Which mountain resort to choose for Dec holidays?

Hi,

My kids (aged 9 & 12) and I are planning to stay in Geneva from 12 Dec for about 7 nights. In between, I would like my kids to experience lots of snow and do some basic skiing classes. I have found a nice apartment at Barboleuse at Villars-sur-Ollon area. I need some advice if I should choose this mountain resort? I don’t want to travel too far from Geneva. We are travelling from Malaysia and will be only using public transport to move around. It will be excellent if I can find a mountain resort of a good location to the train station and attractions, possibly with bus shuttles too.My objective is to let my kids experience a bit of skiing since they have never ski before (probably 1 lesson),take the chair lifts to different scenic peaks, sledge runs and to do some fun activities. We plan to stay 2 nights in a mountain resort, if need be, 3 nights. Thanks for your help! Rgds.

Elaine

Hi Elaine,

The Winter sports season starts mid to late December, depending on the amount of snow. I don't know the area of La Barboleuse that well, but there most probably won't be snow in the village around that time as it is located at only 1200 m. Whether the surrounding slopes are open by then I don't know, you can best ask the local tourist office. They won't be able to guarantee anything, but they should be able to tell you when the season usually starts.

To enjoy snow early in the season your best bet is to either go to a town surrounded by really high mountains (Zermatt, Saas-Fee), or to wait with your booking until a week before so that the weather conditions are predictable. If you're lucky there will be plenty of choice, if not you can still consider one of the higher towns. Mid December isn't high season yet, so booking late should work.