Family travel: Snow, ski and Santa
Looking for an excuse to take the kids on the slopes this half-term? We've picked four great getaways, from a budget option in Les Deux Alpes to a bust-the-budget break in South Tyrol
Image: Office du Tourisme Val d’Isère.
01 Happy families
'Happy Families' from Butler & Lloyd aims to make luxury, bespoke family ski breaks as easy as possible. A new addition is the Grand Hotel Courmayeur Mont Blanc, Italy, from £2,300 per person for a family of four on a half-board basis. Lift passes and ski/board hire extra.
02 Modern traditional
The new RockyPop Chamonix, in Les Houches, is a modern take on the traditional ski hotel. A free shuttle bus runs to the Chamonix, Brévant Flégère, Grands Montets and Le Tour ski areas. Inghams Ski Holidays has seven nights, half-board from £1,139 each. Lift passes and ski/board hire extra.
03 All-inclusive
An all-inclusive 'Family Week' at Les Deux Alpes, France, from £713 per person. Includes accommodation (varying from 'nice youth hostel' to 'basic hotel') meals, equipment rental, ski lessons and lift passes. Booked via Action Outdoors, the UK arm of the UCPA, a non-profit French sports specalist.
04 History & culture
Combine history, culture and ski by opting for the iconic Sella Ronda circuit and the mountain village of Corvara, in South Tyrol. Ski Solutions offers seven nights half-board accommodation at the Hotel La Perla, from £3,160 per person. Lift passes and ski/board hire extra.
A UK appointment with Santa
Longing for Lapland
Lapland UK
returns to Whitmoor Forest, Ascot until 24 December. Kids get a personalised invite, plus an Elf Passport to fill in while they enjoy festive activities like meeting the huskies and the big guy himself. From £302 for a family of four.
Rome around in Hampshire
Celebrate Christmas Roman-style at Butser Ancient Farm on 16 December with the festival of Saturnalia to reawaken the Roman god of Saturn. Or opt for Tales of Winter Magic — storytelling around the fire in the Grand Roundhouse.
Father Christmas meets the Bard
Meet Santa, watch festive plays and carol concerts and enjoy candlelit tours, craft fairs and markets in Stratford-upon-Avon (3, 10, 17 Dec). Don't miss the RSC's The Tempest, concluding the Bard's 400th anniversary year (8 Nov-21 Jan).
Published in the December 2016 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)
