Pyrenees Family Ski Holiday » Itinerary

On arrival at Zaragoza or Huesca you are met by your guide for the drive up into the very little known Pyrenean ski resort of Cerler.

Start your skiing today. The group is divided into age/ability levels for small group tuition. Normally groups will be of two to four people who will each get around two hours a day.

With 71km of skiable runs on 60 pistes, served by 18 lifts, Cerler is great for a wide range of skiing abilities. Tuition is included each day. In the evenings we supervise the children at the hotel while you dine out in the village.

Lessons are with our guide/instructors, helped out by local instructors where necessary. If you’re used to the usual “crocodile” style lessons in a class of 10 or more, be prepared for a pleasant surprise.

Lessons are with our guide/instructors, helped out by local instructors where necessary.If you’re used to the usual “crocodile” style lessons in a class of 10 or more, be prepared for a pleasant surprise.

The way we run lessons depends somewhat on the age and ability profile of the group, but we normally offer lessons for children in the morning for a couple of hours in small groups of 2-5.

For better skiers, the tuition experience is probably better described as coaching rather than lessons.

How you play it in the afternoon depends on the group. You still have the guide/instructors available. This gives you some flexibility in mixing family skiing time, tuition for parents or more tuition for the kids leaving parents free to ski solo.

You’re free, of course, to opt-in to as much or little of the tuition as you like. This holiday gives parents a mixture of time skiing with and without the kids. However, if you are looking for all-day childcare while you ski, then this really isn’t the holiday for you.

The lifts are a five-minute walk away from the hotel across the village. People either walk or hop in the van for the short drive down to the lifts each morning.

There are rarely queues at the lifts in Cerler so you can explore freely without having to worry about waiting in line. The amount of skiing you do in a day is therefore determined by your appetite, not the time wasted queueing.

Beginners
For beginners and intermediate skiers returning after a long break, there is a really pretty piste that runs down from the heart of the resort at Cota 2000. It has lots of variety, is nice and wide, and you’re based in the heart of the resort, not stuck out of the way.

Intermediate
For intermediate to good skiers, there is a huge choice of long and varied blue and red runs. One of the beauties of Cerler skiing is that from almost any point in the resort you’ll have a good choice of routes to take depending on your mood and conditions.

Advanced
For the more advanced or adventurous skiers, there is plenty of more challenging skiing on piste and trails, especially on the Ampriu side of the resort.

Cerler has the biggest skiable descent in the Pyrenees: over 1,100m from the top of Gallinero down to the bottom of El Molino without having to stop to take a lift. It takes a bit of stamina, but you’re rewarded with a glorious descent.

The slopes are generally very quiet and you have plenty of room to go at your own pace. There is none of the barging, posing and frenetic energy which characterises many resorts.

The lift infrastructure is mostly very modern. Lift passes are smart cards which stay in your pocket to can as you pass through the turnstiles onto a lift.

There are rarely queues at the lifts in Cerler so you can explore freely without having to worry about waiting in line. The amount of skiing you do in a day is therefore determined by your appetite, not the time wasted queueing / jostling.

If you get the impression that we love Cerler, then you’d be right.

In the event that the weather closes in, we’ll do our best to give you options. You might like to have a relaxed day down in the town of Benasque, try snowshoeing, or just relaxing.

Full day to ski with the usual ski lessons.
The resort is every bit as good for snowboarding as it is for skiing. Jaime is qualified to teach both.

Parents are free to have dinner at any of the restaurants in the village since, from 8pm to midnight, we provide a suitably qualified babysitter to oversee the childrens’ rooms.

Evening meals, at around 6pm, are included for children (meals marked cd) either in the hotel or in a restaurant in the village.
From 8pm to midnight from Monday to Friday, we provide a suitably qualified babysitter to oversee the childrens’ rooms in the hotel and alert parents by phone in the event of a problem.
Parents and older children are then free to have dinner at any of the restaurants in the village or at the hotel. The earliest sitting time is likely to be 8:30pm, with 9pm being the usual time to eat.
You are free to eat together as a group, in which case your guide can assist with translations etc, or individually.
Eating out
As of March 2008, there are four restaurants in the heart of the village that we recommend. The menus tend to be straightforward but with a very high standard of produce and cooking. Very good meat and game dominates, complemented by good salads and vegetables. There is usually also fish on the menu. Vegetarians are unlikely to be spoiled for choice but with a little care, can eat very well.
Expect to eat very well at dinner for €15-€25 a head.
Wines
You’ll find a good choice of Spanish wines on menus. The regional wine is Somontano, which is not well known in the UK, but it’s well worth a try. Some of the more expensive bottles (€10-15 in a restaurant) are very good indeed.
You’ll also find a selection of better-known Rioja, Ribera del Duero and other Spanish wines on most menus. These may well be more familiar wines to us in the UK, though the prices will be a pleasant surprise.

Enjoy your last day on the slopes before a final dinner together in the hotel.

Head back to the airport for your journey home.