Is £5000 a realistic budget?

[hjfoau]

I need to ring fence the holiday money but not ready to book, we've never been skiing on a family holiday. It would be 2 adults, 2 teens, we'd likely be looking at a package deal with lessons included, we can go in early March so term time (won't be term time for our school), perhaps just M-F?

Is £5000 realistic to cover everything including food?

I took mine for a week in Les Arc, it was for a week and just over £5k. They’d not been since they were tiny so the clothing on top plus drinks & snacks during the day added quite a bit on top.

We didn’t ‘lunch’ as such but had standing-up takeaway panini’s etc and sit down hot chocolate’s. We had half board with ‘all inclusive’ buffet style dinners (and wine for myself and my eldest!) and the accommodation was pretty bad but it was very well located and the cheapest half board option I could find for what I wanted. I will say I booked for the NY week and only in October so not the best timing. I’d warned them what to expect so that was fine. My eldest has been before with mates (uni age) but my other 2 had not, I was worried about how my youngest (15) would be. However they both loved it and we were out every day.

France obviously is super expensive so elsewhere would be better. I will say that my last 2 experiences of march skiing were pretty average due to poor snow cover. The difference from 20 odd years ago was quite extreme. I think Norway or somewhere with good, high altitude is absolutely the better choice.

Also I wouldn’t want to be lugging gear for half an hour every morning/afternoon, for first time skiers. Particularly if you want to creat a great l, lasting experience. Our accommodation was practically ski in/ski out which was perfect for my two as they could concentrate on learning and enjoying it. We are now talking about how to do our next trip, it has definitely been a winning choice on my part!

By the way it is very, very possible to do a ski holiday for less than 5k once lessons are done with; lessons are the sticking point here.

If you like adventure I’d consider a package to somewhere like Bosnia or Bulgaria. Fantastic value, not as basic as you might think, and the standard of instruction is pretty high.

Italy has almost universally great lessons and kind instructors. You could probably buy 4 or 5 days’ private instruction for your group for 2 hours a day for the same price as 4 x ski school packages for a week, and it’s loads more effective and tailored.
Avoid French mega resorts. They are busy, expensive and not great at all for beginners.

I think it's a realistic budget, especially if you’re prepared to organise yourself, rather than a package, and would consider self-drive/self-catering. You'd probably be looking at £1k for accommodation: dh and I have paid this for a 1 bed apartment in a well-known French resort in mid-March - there are bunk beds in the hall and a sofa bed in the living room as well - sleeps 6; there's a decent kitchen with an oven and dishwasher, and it's less than a 1 min walk to the lifts/ski school meeting point. A couple of years ago the same apartment cost us £400, so prices have rocketed recently. Look at agencies in the resort - I've found these cheaper than AirBnB which charge a service charge and cleaning fee which bumps up the price. Apartments are often family owned, so furniture may be a bit eclectic, but they are usually warm and comfortable, even if the decor is not particularly modern. 1k for lift passes - you may not need these for the first day or two as a lot of resorts have free lifts on the nursery slopes: also depends on the size of resort you go to. Some resorts will do a family or tribe lift pass that works out cheaper. An agency will often give you a discount on lift passes.

Driving would require tunnel, fuel, tolls, an overnight stop both ways - Novotel/Ibis/Ibis Styles is a good option, close to motorways and do family rooms, often with breakfast included - and parking in resort. You'd need a set of snow chains as well (and practice fitting beforehand) and knowledge of driving in icy conditions. Roads are usually cleared very quickly if it snows, but better to be prepared. Ski/boot/helmet hire is probably £100 each and lessons maybe £200-250 each if you're looking at 5 or 6 days in ski school. Lunch can be in your apartment - doesn't have to be on the slopes - it's an opportunity to take off your boots and relax for a bit before hitting the slopes in the afternoon - and an excuse to check out the boulangeries in resort (ditto breakfast). Driving allows you to shop on the way to the mountain so you don't pay inflated prices in the resort. Having said that, my experience is that resort supermarkets have deli counters where you can buy a meal to chuck in the oven, so you can keep cooking to a minimum. We used to take some pre-cooked meals in a freezer bag for the first few nights as well. An apartment gives you your own space and freedom to do what you want: you can go out to eat if the budget stretches, but it's nice to stay in and relax with a glass of wine at the end of the day and chill in your pyjamas. We always take a few games and download a few films to watch in the evenings. That still leaves a fair bit of your budget to spend as you see fit. Try and borrow as much gear as you can - Decathlon is a good place to start if you need to buy any.

Ultimately , it depends what your budget and expectations are. For some, a ski holiday is all about the catered chalet experience, but that comes at a price. We were never able to stretch to that, so have always skied in the way described above. Completely understand that it wouldn't suit everyone but, at the end of the day, the slopes and the snow and the sun are the same, regardless of how much you spent on your holiday