Ski vacation in deep Romania – When the limit of your universe is the border of the commune, and relaxation is measured in hours of work

The mobile or “skiing” holiday, as it is unofficially known, indirectly aims to promote mountain tourism and winter sports. In deep Romania, however, thousands of children cannot even dream of the most mundane journey beyond the village borders and deal with household chores.

“Skiing” vacation spent with parents on the village street PHOTO Cosmin Zamfirache

Years ago, the Ministry of Education made the decision to schedule a new one-week holiday in February, between the end of module three and the beginning of module four.

It was officially called “mobile holiday” because its scheduling was at the disposal of the County School Inspectorates. For example, for the 2025-2026 school year, the mobile holiday was scheduled between February 9 and March 1, with the county inspectorates choosing a week during that period. Unofficially this mobile holiday is known as a 'ski holiday'.

And that's because one of the indirect goals of this vacation, without being included in any official act, was to encourage mountain tourism and the practice of winter sports among students.

The “ski vacation”, as it is popularly known, has benefited in the last three years, many families, especially from cities and counties with greater financial strength, who even went to the mountains and practiced winter sports. Given that these vacations are very expensive, a stay exceeding 5000 lei including skiing or snowboarding lessons, other families preferred low-cost trips just to take advantage of at least a weekend with the little ones.

But there is another Romania.

That of children who have never left their hometown, but also of those for whom even the most mundane trip is a forbidden dream. We are not talking about winter sports or mountain hiking. Many of these children do not even know what this activity entails. It is about thousands of children from the countryside who spent their mobile vacation, or “skiing” as most Romanians call it, in the mud of the streets or doing household chores.

“Do we have trip money for the kids here, when we're up to our necks in slush?”

In the poorest counties of Romania, in the countryside, family trips are an activity almost unknown to the locals. Although it seems hard to believe, in the year 2026 there are hundreds of children who have not even left the borders of their native county. In Botoșani county, for example, one of the poorest in the country, many children from the countryside do not know what it's like to go on a trip or travel with the family. Not even to neighboring counties.

A local woman from Coșula commune, located 20 kilometers from Botoșani municipality, confesses that most of the parents and grandparents in the commune cannot afford to send their children on trips or to go with them, at least to Suceava (40 kilometers away) or Iași (100 kilometers away).

And that's because they barely manage to survive and provide for their basic needs. “Do we here have money for children's trips, when we go in mud (no mud) up to our necks? We don't have water. There are people who bring water with cans. It's hard! Do they still afford their children a vacation? Do we afford a vacation for children? They go and bring wood on their backs, there are no skis and the like around here”confesses the local woman.

Many children from the countryside cannot afford expensive trips PHOTO Cosmin Zamfirache

Another villager, coming on business through the City Hall area, says that the situation is even more dramatic. There are children who don't even know what skiing entails. “There are a lot of children who have not left the commune. Most of them. Skiing has not even been heard of here. There is no problem. There are people who do not have a job. The children stay at home, take care of the animals, read“, states the woman from Botošan.

In the neighboring commune, a villager got off with his son, a preschooler, from a minibus that makes local trips. They are dressed for the city, clean and neat, both the man and the child. But the answer is the same. I can't afford a vacation anywhere because of the lack of money.

Their income is enough for basic needs only. “The income in our environment is very low. The children spend their holidays at their grandparents, on the street“, says the villager.

A neighbor completes. “It's hard with jobs, sir, here in the country. There are those who commute to the city to bring bread to the children. Or even in the neighboring counties. But with that money they pay for the light, the food, because they just don't get rich where they go. They need wood to put on the fire. They don't burn out from the trips. I can see how their souls cry in them that maybe they could go at least one day, with their family, to the mountains, to the sea. But with what sir? not to eat? “, he states.

Holiday snowshoeing, chopping wood and taking care of cattle

In recent years, in the communes of Botoșani county, the main roads have been asphalted. In many localities, however, there are still streets that turn into a kingdom of mud during the rainy season or after the snow melts. This is where most of the children from the country spend their lives. Many do not even leave the enclosure.

“He gets his clothes dirty and I have to wash them constantly, it's a waste of money. It costs detergent, it costs electricity. And the clothes also get ruined. It hangs around the house, around the yard”says a local woman. Although officially, this holiday is for relaxation, many children from the country work more often. And this in the conditions in which they have time to help their parents with household chores. They take care of the animals, they go to the forest for snowdrops that can be traded in markets and fairs, or for wood.

Many spend their holidays in the company of their parents, at work PHOTO Cosmin Zamfirache

“Household work is the basis. On vacation more, because they have free time. Householders also have cows, sheep, birds. Helpers are hard to find, they are expensive. The whole basis is on children. Even the most bitter still have a few animals there, so that they have something to eat.” states a villager from Mănăstireni.

“It's not the state. And they contribute with joy, because it's all for them in fact. Naturally, they rest, but they also help. I like that mine reads. When I see him “eating” the book, I want to cry and I don't even bother him. I do it myself. He has so much joy. He has very good grades”confesses another villager without being able to control his emotion.

The ski holiday is actually not a ski holiday

Recently, the Ministry of Education disowned this name of the mobile holiday. They specified in the “EDU INFORMATION POINT” section that it is not actually called a “ski holiday”. “We continue the series of clarifications under the column “EDU INFORMATION POINT” with a few clarifications related to the vacation of this period, more precisely to the phrase “ski vacation” used in the public space. The school vacation during this period, established at the county level, aims to balance the learning periods and prevent overwork for children, not having a specific theme or a specific destination”they specify.