When it comes to skiing with children, four core things come into play:
How much will it cost?
Will they enjoy it? (is it going to be worth the money?)
Are they going to be safe?
Is it worth doing as a family?
In this guide, we'll address the above concerns so you can go into booking your family ski holiday with confidence.
How much will a family ski holiday cost?
A family of four would expect to pay around £4,000 (£1,000ish per person) and above for a family ski holiday, once flights, transfers, accommodation, lessons, and equipment hire are taken into account. You may also want to think about spending money and potential childcare.
Of course, the resort, board type, and how many stars your accommodation choice has are all big influencers of price. Below, we've given you three family ski holiday examples - a cheap holiday, a mid-range holiday, and a luxury holiday, so you have more of an idea of how much a family ski holiday will cost you. The examples below are for a family of four, with children aged 6 and 10.
Cheap Family Ski Holiday Cost For a Family of Four
Resort: Bietostolen, Norway
Accommodation: Riddergaarden
Package example - including 3 star self catering accommodation, flights, and transfers: £2,400
Lift passes - 2 adults, 1 junior, under 7s go free: £404 total
Ski hire - 4x standard skis and boots hire: £280
Ski lessons - Group lessons for 4 days: £547
Food shopping - Family of 4 in Norway spends around 12,000 NOK (£911) per month on food. Around £300 for the week
Activities/drinks/meal out: £300
Total ski holiday cost for a family of four: £4,231
Mid-range Family Ski Holiday Cost For a Family of Four
Resort: Obergurgl, Austria
Accommodation: Hotel Lohmann
Package example - including 3 star half board accommodation, flights, and transfers: £4,381
Lift passes - 2 adults, 1 junior, under 8s go free: £946
Ski hire - 4x standard skis and boots hire: £411
Ski lessons - Group lessons for 4 days: £908
Activities/drinks/meal out: £200
Total ski holiday cost for a family of four: £6,846
Luxury family ski holiday cost
Resort: Val d'Isere
Accommodation: Hotel Christiana
Package example - including 5 star half board accommodation, flights, and transfers: £7,314
Lift passes - 2 adults, 1 junior, under 8s go free: £1,003
Ski hire - 4x standard skis and boots hire: £234
Ski lessons - Group lessons for 5 days: £1,103
Activities/drinks/meal out: £400
Total luxury ski holiday cost for a family of four: £10,054
Take a look at our full range of family ski holiday deals. We update our deals daily, so you'll likely find ski holidays at a cheaper price than the ones above!
Making the cost of your ski holiday as family-friendly as possible
We've written a full guide on how to save money when booking a family ski holiday, but for now, here are some top ways to make your family ski holiday cheaper:
You can sometimes get discounted child places or even free child places when a child is sharing a room with 2 adults.
There are often deals on ski equipment when adults pre book theirs
Ski All In deals help or in some resorts they do offer discounted ski packages when you book skis/boards, boots, lessons and lift passes together in a bungle package price.
Less popular resorts may have cheaper extras.
Less popular countries may have cheaper rates.
You can look out for ‘baby/ toddler weeks’ or weeks that are not as desirable in selected resorts.
Families with fussy eaters you could look at self-catering options but we would recommend booking these early as operators eventually block off flight seats for committed catered properties.
With all this in mind we'd recommend speaking to one of our ski sales consultants to help you navigate your way through the best options.
Our ski experts understand arranging a family ski holiday can be daunting - from the cost to arranging all the extras - which is why we are here to assist with expert advice throughout the entire process of your booking. From advice on the best properties and offers available through to help with ski packs and booking childcare, and more.
Will my children enjoy a ski holiday?
Absolutely! Fun in the snow, a sense of adventure on the slopes, meeting new friends, eating their favourite meals - there's a whole load of reasons why children love ski holidays. In the next section, we take a look at how ski holidays and tour operators can cater to children of all ages - from babies right through to teenagers.
Newborns and infants
Being apart can cause stress for small babies as well as parents, but many ski tour operators provide specialist care for babies as young as 4 months, helping you to feel reassured that they're in the best possible hands. Our guide to skiing with infants provides more information on the tour operators that offer childcare to newborns and infants.
For parents, you will get the much needed quality ski time in on the slopes with infants in childcare, but just purchase a local pass as you won’t want to be too far from the crèche just in case.
Don’t be concerned that you have to ditch your ski holiday now you have a baby, enjoy the adventure, pack well and choose a supplier that will have everything you need for your week on the slopes. If you are concerned that you may have forgotten anything, remember that they do have supermarkets in resort!
We recommend any chalet style of accommodation with Ski Esprit or hotel accommodation with Club Med. In the evening you can set up you baby monitor while the infant sleeps leaving you to relax in the living room with a glass of wine.
Toddlers
This really is the start of their ski adventure. Their holiday and journey will be all about playing in the snow, getting used to the mountains, putting on ski boots and maybe carrying their own skis.
It’s a first for many things so the focus needs to be on having fun. Their attention span for may not last a whole lessons so as a parent your expectations need match what you think may be likely.
Read more about skiing with toddlers
Juniors
By now these hotshots are in school back home. They will also be at their most receptive, keen to learn, will have the strength and willingness to spend lengthy spells in lessons and on the slopes.
Even if you ski well as a parent, we’d still recommend putting children in ski school, children will listen to an instructor; they may not listen to their parents. There is also the safely element, with an instructor they will receive knowledge and up-to-date teaching which will help children progress to their best.
Half a day’s ski school and half a day skiing with parents is a good balance. You’ll also get some quality time too.
Read more about skiing with juniors
Pre Teens
This age group is very rewarding and skiing on the baby slopes will just be a memory for the pre-teens. Instead you will be able to enjoy whizzing around the higher terrain all together as a family. At this age you need to factor in additional costs for the latest clothing, lunches on the mountain a lift pass will be more expensive at this point.
It’s worth thinking about closeness to the town and slopes at this point when you book your accommodation. Now your children are skiing with you, you have to manage your group, this includes: navigation on the mountain, keeping safe on the mountain, understanding the rules and safety signs, including etiquette on the hill with fellow skiers.
Teenagers
This age group will hopefully want to let off steam after a long school term. If they've been skiing since they were young, the tables will turn and it'll be you trying to catch up with them! Feeding them at lunch time seems to be a never ending source of funds especially as they seem to eat about four times a day. They'll be all about the big cooked breakfast, pizza for lunch, followed by afternoon tea, and a mountain portion of dinner.
After dinner they will probably want to be let loose with other like-minded youngsters - and a lot of hotels do have nightclub-esque evenings specifically for teenagers. It'll be up to them to decide whether they're too 'cool' for that or not.
Read more about skiing with older children
Are my children going to be safe on the slopes?
Understandably, the thought of your child zooming down a ski slope is going to have you worried about their safety. Thankfully, there are lots of things you can do to ensure they behave safely on the mountain:
Ensure they wear a helmet - this is the number one priority
Use a certified ski school that uses certified instructors
Ensure they join a ski school group that's suitable for their abilities
Make sure they can confidently stop and turn before you take them off the nursery slopes
Make sure they don't suddenly stop in the middle of the mountain - always stop to the side of the slope
Only allow them to ski as fast as their ability will allow them to remain in control
Don't progress on to steeper slopes until they're confident on the level they're at
Consider purchasing a back protector - applies to both beginner skiers and snowboarders
In summary: is it worth going on a family ski holiday?
Yes! Whether you're planning to travel with infants, school age children or teenagers, the incredible variety of family ski holiday packages out there ensures there's something for everyone.
For keen skier parents, the childcare facilities provided by ski schools, tour operators and accommodation providers will ensure you can have just as good a holiday as your children. There will be nothing quite like the feeling of doing your first family run together and watching your children progress from wobbly legged beginners to owning the mountain in their own way.
For first time families, the whole expereince - from seeing the white-capped mountains for the first time to experiencing proper snow - will just add to the excitement of progressing from snow plough turns or broken J-turns to parallell skiing or doing that first ever joined turn on a snowboard.