Would I be mad to take my 2 kids skiing on my own? We are beginners

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I’m considering taking my children (7 and 9) skiing in Feb half term.
Single parent.
Very much beginners. The boys haven’t been before.
I skied for a week even I was a teenager.

Would I be mad?

Don’t have a huge budget- maybe £4000 for accommodation. Flights sorted - family member can get us cheap flights. .

what do I need to consider?

As long as you all do ski school it will be fine! Without it you will be a danger you yourself & others

It’s a lovely thing to do and amazing opportunity for them, but if I’m being really honest it won’t be relaxing! I’d forget self catering as the last thing you’ll want to do in the evenings is shop/cook. I’d do half board in a hotel near the lifts if that’s possible.

I don’t know where you live but I can recommend Snozone which is real snow. There is one in Leeds and one in MK close to London. They do full days lesson. Or week camps (better learning there than dry slopes).

I put myself and also my kids on kid camp there and we all knew how to ski before we went on hols. So I’m glad we did that as we wasn’t learning to “pizza” / put on boots etc

Also, if you don’t like it you haven’t committed several ££££.

Depends on your kids too. Mine are absolute dare devils (they are skilled now been several holidays) but I’m nervous wreck and they are b sitting me as I’m the super slow compared to them haha. If you have a thrill seeker / dare devil child that likes speed it’s worrying regards they zoom off (I have one of those too) so think about your kids personalities

Definitely book ski school as beginners you don't need the price of many of the French alps!
Bulgaria or some of the less well known French resorts such as La Clusaz will suffice. Would say 3 hours in the morning then find something else like swimming, sledging etc in the afternoon especially first few days. If feeling up to it later part of the week then go back onto the slopes.

Everyone's got to learn sometime! Go! Do ski school and HAVE FUN!

I took mine by myself years ago. My lads are late 20s now but I used to take them to the Cairngorms. The snow was decent then! We went to the same area for about 10 years. I loved it!
I never had any issues. I either rented a cottage or stayed at the McDonald hotel.
We also went to Austria one year and another time we went to Zakopane. Zakopane was a bit basic but we were there for other reasons!

I’d recommend Arinsal in Andorra

@Needsomethingexciting. We used the MK one for pre lessons but it’s short! You aren’t really learning to ski in a meaningful way - it’s beginners and a very short slope! Getting out to the Alps - no way ours didn’t have lessons.

My number one tip. Do NOT go in Feb half term. It is really really expensive and really crowded. Also, if you are meaning Feb 2026, flights are astronomical by now and a lot of accommodation will be booked.

Go in the first week of Easter holidays instead. It is much cheaper and much quieter as France and other skiing countries are (mostly) not on school holidays then. Go somewhere reasonably high and snow sure, or somewhere lower but that has quick lift access to higher slopes (this may work out cheaper than a high resort).

Speak to an agent like Ski Solutions who can advise on suitable resorts. On the plus side, as beginners you don’t need a big ski area so smaller cheaper resorts will suit you, but if going at Easter make sure their nursery slopes are high enough.

Number two tip. Check your budget. Flights and accommodation are just the start unfortunately. You will need lessons. It would be unsafe not to. You may well just want lessons for the morning rather than all day and go do something else in the afternoons. You’ll need to hire skis and boots. And you’ll need lift passes - though many resorts offer free access to the nursery slopes which is all you’ll need for the first few days, so you might get away with just a couple of days’ pass towards the end of the week.

Kit can be bought second hand on ebay /Vinted or not too expensively at Decathlon/Mountain Warehouse.

I wouldn’t bother with UK ski lessons. It’s expensive, the slopes are short so you spend most of the time in a queue, and you will still need lessons on holiday anyway. Save the money for the resort.

Self catering is cheaper but agree cooking is too tiring. Although more feasible if you haven’t skied in the afternoons. One option is to stop off en route to resort at one of the big supermarkets and buy a whole load of ready meals/pre made soups/stuffed pastas/quiche etc. Another option is to look for a chalet or chalet hotel - sometimes there are deals available if they just have a few spots left to fill in a chalet or chalet hotel, though this does mean risking waiting till fairly last minute.

It's very doable but you need to plan well.
Look at package holidays - like mark warner, ski esprit, etc - they would have chalets/ski school pickups wrapped together, making your logistics easier.
If those don't work - look for (1) location with available ski school place (book NOW as places fill up) (2) look for an accommodation nearby to the school drop/off place

As to clothes - see if any of your friends have something you can borrow - kids grow out of things so quickly. If not - Decathlon is your friend.