10 Practical tips for skiing with kids in Switzerland

Here are some tips for skiing with kids in Switzerland based on our experience teaching two little kids how to ski here. No matter what you do, remember that skiing is more fun with friends!

Where to ski with kids in Switzerland

1. Where to ski on weekends with kids

Where you ski depends on where you live, your skill level and what amenities you need. There’s no need to overspend on a big resort if you are going to stay on one beginner slope.  If you and/or your kids are beginners, start with a small inexpensive ski hill near you, where you can get a half-day or 3 hour pass. Near Zürich, I’d suggest Brunni Alpthal.

If you want to put the kids in ski school while you ski on more advanced slopes, then pick a medium-sized resort that has a variety of terrain. But also a ski resort that is small enough that you can easily get back to the ski school for lunch time or afternoon pickup, without having to spend the whole day traversing the resort. Near Zürich, I’d suggest Flumserberg, which also offers group lessons on the weekends.

See Top Family Ski Resorts near Zürich

2. Where to book a Swiss ski holiday with kids

If you are booking a ski holiday, I’d suggest a large multi-mountain resort so you can try new slopes everyday. These resorts typically have lots of other winter activities besides skiing (sledding, ice skating, winter hiking, indoor swimming), helpful when some family members need a break from skiing. For families, we suggest Arosa-Lenzerheide, Engelberg, Davos/Klosters, or Les Diablerets.

If you want bragging rights and a memorable classic Swiss ski holiday, choose one of the big international destinations like Zermatt, Jungfrau Region, and St Moritz. All of these have excellent skiing and will make you feel like you’ve done something special. Of course, these destinations have higher prices for everything: lift passes, hotels, and food.

See Best ski resorts in Switzerland for kids and Family Hotels for Ski Holidays

Map of Swiss ski resorts

Ski day logistics

3. Save money on kids ski passes

When skiing with kids, it’s often not worth it to pay for a full day pass when you are only using a very small part of the resort. Here are a few ways you can save money when skiing with kids.

See also 15 Tips for Cheaper Skiing in Switzerland

Little kids ski free

At most resorts, kids under 6 ski for free. You still have to get them a ski pass (usually a CHF 5 refundable depot), so they can go through the turnstile. Most resorts require that the free child is always accompanied by a paying adult. Some resorts specify that the free child ride the T-bar between the legs of an adult (e.g. Atzmännig and Brunni-Alpthal). Some resorts let kids up to 8 ski free, like Zermatt (ID required). Some resorts use birth year to determine if they ride for free, so even if your kid is already 6, they still might be free. In this case, they might require an ID as proof of birth date.

Family Discounts

When purchasing ski passes, look for family discounts on the price lists. Some resorts offer family ski passes, where you pay for the first or two kids and all other kids (aged 6-15) are free like at Pizol. Some give you a percentage discount for the entire family like at Hoch Ybrig. See a list of family ski discounts.

In the example below from Pizol, you can see some discount examples. Familienkarte is the family pass, Stundenkarte is the partial day pass, Anfängerkarte is just for the practice T-bar.

Partial day passes

Little kids often can’t last the whole day skiing. I find that my kids feel more successful and happier if I don’t push them to their physical and emotional limits. So we often ski half-day. A lot of resorts offer a variety of partial day passes, like 3 or 4 hour passes, afternoon passes that start at different times discounting further the later you show up, and even morning half-day passes, something I never saw in the US (maybe things have changed). My kids often have more energy in the morning, so this is a good option for us.

Single ride and point cards

Some resorts let you pay per ride (about 2 francs) or buy a “points card” that come with a certain number of points and each lift charges a few points each time you use it. This can be helpful for young, beginning skiers that may not last more than an hour or two on the slopes. I’ve done this at Atzmännig and Flumserberg with my 4 year old. He only had enough energy to do 4 or 5 runs and I was pretty much exhausted by that time too. I was happy that we hadn’t bought the day pass.

Non skier ticket for adults

If you are dropping your kids off for ski school and aren’t skiing yourself, some resorts allow you to buy a non-skiing ticket for the cable car that accesses the ski resort. This includes one trip up and back, which is a bit cheaper than a day ski pass.

Reminder: bring cash

I’ve been to a few ski hills that don’t take debit or credit cards, usually the ones where you pay at the little wood shack next to the T-bar (e.g. Amden-Arvenbüel and Ibergeregg). Sometimes the restaurants, especially the ones in the middle of the slope, don’t take cards. And worse, some of the towns are so small, they don’t have ATMS. It’s just better to be prepared with cash just in case.

4. Planning your ski day with kids

When skiing with kids, you need to plan carefully to avoid meltdowns. Here are a few tips that have helped us over the years.

Arrive early

On sunny ski days, parking can fill up quickly and lines are long. It’s happened to us before, where all the parking lots were full and we had to park in a town farther down the mountain and take a bus to the resort. One time, even the overflow parking was full and we had to just leave and go somewhere else. It’s best to arrive before 9:00 so you can get a jump on the crowds.

Take breaks

This is difficult for me to do because I was raised to maximize my money and time. But I’ve slowly come around to the European ski mentality, which is more focused on enjoying the day than of maximizing value. So now we usually ski for about 90 mins, take a hot chocolate break in the restaurant, ski another couple hours, eat a leisurely lunch in the restaurant and warm up, then ski another couple hours and be done a little after 15:00. Perhaps this will change as my kids get older. But for now, this schedule keeps all of us happier and focuses on having a good time not getting the most for our money.

Reserve a table for lunch

Many kids need to warm up indoors during lunchtime. Since restaurants get quite crowded at lunch, I suggest reserving a table for lunch, even at self-service cafes. On busy weekends, the restaurants can get super packed and since everyone likes to eat at the same time, it can be hard to get a table, especially when the weather isn’t nice enough to sit outside. At Flumserberg, we always reserve a table for lunch and it takes so much stress out of the day, especially with tired, wet, cold, hungry kids. I don’t know if it’s possible at all resorts, but it’s certainly worth a try.

Ski on cloudy days

The Swiss seem to be fair-weather skiers. On a cloudy day, especially if it’s snowing, the slopes will be quite empty, even on the weekend. With little kids and beginning skiers, it’s much easier to ski when the slopes are not crowded. With short or no lift lines, the kids don’t lose momentum and waste energy like they would with a long wait. So I look forward to a forecast for cloudy weather.

Ski on Wednesday afternoons

Since most kids have Wednesday afternoons off school, this can be a fun time practice skiing or go sledding. Some resorts are so close to Zürich that you can quite easily get on the slopes by 14:00 and enjoy a nice couple hours skiing or sledding, perfect for beginners. We did this at Flumserberg for a couple years. Many resorts offer drop-in ski lessons on Wednesday afternoons, a good option if you want to your kids to get a jump start before the February ski holiday. Many communities offer ski clubs that take the kids skiing on these afternoons, check at your local community center.

Bring a backpack with essential stuff

At many ski resorts, you cannot drive all the way to the ski lifts. You park, then ride cable cars from the valley up to the ski resort. This can also cause a few logistical problems as you have to bring everything with you instead of being able to easily go back to the car for more supplies. It can really mess up your day if you have to spend 30 minutes each way, riding all the way down to your car to get dry mittens for a miserable kid with wet icy hands. If you prefer to drive directly to the lifts, we can recommend Flumserberg and Brunni-Alpthal.

Some ski provide coin-operated lockers, but they are often sold out, so don’t rely on it. Instead, I simply leave the backpack near the main lift station, where lots of other people have stacked their packs. Sometimes there is a dressing room or picnic area with hooks on a wall where you can hang backpacks. In any case, keep all valuables on your person.

Check the weather forecast & snow report

Kids are more sensitive to cold miserable weather than adults. So it pays to check the forecast and webcams to make sure you’re not heading into a fog bank or blizzard. Here are some websites where you can get snow reports for Switzerland ski resorts.

• Search.ch snow report
• My Switzerland – snow report
• SLF Avalance risk report
• On the Snow – Switzerland
• Bergfix – Switzerland
• Swiss mountain webcams

Learning to ski with kids

5. How to ride ski lifts with kids

Magic carpets

Many resorts have tiny beginner hills with a moving sidewalk that brings the skier back up the hill. These are perfect for little kids and absolute beginners. As a parent, you can lift your kid on the magic carpets, lift them off onto the slope, give them a little push, run down to collect them at the bottom and repeat. This was a great way to give my very little kids a feel for skiing before they started lessons, Most magic carpets are free to use, but some are located at the top of the gondola, which requires a ticket. Flumserberg has one that is next to the parking, free to use.

Drag lifts & T-bar lifts

Drag lifts, aka Schlepplifte, are very common in Switzerland. Many small resorts have only drag lifts and almost all resorts still have a few drag lifts, especially on beginner slopes. Most are T-bars for two riders, some have a disc for a single rider, some just have a handle on a rope tow. Many are very long and steep. All forms can be difficult to use with children so be prepared to rescue your child if they fall off.

This is a disc lift, probably the easiest to ride for children. Just stick the disc between your legs and hold on for dear life.

It can be difficult riding next to a small child on a T-bar because the bar will be at your knee level instead of under your bottom. This is extremely uncomfortable for the adult and hard to balance. For very small children (3-4), I find it better to have the child ride between your legs, which is less complicated than it sounds. For older children (5-6) that know how to use a drag lift, it’s better to let the child go first and you follow.

Many T-bars are not attended by staff, so you have to grab the bar yourself and figure it out. I find this often difficult as an adult, but with small children it can be downright dangerous. My kids have been knocked over many times trying to get on and even knocked in the head by the bar. So plan on helping your kids get on the T-bar before getting on yourself. And prepare yourself to exit early if your kid falls off the T-bar mid-slope, which has happened to us a lot.

Some ski schools, like Flumserberg, require that older children (over 6) can use a drag lift before starting ski school. So you may need to practice a bit or stretch the truth.

Chair lifts with kids

Thankfully, almost all chair lifts now include a safety bar and foot rests. Chair lift operators are very helpful with small children, usually lifting them up on to the seat. Each chair lift has a diagram showing where the child should sit for safety and balance. Some lifts have bubbles over the chairs, but not on every chair. If it’s not busy and the weather isn’t great, it’s perfectly acceptable to let a non-bubble chair pass by so your child can be warmer in the next chair with a bubble.

6. Swiss ski school

All resorts, large and small, offer ski lessons for children 6 and over. Most offer group lessons during school holidays, during Christmas break and school ski holidays from late January to early March. Group lessons typically run for 5-6 days, starting on Sunday or Monday. Usually group lessons are full day and include a supervised lunch. Some ski schools offer drop-in lessons on weekends, but this is not common. If you can’t get into a group class, all ski resorts offer private lessons. Best to pre-book but sometimes you can book the same morning. 

In any case, contact the ski school beforehand to get the exact schedule and ask if you need to book beforehand. In most cases, ski lessons run from 10:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 15:00. Some provide lunch with child care for an extra fee. Most ski school instructors in Switzerland speak English and a few other languages. 

For more details see: What to expect at ski school in Switzerland

7. Snow gardens for little kids

Many resorts provide a supervised “snow garden” ski experience for children aged 3 to 6. A snow garden is usually a small enclosed ski learning area with a magic carpet and short gradual slope for absolute beginners, usually aged 3-6 years old. A snow garden is a good place for very young kids to start. The instructors focus on teaching them how to stand and walk with skis and do very basic maneuvers, like ski in a straight line for a few feet without falling over. After a week in the Flumserberg snow garden, my 4 year old was ready to try the slightly bigger slopes with a t-bar.

However, not all snow gardens are equal and certainly don’t expect that a week at a snow garden will turn a screaming 3 year old into a downhill racer in 2 short hours. I really like the Flumserberg snow garden, but I’ve seen other snow gardens that seem rather useless. Some are completely flat, so the kids can’t actually ski down anything so they just spend their time walking around on skis (I’m looking at you Einsiedeln and Oberiberg). Others don’t have a magic carpet, so kids have to walk back up the slope each time – very exhausting (I’m looking at you Ibergeregg). Others only have tow ropes, that are difficult for anyone, let alone a frustrated 5 year old. Other beginning areas are sloped to one side, are too steep, or aren’t enclosed so little beginners who can’t stop have to be constantly rescued (I’m looking at you Sattel Hoch Stückli). So be picky. Flumserberg has the best snow garden I’ve seen so far.

Winter clothing & gear for kids

8. What kids should wear for skiing

Every skier needs a waterproof jacket and ski trousers, moisture wicking base layers, warm ski socks, gloves, helmet, googles, ski gloves and an array of optional accessories. While it’s tempting to skip on quality with kids, it’s important that kids be warm and dry while skiing. Since kids tend to fall down in the snow more than adults, their outer layers, especially gloves, can quickly get wet and cold. You don’t have to buy the most expensive brands, but I also wouldn’t buy ski clothing at discount retailers like H&M. https://swissfamilyfun.com/skiing-with-kids-in-switzerland/

For more details, see How to Dress Your Kids for Skiing

9. Where to shop for kids winter clothing

Switzerland has many sport shops selling winter clothing. The big box stores like Migros SportXX and Ochsner Sport have decent quality and relatively good prices, especially on their house brands. Decathalon is the most affordable option. For more stylish, hip brands, try Blue Tomato or local skate shops. If you want high quality brands, I suggest visiting Transa, which has a large selection of expensive outdoor clothing. Some of these brands like Mammut, Patagonia and The North Face have their own boutiques in cities like Zürich. There are also many online shops with outdoor clothing, but check how they handle Swiss customs before ordering.

For more shopping options, see Where to buy outdoor clothing & equipment in Switzerland

10. Ski equipment for kids

Most people rent ski equipment for kids because they grow out of it every year. It’s the best value to rent for the season, costing around CHF 120 – 180 depending on the size of your child. If you want to rent only for your ski holiday week, it would cost about CHF 60-90 and it’s vital to reserve in advance. A day rental costs about CHF 20-30. It’s usually more expensive and time consuming if you rent at the ski resort. Instead, we suggest renting at a sport shop near your home, which you can do the night before your ski day without an extra charge. 

If you want to buy equipment, I suggest watching for pre-season sales that happen between October and early December, with discounts up to 30%. You can also save a lot by purchasing secondhand equipment at a ski rental shops, secondhand shop (aka Brockenhaus), community exchange (aka Winterbörse) or online sites like Tutti.ch.

For more details, see Where to rent and buy ski equipment in Switzerland