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Skiing and snowboarding is an incredibly fun activity for the whole family. Both you and your husband might have skied with you families growing up or you learned in college but, either way, you want your children to have this experience as well. Adventures to a ski resort can involve a large amount of preparation, however. Vacation planning and preparation is difficult enough especially if you have small kids that cannot help you with any of it. Not only do you need to pick out your own outfits for the entire week, you need to pack each one of their bags and, in all likelihood, your husband’s suitcase as well. Ski gear is also very different from normal every-day winter wear; these outfits need to be insulated and waterproof. You also need disposable tissues and sunglasses. Here is a list of essential items that help keep the family ski trip fun and non-stressful.

1) Really warm mittens, socks, and hats. Our toes and fingers are what get cold first and normal mittens simply cannot stand up to the chill that is always present on the ski slopes. If this trip is your children’s first ski trip, then they will be spending most of their time in the snow as they try to get the right sense of balance on those skies or snowboard. Five minutes without thick socks and great hand warmers, however, will have them begging to go back to the lodge.

2) Sun protection. Even up on the mountain you need a pair of great sunglasses or goggles and lots of sunscreen. The sun might peak through those dense clouds for only fifteen minutes, but it is enough to give your nose a rosy red glow, one that is not from the windburn. The protective polarized eyewear not only helps keep the wind-blown snow out of your eyes, it also reduces glare so that you can better see where the ice patches are.

3) Snacks & Necessities. Since you do not want to spend the whole day in the lodge, load your pockets with packs of tissues, a few granola bars, a small bottle of water, and lip balm. These are the chief complaints while you are on the mountain. As long as people feel warm, their nose is not runny, and their lips are protected, everyone will be much more comfortable and they will have a great time!

You and your family will love this ski trip and it might turn into an annual event! Just do not forget the polarized sunglasses, the lip balm, and the thick mittens and it will be a very successful vacation.

[Via - How to Plan a Family Ski Trip]

If you prefer a ski village to be attractive rather then high, then look no further than Austria. Attractive onion domed churches; village squares and great mountain restaurants are what best some up the skiing in Austria. Unlike some French resorts the locals are friendly too. Many of the hotels have been in the same family for generations and these families take great pride in the service they offer. Ski Lines clients seem to fall in to two main camps when it come to where best to ski, those who prefer Austria to France and vice versa. Those in the Austria camp tell us that it’s the quality of hotels and the service and the après ski that make the difference for them. The star rating of hotels never reflects the service even a simple pension will have great service. Many of the 4* and even some of the 3* hotels have very smart spa areas, although in true Austrian style bathing costumes are not worn. Catered chalets are not so widely available although we can offer a good choice in St Anton. This combined with the energy and vigour of the alcohol fuelled après ski, in many resorts this starts mid afternoon and carries on well after most skiers legs can take it, Together these make Austria a natural choice for many, in fact for many nothing else will do.

Unlike France, the ski fields of Austria are mainly on meadows that in summer are: well we have all seen the Sound of Music! So huge depths of snow are not so necessary when it’s covering grass rather than the huge rocks of the rest of the Alps. Gentle wooded valleys are far more appealing than craggy mountain peaks to beginners and timid intermediate skiers. The cold weather from the East ensures that Austria gets more than its fair share of the snow particularly evident in recent years when Austria has had some of the best ski conditions in the Alps. When the snow is at its best ski holidays in Austria really take some beating.

We would recommend any skier who has not yet skied in Austria to give it a try, if you are a keen skier who likes to cover lots of miles each day and like your resorts high, you may find some of the resorts a little small and on the low size when compared to the huge linked area’s in France, the only exception to this is the Arlberg ski area, this incorporates St Anton, Zurs and Lech. This is a huge ski area that in resent years has had some of the very best skiing conditions. St Anton is at 1305m with the highest skiing at 2811m we think best suited to advanced and intermediate skiers, but the nursery slopes are right in the town for beginners.

Self Drivers have an easy time than in many French ski resort travellers, the roads are fast and the approach the ski resorts are always on the valley floor, so no steep claim up to the ski resorts. Its Funny, clients always seem happy to drive to France, but not Austria? Why I don’t know, it take about 10 to 11 hours to drive from Calais to Val d’Isere, yet Calais to St Anton in Austria is just over 9 hours.

Cheap flights are now available to several airports both in Austria, Germany and Switzerland via the UK, Ski Line have lots on contacts with hoteliers so call us help you match a cheap flight with a hotel, we can also arrange private transfers from many arrival airport to the resort, we can even get a stretched limo if you want to arrive in style.

[Via - Austrian Ski Resorts]