How to make your Winter Family holiday more affordable…

If you’re working to a budget this year and trying to keep costs down as much as possible, then self-catered apartments certainly seem attractive. We’ve put together a (hopefully) useful guide to making a self-catered winter holiday even cheaper!

Drive instead of fly
The average cost of getting a family car from the UK to the Alps is £250 including fuel, tolls and a ferry/tunnel crossing. The journey is around 650miles from London – Morzine and can be done in around 10 hours. Compare this with the cost of peak flights, which can be upwards of £200 per person each way, and your already quids in!

Not only can the initial saving be seen, but it also means that you can bring those home essentials with you, such as your favourite cereal, bread, Vimto… or even cook and freeze meals to bring with you, such as a family size lasagne, chilli or hotpot. This is a great way to keep other items cool as they defrost on the drive down.

If you’re flying and getting a transfer mini-bus, why not ask if they can stop at an out-of-town supermarket for you. This can be considerably cheaper and have a much better range of products.

Pre-book your ski/board hire.
Booking your ski & board hire online or through Mountain Xtra to receive the best deals. In many cases this can be up to 20% cheaper than hiring in resort.

Eat on the mountain…
…but not in the restaurants. Mountain restaurants are renowned for being expensive, so make sure you take a packed lunch instead! Failing this, make sure you eat in resort where you often get restaurants offering special lunchtime menus for 10€/15€.

Take a look at our other posts for free and cheap family activities to keep you busy in resort when you’re off the mountain.