Perisher – Australia’s favourite family ski holiday destination – has today announced a great range of special offers, including a fantastic ‘Kids Stay Free’ deal. 

This offer is the perfect incentive for any family to get the kids to the snow.  The Kids Stay Free deal applies to numerous Perisher properties for the entire season, even during the school holidays.

What’s more, Perisher has had an amazing first weekend.  Not only is it the only Australian ski resort to open early two years in a row due to consistent snowfall, but the resort has now received a further 15cm of snow during the weekend, adding to the 35cm from the previous week.

More than 2,000 people hit the slopes this weekend, raising $32,000 for local Snowy Mountains community organisations and charities, beating last year’s total of $25,000.  The resort’s innovative My Ride Dashboard clocked 1.2 million vertical metres covered by skiers and boarders over the weekend. 

“We couldn’t be more excited about the success of opening a week earlier than expected,”  commented Peter Brulisauer, CEO of Perisher.  “Not only have we been the first ski resort to open for snow-lovers to enjoy for the second straight year, we’ve been able to raise more than $57,000 for various charities.”

For its size, Perisher is a surprisingly family-friendly resort.  It is the largest ski resort in the southern hemisphere, with 4 ski areas, state-of-the-art snowmaking facilities, and over 3,076 acres of skiable terrain. It has excellent child-care facilities (Snowy Daycare caters for infants from 6 weeks old), and runs to suit all ages and abilities.

Perisher’s popular full day child-care programme (9:30am to 3:30pm) caters to kids and teens of all ability levels, learning to ski or snowboard in a fun, action-packed environment.  Skiers are accepted in the group lessons from 5 year upwards.  Children under 5 can join the full or hal-day Discover ski programme, while there are even private ‘Mum and Me’ lessons available for those under 3 years of age.

This coming weekend, the Snowy Mountains of Music festival marks the official start to the winter season at Perisher.  Billed as ‘Australia’s coolest festival’, it promises fun, games and entertainment for the whole family. 

The resort is offering Long Weekend Festival Passes for just $155 per adult (kids 14 years and under go free).  There’s also a special lift-pass deal for festival goers – an excellent-value 3-day lift ticket for just $99; and weekend accommodation packages (three nights’ B&B plus a Long Weekend Festival Pass) from just $395.