How much does a family ski holiday really cost?

There’s a lot to consider when you’re planning a family ski holiday, from which resort and how to get there to ski lessons, childcare, and non-skiing activities. But the biggest consideration of them all? The price tag.

Even the ‘cheapest’ ski holiday is still pretty expensive when you take into account the price of lift passes, skiwear, and equipment (whether you’re hiring from a shop or paying to bring your own).

So, how much does a family ski holiday really cost? As one of the UK’s leading family ski chalet companies, we know a thing or two about how it all stacks up. We’re sharing it all with you so you’ve got the facts and figures you need to make booking your holiday that little bit easier.

A ski trip is the best kind of family holiday if you ask us, but we also know it’s one that takes a fair amount of planning and organisation. Every decision you make, from whether you book everything yourself or go through a tour operator or a chalet company, like VIP SKI, will play a part in what the grand total of your trip will be.

Type of accommodation

Self-catered vs catered chalets

Many people think staying in a self-catered chalet or apartment is less expensive than one that’s catered. At face value, it usually is - but when you start to add up the cost of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in resort, you’ll soon start to see there’s not as big a difference as you may have expected.

The beauty of the catered chalet is that everything is taken care of for you. That’s from breakfast spreads that set you up for a day on the slopes to afternoon tea that gives you that well-earned sugar rush, all the way through to a three-course meal that’s served with wine in the evening. You won’t go hungry (or thirsty), and you’ll always know when your next meal is.

Ski hotel or chalet?

Whether to stay in a hotel or a chalet is another decision to make that’ll affect both your finances and your trip. A hotel (like Bear Lodge in Arc 1950) is fab for having everything in one place, from your accommodation and meals to spaces to relax in after a busy day on the slopes.

A catered chalet works in the same way, except your ‘living’ areas are private to you. And with our Choose Your Chalet Menu option, you can add an extra layer of flexibility to your holiday, at no extra cost. Unlike in a hotel, you can choose the meals you’ll be served throughout the week, keeping everyone’s tummies full and happy. What’s not to love about that?

When you travel: Peak weeks vs off season

When it comes to the cost of a family ski holiday, the time of year that you go is one of the biggest factors. School holidays and celebrations, like Christmas and New Year, push up demand around peak times, which also increases the price. The peak weeks for skiing are:

• Christmas and New Year weeks
• February half-term
• Easter

There are still ways to make a peak week ski trip more affordable, like booking your accommodation and travel in advance. But if you’re not restricted by school holidays or simply want to make the most of crowd-free slopes, look to arrange your holiday for non-peak weeks or early or late season.

• Non-peak weeks are any week that doesn’t include school holidays (that’s both UK holidays and those of the country you’re travelling to).

• Early season is from the start of December until Christmas week.

• Late season is towards the end of April, and in some high-altitude resorts, the start of May. Exact late season closing dates vary and depend on the amount and quality of snow still covering the mountains at this time of year. Since 2024, we’ve seen huge dumps of snow across the French resorts we operate in, which has kept the slopes skiable well into May.

All the extras

A ski trip is a holiday like no other - and the amount of extras that you need to account for is no different. From ski hire and lessons to experiences off the slopes, like husky sledging and tobogganing, there’s more than accommodation, travel, and food/drink to pay for. That said, there are lots of options to choose from to make sure you’ve got everything you need, without breaking the bank.

• Most rental shops offer a tiered system, so you can choose the equipment package that’s most suited to your level and your budget. You can usually upgrade to higher quality skis, boards, or boots midweek for an extra cost, too.

• Group lessons tend to be more affordable than private. You’ll still be taught by a qualified and experienced instructor, but there’s slightly less flexibility in terms of lesson timings and a little less 1-2-1 time.

• There’s a huge variety of non-skiing activities waiting to be discovered across France’s resorts. For instance, you can buy or rent a plastic sled for around €15/20 a day, with ice-skating usually around €10-15 for a session. Experiences like snowmobiling and paragliding are at the more expensive end of the scale, costing upwards of €65 and €110.

• Before you get to the slopes, you’ll need to think about your ski wardrobe. A warm ski jacket, salopettes, and gloves are musts. Treating yourself to brand new kit doesn’t need to cost a small fortune, either - more and more high street sports shops now sell own-brand ranges of skiwear, and there are always plenty going spare on second-hand clothes apps or in charity shops.

• Meals out, snacks, and drinks (après-ski, anyone?) all need to be factored into your skiing budget, too. Self-service restaurants on the mountains are an affordable option if you fancy eating out at lunchtime, or you could nip to the local shop in the morning and rustle up a ham and cheese baguette to eat on the lifts if you don’t mind dining al fresco. Après-ski bars are as renowned for their party vibes as they are for the price of their drinks, but fear not - most will offer some sort of ‘happy hour’, so make sure you check these out to get the most bang for your buck whilst dancing on the tables.

Adult and child costs for ski holidays

The price of the trip will also be influenced by who’s going. As a rule, accommodation, travel, and ski hire are more expensive for adults than children. If you book a family ski holiday with us, you can take advantage of one of our many family rooms which have an alcove with a full size bunk bed - children occupying the bunks with two adults in the room cost half price. Lift passes are usually less for the kids than the grown-ups, too, and many resorts offer a discount when buying passes for a family of four or five.

We understand that taking the family away for a week’s skiing is an investment. And with over thirty years of experience operating in the French Alps, we know a way or two to keep costs down where possible.

Here are five savvy tips from our team to make your trip as affordable as possible:

1. Consider borrowing or renting skiwear for the kids

Children grow and change so quickly that it’s not unusual for a jacket and salopettes to fit for one season, but be too small for the next. If you’ve got family friends who ski, see if they have anything you can borrow. It doesn’t need to be the full outfit - a pair of bottoms or gloves is one less thing to have to organise and pay for. Or try Googling ‘skiwear rental’ - you’ll be surprised at how many there are and how easy it is to organise! You can normally also rent skiwear in resort, but this does tend to be more expensive than in the UK.

2. Take advantage of pre-season and end-of-season sales

Goggles, helmets, ski and poles - you name it, there are always plenty of deals to be found in the run up to, and at the end of, the ski season. For adults who ski year after year, it’s always worth investing in high-quality gear to keep you snug on the slopes. If you’ve got enough room in your case and your trip’s in late March or April, then it’s worth taking a wander around the shops to see what deals you can find. Or as the season nears, you’ll find plenty of offers online from well-known brands.

3. Compare all the travel options

Skiing’s one of those holidays where it can make more sense to drive than fly. The nearest airports to ski resorts tend to be a couple of hours away (or more), making your travel day an actual ‘day’ rather than a few hours. If you’ve got young children, it’s worth considering driving or even taking the train so you can travel at the times of the day that suit you and your wallet best.

Whilst most budget airlines tend to charge you to take your skis and poles, snowboard, and boots as sports equipment, some of the more traditional operators allow you to take these for free. It’s certainly worth checking how different travel (and luggage) options stack up so you can make the most suitable choice for your family and the kit you’re bringing with you.

Head to our blog for more advice on travelling with children, and visit our travel page to understand your transfer options when you book with VIP SKI.

4. Be savvy about lunch on the mountain

Lunch on the slopes is one of the great pleasures of a ski holiday, and we certainly wouldn’t suggest missing out. But eating at a mountain restaurant every day can quickly add to the overall cost of your trip.

If you’re looking to keep spending manageable, mix things up. Enjoy a long mountain lunch on a couple of days, then seek out simpler self-service restaurants, grab a sandwich or something locally in resort, or head back to your chalet if the location makes that practical.

And remember that on a VIP SKI catered holiday, plenty of your food is already taken care of. You’ll start the day with a generous breakfast, return to afternoon tea, and enjoy dinner in the evening, so lunch doesn’t necessarily need to be a three-course affair every day. Rest assured, you won’t go hungry! (Get a taste for the scrummy food we serve by having a peek at our sample menus.)

5. Don’t assume you have to buy a six-day lift pass

It probably seems odd that as a catered chalet operator, one of our tips looks like we’re recommending less skiing. But as much as we love powder days, we know that family ski trips, particularly with little ones, are as exhausting as they are exciting. Sometimes you simply need a day off to relax, recoup, and get ready to do it all over again.

In many resorts such as Arc 1950, you’ll find that the lift pass is linked to offers for non-skiing activities, like free access to the local swimming pool or discounts on things to do. If you are keen to ski every day but you’re on holiday with little ones, it could be worth considering buying a local ski pass over one for the full area. It’s still more than enough ground to ski in a week and usually costs less than the pass for the bigger area. For example, if you’re in La Plagne, you could take out the ski pass for La Plagne only (access to 130+ runs) instead of the wider Paradiski pass (which gives you access to La Plagne, Les Arcs, and Peisey-Vallandry, a total of 400km+ of pistes).

All of this said, how much does one of our family holidays cost? It all depends on many factors, from the number of guests and their ages to the week of the season and the type of accommodation you’re after. Please get in touch with us directly for the most accurate quote, or for a more general idea, click the button below to browse all of our holidays.