At FamilySkiNews.com we usually like to focus on that all-important family break. However, every once in a while however it is nice to let our hair down and consider a well-earned short escape to the ski slopes without the kids in tow!…

Those that are lucky enough to be able to consider two ski breaks in a season will find they are not alone.

There is quite a fast growing community of committed ‘1.5 holiday skiers’, catered to by a number of specialist ski weekend and short ski break operators.

It can however be hard to know where to go, or how best to structure a short break so that you maximise your time on the slopes, and minimise the travel times and costs. Here are a few top tips:

1)      Be clever with timings
Maximising your time is the name of the game here. By leaving Thursday night and returning Monday night it is very easy to get 4 days full skiing, and only take two days off work. Whenever you fly, if you get late evening flights out there you won’t need to take the day off work. On the last day an 8pm flight means you can easily ski all day and still be home at a decent hour for work the next day, to the envy of your colleagues. 

2)      Stick to short transfers
If you only have a few days, there is no point spending it on the bus. Sticking to under 1 or 1.5 hours is essential to get you into the chalet at a decent time for dinner on the first night, and fit in that full day skiing in on the last day. There are lots of top ski resorts within1.5 hours of Geneva airport, including Chamonix, La Clusaz, Le Grand Bornand, Grand Massif, St Gervais, Megève, Morzine and the Portes du Soleil.

3)      Choose your resort wisely
As well as short transfer times, you should consider the layout of the resort carefully. Ideally you should be able to ski everyday without the need for long transfers to and from the slopes, or needing to take lots of connecting runs to get to the best slopes. Compact resorts are ideal for this, while those that spread out along the valley might be harder to enjoy in a short period of time.

4)      Organise everything in advance
You don’t want to arrive and then need to spend the first half day fitting ski boots and buying lift passes. Specialist operators know this, and will have ski hire on site, and you lift pass waiting for you so that all you have to do in the morning is get up and go.

5)      January and March are best
If you go on holiday with the kids, you know that Christmas and half term are the busiest times on the slopes. You will be amazed just how quiet the slopes are outside of these periods. You might even be forgiven for thinking the resort was closed for your own private use!

This was a guest post by SkiWeekender.com, specialists in weekends and short ski breaks in resorts near Geneva.