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Whether it’s how to get there, which resort to go to, or finding the perfect accommodation, when it comes to booking a ski holiday, there’s one factor that influences our decisions above all else: value for money.
In fact, in Iglu Ski’s 24/25 annual survey, 59% of customers say it’s the primary factor influencing their choice of resort. For 68%, it’s the most important consideration when deciding on who to book with. And, cited by 24%, it’s the leading factor in accommodation selection.
Value for money is especially important for families. Many parents are excited for their kids to discover the mountains, and even though the added cost of each young skier can test the purse strings, you don’t want to cut every corner and risk losing out on what makes a ski holiday magical - incredible snow, exceptional hospitality, and a fun time for the whole family.
At Iglu Ski, we’ve been finding families the very best ski trips for their money for over 26 years, so we know that getting value doesn’t necessarily have to mean compromise. We’ve crunched the numbers and drawn on our expertise to show you just how much you can get for your money when you book smart.
According to our research, families can save on average:
- £175pp (per person) when you split the cost of a large chalet with other families
- £580pp by skiing over Easter
- £500pp by booking all-inclusive over half-board
- £461pp by staying on the edge of a large ski area instead of in the centre
- Around £400pp by driving instead of flying over peak periods
- Around £222 per child at resorts where kids ski free up to 8 or 9 years of age
- Roughly £195pp with a beginner lift pass, over a full area lift pass
- Up to £32pp with a family lift pass (based on family of four)
*Euros to GBP accurate on 04/07/25
Save £175 per person by booking a chalet with other families
Not only is staying in a big chalet with a large group of your friends and family really fun, it can also work out a lot cheaper than booking a smaller chalet for a single family - plus, there’s the bonus of sharing childcare responsibilities, so adults can take it in turns to sample the local bars and spas.
We compared the cost of three star and four star chalet packages over peak dates over the last three seasons and found, on average, 12 to 14 bed chalets were £175pp cheaper than four to six bed chalets, with the biggest savings to be found at Christmas and Half Term.
Save over £461 per person by staying on the edge of a large ski area
While opting for a cheap and cheerful, lesser known resort is a fine choice if you want to spend as little as possible, these places often can’t compete with the superstars of the Alps for the vastness of their ski areas, the variety of the pistes, and the quality of the infrastructure, accommodation, restaurants and bars.
But you don’t have to pay a premium to experience the superior qualities of Europe’s biggest and best ski areas like the Three Valleys, the Portes du Soleil, or the Milky Way.
By staying in one of the smaller villages on the ski area outskirts, not only do you still have access to the same brilliant ski area, you also benefit from a much more family-friendly feel all with a lower cost.
We’ve dug down into our data for the last three seasons to compare the average cost of a holiday per person in the most popular resorts in three famous ski areas, versus the cost of accommodation in smaller villages in the same ski area, over the periods of Christmas, Half Term and Easter.
We found that, on average, you can save £461 per person by staying in one of these smaller villages - that’s over £1,800 in total.
Meribel - The Three Valleys
Meribel is a resort that typically attracts lots of families and is located right in the centre of the Three Valleys. A holiday will cost an average of £1,381 per person if you stay in the most popular areas of the resort - Meribel Centre, Village, or Mottaret.
Brides Les Bains
But have you considered staying in Brides-les-Bains? Located a little further down the valley, this spa town is an affordable alternative, where you’ll pay an average of just £885 per person - an average saving of £496.
From there, it takes just 22 minutes on the Olympe gondola to Chaudanne, the main lift hub in Meribel and the jumping off point for exploring all 600km of the Three Valleys’ pistes.
Brides-les-Bains is a charming little town in its own right, with a two-screen cinema, Le Doron, that shows kids and adult films all year round, as well as various shops and family restaurants, including the popular Le "Bis"trop Savoyard.
Parents can book into one of the resort’s famous thermal spas and enjoy a rejuvenating treatment and sink themselves into warm, naturally mineral-rich waters.
Courchevel - The Three Valleys
If you stay in the adjacent valley in Courchevel (known as one of France’s most luxurious resorts), your holiday will cost an average of £1,472 per person.
La Tania
But a little further down the valley in the small and pretty La Tania, you’re looking at a much more budget-friendly £938, an average saving of £534 per person.
Quieter than its larger neighbours - though with direct links to the wider ski area - La Tania is popular with families thanks to its car-free centre, range of child-friendly restaurants (check out Le Bouc Blanc), and dedicated nursery skiing area (which has a free magic carpet, so no need for a lift pass for complete newbies).
Morzine and Avoriaz - Portes du Soleil
Morzine and neighboring Avoriaz are two of the Portes du Soleil’s most popular resorts. They’re also among its most dear, with an average holiday costing £1,370 per person.
Les Gets
But if you stay in the smaller village of Les Gets, you’ll spend just £924 per person. That means you save £446 per person and can still access all 12 resorts, 600km of pistes and two countries of the Portes du Soleil.
Just 50km from Geneva, eager children won’t have to wait too long to hit the slopes, and will especially enjoy Les Chavannes, with its themed play areas for young skiers. The resort also has mini snowmobiles, sled dogs, and winter day care - it’s no surprise it earned the Famille Plus Montagne label in recognition of its exceptional qualities for families.
Sestriere - The Milky Way
In the Milky Way, one of Italy’s largest and most popular ski areas, you’ll spend an average of £1,465 per person to stay in Sestriere, the area’s most central and well-known resort.
Sauze d’Oulx
But if instead you opt for Sauze d’Oulx, you can save £319 per person and still benefit from the Via Lattea’s (Milky Way in Italian) 400km of pistes.
The resort’s cobbled, car-free streets provide a pleasant environment for families to explore, with plenty of restaurants and other amenities, including a cinema. There are also dedicated nursery slopes where kids can learn to ski.
Tignes - Tignes-Val d’Isère
Tignes offers something for everyone across its five villages, and gives you access to 300km of pistes as a result of its links to Val d’Isère, which combine to form the Tignes-Val d'Isère (formerly Espace Killy) ski area. Staying in the resort centre, or in the large and lively areas of Le Lac and Val Claret, usually costs around £1,640 per person.
Tignes Villages
But you could instead stay in tranquil Le Lavachet, traditional Les Brévières, or Les Boisses (purpose built with families in mind) and save an average of £493 per person.
Each has its charms and offers a more laid-back atmosphere than Tignes’ central resorts of Le Lac and Val Claret, making them great for families, and it's easy to explore the other villages by taking the free, regular shuttle bus.
Save money with kids ski free, and family and beginner lift pass deals
There are plenty of ways to take advantage of cheaper lift pass costs at even the most popular resorts, including:
- Choose a family lift pass with a discount for parents and children skiing together
- Choose a resort where children ski for free until 8 or 9 years old
- Choose a cheaper local or beginner pass rather than a whole ski area pass
- Ski in the low season (very early or very late), when lift pass prices are often lower
Save an average of £28 per person with a family lift pass
Here are just a few of the popular ski areas and resorts with a family lift pass deal that allows parents and children skiing together to save money.
We compared the cost of buying a six day family pass for one of the above ski areas with the cost of buying two adult and two child passes for six days.
You stand to save an average of £28 per person on lift passes overall if you buy a family pass.
*Online price for 24/25 season, lift pass prices converted from Euros to British Pounds (exchange rate accurate 04/07/2025), and rounded to the nearest whole pound.
Save an average of £225 per child at resorts where kids ski free up to 8 or 9
While in France it is common for kids under 5 to ski free, a number of ski resorts - mostly in Italy - allow kids to ski for free or at a discounted rate until they are 8 years old (when accompanied by an adult with a valid pass).
In Switzerland, there are even several resorts that allow children under 9 to ski for free.
We’ve taken the cost of a 6 day child’s pass at resorts with a free pass for under 8s to 9s and multiplied it by the number of years that child skis for free to work out the total savings over a 3 or 4 year period.
For resorts with a free pass for under 9s, you stand to save an average of £871 per child over the additional four years that child skis for free. And for resorts with a free pass for under 8s, you save an average of £676 per child over the additional three years.
*Online price for 24/25 season, lift pass prices converted from Euros to British Pounds (exchange rate accurate 04/07/2025), and rounded to the nearest whole pound.
Save an average of £195 per person with a beginner pass
For the first trip or two, a beginner pass provides access to enough friendly slopes to enable learners to increase their confidence.
The following resorts and ski areas offer a dedicated beginner pass, which gives learners access to a limited range of friendly slopes for a lower price than the whole area lift pass.
Over a six day skiing holiday, you stand to save an average of £195 per person with a beginner pass.
*Online price for 24/25 season, lift pass prices converted from Euros to British Pounds (exchange rate accurate 04/07/2025), and rounded to the nearest whole pound.
Getting value for money on accommodation
Save over £2,000 by booking all-inclusive over half-board
Packages, where flights, accommodation and more, or all-inclusive, where everything from your flights to your food and drink and ski passes, are included, typically work out cheaper than booking every element of your trip separately.
Club Med is a great example of how much you can save by going all-inclusive, and, with childcare included (depending on hotel) it’s a great choice for families.
Your Club Med ski holiday will usually include:
- Accommodation
- Return flights and transfers from the airport to the hotel
- Beer, wine, soft and hot drinks
- All meals and snacks
- Ski lessons for adults and children
- Lift passes, often for the whole area
- Childcare, from 4-7 year olds in some cases and from 4 months to 4 years for a supplementary cost (hotel dependent)
Below is a breakdown comparing a 7-night all-inclusive holiday to Club Med La Plagne 2100 with a trip to the same resort at the same time but staying in an equivalent 4-star hotel on a half board basis.
As you can see, when you add passes, lessons, food and drink to your basic half board ski holiday cost, you stand to save more than £2,000 going to Club Med.
Basic holiday correct on 20th June 2025. Subject to change.
Ski lesson prices are based on the ESF ‘starting at’ price for 2 adult group beginner lessons for 6 days 25/26 season. (Club Med uses ESF ski school). Exchange rate 20th June 2025.
Ski pass prices are indicative of the cost to add two adult and two child Paradiski ski area lift passes to your Iglu Ski booking on 20th June 2025.
Lunch price includes two adult lunches at £25 per person, plus two child lunches at £15 per person for 6 days.
Alcohol price includes one bottle of wine with dinner at £35 a day and an additional £15 per adult a day for mountain drinks and £10 per child.
Getting value for money on travel
With thousands of Iglu Ski customers booking packages every year, flying remains by far the most popular and convenient way to travel to ski destinations in Europe, however driving can offer better value, especially for families over peak dates.
Save up to £1,200 by driving instead of flying (and do your bit for the planet!)
Driving to the Alps might be the travel option with the longest journey time, but it can also be significantly cheaper (and if you have an electric car, more eco-friendly) than flying. On top of that, you can take as much luggage and ski equipment as your vehicle can handle at no extra cost.
The table below breaks down the cost of two adults and two children driving to the Alps from London versus flying to the Alps from London. It shows that you stand to save a massive £1,200 by driving. Even if you hire your gear at the resort and remove ski carriage from the equation, you can save around £1,000. That’s money you could put towards a beautiful chalet or dining out all week.
*Average cost of fueling a family car for a 1,400 mile (average distance of popular resorts from London) round trip. Petrol price accurate 02/07/25.
*Hotel stay in Dijon based on the cheapest rate for a ‘Good’ hotel.
*Cost of cheapest return trip for Sunday to Sunday February 2026 half term for two adults and two children on Eurotunnel. Prices accurate on 02/07/25.
*Cost of cheapest return flights for Sunday to Sunday February 2026 half term for two adults and two children plus ski carriage on Easyjet. Prices accurate on 02/07/25.
*Airport prices reflective of LGW Mid Stay North car park prices 15th-22nd February 2026.
Save over £580 per person by skiing over Easter
If you don’t have the luxury of being able to avoid school holidays, avoid Christmas and February half term (when prices peak) and go over Easter instead. Accommodation and travel costs are typically cheaper in April, and many resorts have a low season lift pass price (though these are not always available during Easter holidays).
If you’re worried about snow, know that April 2025 saw record-breaking snowfall, and you could always choose to go to a high altitude, snow sure resort to improve the chances you’ll have fantastic conditions for your trip.
As you can see in the table below, the average cost per person of an April holiday at these popular resorts is significantly lower than in December or February.
In fact the average per person cost of an April trip across our most popular resorts over the last three years is just £1,201. That’s compared to £1,784 in February and £1,558 in December, an average saving of £583 and £357 per person respectively.
You can have a great value family ski trip if you book smart
Our aim here has not been to show you how to have the cheapest family skiing trip, but how to have the best value trip to the most popular resorts and ski areas.
As you can see, by making a few smart decisions you can save hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds and still have an amazing ski holiday without feeling like you’re compromising.
For example, let’s say you and your partner want to take your two children (ages 6 and 8) on a skiing holiday to the Portes du Soleil.
If you take all the above into consideration, you could end up with the following great value itinerary:
For the best value family ski holiday:
- Book a large catered chalet in Les Gets over the first week of the Easter holiday (departing 28th March 2026): £3,020 in total
- Drive to the Alps: £1,060 in total
- Get two 6-day adult whole area passes: £620 in total
- Get two 6-day Les Gets beginner passes: £300 in total
- For a total cost of £5,000
On the other hand, if you took none of the above into consideration, you could:
- Book a February half term package trip to Morzine, with flights, transfers and seven nights in a hotel on half board: £10,112
- Get two 6-day adult whole area passes: £620 in total
- Get two 6-day child whole area passes: £468 in total
- For a total of £11,200
That means, if you follow all our advice on how to have a value for money family skiing holiday, you could save a massive £6,200!
*Cost of two adults and two children if booked through Iglu Ski. Prices accurate 09/07/25
Book your family ski holiday with Iglu Ski
We work with over 50 tour operators to bring you more ski holidays than any other agency. Whether you’re looking for a convenient package, accommodation-only or you would like us to build you a tailor-made trip, our ski experts will take care of everything and find you the best price for your perfect family skiing holiday.
Check out all our ski holidays, discover our fantastic ski deals or give us a call and let’s start planning.