Skiing family holiday- tips needed for first timers

[Om83]

would love to go Skiing as a family of 4; DC are now 12 and 14. I’ve been once as a teen with a friends family so don’t really understand all the ins and outs of ski holidays… however looking at prices I’m a little shocked and thinking we’ll be looking at spending at least £10-15k???

can someone break down prices for me please? How much does a ski lift and ski hire cost on average and do you buy these when you get there or can you buy them as part of your package? Are there any other unexpected costs?

what is the best country to go for value for money and guaranteed snow (looking at Feb half term)?

bonus points for anyone who can recommend a country/resort/hotel that caters well for coeliacs (gluten free) - in my experience France is not so good… Bulgaria keeps coming up but is a country I know nothing about!

It’s usually cheaper (and easier with coeliacs in the family!) to do self catering of course but are supermarkets vastly marked up??

any other tips? Train rather than fly?? Drive? Reputable holiday companies??

thanks ⛷️⛷️⛷️

Feb half term is prime skiing time and also usually matches with the French schools so things will be as busy as they ever are, and as expensive as they get. Traffic is often horrendous so allow time for transfers. Supermarkets on the resorts are expensive and relatively limited I'd say, but you'll be able to make meals. Normally when you book through a company you can add on ski hire (they'll have different priced packages depending on how new the kit is) and your ski lift passes and just pick them up when you get there from the rep.

Feb half term is absolute peak season everywhere so will be expensive.

most packages you can add on ski pass/ski lift and ski hire.

self catering is doable but tricky. Shops up the mountain are pretty expensive and tend to be stocked for the people staying in catered accommodation who want snacks and beer.

never been to Bulgaria.

we’re vegan and our standard lunch was a plate of chips as variety once ski-ing is limited.

uk package places should be able to sort coeliac is told in advance. I’m lactose intolerant and various places have done me some really good food.

February half term is the best time for snow so you don’t have to go for a high resort. If you book through a company, you can look at the prices for lift passes, ski and boot hire and ski school at the same time as the accommodation and travel. Yes, it is really expensive. Cheaper to go at Easter or before Christmas, but then you need to go high.

Crystal and Ingram’s are the big companies. Lots of smaller ones around.

Thanks for the tips, might have a look for Easter to compare prices..

Talk to Colletts, a small British family company. They are super helpful and we've had some great holidays with them in Corvara in the Dolomites.

Because it's a small company you will find someone to chat things through with on the phone.

They also pay their young staff fairly and treat them well (not always the case with the bigger companies) which makes everyone cheerful and friendly we found.

We’ve managed to really cut the cost by driving- it is a long way but you can choose cheaper accommodation out of the resort, go to normal supermarkets and eat most meals at home. We’ve chosen resorts that are not well known by tourists. We got feb half term and I reckon we do it all for 5k- 4 of us.

Strongly suggest you look at Norway. Superb place to learn to ski. Much quieter slopes, great ski school, smaller resorts but if you’re beginners you don’t need miles upon miles of runs. Easy flights to Islo, transfers range from 2-4hrs depending where you go and you can do private transfer, public bus, train or as we have done a couple of times now, hire a car, the roads are empty! Most resorts are operated by SkiStar (SkiStar.com) where you can book everything (accommodation, lessons, lift passes, kit hire etc) in one go, it couldn’t be easier. I’d suggest Hemsedal or Trysil. You may cross over with Swedish winter holidays in Feb half term but you’d never know, the slopes are still quiet! Downside is the lack of apres-ski and cosy cabins up the mountain, it’s definitely not pretty alpine villages, but for lunch as you’re never that far from your accommodation you can easily pop back. Our kids learnt to ski in Norway, we’ve done 7 trips there and yes there are definitely lots more brits there now but it’s still quiet compared to France/Italy etc. We are trying out Sweden next Feb half term, I’ve heard the slopes are just as peaceful!

Forgot to add cost wise we are family of 5 and can do it for £6-7,000 if self catering and we always take one suitcase packed purely with snacks, bread, dried goods etc to save money as Norway supermarkets are not cheap!

February half term is super expensive but best for decent quality snow. Easter is a bit dodgy these days.

Your cheapest (and easiest) option as beginners will be to buy a package which includes flights, accommodation, transfers, ski hire, ski passes and lessons. The bigger tour operators can negotiate deals with the providers that individuals cannot obtain.

For guaranteed snow you need high level resorts (France -Trois Vallees, Italy Cervinia, Courmayeur) Swiss resorts also good but £££ and not worth it for beginners. Austria (Kitzbuhel) can be quite reasonable.

You can economise on meals out which tend to be very expensive if eaten in chalets on the pistes or restaurants in resort. If you have dietary restrictions self catering is best. Supermarkets in ski resorts will be more expensive than in cities but still cheaper than hotels.

We have had good experiences in Cervinia - guaranteed snow, flattering runs for beginners, and a broad range of accommodation. Usually get some sun too.