Located in France’s Portes du Soleil near Geneva, Morzine meets the needs of the full spread of summer adventure needs of a young family. With children-friendly hotels and nurseries for babies from age 3 months you might even find some time to yourself. The destination has been awarded with the ‘Family Plus‘ certificate, meaning that it is committed to doing their utmost for families with children in fulfilling their 6-point programme.

Once you’re in Morzine, nothing is really that far away. If you position your accommodation in the centre of town you will be within 200 metres of both the lift to Avoriaz (Super-Morzine cable car followed by Zore chair) and Les Gets (Pleney cable car).

During the summer, the Portes du Soleil Multi Pass costs just one euro per day per person and allows access to all the lifts if you go without a bike. If you don’t want to head up the mountain but want to do something active, the Multi Pass gets you onto the tennis courts and pool area for free. Without the Multi Pass, return lift-passes are 5.60 euros for adults, 4.50 euros for children and 5.10 euros for seniors.

Mountain Biking in Morzine

The Portes du Soleil is home to one of the world’s biggest MTB areas, with 12 linked resorts offering 650km of signposted bike paths. Full suspension bikes can be rented from 80 euros per day, with hardtails coming in few around 50 euros. The best maps for mountain biking are done by Vtopo and are on sale at lift-pass offices, resort bookshops, and sports shops for around 15 euros.

There are plenty of shops that rent full suspension bikes in the village but if you are looking for hardtail bikes, go to Ecole VTT MCF which is on Avenue de Joux Planes.

There are hundreds of paths suitable for all levels in and around Morzine. Get hold of the Multi Pass and you can take a lift if you want to get up above the village quickly, or if you just want some help on the way down. There is a good A5 booklet that’s available from the tourism office that is worth getting hold of but if you want to get a local guide, get in contact with Takamaka. Guides tend to be around 18 euros for half a day and 27 euros for the full day. Companies offer half day themed treks, full day treks, and multiple day treks, staying overnight in mountain refuges.

Water

Most adventure companies offer canyoning but if you want to get going quickly, Cascade Aventure have a set up on the Nyon Waterfall, a 20-minute walk from the village.

As for getting involved in some white water activities, there’s rafting and hydrospeed -swimming down white-water with floats and flippers that looks and usually sounds very French. The more streamlined option is to take out a kayak, but all these types of furious activity can be organised by Eaux Zones.

If I’d had more time in Morzine, I would have chanced a via ferrata trip with Takamaka. If you’re versed on scrambling around cliffs in Portes du Soleil, ping me an email with your recommendations, will@zafiri.com.