Austria

Austria's best-kept secret

Less than an hour from Innsbruck airport, Kühtai is the highest resort in Austria with all runs over 2000m. Guaranteed snow, ideal piste access, wide open nursery slopes in the village and few if any queues make Kühtai perfect for first time skiers, and a combination of offers makes this resort particularly attractive to many one-parent families.

The free lift pass limit is age 6, and we offer free child skis & boots when one adult pre-books skis & boots, and one free child ski school when one adult pre-books tuition for the same duration. The pre-bookable kindergarten is for kids aged 2-4 years with four hours of supervision a day for 6 days (plus lunch).

Our Chalet Hotel Elisabeth welcomes children at any time of the season (as do all our chalet hotels) and offers family rooms, free & reduced child prices and One Parent Savers.

We have five other Family Choice hotels in Austria, two of which offer deals for single parents, and a variety of chalets where child discounts apply.
 
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Switzerland

Swiss family Inghams

The nursery slopes are in the centre of Wengen, and there is a Beginners' Park 800m higher up at Kleine Scheidegg. Ice-skating and tobogganing make for super fun treats for the little ones, and six of our hotels have family rooms.

Also in the Jungfrau region, Grindelwald is another popular family resort. As in Wengen, children's skis, boots and helmets are free when 2 adults pre-book (selected dates) and under-6s receive free lift passes. Ski and non-ski kindergartens allow parents to get some runs in on their own, and Europe's longest toboggan run (15 km!) is great for especially young teens. Bowling, sleigh rides, ice climbing, an indoor rope park and a free swimming pool (selected hotels)and ice rink ensure that there is something for children young and old. Our hotels Eiger and Hirschen have family rooms and free child places.

In Saas-Fee we have four 'Family Choice' properties (including apartments) offering free & reduced child places, family rooms and a free non-ski kindergarten for toddlers in Ferienart Resort and Spa. The nursery slopes are central and child lift passes are free up to age 9. Activities include a bobsleigh run, ice skating and a sports centre with swimming pool.

Large families are catered for in the Hotel Silvretta Park in Klosters which has rooms and suites sleeping up to 5 people, a non-ski kindergarten and a ski school pick-up service for children. There are free child lift passes for kids under 5 years..

Finally, Villars is a relaxed and friendly village with an ice-skating rink and a leisure centre with pool. We have several properties offering large rooms, or apartments and free child places. Resort offers free child lift passes up to 8 yrs.

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France

French family favourites

Les Arcs is a super resort for the whole family. Children and beginners can practically ski out of the door of our chalets where children under 13 are welcome in the school holidays or, if you book the whole chalet, at any stage of the season (as with all our chalets). Free child places and discounts are offered at ALL our properties here and our new Chambery flights make for shorter transfers.

Another friendly and family-orientated resort, Flaine, has an even shorter transfer. Low key and unpretentious, the town's Forum is entirely traffic free and dog-sledding, toboganning and an ice rink are on offer to keep the mums, dads and kids alike occupied. We offer free & reduced child places in ALL of our self catering chalets and apartments, most of which offer the ultimate convenience of doorstep skiing. If you are all good enough skiers, a 'TOP TIP' from our resort staff is to buy a Grand Massif Lift Pass and ski into the chocolate box resort of Samoens for lunch. This charming and traditional village is renowned for its great, good value restaurants and its friendly welcoming atmosphere.

We have many other properties in the French Alps offering free & reduced child places, including a massively expanded range of chalets, and single parents should check out our One Parent Savers of up to 25% in our chalet hotels in Chamonix, Courchevel and Méribel.

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Italy

The Milky Way kids

Sestriere is one of Italy's best known resorts with access to 400 km of slopes in the Milky way area, so it's a good choice for those parents who are keen skiers and like to get as many different runs under their boots whilst their children are entertained off or on the slopes

The resort has a full day non-ski kindergarten for kids aged 1 to 12. Children can take ski lessons from age 5, and we offer free child lift passes up to the age of 8, plus a free child helmet when ski hire is pre-booked.

The Villagio Olimpico Residence has spacious suites with a separate lounge - here we offer free & reduced child places and also free skis & boots for kids up to 8 when 2 adults pre-book skis.

Off the slopes there is an ice skating rink and a sports centre with an indoor heated pool.

We have other Family Choice accommodation elsewhere in Italy - click here for details.

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Andorra

Adventures in Andorra

Duty-free Andorra offers good family value including free lift passes for all children up to 11 years of age and discounted passes for children of secondary school age. What's more, Andorra's ski schools have the reputation of being some of the best in Europe, with a large proportion of native English-speaking instructors, and ski and non-ski kindergartens are available in all resorts.

Pas de le Casa, Soldeu and Arinsal are all lively (but with snow). There is a lot to entertain teenagers and younger children including tobogganing, snowshoe walks, torchlight descents, magician nights and quiz evenings. And there are plenty of opportunities to watch live British sport on the telly - not everyone's cup of tea, of course, but many parents will understand the attraction here.

Inghams has a whopping seven Family Choice hotels and aparthotels in the Principality featuring a variety of family-orientated facilities including family-sized bedrooms, indoor pools, spas, indoor kids' play areas, games rooms, Sky TV and Playstation game consoles.

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Lapland

Lap it up in Lapland

You'll be a very, very popular parent (or grandparent, uncle, aunt...) if you treat someone special to you to a festive season visit to the magical winter paradise of Lapland.

Deep inside the Arctic Circle in Finland, they'll see pine forests, reindeer (including Rudolph), huskies, maybe the Northern lights and stay in a thermal glass igloos... and they will even meet Father Christmas himself - and help the elves bake gingerbread biscuits! What a magical lifetime memory for any child. Raymond Briggs couldn't have planned it better.

As well as our Santa breaks before Christmas (enjoy short transfers) we offer 7 night skiing or winter wonderland holidays in Lapland from December until April (by March, daylight hours are longer than in the UK.) The scenery is unspoilt, the slopes are uncrowded and the instructors speak English. Kids under 6 years old ski free and receive free ski rental equipment and a free rental helmet. We have flights from Gatwick, Bristol and Manchester.

To add to the family fun, there are some super activities and excursions available such as ice-fishing, gold panning, farm visits, husky and snowmobile safaris and an insight into the local Sámi culture.

See more holiday information about Santa Breaks and skiing holidays in Lapland >

Information was correct as of 14 September 2011.