J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by pennyqss

Fab place. Skiied there only for 2 days as was visitng from Zell. You don't need names of places though. ALL runs are excellent and there are just loads of restaurants about, which is why i liked it so much - loadsa Gluwein!! Enjoy............ By the way the Apres Ski bar at the bottom of the hill at the end of the day (you can't miss it) is an experience and fantastic.

I read a lot of these posts last year as I was in same situation. ie. needing ski boots. Two or three posts recommended 3 particular shops. 1) in Chamonix, 2) scotland and 3) Leamington Spa, which is just down the road from me but only hour and half from Bristol. I CANNOT RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH. The problem with buying in the resort is that you can't take them back, or discuss it AFTEr the holiday. Yes, it's ok for that one holiday but not if you need to have alterations done thereafter. I'd recommend going to Leamington Spa, where they spent over 2 hours fitting me the 'right' boot, properly. It's called..Lockwoods. Fantastic. My boots were a dream.

Ellmau in Austria is fantastic with kids. I've two and they first went at 10 and 4.
Another brill place is Saalbach. Huge area with wide wide pistes. Loads of mountain restaurants. Can be quite noisy apres ski but fun and when in the hotels, you don't notice it, but fun to show them Austria apres ski for half an hour.
Ski in and ski out though - it's definitely Obergurgl or Oberlech (not Lech). High up and ski in and out, with excellent ski school and from the hotels or just outside. The abs best place in Austria is Oberlech which is traffic free - half way up the mountain - ski in and out and just fantastic. Also it's where the taboggan run starts too, so kids love it.

Enjoy..............

Try travelsupermarket.com and car hire etc. put in what you want and the dates/times and availability comes up. might though be easier to hire a private transfer for that number of people, rather than two or three vehicles/vans.
Good luck

check out www.ownersdirect.com (or co.uk can't remember)

Well I think of myself as an amateur-expert on skiing in Austria with kids. Bighead hee hee. Anyway, I've two kids 7 and 13 who've skied a lot now, but we only ski Austria (except for the one year in France, which we didn't enjoy NEARLY as much so won't return). Firstly, like the other post said, there's not a lot of ski in-ski out, but there is some, if not a lot. Obergurgl is great, but not extensive skiing, but high so it's snow sure and ski in/out. And ski esprit do a holiday in a chalet or hotel (can't remember) to Obergurgl. Lovely and lively place but small so great for kids.

Have a look at Ellmau too. Not all ski in/out, but nearly but it's low. However, at that time of year it's fabulous. Ski Esprit do a holiday to Scheffau which ties in with it all and they take your kids up the mountain for you, but it's a short bus to the cable car, then big queues for cable car, then you're up the mountain ok. Fab place to ski but definitely not ski in out.

Don't know how experienced you are. St Christoph, near St Anton is fab too, but very very very quiet and a very tough area, so maybe not great for kids.

The best overall for kids and ski in/out is Oberlech. You won't find it on the tour operator sites much, as they tend to deal with Lech, but just up the mountain (you get there by a cable car, and they take your luggage in it too - great fun) is Oberlech. It's traffic free, all hotels/chalets in a big bowl on the pistes themselves. The ski school is fab and outside your door. The skiing is varied, not difficult and fabulous for kids. If you want more difficult pistes then you just ski to them or get the shuttle bus to St Anton, on the same ski pass. However, Oberlech is fantastic. You can book yourself into the chalets or ask a specialist supplier to book for all of you, but I reckon that if you booked the hotel, you can get the flights yourself (Zurich 2 1/4 hrs, Innsbruck 1 1/2 hrs,) and the hotel will organise you transfer bus for your whole group.

I'd therefore say that Obergurgl best if you want tour operator to organise or Oberlech if you are inclined to do it yourself.

Job done and a fantastic place.......... Enjoy.

Have lessons, enjoy them and then ski together in the afternoons. I wouldn't buy goggles at all though. At that time of year, you will probably only need sun glasses and if the weather comes in then you can buy them in the resort very easily. Plus it'll be end of season and they'll be reduced bigtime. Here - good goggles can cost upwards of £50 each and you may never use them. Saying that I used my goggles last year that week only and not in Feb, but buy them there! Suggest you take just teeshirts for underneath ski stuff. Will be hot. and don't both with longjohns/thermals etc it'll be too warm at that time.

Enjoy it. you'll have a fab time.

Hire a large people carrier or two. Easy to drive there - very easy in fact. Also, you can get around really easily. Cheaper by far too.