How much have you paid for family skiing holiday?

[boymum1989]

Planning ahead to Feb or March 2026 for our family of 4. Never been skiing as a family (and haven’t been since I was a child).

I’ve had an initial look on Crystal and there’s packages including flights from £1-1.5k as a starting point for 5 nights.

Keen to find a family-friendly resort, ideally ski in/out as we’re unlikely to be out on the slopes all day.

Apart from Club Med, is there much provision for all inclusive? Wondering what we can expect cost wise for something on a less cost-prohibitive scale but still convenient. At this point, not necessarily looking for ‘budget’, but interested to know what people typically spend/where/how many days/with without food?

We are only adults but typically spend minimum £1k per person on a ski holiday.

The cheapest way to do a ski holiday is usually to DIY it (book accommodation, flights, ski passes etc. separately). However, this would probably be difficult for your first time, so booking with a TO will be easier for you. I'd recommend taking a look at Sunweb as they tend to have more budget options.

In terms of resort, you will want somewhere on the smaller side as there's no point paying the high prices for lift passes in a bigger resort where you won't use much of it. Somewhere in the Portes du Soleil might be nice (e.g. Les Gets) as it's very family-friendly.

All-inclusive is an option at some hotels but is usually very expensive. You also might find it a pain having to go back to your hotel for lunch (and might lose the will to put all your gear back on and go back out in the afternoon), so I would say half board is more than sufficient.

I'd recommend having a browse of the Snowheads website as similar questions have been asked a dozen times before on there, and the users are very knowledgeable and friendly!

Hope you have a fabulous time wherever you decide to go!

Last year cost us £3,300 for 2 adults 2 children including full kit hire for the kids, and skis for me, including flights which we booked separately. That was a 1 bed apartment that was next to a lift, but not fully ski in ski out. Self catered but included kids club. Then I added £400 for kids ski lessons.
Snow conditions have been poor the last 2 years so think about the height of the resort you choose.

We just paid £1100 pp for new year. In Austria half board, inc equipment hire. Ski pass will be on top, so that will add £250.

We couldn't get the numbers close to that for SC this time, and I wouldn't SC for a first family ski trip. There's already a lot to think about, without having to cater. I've done SC with kids, but we're regular skiers and know how to 'do' mornings (getting up and out for ski school), and had 6 adults to share the evening meal prep between.

For a first trip, go for an operator to make life easier.

How old are the kids? Can you go in term time?

For your first time look for a smaller resort which will keep costs down, particularly for lift passes.

For a first family holiday with all of you non-skiers you probably don't need ski-in, ski-out. I'd look at Puy St Vincent if cost is an issue. It's a small resort with everything in one place, although I think most of the accommodation is SC. Skiing is an expensive holiday - we usually budget at least £1k pp and it often ends up being more once you've we've paid for apartment, flights, transfers, ski hire, lift pass, eating out, etc. A package at least lets you know that price up front.

AI for skiing doesn't really exist because most people are out in the middle of the day and may be far from their hotel, plus it's very easy to just grab lunch in a slope-side restaurant or bar.

Just remember the £1-1.5k pp with Crystal almost certainly doesn’t include lift passes, ski hire or lessons. Lift passes may not be so much of an issue if you’re beginners or not doing much but you will need lessons and I’m assuming ski hire too. That can add a fair bit to the cost too.

As a pp has said, AI isn’t really a thing with ski holidays apart from Club Med. The closest you’ll get will be a catered chalet although this won’t include lunch (you do usually get an afternoon tea though, but just cake). And chalet staff will have a night off so you’ll need to eat out at least once.

Our last ski holiday was Val d’Isere at Christmas, so not a cheap resort. That was £5750 for four of us (three adults and one 15 year old) for what was effectively half board but included lift passes. Can’t remember what ski hire was on top but probably around £500, we didn’t have lessons as we can all ski. There was several hundred pounds on top for lunches and one dinner out.

That’s really helpful, thank you

Austria now has quite a few hotels that offer All Inclusive and it is certainly becoming more usual. Look at the websites of the UK Tour Operators (Crystal, Ingham, Heidi etc.) and the Tourist Office websites for each resort - and of course Google.

As ^^ - Snowheads is a great website for all things skiing, but MN also has a community of skiers who can often answer specific questions such as the location of a particular hotel in a resort, or the suitablilty of a particular resort for beginners.

As for "How much?" the answer is as long as a piece of string ..! You won't find anywhere good for less than around £1,000 p.p. and then there are the essential extras. Lift passes can cost £250-£350 per adult in popular resorts - half price for kids. Ski rental will be around £100 p.p. Ski lessons can range from £180 for a week in group lessons in kid's ski school, to around £180 for one 2-hour private lesson. Eating lunch on the mountain is also expensive. £15-£20 for a lunch with a drink in Austria or Italy - this can be significantly more in France.

We paid £1100 per head with Crystal to Ylläs in Lapland (Finland) last Feb half term. We usually book DIY but first time ever going to Lapland was cheaper with a tour operator so we snapped it up. The price included breakfast & dinner which was pretty good value.

Ski hire & lift passes (for 2 adults and two teens) were around 1k on top. These are not included in the package price.

I'd also caution against getting hung up on ski-in ski-out if you are beginners. I've stayed in hotels that have blue runs down to them that are like the M1 - so totally not suitable for beginners; or even red runs or off piste.

Actually, the red/off piste one was a chalet. But point stands.

Absolutely! Ski-in/ski-out usually requires that you can actually ski, which beginners obviously can't. Many ski-in/ski-out chalets and hotels are perched on the mountainside above the village and can be all but inaccessible for non-skiers or those who have only had a week or so of experience. Look instead for accommodation that is close to the lifts and/or the beginners slopes, possibly in the valley rather than on the mountain - and if in doubt, ask on here (or on Snowheads) before booking.

How old are the kids are you tied to school holidays?

Interesting, thanks! I assumed it would make life easier but the comments above do all make sense! Particularly about not wanting to get in and out of ski gear multiple times

Thanks! Near the lifts is what I’m meaning by ski in/out rather than chalet straight onto the slope, it’s just what I remember doing as a child going from hotel straight to the lift

We go once or twice a year and it is v v hard now to do anything less than 1K per person, fairly basic accomodation, unless you go to Bulgaria etc.

Thanks all, just wanted a good idea of price so this has been helpful!