Got your Cardrona family ski holiday coming up? Here are our top tips to get you and the kids ready!
Wide, open runs, designated beginners' area, fully licensed childcare centre, kids' ski and snowboard school, epic food, gondola cabins and of course our mates Pengi and Frosty... if you're looking for the best spot for your family ski holiday, you've just found it! Cardrona LOVES kids, and we can't wait to get your family stoked on skiing or snowboarding in New Zealand!
Make getting the mob ready for a day of skiing or snowboarding in Queenstown and Wānaka super easy – we've got all the information you need to help every member of the family have a great time on the slopes.
Sort your ski passes in advance
If you're already in Queenstown or Wānaka for your family ski holiday, pop into one of our town offices to pick up your lift passes in advance. You can also get your rental ski or snowboard equipment in either the Queenstown or Wānaka offices!
Top tip: if you've got multi-day Cardrona rentals booked, you can take your gear to Ski Concierge and they will store your gear overnight – it means you don't have to go back to Rentals each morning to get fitted out, your skis, snowboards and boots will be ready to go from the day before.
Driving the mountain road
There are heaps of options to get to Cardrona from Queenstown or Wanaka for the whole family. If you're driving yourselves, use the drop-off zone at the top of the mountain to unload the rest of the family right at the front door before parking in one of the carparks. If it's a lower carpark, we offer a free shuttle to get back up to Base.
If you're not as confident driving the mountain road, we've got a bunch of transport options from Queenstown and Wanaka or this year you can jump on a shuttle from the Pine Trees Carpark (the 1km mark on our road) for free!
Lessons for the whole family
From 3 months old to adults, everyone is looked after with our Snow Sports School team! You can enrol your teeniest tots in Pengi's Nursery or Ski Kindy for the day – it's a fully-licensed early childcare centre, so you know they're in good hands. We've had kids skiing as soon as they can walk with our Under 5s lessons!
Kids aged 5 to 14 years can join group lessons for a full day. Our Kids' Multi-Day Programmes are four full days of group lessons that run Monday to Thursday every week of the season; the ultimate learning adventure with the same instructor and same group of kids.
If you're worried about the kids getting better than you, book yourself into a group or private lesson so you can keep up with them! Our instructors will show you their favourite spots on the mountain so you can show the kids later on when it's family ski time.
Kid-friendly mountain food!
We've got heaps of kid-friendly mountain food options at Cardrona! Mezz and Noodle Bar both have kids-specific menus if you want to sit down and have a great meal as a family. If your kids are confident skiers or snowboarders and are shredding out to Captain's, a locals' family favourite is the Captain's Pizzeria – the kids' mac and cheese is always a winner and you definitely can't go wrong with a slice of our famous pizza!
