First ski holiday with your baby

When going on a ski holiday with your baby, you need to check that your child is old enough to go before you book. Talk to our airline or tour operator about their specific policy about travelling with babies. While there's no minimum legal age for babies to travel, airlines and holiday companies all have different booking policies. In general, most airlines ask that babies are at least two weeks old when travelling.

A good hotel or resort will be able to provide a cot for your room, as well as highchairs in the restaurant, baby food, microwaves and hot water to heat up baby food and milk, as well as baby changing rooms and trained staff that can look after your child while you’re out on the slopes or babysit in the evening. At Club Med we offer a Baby Welcome service , providing everything you and your baby need for a relaxing stay, along with a Baby Corner in the restaurant, providing sweet and savoury baby foods and all the equipment necessary for preparing your baby’s meals. Make sure that you inform your resort that you have a baby when you book your holiday and everything should be ready and waiting when you get there.

While some ski-mad parents introduce their children to the slopes at 18 months, most resorts and ski schools will insist that your child is at least three years old before they teach them the basics. At Club Med, the first lessons will take placed on the appropriately named nursery slopes before they move on to downhill skiing when they are four. As soon as they turn eight they can learn to snowboard, and before you know it they’ll be whizzing past you on the black runs.

It’s likely you’ll already be aware of the large amount of equipment you need to take wherever you go, so you can imagine that going on a ski holiday with a baby requires a lot of stuff. Luckily, most airlines and holiday companies understand this and will allow you to take a buggy and car seat onto the plane for free, while some will give your baby their own baggage allowance of 5-10kg, even if they don’t have their own seat. Check with your holiday company what you can take before you head off to the airport. So clothes, nappies, milk, food, wet wipes, teething ring, dummies (if your baby uses them), toys, blanket, spare clothes for you both – take more than you think you need so you won’t have to worry during your trip.

When thinking about best places to go on holiday with a baby or toddler, Europe is an obvious choice. It’s relatively close to home so the flight won’t be too long, and the winters are less cold than in other countries with good reputations for skiing, such as Canada. So look at established European ski resorts. At Club Med we offer a wide range of family friendly ski resorts in the Alps.