This winter, I enjoyed a group ski holiday to the French Alps with friends. Our group comprised 12 people, including four children. There are different ways to book group ski holidays, such as a fully catered chalet ski package holiday; friends booking their own rooms in a hotel as part of a ski package; or booking all the separate bits, including chalet, flights, transfers etc.
Each option has pros and cons but when when we started looking for a large group booking via ski holiday companies we found them expensive and limited. Instead, we chose to book it all ourselves. Of course, there are risks that come with booking chalet, flights and more separately, rather than as an ATOL protected (or similar) package – and you will see what can happen, because some things did not go so smoothly for us – but overall, our group ski holiday worked out brilliantly.
Here’s how we created the bespoke ski holiday, plus more of my tips for a successful ski holiday with a group.
Choose a resort
Having previously skied many times in the Alps, there are a few resorts that have become go-to destinations. Hubby G and I like a resort with access to many miles of ski pistes, as well as off-piste terrain.
We also like a resort that is budget friendly yet still offers good skiing potential.
Snow-sure is not easy to attain in a climate that is hugely changeable but somewhere at fairly high altitude is a help.
We also look at the distance for the transfer from airport to resort.
In addition, we like a resort that has a few shops, cafes and restaurants, as well as ski hire and equipment shops.
One of our favourite places is La Tania, a resort that sits below Courchevel, in the Three Valleys Ski Area of France. The resort gives easy access to Courchevel (one gondola uplift) but without the Courchevel prices. There is also brilliant access to hundreds of kilometres of Three Valleys terrain.
Even without fresh snow (which did come during the week), the pistes were in good condition considering. There is plenty of choice for beginners through to experts.
Off-piste skiing is usually great, although 2023 wasn’t the best year for that due to avalanche potential.
La Tania is also a great wee base with shops, supermarkets, pubs, cafes, restaurants, bakeries and ski hire.
Read about a previous trip to La Tania.
Choose accommodation
Our group was keen to book a catered chalet. We knew that after a day of skiing no one would be inclined to want to cook a meal and eating out each day in a ski resort can be costly.
We searched for reasonably priced (reasonably priced for a ski resort!) chalets that could accommodate all of us. We found Chalet Amber with Ski First Tracks and it ticked all of our needs.
Communication by email with the owners of Ski First Tracks was excellent and we really enjoyed our stay with two live-in hosts, Mike and Michelle.
We had breakfast, afternoon cake, evening meal and wine included and the meals were a very good standard for the cost of the chalet. Mike and Michelle were friendly and because they live at the chalet as well, they were often on hand for tips and advice.
The chalet has small but adequate rooms with a simple but fairly comfortable set up of beds. It would be good to have rooms with a bit more space around the beds and with extra hanging space, as well as larger showers, but we all had an en suite and a decent bed and, in truth, you don’t spend much time in your bedroom on a ski trip.
The lounge area was large enough for us all to sit around. There was also a large dining table and a small kitchen, which was mostly off limits to guests as it was used by the hosts for cooking. A small fridge was located in the lounge for the use of the guests.
I would say that the chalet is reaching the point where it could do with a bit of a revamp/redecoration but for the purposes of a group who are not looking for lots of luxuries, the chalet was ideal. It was clean and practical.
I would recommend Ski First Tracks if you are looking for a budget friendly large chalet. The quality of the food and meals will depend on the hosts but we were very happy with what we were served each evening. (You can request kids meals before you arrive.)
Note that one day each week, the hosts do not cook and you need to go out for a meal. I recommend you book this at a local restaurant before you set off on the holiday because these nights can be busy in a small resort.
Book flights
Here, you are at the mercy of the vagaries of flight companies. Sadly, and increasingly, people are booking flights only to be told later that they have been cancelled. This is one issue that can come from booking a bespoke trip with separate flights and accommodation, as compared to a ski package deal.
We all booked with EasyJet from Edinburgh to Chambery. A couple of months before the trip, Easyjet informed us the flight had been cancelled and we had been booked on to a flight on a different day (the day before) and to a different airport (Lyon).
We got our money back but we had to go to the trouble of finding an alternative flight on the right day. In the end, we all booked from Glasgow to Geneva. While the flight turned out to be a little cheaper, it caused anxiety and wasted time. We also had to change our already booked airport-to-resort transfer.
I can’t recommend a flight company. They are all subject to sudden cancellations and the costs of the flights quickly mount as you add baggage and ski bags etc.
Book airport transfers
We opted for private transfers with Amber Transfers, via the website SnowCompares, and we are so pleased we did. Although we had originally booked transfers from Chambery to La Tania, the company was very to swap to Geneva and for the same price.
We needed two mini buses for our group and the cost was €120 per person return. The transfer was excellent. We were met from our flight, walked to our buses and then the drive was slick and straightforward. The drivers were cheerful and friendly. The journey took just two hours, which is very good.
Some transfers might be cheaper but they are usually on a larger bus that makes multiple stops for different resorts. There is a public transport option of a bus, train and then taxi but for a larger group it made sense to do a private transfer.
I would use Amber Transfers again.
Book ski lessons ahead
If you need ski hire and lessons, it’s advisable to book ahead. Even at quieter times – we did not travel in the school holidays, but it was still quite busy – you can arrive at a resort to discover the group lessons are fully booked. The kids were booked into Oxygene Ski lessons each morning. They all enjoyed the lessons and progressed really well.
Ski hire
It’s possible to book ski hire before you go, or turn up and hire at the start of the holiday. We booked with Ski Set at their New Wave shop in the centre of La Tania. The staff were friendly snd helpful and the ski quality and boots were great.
Ski Set offer a wide range of sizes and fits for skiers of all standards so everyone found what they needed.
Make sure you have this info to hand for ski rental:
- Each person’s height, weight and shoe size.
- Level of skiing and/or ski experience. For example, beginner, intermediate or expert.
- For intermediate and expert skiers – what terrain is intended to ski, such as on or off-piste skiing.
While I own my own skis, I chose to rent piste skis because conditions at the start of our week were icy. It was a joy to ski pistes on modern skis with sharp edges.
Ski lift pass
You can buy your ski lift pass at the resort or on-line. The choice is a ski pass for the Courchevel area only, or for the wider Three Valleys. We all chose the latter. There are family ski passes that are a bit cheaper than buying individually.
As an example, a six-day pass is €360 per person. For a family pass, this works out at €288 per person. G and I made use of our Epic season pass purchased last year and used in Canada on another holiday. The Epic pass includes a week of skiing in the Three Valleys.
It’s fine to buy the lift pass on arrival but try to do this before your first day of skiing.
More tips for a group ski trip
The cost is a big consideration for many people and there are a few ways to make sure you are not spending more than you need to.
- Buy second hand ski kit if possible and especially for the kids. Ask friends of they have clothes to sell or look on sites such as Vinted, Facebook marketplace, Ebay.
- Buy food for lunch and snacks at a supermarket and make your own. This saves you spending on pricey lunches at cafes and restuarants.
- The cafes and restaurants tend to be cheaper in the smaller, lower altitude resorts, compared to the on-the-mountain restaurants.
- Share plates of chips if you need a cheaper meal while on the mountain.
- Buy extra alcohol in the airport on your way to the holiday or at the resort supermarket. It’s fun going out to the pub in the evening, but you probably won’t want to do this all the time when you re in a chalet and you are with kids.
- Kids required €5 each day for ski school snacks.
- Take a rucksack with you each day with spare clothing layers, gloves, ski goggles, sun cream, hand warmers, snacks and water etc.
- Choose your friends wisely! You will be spending a lot of time together on a group ski holiday, so you need to ensure you get on before you go. We are a group of great friends and this meant we had a fantastic trip.
- When the kids are at ski school, the adults can make the most of their freedom to ski, too. We also enjoyed fun afternoons of skiing with the kids as a group.
- Build in time away on your own or as a pair or couple if you want some time out from the group. Don’t be afraid to suggest this as everyone will understand!
- Go with an open mind about potential snow conditions. A ski holiday can be a pricey lottery and while we started with no fresh snow, we did enjoy sunny weather. We then had a big dump of snow, although there were a couple of days of low cloud, snow and even rain that made visibility very tricky.
- It’s worth noting that you don’t need to ski every day, although you will be keen to do so on a week’s holiday, and there are other things to do, such as hiking, snow shoeing, chilling and reading a book and sitting in a cafe while people watching. Some resorts have swimming pools etc.
- Take out travel insurance that includes ski trips. It’s also worth paying a supplement for when buying your lift pass for “carre `neige”. This covers you in case of an accident while skiing or doing other winter sports in the ski area including the off-piste ski area that is accessible via ski-lift.
Note: I received free ski hire from Ski Set and a 10% discount for a child. Helly Hansen supplied my ski clothes, while SunGod gifted the group two pairs of goggles. The rest we paid for in full.