Our Family Ski Trip to Perisher: Eight Days on the Mountain
There is something about a family snow trip that is equal parts magical and completely chaotic.
Five sets of snow gear. Gloves disappearing approximately three minutes after you put them on. Someone needing the toilet the second you’ve finished getting everyone dressed. Snowboards, skis, helmets, goggles, snacks, boots — SO. MUCH. STUFF.
And yet, our annual trip to Perisher is one of my favourite family holidays.
We’ve been coming to the snow for a long time now, so we’re well past the stage of wondering whether the kids will actually enjoy skiing. I snowboard, my husband snowboards, and our three children ski, which means these days we can genuinely spend our holiday exploring the mountain together.
For this trip, we gave ourselves eight days at Perisher.
Eight days might sound like a lot if you’re planning your first ever ski holiday, but when you’ve been doing it for years, it’s brilliant. We don’t feel pressure to squeeze absolutely everything into three or four days. If the weather isn’t great one morning, someone’s tired or we simply want a slower day, we have time.
And when the conditions are good?
We’re on that mountain!
Here’s exactly how we do our family Perisher trip — from driving down from Queensland and breaking up the journey in Newcastle to where we stay in Jindabyne, our favourite places to eat and my biggest tips for making a family ski holiday more affordable.
Getting to Perisher: Our Queensland to Snowy Mountains Road Trip
For us, getting to Perisher is a road trip.
Rather than trying to do the entire drive in one huge stretch, we break the journey in Newcastle.
On this trip, we stayed at the Novotel Newcastle Beach, which was such a lovely way to split up the drive. It’s right by the beach, so instead of our stopover feeling like somewhere we were simply sleeping before getting back into the car, it felt like a little addition to the holiday.
We could arrive, stretch our legs, see the ocean, have a proper night’s sleep and then continue towards Jindabyne the following day feeling much more human.
When you’re travelling with three kids, I would choose this over attempting one enormous driving day every single time.
Disclaimer: Our accommodation at Novotel Newcastle Beach was provided as part of a collaboration. As always, all opinions and experiences shared are my own.
Staying in Jindabyne
Rather than staying on the mountain, we get an Airbnb in Jindabyne.
For a family of five staying for eight days, this works really well for us.
Firstly, we have space.
Secondly — and perhaps more importantly — we have a kitchen.
Food is one of those expenses that can become enormous on a ski holiday without you even noticing. Five breakfasts, five lunches and five dinners every day adds up incredibly quickly.
Having an Airbnb means we don’t need to eat every meal out.
We make most of our breakfasts at home before heading up the mountain and cook plenty of dinners ourselves as well.
It also means we can have snacks everywhere, dry wet ski gear, spread ourselves out and generally live like a family rather than squeezing into a hotel room for more than a week.
For the way we travel, Jindabyne is definitely our preferred base.
Getting From Jindabyne to Perisher
From Jindabyne, you have a couple of options for getting onto the mountain.
You can drive towards Perisher through Kosciuszko National Park or use Skitube from Bullocks Flat.
The biggest thing I would say is that conditions and traffic matter.
On busy weekends and peak snow days, the road can become incredibly busy, so check conditions before you leave and don’t assume you’ll simply cruise straight into Perisher.
The earlier you can get organised, the better.
And yes, getting three children into ski gear and out the door early is an achievement worthy of its own medal.
Eight Days of Skiing at Perisher
We chose eight days because skiing and snowboarding isn’t new to us.
For a family trying snow sports for the first time, I don’t necessarily think you need that long. Three to five days could be a great introduction.
But when your whole family can already ski or snowboard, having more time completely changes the holiday.
My husband and I both snowboard while our three kids ski, and I love that we’re now at the point where we can actually explore the resort together.
You’re no longer spending the entire day on one beginner run.
You can move around the mountain, find favourite runs, split up when someone wants something more challenging and meet back up again later.
And when you have eight days, you don’t have that horrible feeling that every hour you’re not skiing is somehow being wasted.
The Epic Australia Pass
One of the reasons an eight-day trip makes sense for us is the Epic Australia Pass.
If you know you’re going to ski multiple days, I would absolutely compare the cost of an Epic Australia Pass with buying individual lift tickets.
It can also become particularly good value if you’re planning other eligible ski trips.
The important thing is to look at it before your holiday rather than waiting until you’re standing at the mountain buying day tickets.
For a family of five, these decisions make a BIG difference to the overall holiday budget.
Our Favourite Places to Eat on the Mountain
Here’s the funny thing: some of my favourite places to stop for lunch aren’t actually Perisher restaurants.
One of my absolute favourites is the Sundeck Hotel.
I love stopping here for a barbecue lunch. There is something about being outside in the snow, taking a break from the mountain and having a barbecue that feels quintessentially Australian.
Another favourite is the Man From Snowy River Hotel.
When you’re skiing for eight days, finding a couple of places that you genuinely look forward to stopping at becomes part of the routine.
For us, lunch isn’t about having some enormous fine-dining experience. We want somewhere we can refuel, warm up, have a drink and then get everyone back onto the mountain.
Because once you’ve got three kids happily skiing, you don’t want to waste good snow time!
Where We Eat in Jindabyne
We definitely don’t cook every meal.
One of the places we eat at a lot in Jindabyne is The Emporium.
It’s become one of those places that feels like part of our Jindabyne routine.
We also love Banjo Paterson Inn for food in Jindy.
After a full day on the mountain, sometimes the absolute last thing you feel like doing is going home and cooking dinner for five people.
Those are the nights when going out for a relaxed meal is perfect.
But we balance those meals with cooking at our Airbnb, particularly because we’re staying for eight days.
Breakfast at Home Is One of My Biggest Money-Saving Tips
This sounds incredibly simple, but eat breakfast at your accommodation.
Five people buying breakfast and drinks every morning for eight days can become a huge expense.
We stock the Airbnb with breakfast food and eat before we leave.
It’s cheaper, faster and means we can concentrate on getting everyone dressed and onto the mountain rather than trying to coordinate breakfast at a café before skiing.
Then we can spend our money on the meals we actually want to go out for.
How We Save Money on a Family Perisher Holiday
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
Ski holidays are expensive.
When you’re paying for five people, everything is multiplied.
Lift access. Accommodation. Equipment. Clothing. Food. National park fees. Transport. Lessons. Hot chocolates. Lunches.
It adds up very quickly.
But there are definitely ways we make our Perisher trips more affordable.
- Consider the Epic Australia Pass
If you’re skiing for multiple days, do the maths before buying individual lift tickets.
For us, skiing eight days means a season-style pass can make far more sense.
And if you can use the international benefits of your pass on another trip, the value can become even better.
- Stay in Jindabyne
Staying on the mountain is incredible, but it can also be expensive.
An Airbnb in Jindabyne gives our family more accommodation options and, crucially, a kitchen.
- Make Your Own Breakfast
This is probably the easiest saving of the entire holiday.
Buy groceries when you arrive and have breakfast at home.
Even saving $50–$100 each morning across a longer family holiday adds up.
- Cook Some Dinners
We love eating out, and food is absolutely part of travelling for us.
But we don’t need a restaurant dinner every night.
We’ll eat at places like The Emporium and Banjo Paterson Inn, but we’ll also have easy dinners at the Airbnb.
After eight hours in ski boots, nobody is judging you for serving an extremely basic dinner!
- Take Snacks Onto the Mountain
Three skiing children can consume an astonishing amount of food.
We take snacks with us rather than buying absolutely everything on the mountain.
Muesli bars, chocolate, lollies and anything small enough to fit into ski-jacket pockets are perfect.
- Buy Snow Gear Outside Peak Season
Don’t wait until the week before your trip to buy every thermal, glove and ski jacket.
Keep an eye on sales throughout the year.
If you have multiple children, good-quality outerwear can also be passed down between siblings.
- Hire Before You Buy
If it’s your first ski holiday, don’t immediately buy skis, snowboards and boots for everyone.
Hiring makes much more sense while you’re figuring out whether skiing or snowboarding is something your family will continue doing.
- Pack Properly
Forgetting something can be expensive.
Gloves, thermals, goggles, sunscreen and ski socks are all things I’d rather bring from home than suddenly need to buy on the mountain.
And bring spare gloves for the kids.
Always.
Bring.
Spare.
Gloves.
What I Pack for the Kids
The right gear can genuinely make or break a day on the snow.
A cold, wet child is not going to care how much you paid for their lift ticket.
For each of our kids, we pack:
- Waterproof ski jacket
- Waterproof ski pants
- Thermal base layers
- Warm mid-layers
- Ski socks
- Waterproof gloves
- Spare gloves
- Helmet
- Goggles
- Neck warmer
- Sunscreen
- Lip balm
I also make sure everyone has good sunscreen on before we leave the Airbnb.
The combination of Australian UV and sunlight reflecting off the snow is not something to mess around with.
Skiing Versus Snowboarding With Kids
Our family is slightly divided here.
The kids ski. Mum and Dad snowboard.
And it works brilliantly.
There isn’t one “right” snow sport for a family. What matters is everyone finding something they enjoy.
At this point, one of my favourite things is simply being able to ride together.
There is such a difference between taking little kids to the snow and reaching the stage where they can confidently make their way around the mountain.
Watching them improve year after year is one of the reasons I love returning.
The Reality of Eight Days on the Snow With Three Kids
Instagram will show you blue skies, fresh snow and smiling children cruising perfectly down the mountain.
What it won’t show you is Mum carrying everyone’s gear.
Someone’s missing glove.
Someone’s ski sock suddenly “feeling weird”.
The child who desperately needs the toilet approximately thirty seconds after you’ve put every single layer of clothing on them.
The arguments.
The snacks.
SO MANY SNACKS.
But then you get onto the mountain.
You’re all riding together. Someone tries something they’ve never done before. The kids disappear down a run ahead of you. You’re sitting on a chairlift together talking absolute nonsense.
And suddenly all the chaos of getting there feels completely worth it.
Would We Do Eight Days at Perisher Again?
Absolutely.
If this were our first ever family ski trip, I’d probably start smaller.
But we’ve been doing this for a long time now.
Our kids ski. We snowboard. We know we love being on the mountain.
Eight days gives us time to actually settle into the rhythm of a ski holiday instead of feeling like we’re constantly racing the clock.
We have our favourite places for lunch.
We have our favourite places to eat back in Jindabyne.
We make breakfast in our Airbnb, load everyone into the car and head for the mountain.
And then we do it all again the next day.
Is a family ski holiday easy?
Absolutely not.
Is it cheap?
Also absolutely not.
But watching our three kids grow up skiing while we snowboard alongside them is something I wouldn’t trade.
And I already know we’ll be back.
Planning a family ski trip to Perisher? Save this guide for later, and make sure you check out the rest of our Australian and international snow adventures in The Travel Library on This Sweet Life.
