• This topic has 17 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 11 years ago by grum.
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  • Morzine as a family holiday?
  • Furious
    Full Member

    So, SWMBO wants to go to France on holiday and has found a nice apartment in Morzine within budget ( 😈 ).

    Apart from the obvious benefits to me (I’ll be taking my Heckler) what is it like for a 2 week family holiday? I’ve two daughters 12 and 14 so I’ll need to keep them amused. Weather should be good, and I believe there are a couple of lakes nearby. Also, what is it like for eating out? I’ve found some reports suggesting it is very expensive and not very good.

    Thanks in advance…

    MadPierre
    Full Member

    Weather should be good

    That’s far from guaranteed in summer in my experience….

    There’s nice walking & scenery, big (outdoor) swimming pool, horse riding…

    Eating out wise there are good places but nowhere is cheap

    hora
    Free Member

    The Supermarket is very good/great fruit/fresh veg on sale etc etc. So if you self-cater or to use for DIY sandwiches.

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    binners
    Full Member

    Morzine is very expensive. If you’re there for a fortnight, with the family in tow, I’d imagine you’d absolutely hemorrhage Euro’s.

    Have you done the south of France? I’d say that’s a much better option for a family holiday

    chipsngravy
    Free Member

    My kids are 5 & 3. We had a great family holiday in Morzine last year, so much so we’re going back again this August.

    I managed to fit in a 3 hour ride most days, leaving plenty of time for the wife and kids.

    Lots to do; horse riding, climbing, rope courses, rafting, Lake Montriond, swimming pool, family street events, day trip to lake Geneva, tennis, golf, luge, ice skating, chilling out etc etc.

    Eating out = very expensive.

    theblackmount
    Free Member

    Too ‘Brits abroad’ for me but hey lots of folk like going there for that very reason.

    Chatel is quieter / more unspoiled / right next door to Switzerland.

    Depends what you are looking for in a holiday – I doubt you’d be disappointed with either in terms of facilities / things to do.

    nickf
    Free Member

    As your kids are a bit older, they’d love the Go Ape-type setups (but better than Go Ape – far more fun), the white water rafting, canyoning….it’s flipping ace. The goat village is (quite literally) the s***iest place I’ve ever been to, but has to be experienced. There are huge numbers of excellent walks.

    One of the best family days we’ve ever had was the ride up from Chamonix to L’Aiguille Du Midi (not far from the summit of Mont Blanc), then the crossing to Italy on the aerial tramway. Stunning scenery, just awesome. When you cross back, you then have a meandering 2/3 hour walk to the Me De Glace, where you walk inside glaciers, (and you can sneak off and climb down the via ferrata to the main glacier surface). Funicular railway back down to Chamonix, then back to Morzine. An expensive day – probably €350 all in for the four of us (the tickets are unsurprisingly not cheap, but you look at the engineering and you can justify it), including fuel, food etc.

    Eating out is expensive, but self-catering obviously doesn’t have to be.

    stuart1458
    Free Member

    In addition to the outdoor pool the indoor pool is now complete. Yes lots to do(Climbing , Canyoning etc. See my website http://www.gascoyne.org.uk) Lift assisted mountain biking is great fun. Also 2 stages of the Dauphine there this year. Eating out should be cheaper this year due to falling Euro and plenty of nice restaurants Morzine.

    nickf
    Free Member

    Forgot the indoor pool. There’s also going to be a new water park opening in July in Avoriaz, which should be excellent.

    hora
    Free Member

    TBH I’d rather go to Ibiza for a family holiday with kids.

    Furious
    Full Member

    Thanks guys. Polarised opinions it seems – although the activities available sound wicked. Just bumping this for the night crew.

    onewheelgood
    Full Member

    We’ve had two family holidays in Samoens, just over the Col de la Joux Plane from Morzine. Kids loved it (but then they don’t mind going on six-hour walks). High Ropes, white-water rafting, swimming, hiking, via ferrata – all good. Eating out is OK if you like meat and cheese – we were happier self catering most of the time. Day trips to Chamonix/Mont Blanc and Annecy. Weather is variable – can be great, but the first time we went it rained hard for the first three days – hard enough to wash a couple of villages away – but that did improve the rafting.

    Radioman
    Full Member

    Did family hol a few years ago in Les Gets next to Morzine. Weak Euro will make France cheaper this year.

    My Family don’t really bike much but my wife & 12 year old daughter loved the lake near Les Gets where they also had a kids tree climbing /parcours centre, and there are a number of relatively easy family rides.

    Weather can definitely be an issue depending on time/luck. August does see a few afternoon thunder storms making trails muddy. We definitely enjoyed it though!

    nealglover
    Free Member

    Lac montriond isn’t far away and is very nice in the summer, great place to spend the day if the weather is nice.

    Radioman
    Full Member

    Forgot to mention…food (and wine!)were superb! Lots of good restaurants with high standards.

    Digger90
    Free Member

    Went there 2 years with the family… tbh would not do it again and I now just go with my mates. Wife doesn’t want to go again, nor do the kids… they found it boring.

    While there are all of the activities mentioned above, doing things like Go Ape, rock climbing, mountain hikes, swimming etc do not take up a whole week – there’s LOTS of downtime around those activities and there’s only so much of Morzine & Les Gets that can keep you interested.

    Think of it like this: imagine spending a whole week walking around your local town visiting shops & cafe’s, interspersed with a daily activity such as a climb or walk.

    Want to spend your summer holiday doing that?

    Thought not….

    ianv
    Free Member

    There are better places to go in the mountains for a family holiday. The weather can be very changeable in the northern alps and the trails can be very intimidating for younger riders as there is always people bombing past them even on the easy trails.

    Personally I would look at somewhere further south like around Orciere where the weather is much nicer. All the same stuff to do as at Morzine but with better weather and much quieter trails. Alternatively, places like Font Romeau and Les Angles in the Pyranees Orientale are excellent and have loads to do off the bike.

    If you do end up in Morzine check out the restaurant by the cheese factory in Les Gets. Its awesome.

    grum
    Free Member

    While there are all of the activities mentioned above, doing things like Go Ape, rock climbing, mountain hikes, swimming etc do not take up a whole week

    Depends what you’re into. I could spend a whole week in the alps just hiking/climbing quite happily. I normally find I run out of time to do all the things I want to do.

    Never been to Morzine but I’ve been to quite a few French ski resorts inc Alp D’Huez in summer and while there is plenty to do they seem a bit soulless and lacking in character (as well as being eye wateringly expensive). Austria is generally much more charming IMO (and cheaper) – not sure about the biking though.

    Bagneres de Luchon in the Pyrenees is lovely. It has a cable car and DH biking but feels like a proper town in summer and very charming – I would go back there in a heartbeat.

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