Top 10 Resorts for Easter Ski Holidays with Kids

With February half-term ski holidays often oversubscribed and extremely expensive, more and more families are looking to Easter as an alternative. But Easter ski holidays are not all about saving money and avoiding the crowds – the weather can be milder, which can be better for those with very young kids and means you can wear fewer clothes and perhaps even get a bit of a tan! And the longer lighter evenings mean lifts start to say open until later, the family après-ski options increase in scope, and extra events such as end-of-season music festivals are able to take place.

So which resorts can be relied upon for those looking at a late-March or April family ski break?

French Alps

Europe's highest resort, Val Thorens at 2,300m offers 150km of pistes (or 600km in the Trois Vallées overall) until the first or second weekend in May, when there is normally plenty of snow down to village level. 

Or there's Val d'Isère and Tignes, offering more extensive skiing (300km of pistes in the Espace Killy) at this kind of altitude (1,850/2,100m) than anywhere else in Europe, with back-to-base skiing available until early May. 

Chamonix (1,035m) is generally winding down by mid April but its high north-facing slopes above Argentière, the Grand Montets, are skiable until the second weekend in May.

In the Paradiski region (425km of pistes), Les Arcs (Arc 1950 and Arc 2000; 1,950–2,000m) have a shady, high main bowl that ensures great snow preservation until late April (unlike too-sunny Arc 1600 and 1800).

Switzerland

Super-child-friendly Saas Fee (1,800m, 100km of pistes) has the highest average skiing height in the Alps, with good snow virtually guaranteed late into the season (it normally closes on the last weekend in April), especially on its glacier. 

Alternatively, Zermatt (1,620m, 200km of pistes, or 350km including Cervinia) has the Alps' highest pistes and excellent snow reliability later in the season, normally closing in late April (early May on the glacier).

Tirol, Austria

The country''s ski hub includes Obergurgl (1,930m, 110km of pistes, first weekend May), Ischgl (14,00m, 238km of pistes, early May) and Sölden (1,380m, 150km of pistes, early May higher up/on its glaciers).

Sweden

Spring arrives late here, and the resort of Åre (380m, 100km of pistes) offers some of the season's best skiing in April and early May.

Check out our favourite ski and winter sports holidays.