September comes,it has been 6 months to go to the February half term and almost  all family accommodation is sold out in the Alps for this week and  you want  a family ski holiday without  re-mortgage the house.  Because there are organisations concentrating on a family package catered ski holiday and you must charge 1000 to 1200 pounds per person not including ski hire, lessons or flights . How to solve the difficult situation?

Don’t go at February half term unless you have no option – this is the busiest week of the ski season, the queues are longest and prices are highest. New Year is also expensive. Christmas and Easter are cheaper.

If you have children who are not at school, go in early January or early March – these is the quietest time for chalets in the Alps, queues are short and prices are the lowest. You will get more time skiing, it is easier to get ski instructors and children booked into a crèche.

Don’t buy a standard all in package – Try finding a smaller chalet operator who has links with others for child care – whilst there are many excellent operators who focus on family holidays and offer an all in package, they are generally very expensive. There are some new smaller organisations who have links with others who specialise in: child care, children’s ski lessons and other activities for children, they will help you put together a complete package usually at much lower cost and by doing this you are cutting out the middle man.

Consider going self catered – but use a Chef Service for some meals, and chose self catered accommodation where there are on site friendly staff to help – whilst self catered is a lot cheaper, you don’t want to be on your own without help, for example if one of your children are sick.

Book ski passes in advance and directly with the lift company – Whilst many operators advertise free ski passes, the reality is you can often get ski passes at the best price by booking in advance directly with the lift operator and they buying your accommodation separately. We all know that nothing is free and that the operators have to buy the ski passes.

Book your skis in advance and arrange for fitting at your Chalet – this will save you at least half a day, giving you more time for skiing, whilst this may cost a little more, when you consider the cost of an additional half a day’s skiing, this actually represents a huge saving. Again, often smaller operators can help with this.

Book child care and children’s ski lessons well in advance – these soon become full, at least the good ones do, don’t expect to be able to book at a month’s notice.

Chose France – there are many ski resorts within an hour’s drive of Geneva airport, long flights are not ideal for children, and also add to costs. With the Euro and 1.2 now, France is becoming affordable.

Chose a resort with a ‘Famillie Plus Montagne’ award – these resorts are selected as being the best in France for Families.

An ideal place is Les Gets – it regularly wins awards for the best family ski resort in the world, some of the benefits of Les Gets are:-
* An hour’s transfer from Geneva airport

* Good crèche facilities
* Nanny facilities are available
* Plenty of ski schools who cater very well for children of all ages
* A wonderful children’s ski area
* Other activities for children, such as pottery painting
* Les Gets is a traditional mountain village.
* Not too high – so not subject to difficult weather conditions, yet having a good snow record.
* Les Gets is not a ‘high fashion’ resort and prices are not exorbitant.

More Home Mortgage Articles