The 15 best family ski resorts, ranked and rated
Anyone who has ever tried to wrangle a ski boot on a young child understands that family ski holidays can be an extraordinary faff. Not only that, they can be extraordinarily expensive. The annual Ski Resort Report released by Post Office Travel Money revealed that the cost of a family ski holiday in the French Alps has almost doubled in a decade.
The good news is that not only is it still possible to enjoy a reasonably priced ski holiday but a hassle-free one too. You just need to know where to look.
Big resorts often come with equally big price tags and when travelling with beginner skiers it pays to look at smaller, less popular ski domains. Not only will there be fewer skiers on the slopes, but accommodation and lift passes will also inevitably be cheaper. If, however, you have your heart set on a well-known resort, then there are still ways to save money. Switzerland, one of the more expensive destinations to ski in Europe, has free lift passes for children under six and good discounts for children under the age of 19.
France has long been the number-one destination for British families looking to hit the slopes thanks to ease of access, well-equipped resorts and family-friendly amenities. But good value deals to Italy mean that the Bel Paese is becoming increasingly popular. Similarly, Sweden’s snow-sure slopes are attracting more families every year.
The following family ski resorts have all been assessed according to a set of criteria. These include the cost of a family ski package, the choice of ski schools available, what kind of après-ski activities are on offer for kids, the transfer time from the nearest airport and availability of ski in/ski-out accommodation, and the number of beginner and intermediate-friendly slopes.
Explore the best family resorts by country:
It might not be the prettiest ski resort in France but what purpose-built Les Menuires lacks in good looks it more than makes up for in excellent skiing. Sandwiched between fancy Saint-Martin-de-Belleville and good-time Val Thorens, family-friendly Les Menuires is the best way to enjoy the Three Valleys – the largest connected ski area in the world – on a budget.
Accommodation is largely ski-in/ski-out self-catering apartments and catered chalets, snow conditions are reliable, the lift systems are speedy, and there’s a huge range of pistes for everyone from beginners to experts.
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Inghams offers seven nights at Residence Les Clarines in Les Menuires from £1059pp, half board, including flights from Gatwick and transfers, departing February 8, 2025.
While much of the French Alps can feel like an extension of London or the Home Counties during February half-term there are still some resorts, such as Val Cenis, that fly under the radar. Located in the Haute Maurienne Valley, between the Italian border and the Vanoise National Park, Val Cenis is the largest of the valley’s six (unconnected) ski resorts with 125km of pistes. Most of the runs are green and blue making it a great choice for novice skiers, but there are also a good handful of red runs, a smattering of black and some fun freeriding in nearby Bonneval.
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Peak Retreats offers seven nights in a two-bedroom apartment at Les Chalets de Flambeau, Val Cenis, from £407pp, self catering, including return Eurotunnel crossing for one standard car, departing April 5, 2025.
One of four villages in the Les Arcs ski area, the small, purpose-built village of Arc 1950 is a firm family favourite thanks to its traffic-free streets, its ski-in/ski-out accommodation and its packed calendar of family-friendly events, which take place during the school holidays.
Les Arcs itself has plenty of blue runs and you also have access to the vast Paradiski ski domain. With 425km of slopes, there is something for every kind of skier and, with more than 70 per cent of the area sitting above 2,000m, you can ski through to Easter.
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VIP SKI offers seven nights at the family-friendly piste-side Bear Lodge from £6,162 for a family of four, chalet board, including transfers, departing April 13, 2025. Flights extra.
What it lacks in ski-in/ski-out convenience the small rural village of Vaujany more than makes up for in family-friendliness. Plus, it has speedy access to the Alpe d’Huez Grand Domaine Ski and its 250km of sunny, south-facing pistes thanks to the nifty 160-person Vaujany-Alpette cable car.
The village itself is charming and offers oodles of fun activities for kids, including a swish leisure centre with a swimming pool and waterslide, an ice rink, a bowling alley, curling, and village horse-and-cart rides. For families with babes in arms, the local nursery takes children from six months.
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Ski France offers a week’s stay at Hôtel Les Cimes from £1,209 for a family of four, B&B, departing March 6, 2025. Excluding travel.
Part of the giant Paradiski area, La Plagne is made up of no less than 11 separate villages scattered across a giant plateau. Four are traditional farming villages and the rest are purpose-built, all home to a variety of accommodation options, ski schools, restaurants and shops.
While each village has its own identity, they all share access to a spectacular winter playground with snow-sure slopes that are particularly good for beginners and intermediates. Away from the slopes, family activities include snowshoeing in La Voie Blanche and careering down the 1,500m long Olympic bobsleigh run.
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Ski Solutions offers seven nights at Hotel Carlina from £1,545pp, half board, including flights and transfers, based on a family of four sharing.
There are few better places to be a beginner or an intermediate skier or snowboarder than La Rosière on a sunny day. This high-altitude ski domain sits in the same valley as Tignes and Val d’Isère but, thanks to its south-facing position, the slopes are bathed in sunshine even when much of the valley is in shadow.
The high-altitude resort (the village sits at 1,850m) shares the ski area Espace San Bernardo with neighbouring La Thuile in Italy and, together, the two offer 160km of excellent skiing. Après fun includes a bowling alley, arcade games and a weekly high-octane ice hockey match.
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Ski Beat offers a week’s stay at Chalet Perdix from £639pp, chalet board, including flights and transfers, departing April 12, 2025, based on two people sharing.
Set at 1,930m, at the end of Austria’s Ötztal valley, Obergurgl is one of the highest ski villages in Europe, making it a snow-sure option from November to April. Other reasons to return year after year include the short transfer time (it’s less than 90 minutes from Innsbruck Airport) and its small-town charm. The ski area is not huge, offering 112km of piste and 25 lifts, but the slopes are ideal for beginners and wobbly intermediates. More advanced skiers can take advantage of the Ötztal Super Skipass, which covers all ski areas in the valley, opening up 356km of pistes.
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Inghams offers seven nights at The Moss in a two-bedroom apartment from £1,592pp, half board, including flights and transfers, departing March 8, 2025.
Not only is Alpbach one of the prettiest villages in Austria’s Tyrol region, it’s also one of the best places for beginners to carve their first turns. Located just a 40-minute drive from Innsbruck, the postcard-perfect village is filled with family-friendly hotels and independent restaurants serving local specialities, including the extremely moreish apfelkiachl pastry. There’s a nursery slope in the village centre and the main ski area, which delivers 113km of pistes, is a quick bus and gondola ride away. Also good: Alpbach offers great value for money, particularly during its dedicated family weeks.
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Crystal Ski Holidays offers seven nights half board at Hotel Karl Schranz from £1,055pp, half board, including flights and transfers, departing April 12, 2025, based on two adults and two children sharing.
This ski resort – made up of the three neighbouring villages of Serfaus, Fiss and Ladis – is one that should be much more popular with British ski families than it currently is. Located just over an hour from Innsbruck, the resort delivers 214km of pistes, including plenty of cruisy blues and perfectly groomed reds. There’s a choice of family-friendly hotels, excellent ski schools, fun snow parks and a handful of themed beginner slopes, including the interactive Murmliweg trail, based on the ski resort’s marmot mascot. Après activities for children include 10km of marked toboggan runs and a thrilling eight-person Skyswing (for those aged 10 years or older).
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Iglu Ski offers seven nights at Hotel Dreisonnen from £1,474pp, full board, including non-alcoholic drinks, flights and transfers, departing March 15, 2025, based on a family of four sharing.
Big ski resorts can sometimes be overwhelming for novice skiers and children, which is where villages such as Villars, in Switzerland’s Vaud region, come into play. Located a scenic 90-minute train ride from Geneva Airport, this sunny stretch of 130km of pistes is the ideal place for learners to find their ski legs. In addition to a great beginner area, the resort delivers plenty of long, easy blue runs that wind from high on the mountain down into the village, as well as some excellent red runs for those looking to progress. The children’s play area at Les Bains de Villars provides plenty of post-ski fun, too.
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Ski Solutions offers seven nights at Villars Victoria Hotel & Residence from £1,495pp, B&B, including flights and Swiss rail transfers, based on a family of four sharing.
One of the most snow-sure resorts in Switzerland, the romantic village of Engelberg is also one of the best for families. Divided into two separate ski areas, the Brunni section is ideal for beginners perfecting their snowplough turns, while Titlis looks after intermediates, as well as advanced skiers wanting to tackle powder-filled freeride descents.
Once the kids have finished for the day there’s an exhilarating toboggan run, as well as the rubber tubes at the Wet’n’Wild snow amusement park. Other activities include ice skating, cross-country skiing, an indoor playground and the Alpenresort Eienwäldli rock adventure pool.
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Iglu Ski offers seven nights at Titlis Resort from £829pp, self-catering, including flights and transfers, departing March 8, 2025, based on four sharing.
Sunny Wengen has long been a family favourite thanks to its car-free streets, uncrowded, beginner-friendly slopes and fairy tale setting in the heart of the Swiss Alps. Accessed by cogwheel railway from Lauterbrunnen, the picturesque village is a mix of small chalets and larger hotels with family-friendly activities, including indoor curling, outdoor ice skating and 50km of toboggan runs. Wengen shares its ski area with nearby Grindelwald and, while the fearsome Lauberhorn downhill might be the most famous piste, there are lots of long blues and gentle red runs for those who ski at a slightly slower pace.
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SNO offers seven nights at the Grand Hotel Belvedere from £1,699pp, B&B, including flights and transfers.
For value-for-money ski holidays look towards Italy, and, in particular, Passo Tonale, which took first place for best value for families in the Post Office Travel Money’s annual Ski Resort Report. This is largely thanks to its free child equipment hire and complimentary ski passes for children aged eight and under. Other reasons why this Italian resort is molto bene for families include its reliable snow cover (the main resort sits at 1,883m); its beginner-friendly runs; and its access to the 3,069m-high Presena Glacier, which includes a fun blue run that’s ideal for learner skiers.
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Crystal Ski Holidays offers seven nights at Hotel Du Col from £838pp, half board, including flights and transfers, departing April 6, 2025, based on a family of four sharing.
For top-to-bottom snow, fantastic glacier skiing, perfect pizzas and sublime views of Monte Cervino (otherwise known as the Matterhorn), head to Cervinia. This Italian resort is heaven for beginner and intermediate skiers, with excellent nursery slopes at resort level and 160km of gloriously long cruising pistes. Advanced skiers can cross the border into Zermatt, while the Indian Park snowpark caters to skiers and snowboarders who think flat runs are boring. There’s plenty of post-ski fun to be had, too – from bumper cars on ice at the Fun Park to dog-sledding and paragliding.
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SNO offers seven nights in Hotel Cervino from £1,489pp, half board, including flights and transfers.
Boasting the shortest transfer time – just 20 minutes from baggage claim to the lift line – Stöten is known for having some of Sweden’s best skiing. Admittedly, the ski area (35km of slopes) is not big, but it’s perfectly suited for families and beginners seeking gentle slopes. That said, there’s the odd challenging piste for more advanced skiers, as well as a snow park and boardercross track for practicing tricks. All the accommodation in the laid-back village is ski-in/ski-out, which means no arguments over carrying skis. Snowmobile safaris and dog sledging are just some of the activities on offer once the ski lifts shut, too.
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skiScandinavia offers seven nights in a three-bedroom apartment at Stöten Ski Lodge from £1,635pp, self-catered, including flights and transfers, departing April 6, 2025, based on a family of four sharing.
