Think family skiing and many people may not immediately think of Switzerland - but we say definitely don't rule it out! You may be surprised at just how much Switzerland has to offer on a family ski holiday; many of the 'must-have's' are readily available - from quality childcare, interconnecting rooms, family-friendly terrain, family-friendly pricing and plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained. Read on for our top 5 reasons why Switzerland works for family skiing:

1. Plenty of great, family-friendly accommodation

There are numerous family-friendly hotels and residences throughout our Swiss ski destinations. We've picked out just three that we would particularly recommend: [caption id="attachment_8021" align="aligncenter" width="480"]Switzerland Works for Family Skiing Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains[/caption]
  • The 5-star Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains, St Moritz. The Kempinski offers 5-star luxury combined with a relaxed and informal atmosphere. For kids up to 2 years, the Kempinski Kids Club St. Moritz is a great place for your little ones. Daily activities include winter walks, sledging, sleigh rides, baking, reading, face painting and horse-drawn sleigh rides on the lake. Outside of kids club hours a babysitter can also be arranged if you want to enjoy the delights of the Kempinski Spa or dinner in one of the hotel's gastronomic restaurants.
  • The 4-star Hotel Allalin, Saas Fee. Car-free Saas Fee is great for families and the Hotel Allalin is a great family choice, with friendly and accommodating staff and options for kids including a special children's menu, a ping pong table, board games and a library.
  • The 4-star Plus Hotel Nira Alpina, St Moritz. The Nira Alpina boasts lots of interconnecting rooms which perfectly suit the needs of families. There's also a free Kids Club in the winter months (on peak dates only). You couldn't be closer to the slopes in the Nira Alpina and the hotel even has it's very own access to the Corvatsch cable car - so there's not far to carry your ski equipment or trudge in ski boots!.
[caption id="attachment_8031" align="aligncenter" width="480"]Switzerland Works for Family Skiing Boots on at the Nira Alpina, and a quick hop to the cable car![/caption]

2. Kids travel for FREE on Swiss Rail

All children under 15 years travel completely FREE on Swiss Rail journeys! Take the train from the airport railway stations at Geneva & Zurich and head straight to the mountains or if you're arriving into Basel, all you need to do is take a train into the city and then transfer onto the onward train. You'll never have long to wait, and trains do pretty much run like clockwork in Switzerland so you can be confident that you'll arrive in resort when you expect to! [caption id="attachment_8023" align="aligncenter" width="480"]Switzerland Works for Family Skiing Kids travel FREE on Swiss Rail[/caption]

3. FREE lift passes for kids

  • Kids under 9 ski completely free in Zermatt and Villars - ask our reservations team about lift passes for both these resorts.
  • In all our other featured resorts, all kids under 5 get a FREE lift pass.
[caption id="attachment_8024" align="aligncenter" width="480"]Switzerland Works for Family Skiing Free lift tickets for kids - Villars[/caption]

4. Excellent Ski School Programmes

Ski and snowboard tuition in Switzerland is second-to-none and little ones are extremely well catered for:
  • We recommend New Generation in Verbier - they are superb. They take kids from 4 years and up.
  • Zermatt European Snowsports: with great feedback from clients about this Zermatt ski school we'd highly recommend European Snowsports.
  • Villars-ESS, Ecole Suisse de Ski:  they take kids from 3 years in the Snow Garden, full day options available.
  • Saas-Fee-Optimum: again, we had great feedback last winter about Saas-Fee-Optimum:  they take kids from 6 years old.
Don't hesitate to contact our reservations team about the best ski school options for you and your children, we'd be happy to help. [caption id="attachment_8028" align="aligncenter" width="480"]Switzerland Works for Family Skiing The snow garden - ESS Villars[/caption]

5. Great Après-Ski Activities

Great child-friendly activities you can try after a day on the slopes:
  • Have a go at horse riding in Klosters or watch polo in St Moritz, played on the resort's frozen lake
  • Go tobogganing in Verbier - some tracks are up to 10km long!
  • Ice skating in Saas Fee, St Moritz, Verbier and more
  • Catch an ice hockey game in Zermatt
So there you have it, just some of the great reasons to consider Switzerland when planning your next family ski holiday. If you can think of any more reasons just let us know! Get in touch by calling 0131 243 8097 for more expert help and advice with your Swiss ski holiday plans this winter or click here to request a tailor-made quotation online.
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