Skiing in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis with Kids: The Ultimate Family-Friendly Ski Resort in Austria

Planning a family ski holiday can feel like a big leap — especially with young children. You might be questioning where to go, if it’s actually worth the money, how to keep your little ones warm and all the other logistics. We honestly didn’t know how skiing with two little ones was going to work ourselves…

But, we just got back from 10 glorious days in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis in Austria and it completely exceeded our expectations. From world-class ski schools to buggy-friendly gondolas and daily mascot dance parties, this resort makes skiing with kids not just possible — but genuinely enjoyable.

If you're searching for the best family ski resort in Europe, here’s why Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis should be high on your list.

where is Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis and how do we get there?

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis is located in the Tyrol region of western Austria. It sits on a sunny high plateau above the Upper Inn Valley, close to the borders of Switzerland and Italy. The resort is made up of three charming alpine villages — Serfaus, Fiss and Ladis — all connected by lifts and slopes, making it easy to explore while still feeling compact and manageable for families. The resort is located just over an hour from Innsbruck meaning for UK families, getting there is relatively straightforward.

Nearest Airports

Innsbruck (approx. 1 hour 15 mins transfer)
Munich (approx. 2.5–3 hours transfer)
Zurich (approx. 2.5 hours transfer)

Transfers

You can hire a car or book a private transfer. We flew into Innsbruck airport and were picked up by Family Taxi who has car seats ready for our littles ones. A taxi transfer will cost around €200 one way. If driving, do be aware that the roads are well maintained, but snow chains may be required in heavy snowfall.

Train Option

You can also travel by train to Landeck-Zams station (1 hour from Innsbruck airport), then take a bus (220 bus taking 1 hour) or a taxi transfer to the resort.

Serfaus itself is car-free in the centre, which makes it feel calm and safe for families walking around with children.

When Is the Best Time to Visit Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis?

One of the biggest advantages of Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis is its altitude (1,200–2,820m), which helps maintain reliable snow conditions and means you can often visit all the way until early April.

Best months for families:

January – Quieter slopes after New Year, great snow
March – Longer daylight hours and slightly warmer temperatures
Early April – Good snow at altitude with more spring sunshine

If you’re travelling with preschoolers, avoiding peak February half-term weeks will mean quieter ski schools and shorter lift queues.

Why Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis Is Perfect for Families

Following 10 days staying at the resort, we can honestly say that Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis is perfect for skiing as a family. Here’s why:

200+ km of ski slopes
Extensive beginner and family-friendly runs — our 4 year old was learning to ski, I am also a beginner and my partner Harvey is intermediate and skis blues and red runs. There was something for all of us here.
Dedicated children’s ski areas
Excellent lift infrastructure with gondolas you can take the buggy up
A range of non-ski winter activities such as tobogganing and winter hiking

But what truly sets it apart is how intentionally it caters to families. This isn’t a resort that tolerates children — it’s built around them. Let’s take a deeper look at why Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis is so good for families…

One of the Biggest Ski Schools in Europe

There are two ski schools in the region — Skischule Serfaus and Skischule Fiss-Ladis — both of which are incredibly well set up for children. Our 4-year-old had two days of lessons at Skischule Serfaus, starting as a complete beginner and working up to the top level of the children’s area. This is all located in the Kinderschneealm area which is accessed from the Komperdellbahn gondola. After her lesson, we decided to do one more one hour private lessons to master her turns and then, with a little extra practice with us, she was confidently skiing the easy children’s slopes… and before we knew it, she was tackling her first blue run with her dad.

The children’s areas are separate, colourful and designed to feel fun rather than intimidating — think gentle slopes, magic carpets and lots of encouragement. It felt safe, calm and really confidence-building. For nervous parents, it’s reassuring knowing your child is learning somewhere that specialises in teaching little ones. Between skiing, the instructors take the kids into a building for drinks and a break where they can play with toys or watch a short cartoon about Murmli the mascot and you can pay a little extra for your child to have full childcare for the day (so you can go off and ski) during which they will be given lunch at the Murmlirest restaurant.

Murmli, the resort mascot, appears daily in the children’s ski area with sweets, hugs and a full dance party. It quickly became one of the highlights of our daughter’s entire holiday. Honestly, this kind of thoughtful detail makes a huge difference. Skiing becomes fun and playful rather than overwhelming — especially for preschoolers.

If you're looking for a family ski holiday with childcare-style support and entertainment, this is a brilliant option.

Gondolas That Fit the Whole family

Let’s talk logistics. As you can imagine, skiing with young children requires a lot of gear so here’s how we managed it. We kept all our ski gear in the Patscheider Depot at the base of the Komperdellbahn gondola station. This is also where we hired some of our ski gear from. Each day we would walk here from our hotel (there is also a free U-Bahn (metro)) and load up the buggy with ski boots and helmets, while Harvey would carry the three sets of skis just a short walk to the gondola.

We were able to take the buggy in the gondola which was honestly a complete game-changer as I genuinely don’t know how we would’ve managed two children, three sets of skis, boots, helmets and snacks without it.

From the Komperdellbahn, it was another short walk to the kids ski area where we would leave our ski gear and make a little basecamp for the day. From there, Aífe would have her lessons and my partner and I would take it in turns to ski while the other adult looked after our one year old.

When you’re travelling with babies or toddlers, these small logistical details make a huge difference — and this resort clearly understands that.

A More Flexible (and Affordable) Way to Ski

If you’re tag-teaming skiing like we were, there is an option for young families that allows you to buy one full ski pass and one walkers pass — which saves a decent amount of money. As well as that, children under 6 ski for free, which makes a big difference when you’re not sure how much actual skiing they’ll do. You can see prices for ski passes here and just to give you an idea of cost, for 7 days skiing with one full ski pass and one walkers pass it cost us around €560 (£490).

It feels like the resort really wants families to come — rather than families being an afterthought.

Kinderhotels That Make Life Easier

The resort has everything from self-catering apartments to fantastic family-focused hotels, including Austria’s famous Kinderhotels which often include:

Free buggy hire
Swimming pools
Soft play
Dedicated childcare
Early kids’ dinners

After a long day in the snow, having those facilities waiting for you is really handy, but obviously comes at a higher cost. What I would say is that going all-inclusive takes the pressure off and turns the trip into a proper holiday. We stayed at Hotel Bär for the first few days of our trip and had an incredible experience.

So much more than skiing

One of the biggest surprises for us was how much there is to do when you’re not skiing. Here’s some of what there is on offer:

A brilliant toboggan run that goes all the way down the mountain from the Komperdellbahn Bergstation. We did this with both kids but do be aware it’s quite fast and you should definitely have children in helmets! You can hire toboggans from Take Off at the Komperdellbahn Bergstation for €12 per day, and some hotels also have them that you can take for free.
Winter hiking trails perfect for little legs — we highly recommend hiking the Six Senses trail from the Komperdellbahn to Hög Alm for a delicious, traditional lunch in a spectacular setting. It was only around 2km each way so perfect for a morning or afternoon as a break from skiing! We hired a toboggan to pull the kids which they loved.
Child-friendly mountain restaurants where no one bats an eyelid at ski-suit chaos. There are three restaurants inside the Komperdellbahn gondola restaurant along with lots of alms in the area. We also really loved getting the Lazidbahn (cable car, so suitable for a baby) up to the Bergstation where there is a really lovely traditional restaurant called Bergrestaurant Lassida. Highly recommend the Tyrolean Gröstl and Kaiserschmarrn!

Having these activities on offer meant we could break up the day, keep things relaxed and tick of some core childhood memories like making a snowman in the mountains with our 4 year old.

Is Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis Good for a First Family Ski Trip?

In our experience — absolutely yes.

Is skiing with young children slower than pre-kids ski trips? Of course. There are more snack stops, earlier nights and you definitely have to lower your expectations for how much skiing you each will actually get done. On a good day, we got 2 hours each but sometimes it might have just been an hour.

But for us, this holiday was about more than just skiing. It was about spending time with our children in the mountains in winter and laying the foundations for future ski trips as a family. Now our 4 year old can ski, she is psyched for more trips and we know logistically how we can manage everything next time. Honestly, watching your child gain confidence, master their first slope and fall in love with the mountains is something else entirely.

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