Beginners skiing holiday in April - advice needed

[VenetiaLanyon]

Does anyone have any recommendations of resorts and chalets to go to over in mid-April?
DD is 5, and none of us have skiied before, so we'd be looking for a place with other things to do e.g. swimming, just in case we all hate it...
Chalets or hotels better? Any top tips gratefully received .

[juneau]

A very similar question was asked on another recent thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/skiing/1659676-Best-snow-sure-resort-for-1st-week-April-beginners

To be honest though, I'd recommend you at least try skiing before shelling out for a week and worrying that you might all hate it. It's an expensive holiday and most ski resorts don't have a huge amount of other stuff to do off piste. I've had a knee injury and been pregnant in ski resorts (two separate trips), and I was bored out of my brains both times and with kids it would be much worse!

[juneau]

P.S. The other alternative might be to base yourselves somewhere like Innsbruck or Salzburg, where you can get to ski slopes easily, but are staying in a small city with other diversions.

[TheEarlyBird]

Another vote for Innsbruck area. We go to a very small, friendly resort there and stay in a great b & b 500 metres from the lifts. Might not suit very advanced skiers but is perfect for us. Soooo much cheaper than France. PM if you want more details.

[Wishihadabs]

Third person agreeing Salzburg area. Try Zell am See loads for no skiers :)

[fedupwithdeployment]

Go for somewhere with a cheap liftpass! Or one that you can return if it is a disaster. Zell is lovely, and the weather should be good then (am hoping it is as we are skiing somewhre else in Austria that week), but it is a huge ski area, much more than you need. A small family friendly place is proably a much better bet. You might want a hire car though, depending on what is available locally.

[VenetiaLanyon]

Thanks all. A friend had recommended zell, but said it would be too low for mid-April?

[LIZS]

By mid April you may be confined to top slopes and /or the glacier at Kaprun (bus ride and lift away) but if you are happy not to ski all day and do other activities it isn't really a problem.

[jo164]

Sorry I know this is a bit old now, but have you considered Scandinavia? We ski in Finland because we have young children who don't want to ski all day every day. We book up extras such as reindeer rides, husky dog sledding, visit to ice hotel, Arctic pony riding, snow mobiling, cross country skiing etc. plus there is a lovely pool complex and bowling in the village. Obviously sledging, snowman building, free activities too! High season is March/ April so always snow sure. Have a look at //www.levi.fi if you want anymore info.