Family holidays: Skiing on a Family-sized Budget

Ski holidays can be notoriously expensive, but follow our money-saving tips and they can still remain within affordable limits.

1. Stay in a Chalet Hotel

Here you’ll get breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner with wine – you can get away with few additional food and drink costs – and the children have fun in a place full of British families. And you can stay in some top resorts, such as jetset Courchevel in the Savoie region.

2. Find Out What’s Included 

Some chalets even feature inclusive childcare. You might also find such offers as Granny Goes Free or £1,500 discounts when booking a whole chalet.

3. Ski Drive 

This can still be a cost-effective way to go, despite the price of petrol, especially if teamed with self-catering accommodation such as that offered by French apartment specialists Pierre & Vacances. You then need to organise yourself well, filling the car with essentials and determinedly cooking pasta rather than popping out for meals.

4. Go by Coach

Acorn's family ski holidays in France, Italy, Andorra and Austria use coach travel and basic, but comfortable, accommodation to keep costs down. 

5. Watch Out for Last-Minute Deals 

No one quite knows how the season will pan out, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for up-to-the-wire offers, as well as regularly changing (and sometimes short-lived) promotions. Free child places, free kids’ equipment hire and lift passes are just some of the discounts you'll see flagged up, so make sure to compare the special offers.

6. Check out Eastern Europe 

It’s Euro-free and traditionally cheap to ski in Bulgaria’s Borovets or Slovenia’s Kranjska Gora, for instance. The newly updated Tatras area in Slovakia isn’t huge but is a stylish destination with smart old hotels (such as the Grand Hotel Praha). See also our feature on Credit Crunch Skiing.

7. Investigate Less Fashionable Resorts
Places you haven’t heard of tend to offer better prices. Look to some of the places in Austria – names such as Itter in the Tirol, Rauris near Salzburg and pretty lakeside St Wolfgang in the Salzkammergut are often less busy, and so ideal for family breaks, especially with smaller children.

8. Stay off the Main Circuit
Many resorts are accessible by a gondola ride from a main village benefiting from lower prices. At the lowest part of the big family-friendly La Plagne circuit in the Savoie you’ll find Montalbert and Montchavin, or outposts such as Tignes-Les Brevières in the Tignes region.

9. Remember that Good Value is Subjective
Mark Warner’s chalet-hotel holidays with their award-winning childcare aren’t the cheapest options, but they are exceptional value for money given their service and cuisine.