UKC

Have two kids, 4 and 6 yrs old, and want to give them a ski holiday. Wife and I used to ski before kids 7yrs ago, but are aware that the costs would be significantly more now we have a family.

Any advice out there as to how we could put together a cheaper trip? Unfortunately we now have to take a trip in school holidays, when everyone else wants to do the same thing!!

Any advice/past experiences greatfully received. Cheers.

In reply to Iain(2010):
1. Drive - could be gruesome with kids but far cheaper than 4x air fare plus car hire or transfers
2. avoid big resorts with big priced lift passes you won't need, and noisy nightlife
3. 2nd hand ski kit? If palnning omre than once then could become a bit hand me down too? Locla ski shops often have dirt cheap old traded in kit.
4. Easter high up? Bonneval sur Arc, 1800-3000m with family atmosphere, north slopes (hold snow well into April)



We have skied most Easters now at Val Cenis (France)- good snow from the bubble lift, Green run from 2100 to valley floor at 1400m, 10km. Lots of blue runs too. Up the road is Bonneval sur Arc.
A 4-6 person apartment there is about 300 euros I think, lift passes are rasonable too - about 160 euros for adult for a week, obviously much less for kids.

In reply to Iain(2010):

Change school. A week of in primary school is still acceptable here Week over Christmas (if snow has turned up) or at Easter (if snow is still around) will both be cheaper than half term, though maybe better booked at last minute.

Anyhow, more seriously. Look and see if there's anywhere still does free lift passes for 6 year olds. It's under 5 many places, but a bit older in some. Decide if you need 2 adult lift passes, or if it's not worth it for the 2 hours they'll be in lessons, and just swap one between you. Take a few spare adults who don't like skiing first lift to last lift, and don't mind supervising kids in front of a DVD for an hour or two at the end of the day to fit a bit more skiing in

Erm, I struggling. We tend to self cater - but then by the time we've found somewhere close to the piste (nothing worse then dragging tired child and piles of skis back across town at the end of the day) and with decent kids lessons, it doesn't work out particularly cheap.

In reply to Iain(2010):

Oh, and driving doesn't work out wildly cheaper than flying in our calculations. We actually do a mix - other half tends to drive out with mates to get extra days in either end, I fly out with kids - but that's to get more skiing in for much the same price rather than make a huge saving.

It would be pretty gruesome with a 4&6 year old, I reckon. We can get ours as far as Font, but much further would be a pain, particularly in winter weather when you can't picnic on the way and stuff.

Buying second hand kit is a good call, though. Stalk eBay now - what comes up doesn't sell for much. Sell it next year a few weeks before half term and you'll win Do factor in the cost of flying out with it, though - adds up, although kids skis can easily be lost in ski bag with adult ones.

In reply to Iain(2010):
Apartment 350 euros
Lessons 120 euros per child
Kit hire 70 euros per kid, bit more for adults
Ski pass between 150 and 220 for adults, less or nothing for young kids
Travel 350/400 euros by car
You won't get much change out of 1500 euros, probably a bit more.
For apartments look at the bureau de tourisme site for apartments in the station you want to visit. Can recommend Le Grand Bornand and La Clusaz.
Jerry

In reply to Iain(2010):

Consider going to a smaller resort. If you're looking after 2 kids you'll have little time for your own skiing so won't be able to cover much of a big resort anyway and the costs can be hugely lower. For example there are some small and very friendly resorts here in Ariège which are great for families and cost less than half of what you'd pay in a mainstream Alpine resort. If you go during half-term the conditions almost anywhere will be pretty reliable but to be on the safe side make sure you aren't too far from a bigger resort with snow cannon. Here your bigger-resort option is Ax Bonascre, but another possibility if you hit a really dry season is just to go climbing in the sun!

In reply to Iain(2010): More of our disposable income has gone on family ski holidays than I like to think about, but on the other hand ...' the family that skis together stays together'... and we're off again this Christmas, all 5 of us, from my 33 year old son and his gf to my 15 year old daughter. Priceless, as the ads say.

1)We've nearly always driven, the kids have become immune to long car journeys and know it's worth it. We usually drive overnight to save hotels on teh way out, though a Formule 1 on the way back is only £30 or so. 2) Typically arranged everything ourselves, using any help we can get (Tesco vouchers, previous customer discounts etc) to get small self catered appartments. 3) Nearly always self catered - especially with kids that's no big deal, fancy restaraunts aren't that great with exhausted children! 4) Second hand gear from local ski school jumbles etc. 5) Careful selection of resort can minimise lift pass fees, e.g. with kids of your age you might not need to buy lift passes at all as the nursery slopes will be quite sufficient for the week - Val Thorens springs to mind. 6) And of course, take the beggars out of school!

HTH, don't let the obstacles put you off.

In reply to Iain(2010):

Head Teachers have to grant 2 weeks' annual leave in any one academic year if it is requested. (Although they do also have the right not to grant it, but that would just be churlish!!!).
In my opinion - as an ex primary and secondary school teacher, there are many educational benefits of taking children abroad and would wholly endorse granting leave in term time. You could also find out what work the children would miss in that week and do a bit whilst away!!!
Go for it!!

In reply to Carolyn:

Agreed - if you're near the south coast then maybe, but I take my two on my own and booking early (too late now, of course) we got 4 x flights (taking one of their mates too) to Geneva Sunday to Sunday at Feb half term for £110 each from Manchester, total of £490 with bags.

Driving would be almost £300 in fuel, plus £100 for tolls, plus ferries/chunnel, overnight stop etc, and of course I'd have to do all the driving.

If you're not lucky with cheap flights then you might be looking at a saving if you drive, but probably a matter of £2-300 which I know is a lot of money but for 12-15 hours each way in the car I reckon it's worth it for the shorter drive, particularly coming home.

In reply to Steph-in-the-West:

Erm... not sure I understand - do they have to grant it or not? At my daughter's secondary school they don't grant leave outside school holidays at all - so not sure whether your experience is correct nowadays.

In reply to Iain(2010): I took my son out of school to go skiing in late Jan - I wrote a letter explaining all the educational benefits and really laid it on thick (foreign language and culture, importance of tourism for the economy of mountain areas, flipside of impact of tourism on mountain ecology, logistics of moving people up and down a mountain, physics of ski design, etc etc,) made it sound more educational than a week in school! They agreed straight off - might have helped that his head of year was a skier though...

In reply to Iain(2010): We drove down last year and it was a great success, there is not a great cost benefit compared to flying and driving if you shop around and are lucky with flights but we took loads of stuff with us so our son had food that was familiar and bought at UK prices rather than ski resort prices, also shop for last minute fresh stuff at a large hypermarket an hour before the ski resort so you pay valley prices for everything you can't take from the UK.
Book hotels for overnight stops now if you need them to get early booking discounts, also they will be full nearer the time, you have no chance of turning up anywhere cheap and getting in.
Keep an eye on Aldi amd Lidl for ski specials, we got some good gear there last year, a really good jacket and trousers for £30 and good cheap googles and thermals.

In reply to andy:

Have a look at this link - it makes it clearer. The penalty for unauthorised absence is very much less than difference in costs for a term time or holiday time break, if you see what I mean!!!

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/SchoolLif...

In reply to andy: You're not being quite fair there, when you fly you have to factor in airport parking, resort transfers, airport meals while waiting for delays, 'shopping opportunities' in the waiting areas - not to mention the irrepairable damage to your soul that is caused by flying nowadays, and being treated like cattle.

In my new Skoda Octavia, we are FREE!!!

In reply to Rob Exile Ward: No parking charges - get dropped off (remember no mrs coming). Transfers included with chalet. Airport meals similar to motorway meals (in the case of our kids packed sarnies). Shopping opportunities - not interested as long as there's wifi. My soul - don't have one after flying Ryanair every week.

From the north driving's just not worth it - comparable in cost and a journey time of 36 hours return vs about 12 hours (albeit some of it involves airports) - i'd bloody love to do it on the train but that's even more expensive.

In reply to Steph-in-the-West: right, so the answer is they don't have to grant 2 weeks a year. And in the case of eldest's school they don't.

I think the argument that paying fifty quid to get a cheaper jaunt to Torremelinos is "worth it" is slightly odd attitude to my kds education actually, mainly because of the message it gives them as to what's important - eldest has (bizarrely as it seems only a few weeks since she was in reception) started GCSE coursework this term so I'd rather she was there than not.

In reply to andy:

My response was to the Original Post whose children are 4 and 6 years old, NOT a comment on my attitude to your children's education... If yours had been the original post with one child just starting Year 10, my response would have been different. Also, the Original Post was asking about a ski holiday, I believe, not a trip to Torremelinos!!! I'm not going to get sucked in to a discussion about the relative merits of different types of holiday. I was just doing what the Original Post asked for - giving thoughts and ideas, which can then be read and acted on or ignored as he sees fit!!!!!

In reply to john arran:


I think it depends a bit on the age of the kids, and if they'll be skiing with you all day/in lessons for part of it and then too tired to ski.

My experience of 4 & 6 year olds skiing for the first time is that they'll not want to ski a whole lot other than in lessons - which means one adult can take off for the best part of a day if they wish. On the other hand, a 7 year who's skied for 3 or 4 seasons already will likely be skiing most of the day with parents after lessons, and as you say, unlikely to cover huge distances.

Or maybe it's only my other half who sees it as a personal challenge to visit some obscure off-piste 3 valleys away starting after lunch and still being back before lifts close!

More practically, are you likely to find good kids lessons in English in Ax? Don't have a clue, it's 10 years or more since I've been, but it only really seems to be an option in the bigger alpine resorts in my experience. So we've stuck with those whilst kids are little, with the idea that we'll start heading to smaller places once they no longer need lessons in a couple of years.

In reply to Carolyn:

Good point - I don't really know. I suspect it would be easy enough to find private lessons in English at Ax but probably not group lessons. We do get families staying here and skiing in winter but generally they will be wanting to try a variety of things (Alpine, Nordic, climbing, sightseeing, etc.) rather than spend all week on downhill pistes, so group lessons for kids have never really come up before. I suspect you're right in that they'll only be easy to find in the big international resorts - or of course in North America.

In reply to john arran:

And eeeek at the idea of a 4 year old on a transatlantic flight! No, I realise that's doable, but the combination of that, time zone and cold has put us off until kids are older.

Private lessons as a family might not be a bad plan depending on parents ability, though?

In reply to Carolyn:
>So we've stuck with those whilst kids are little, with the idea that we'll start heading to smaller places once they no longer need lessons in a couple of years.

as a matter of interest when d'you think they will stop lessons? Ours are only on their second season, but we have friends with kids of a similar age (10 and 12) whose kids have done maybe 4 or five trips and they've taken them out of ski school (well, have allowed them to stop going) because they reckon they've cracked it. I wonder whether, like taking them out of swimming lessons when they can do a length, that might lead to another generation of skiers/swimmers like me who are sort of competent but with fundamental issues that will eventually stop them progressing (or, in my case, get down most stuff but look dreadful).

In reply to Iain(2010):

Depends on the child of course, but I wonder how much the 4 year old will enjoy it especially if you are hoping to put him/her in a local ski school with a load of non-English speaking kids, and whizz off for the day !

In reply to andy: 'I think the argument that paying fifty quid to get a cheaper jaunt to Torremelinos is "worth it" is slightly odd attitude to my kds education actually'... I see where you are coming from, but it's equally odd that the last weeks at school often seem a total waste of time, kids watching videos etc.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

That may be the case in the colonies, Robert, but I can assure you that in the educational hothouse that is Skipton they're working them right to the death...

In reply to andy:

Given I learnt to ski in my 20s, with just the odd tip from a friend, they'll soon overtake me.....!

The older one of ours has now had 3 weeks worth of lessons and a week without (we went out for a fortnight the second year). He's booked in for lessons again this year, but after that I suspect he could manage without, at least some years.... Though as you say, binning the lessons completely may not be a good plan, but he might be as well with the odd private small group lesson as a whole week of kids lessons.

In reply to Iain(2010): Not sure that there is such a thing as a cheap ski holiday. Nothing about skiing is cheap!

if you find one let me know.
i've got kids similar age. we had a great week at flaine in la foret apartments. pierre vacances do a lot of self catering.
pamparovo in bulgaria could be worth keeping and eye on.
but in school hols i reackon we've got no chance.
2 years ago we camped at aviemore right at the end of the season. the ptarmagin bowl was brilliant spring snow with a warming breeze. even managed a paddle in loch morlich at the end of the day. skiied an afternoon and the following morning. not much but 'fed the rat' or whatever folk say.