Feb half term - recommendations please

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I'm looking at booking our first ski holiday. I'm a rusty intermediate skier but I haven't skied for years and my sons are beginners. Budget is tight so I am looking to reduce costs as much as possible. Where would you recommend booking? Definitely don't want self catering!

Anyone? Eager for tips!

We have been to chamonix in Feb half term which was outstanding but expensive. Lecht in Scotland was also good, just for skiing though, although not as good for more experienced skiers. However on both we air BB and eat out so can't help on that one.

We've also had a sunny holiday in Feb, that was perfect as it broke the winter up!!

Andorra and Bulgaria are normally cheapest. Andorra normally wins out on availability of flights into Toulouse/Barcelona etc. Cheapish acccomodation and cheap to eat/drink and hire equipment/lessons/passes

Same here! Looking for recommended places. Been to 2 travel agents - one said def andorra or Italy and the other said Austria

I would also look at transfer time. I went to Andorra several years ago and loved it but I do remember and awful long bus journey of around 4 hrs from Barcelona. Geneva is a great airport location wise as it is within an hour of many ski resorts. When traveling with kids that makes all the difference.

If you really want to cut costs could you look at self-catering somewhere where you can eat out in the evenings and not cook? Lots of the French resorts have a good few restaurants, as well as traiteurs and super markets that sell portions of home made dish of the day dinners, and also chickens that have just been spit roasted, with a large portion of roasted potatoes. These options can make self catering more fun.

A half board chalet or hotel option is going to be very difficult to do cheaply, especially in the most expensive week of the season.
If you do go to France, you can drive to many of the resorts near Geneva - places like Les Gets, Samoens and Combloux/Megeve are 8 hours flat out from Calais. Nicer if you stay overnight on the way, but thats another cost to factor in. Flights that week are eye-watering if you've not already booked.
I have found Alpine Answers very helpful in looking for deals in chalets/hotels in the past but it will work out cheaper if you could consider self catering. (Also often easier to pick something with more space for everyone - I don't do kids sleeping in our room on holidays as it means none of us sleep well).

The resorts used less by the English often have slightly cheaper rentals. There is a lovely new property in Combloux called Fermes Du Mont Blanc we stayed at that has nice self catering apartments and chalets with shared pool and spa. The village has good restaurants and the units were lovely, with a rather smart shared lounge area and kids' room which often had free drinks and always offered free Nespressos and teas.

Montgenevre is a great resort for beginners and rusty intermediates.
Biggest cost will be flights to Turin, from there there will be transfer buses you can book. We stayed at the mmv hameau d'aureille apartments , I booked direct. They are quite nice and have an outdoor heated pool.

Or another option is to check out crystal and see where their cheapest destinations are, I booked our Feb half term ski trip through them back in Feb ( withdrawal symptoms as we didn't go this year) and the price of the trip which includes transfers and accommodation has been consistently cheaper than the price of the flights alone on skyscanner.

Bulgaria may be somewhere to start as its nicely priced for feb half term and they do great packages for the kids to learn to ski with lift pass , lessons and ski equipment included at a reasonable rate.
hope this helps if you want more info drop me a PM.

We're going to Rauris in February. It was recommended to us as somewhere cheaper than the big resorts and excellent for beginners.

I would add a word of caution re: Bulgaria at half term. It is cheap, but there are reasons for that. We went to Bansko once at half term and the slopes were so busy that it was dangerous, and difficult to enjoy any of the skiing (if you can go at a quiet time it's a different story, but check Russian and Turkish holidays too!).

We did Scotland. Obviously snow is variable and it's windy but you can drive there, Hilton columbridge is a good base with family suites half board, ski school is flexible and ofsted registered childcare is available. We went for 4 days to keep the cost down, took 7 hours to drive from Northamptonshire.