Mumsnet Talk

As many of us are tied to the school holidays for going away (I prefer to be at home for Christmas and Easter's too late for me - can't 'do' snow once the daffodils are out!), February half term is our only option. But of course it's about the most expensive time of all to go.I've worked hard to keep costs down over the years, but without slumming it too much. I'm not one who'd cope with a camper van in a carpark, for instance. But then I don't insist on 5* luxury either.

Just wondering, as I lay awake last night after my first "missing the plane" nightmare of the season, how much most people aim to spend on such a holiday. For comparison's sake, let's say for flights/transfers/self-catering accommodation/lift passes and ski hire for a family of 4 (although depends on kids' ages, I guess. This is the first year both mine count as adults for everything).

We're paying £1500 for accommodation, ( self cater, ski in/out), approx £600 for lift passes(local area only), plus £200 for ski hire (3kids only) at St sorlin d'arves in half term

i got a trip with peak retreats including lessons but self-drive for £2100. it is self catering, but then it is for 5 of us. your kids (being older) might cope well with driving.
If you are looking to keep costs down have a look at their website - or you can book your own channel crossing and book your own flat independantly (which my mates are doing) and i think that is cheaper still. Is it natation that uses their website then rings the appartment blocks direct to see what they can offer her?

We're paying €1150 for a 3 bedroom apartment in Ski Welt, Austria (self cater, ski in), looks like €400 for 4 ski passes (well, one adult, 2 kids and 1 kid who's only 6 so doesn't cost till next yr), €425 for ski school for the 3, that's all day though. Ski hire for the 4 cost €190. Flights I booked the day easy jet released them and they were just over £150/seat (we need 5 + infant). I've hired a car for the week for €220 - I'm not skiing as 34 weeks pregnant then (+ have 1 yr old too) so I'd like to be able to zip around area not just stay in resort. I haven't added it up and seeing all those individual numbers, I'm not sure I'd like to!! I keep thinking that it's all in euros so it's cheap than pounds, but actually they're not that far off are they?!

wohmum What about flights/self-drive costs?
We did the same thing with Easyjet as TRL and booked last April, so around £500 for 4 of us. Navettes Blanches is £22 pp return transfers, accommodation (apt for 6) around £900, ski hire £300, lift passes £600 (180km of runs). So, not counting food, that totals about £2400, which I didn't think was that bad for 4 during half term week. We may take some food with us, to keep costs down further as it's so expensive to buy in resort, but I don't want to get into "more hassle than it's worth" territory. It's meant to be a holiday after all. DH and one of the other guys (other families going too) do all the cooking.
It is my dream, however, to one day be whisked to a 5* catered chalet with all the trimmings...

We drove - the estimate from via Michelin is about £170 each way I think - petrol and tolls.
We've also used peak retreats but booked our own crossing on the tunnel

hi, checkout the Feb half term saver deals on powderwhite.com. Alternatively I think many of the tour operators are running some promotions, try giving the main operators a call & ask what they can do for half term, if you dont ask, you wont get.

I also thought I wouldn't be able to do it on our budget this year (has always been maximum of £2000 to include absolutely everything), as we now have to go at half-term since dd started secondary.
There were some good self-catering plus ski hire and pass deals on Horizon website a few weeks back, don't know what it looks like now, but combined with Easyjet flights Luton to Nice, a local bus transfer (only 8E each return!), and separately booked ski school for the dc, and a nice hotel in Nice on the Friday night (ok we are missing one day of school!) we have done it!
In former years we have driven, which seems to come in cheapest, but now I am the only driver (separated from dh and my elderly mum is coming with us to help with ds as he can't manage a whole day's skiing) and can't face the whole drive and the possiblility of having to fit snowchains without a competent helper!
We are going to Isola 2000 in the southern French Alps.

chaletgurl I already have a trip organised.
lieins I've only ever driven to the Northern Alps, and not with kids, so I salute you driving down to Isola. £2000 sounds good. We've done that Luton/Nice flight a few times before, but I thought they'd changed the return flight to a really inconvenient time - 7am?? We switched to Marseilles and drive up from there (Risoul, not Isola 2000)

Too late for this year, but have a single-parent friend who always books a family room in the youth hostel les deux alpes a year ahead, drives down, buying food and taking with him. If you plan ahead, can be affordable.
This year we are having our cheapest ever half-term, by havinf booked a hotel on booking.com, with cooking facilities, so control of our own meal costs,making own self-drive travel arrangements, and as kids don't need lessons any more, main cost is ski passes.

Yeah, I wasn't sad to "lose" ski school! We did private lessons for a couple of years, creating our own small groups to make it more affordable, but we don't even do that any more. The kids are a similar standard to us, and there are enough of us in the whole group to have loads of different options for runs. It works well.
But, as I said earlier, there's a fine line (for me) between doing it economically at an expensive time of year (I love a bargain, me), yet not being prepared to slum it.

Hi clam, we didn't drive to Isola, but Les Contamines in Haute Savoie. Never heard of Isola until now, and never heard of anyone skiing via Nice! The flight time is fine on the Saturday, late afternoon.