Advice on cost effective ways to get a family on to the slopes

theCzar

Hi folks, I love to ski and usually go with a friend but my two boys will be 8 and 3 next season (2025) and I'm getting (a bit) guilty jetting off and leaving them so I'd like to get them started. I usually go through a package provider like Crystal or DirectSki and when you start talking about a family of 4 with all the extras (board, pass, gear, lessons) the prices go sailing past 5k for the week and into "spare kidney" territory.

Has anybody any tips on how to get the best value for a family? Are there reasonably priced operators who can help? Is DIY to a smaller resort the best option? I'd like to go to Austria because the connections are usually shorter (e.g. no 5 hour drives from Toulouse to Andorra).

Whenever I've explored DIY options for myself, it starts out cheaper with flights and hotel but by the time I've got my baggage paid and arrange transfers I'm usually back very close to the packages.

DoraDelite

I think DIY would be your best option. I had a trip booked in 2020 (had to cancel as it was for the end of March) to Garmisch-Partenkirchen with my sister and nephews. I chose there for these reasons:

Easy access, Munich has daily flights so can be cheaper and you don't need to do Saturday to Saturday. Easily accessible via car rental or train.

Smaller resort so better for the kids starting out and also cheaper for lessons etc for them (not sure you'd get a 3 year old onto a ski school though).

Cheaper accommodation and food/drink.

Bloody Nipples

Söll in Austria is far and away the most cost effective resort I've been to.

In terms of transfers, you can get a eurocity train from Munich heading toward northern Italy, one of the stations it stops at on the way is Wörgl.

Söll is a 20 min bus ride from Wörgl then or alternatively you can switch to an Austrian intercity train heading towards Graz.

This train stops at Westendorf, Brixen, Kirchberg, Kitzbuehel, St Johann, Fieberbrunn, Leogang and Zell am See so opens up a huge number of resorts for the price of a train ticket.

These are all within 2-3 hours of Munich airport.

If you want to go really cheap you've Romania, Bulgaria etc but you don't get the quality Austria offers then.

A1Son

Jasna in Slovakia is still very cost effective even after the increase in prices throughout the Euopean ski resorts.

You can fly Dub - London Stansted and then London Stansted - Poprad, which leaves just a 40min transfer to the resort. Ryanair were flying DUB - KOSICE which is only a 1.45hr transfer. I see they are starting to fly again from March31st 2024, but maybe that will only be for a summer schedule.

Lessons are (80 2hrs), rentals (adult 55, kids 50 - 6days) and ski passes at an average of 50/day.

The ski in - ski out can be a bit pricey but staying closer to the main town, for restaurants/bars, and using the free skibus can get you some great value RE B&B or self-catered options.

a148pro

I've done a couple of trips with a family of 5 for about 3 grand all in, ski in ski out with private lessons in morning. But for four days only. Don't think you need a week imo. Week wouldn't cost much more.

Consider Bergamo and Passo Tonale, Bergamo / Verona / Venice and Passo San Pellegrino, any Milan airport / Turin airport and Cervinia. All the above have great ski in ski out potential, very good value accommodation and lots of easy blues and reds for kids, good value lessons also.

Also Barcelona and La Molina but it's had 3 terrible snow years in a row

I also remember a thread on here with packages to lesser known french resort for less than 3k for a full week, can't remember name of website