty about it. Resorts have excellent ones, and a two-year-old on skis mostly learns to hate the cold.
- 3 to 4, the snow garden: conveyor belt, games, short sessions. The goal isn’t to ski, it’s for the mountain to become a pleasant place.
- 5 to 6, the real beginning. Progress is spectacular at this age, provided you don’t exceed half a day.
- 7 and up, a full day becomes possible, but I still suggest keeping afternoons free for the first three days.
The three mistakes that ruin a first week
The first: too much skiing. A child who skis six full days finishes the week exhausted and won’t hear about it the following year. Four mornings plus two days of sledging, swimming pool and hot chocolate produce a skier; six days on the piste produce a child crying on Thursday.
The second: equipment. Badly fitted boots ruin an entire week, and a child never says “my boots hurt”, they say “I don’t want to go”. I have equipment delivered and fitted at the chalet, and the boots rechecked on day two. Every time.
The third: the first day. Arriving on a Saturday after five hours on the road and putting everyone on skis at nine on Sunday is a bad idea. Sunday morning is for collecting equipment and passes without stress. Lessons start on Monday, and the week goes better.
Which resort for a family
Megève is my first choice, and I stand by it: the ski area is gentle, the village is walkable, there’s enough to fill a day without skiing (ice rink, horse-drawn sleighs, shops, swimming pool) and access from Geneva is the easiest in the Alps. For a first family week, it’s hard to beat.
Courchevel takes over as soon as the children genuinely ski: the area is vast, the 1550 and 1650 sectors are more family-oriented and less worldly than 1850, and you can ski a whole week without repeating yourself. Val d’Isère I reserve for families of strong skiers, it’s high, it’s exposed, and it isn’t where a five-year-old will have their best week.
What to book, and when
- Instructors, first and very early. In holiday weeks the best are taken from the previous spring, no budget conjures up an instructor who doesn’t exist.
- The crèche, at the same time as the instructors. Places are limited and go just as fast.
- Equipment, delivered and fitted at the chalet. An hour saved on the busiest day of the week.
- Lift passes, bought online in advance, with one ID photograph per person, children included.
- A babysitter for two or three evenings, decided before departure. It’s the request parents thank me for most, and the one nobody thinks of in advance.
