Kids ski lessons Thurs-Sat in Austria

A snowHead

Sorry if this is a bit niche, but I had the bright idea to use the teacher's strike in March to grab a short ski break and take my 2 6 year olds to the slopes for the first time.

I have a few obstacles: it is an unscheduled trip so my budget is tiny. On top of this, my wife is very keen to do HB and go to Austria.

I have managed to find cheap flights and one or two reasonable hotel options but my biggest problem is finding lessons for the kids. We need 3 days and as it is so late in the week I am unable to find ski schools which run from a Thursday (not surprisingly). Private lessons that I have seen would completely blow our budget, to allow enough hours to make it worth while.

Does anyone know of an Austrian resort with a good deal on kids lessons, Thurs-Sat? Or any other suggestions to help this dilemma.

A snowHead

@EdYarker, Sorry but I think you will find it hard to get anywhere that will take beginner kids Thurs to Sat, mostly as the class will have started on the Sunday our Monday so it would be disruptive even if there was space.

You can often get a discount on private lessons for the first hour of the day (before ski school) and also late afternoon. That might be with exploring. I would not recommend the option of teaching them yourself, but it can be done if you are very competent and do some research. If you do the, be aware that they will almost definitely pick up some bad habits! And be VERY cautious with terrain choices. Might be a few short private lessons which you also join and ask for some advice on how to work with them yourself. I can't stress enough that this is not the best way at all, but might be the only option that fits your budget.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Have a holiday which doesn't include skiing. Lots of other ways of having a nice time in the snow for a few days. Doesn't even need to be in a ski resort - you might find much cheaper accommodation elsewhere and there are lots of nice villages in Austria. On the ski lessons side, I defer to @zikomo, and from my own quite extensive experience of kids and ski lessons I'd say it's the same in France. I do think you could teach them a bit yourselves, if you do some research, and especially if you are competent to ski backwards in front of them bending down and holding their ski tips, and drill in the snow plough. My son in law did that successfully but he's a very good skier and a PE teacher (but over 6 foot tall, and it did knacker his back a bit). Don't do what some parents do and whizz round with them between your legs, which teaches them nothing except it's fun to go fast. First lessons with an instructor will focus fairly relentlessly on snowploughing. Which you might not even be very good at - I'm not, makes my hips and legs ache these days. If you decide to have a go at teaching them yourself - absolute NO poles. For them, that is. You could have just one.

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We do discounts for private tuition on Fri / Saturday as we have more instructors available due to group lessons finishing on Thursday. Maybe others do the same. Whatever you do make sure you book in advance as leaving it till you are in resort is likely to lead to disappointment.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

The resort we've been to in Austria has beginners start on a Sunday or Monday (at a push Tuesday by agreement) and they run until Friday. No ski school on a Saturday, though I imagine you could book private lessons for a Saturday.

If they're first timers, going for a couple of days isn't going to get them much beyond snowplough. I agree with Pam. A fun holiday in the snow and maybe some playing on skis if you're competent.

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Thanks for all of your answers. I knew it would be tricky and had planned to go in a year or two's time and do the full week with ski school. It's just that the dates have fallen into our lap.
If we are not skiing I didn't think it's worth the hassle and expense to head away for such a short time and I wouldn't try to teach them myself as I'm not sure I would be much good and I will miss out on skiing myself (which is another reason to get the kids into lessons).

@Chris_n, for the discounted Fri/Sat lessons are they advertised or would it be a case of approaching the ski school office directly?

There do appear to be one or two options I've found on checkyeti.com in St Johann, Neustift, Garmisch (I know Germany but my wife may not notice) and weirdly Kitzbuhel. They are all coming in at under 400E for 2 children for 3 days of 4 hours. I now need to check the rest of our logistics around these options. still a long shot!
Will keep you posted

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@EdYarker, it's mentioned on the website but no rates are listed there, (I have no idea why not). An email to the ski school would give you rates or I could ask tomorrow.

After all it is free

Thanks @Chris_n, I'm happy to email them. Maybe the availability of instructors varies throughout the season, so they don't want to publish rates that aren't always available, but it's a good tip.

@EdYarker, As I said, though, also ask about rates first thing in the morning and last thing in the afternoon. Instructors are often free then as not in ski school, so you quite often get a discount.

I would send a very polite email, explain your problem, and be upfront that you have limited budget but are very keen to get the kids started in the right way. They may well take pity on you!

I would also say, with kids that age you and they will have much more fun in the mountains if you see it as more about the overall experience than you being able to get maximum ski time. Seriously, I would not trade the time I spent messing around in snow gardens/nursery slopes with my wee ones for any amount of skiing on my own. They are amongst my most precious memories. My four kids are all good skiers now but more importantly really enjoy and appreciate being in the mountains. To the extent that ski holidays always take precedence over anything else if choices have to be made. I am sure that is partly due to the relaxed introduction they had and the amount of time they spent with my wife and I on ski holidays when they were wee. Don't just put them in all day ski school/child care is my advice, you will miss out big time!

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@zikomo, thanks for the advice. My original plan had been to do a proper week in a year or twos time, which would allow plenty of time for playing about in the snow, as well as normal ski school.
It maybe that I just stick with that and enjoy my own weekend here and there in the meantime. Was just trying to be clever and make use of the extra days the teacher strike has given us.
But even with the couple of ski school options available (390e for 2 children, 4 hour lessons for 3 days), by the time we have hired kit, paid for hotels (sc admittedly would save us about £300), flights and transfers for 3 nights and 3 days, the total comes to £2k, which is a bit more than I have lying around at the moment. So probably have to sack it off. Eh oh!

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@EdYarker, Oh that's a shame because it was a good idea! Ideal would have been if we had decent snow in Scotland and you could sneak uo here for a few days. Sadly not the case this year!

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you never know of its not peak week and the instructors aren't all booked up, one of the independent ski schools may just be able to do you a deal as opposed to having a ski instructor sat at home. send out emails and see your replies

It all does add up very quickly, which is a shame as it's a great idea.

We've booked a last minute trip to Les Arcs in April. We were drawn in by cheap accommodation (£368 for the week), but all in its still coming in at about £3000! Lessons are a big part of that at £400 for 6 mornings for two children. Tunnel is £275, fuel is £200, passes are £880. Plus spending, tolls, hire etc

If you can get away for a few days by yourself though, it'll be significantly cheaper. Sure you could find a buddy on here to go with.

Or could the wife be convinced by France with a promise of Austria for a full week next time?

You know it makes sense.

Half board pushes the price up a lot compared to self-catering - and self-catering accommodation costs are much lower out of peak school hols. But travel and ski passes are inescapable and don't vary much between different dates, resorts or even different countries. Lessons are more a matter of choice - I've just fixed up a series of 5 x 1.5 hours private lessons for two grandchildren in the first week of April - inevitably expensive, but an investment for the future, I hope.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Yes I think I was so pleased with the idea I ignored the inevitable expenses!
As mentioned the HB probably adds £100/ night but we would want to stay somewhere decent anyway and in the scheme of it £300 isn’t the deal breaker.

I’ve got a short weekend booked with the wife anyway which works out at around £500, so will probably make do with that and deal with the kids one Easter, once I’ve budgeted for it.

Thanks for your support everyone!

A snowHead

Good plan.

I was all for sacking off lessons for the kids for this trip, but husband said that one of the things he loves about our ski holidays is the opportunity to have some time just him and me before we have to switch back into parent mode. So £400 is well spent in his eyes. Plus the added benefits of the kids developing their skills of course.

Enjoy your child free weekend! Skiing or something else?

A snowHead

@Owlette, we are just going to Seefeld for a couple of days: quick cheap transfer, top hotel and like you say, a couple of days away from the kids!

I think my problem was that the last time costed up for a family ski trip, I discovered the family week in Oetz, which offered free lessons, passes and ski hire for under 5s. A whole week HB for us all came to well under £2k total!

Sadly we had to cancel due to lockdowns and now the girls are at school and too old. Not to worry: 4 might have been a bit young for a big trip. They were (and still are) extremely hard work!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I feel your pain. My boys are 11 and 9 and have always been full on. I refer to them (affectionately of course) as feral. Hence ski lessons are a godsend. We all get our space, doing something we love, and when I meet them after ski school, I have the headspace for 'look at this, watch me' and all the inevitable bickering between them.

Have a wonderful trip.

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Kids ski lessons Thurs-Sat in Austria

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