Don’t go in the school holidays
If your children aren’t at school yet, take them skiing in January. The
family-friendly specialists have lots more availability then, and prices are
40%-50% lower than at half-term – with the Family Ski Company
(www.familyski.co.uk), for example, a week at Chalet les Grolets, in Ardent,
part of the French Portes du Soleil ski area, costs a total of £2,010,
half-board, for two adults and two children, arriving on January 17,
excluding travel or childcare, A week at the Chalet Hotel La Collina, in
Saas-Fee, Switzerland, arriving on February 14, costs £3,218 for a family of
four. The company’s crèche takes children aged three months and up. For
advice on how soon you can take your children skiing, visit www.welove2ski.com.
Go over Christmas Day
It’s nothing like as pricey as you might think. The only problem is that the
snow cover usually isn’t deep: on the pistes, the snow cannons will make up
any shortfall, but if you want to ski off-piste, you’d be better off waiting
until Easter.
With Mark Warner (0871 703 3891, www.markwarner.co.uk),
a week over Christmas at the Chalethotel Aiguille Percée, in Tignes, France,
costs a total of £3,576, half-board, for two adults and two children,
including flights and transfers, compared with £4,880 just a week later,
over New Year.
If you can hold your nerve and wait until the end of the season, you may even
find last-minute discounts on offer at the beginning of December, as tour
operators try to fill unsold chalets and beds.
Drive and cook for yourself
It may mean less of a holiday for you, but it could make the difference
between skiing and not skiing. One family-friendly company, Snowbizz (01778
341455, www.snowbizz.co.uk), offers
self-drive, self-catering holidays in the French resort of Puy St-Vincent,
where the company has its own crèche and kids’ club (which cost extra). Over
Christmas, a four-person apartment costs a total of £1,040pp, including
ferry crossings. From Calais, factor in about £200 for fuel and £90 for
motorway tolls for the return journey.
If you can pool resources with other families and avoid childcare, your choice
of cheap holidays widens dramatically – as does the likelihood of finding
accommodation over the busy February half-term. Check out self-catering
specialists such as Ski Independence (0845 310 3030, www.ski-i.com),
Peak Retreats (0844 576 0170, www.peakretreats.co.uk),
Interhome (020 8780 6633, www.interhome.co.uk)
and Erna Low (0845 863 0526, www.ernalow.co.uk).
Look out for freebies
In a bid to attract budget-minded Brits, Andorra is offering free lift passes
for children under 14 if you book your holiday through a UK tour operator
such as Inghams (www.inghams.co.uk)
or Crystal Ski (www.crystalski.co.uk).
Save money on kids’ clothing
Beg, borrow or hire it – with Sno Gear (01491 628300, www.sno-gear.co.uk),
a one-piece children’s ski suit costs £30 for a week.
