France Family Holidays: Alpine Adventures in Morzine

by Take The Family

Ben Marshall is Director at family-run luxury travel companies Simply Morzine and Simply Salema and a BBC journalist.

The family holidays we are lucky enough to enjoy as kids are among the best and most treasured memories we have. But for my two brothers and me, as the years passed, some holidays were more fun, exciting and adventurous than others. Looking back now, I’m better able to understand why.

Our early holidays would start with long drives to Cornwall or Norfolk, where, after checking into our cottage, we’d rush off to the beach. But for three boisterous and cheeky little chaps, splashing in the waves, snorkelling and building sandcastles were only fun for, say, a day or two. Then came the inevitable phrase that must fill all parents with dread: ‘Mum, Dad – we’re bored!’

I’m not sure if it was during one such moment that my dad, Mike, asked himself, ‘Could there be something else, something more satisfying, a different type of holiday?’. In any case, the following summer, we packed our bags and were whisked off to a ski resort high in the French Alps. 

‘A ski resort,’ we all said. ‘Can you go skiing in summer, Dad?’ 

‘We’re not skiing,’ came the reply. ‘We’re going to have an alpine adventure!’

And what a week we had. The pure, fresh mountain air and being outside in the hills was the best thing for me, along with simply spending time as a family, enjoying picnics under pine trees with the relaxing echo of cowbells in the distance. We walked by gentle streams to remote villages then discovered mountain lakes and waterfalls, plunging in to freshen up before racing each other in canoes. At the end of our action-packed days there were tasty barbeques in front of the setting sun and long warm evenings.

But it didn’t stop there. During our stay, we crashed through raging rapids on inflatable rafts, rode mountain-bikes by lush meadows, flew above our chalet on a paraglider, played tennis, rode chairlifts, had a donkey ramble and raced across zip-wires. And there were other things we didn’t have time to fit in. Meanwhile, as my brothers and I burnt off excess energy, Mum relaxed and read her book.

When I got home, friends at school listened in awe as I told them about how we went abseiling, sped down the ski-slopes in ‘devil-carts’ and ate tartiflette with the locals. And my French teacher was chuffed with my new language skills!

Little did I know my father, always the explorer, had a vision. The research was complete and all that remained was for him to fulfil his dream of setting up his own travel business, offering the same family adventure holidays that we had all enjoyed in the French Alps. Simply Morzine was born – and the rest is history!

Twenty years on, Simply Morzine’s family alpine adventure holidays in the stunning resort of Morzine amongst some of the finest scenery in Europe, midway between Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc, have gone from strength to strength. The holidays are renowned for the range and flexibility of activities, lovely accommodation and personal service, with the emphasis on both safety and enjoyment and on offering something for all generations, from infants to grandparents.

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