How Much Does A School Ski Trip Cost?
This season, the average cost of a school ski trip ranges between £1,000 and £1,500 per person. This is accurate as of the 2025/2026 school year and is based on our internal booking data.
We appreciate this is quite a large range, but please bear in mind that the cost depends on several factors, including the resort, transport, accommodation, dates, and the number of ski lessons you choose to include. We'll explain how you can keep the costs of these factors down below.
What's Included In The Cost?
The average cost above usually includes the following (when booked through us):
- Transport (by coach or air)
- Accommodation
- Food (our trips are typically full-board)
- Ski Hire (helmets, boots, skis, and poles)
- Lift Pass
- Ski Lessons
- Local Tour Rep
Be careful when comparing prices between different tour operators, as they aren't always like-for-like. We've written a guide to help you compare quotes.
How To Reduce The Cost Of A School Ski Trip
So, how can you keep the cost of your school ski trip down?
Transport
Coach is almost always less expensive than flying, and the vast majority of our groups do choose to travel by coach on their ski trips.
You can use the coach while in the resort to take you to the slopes (if necessary) or après-ski activities. And you can take any equipment you need, along with any prizes, etc, for competitions and quizzes during the week.
Our top tip when travelling by coach is to fill it. A coach at capacity is always the best value for money. And if you have 43 pupils, that will give you a 6th free place.
However, if you are oversubscribed, we advise checking the options before you decide to add those extra students to your trip. A larger group does not always necessarily mean a cheaper price. This is because the larger the coach, the higher the price. If you do find yourself in this situation, which many of our groups are this season, don’t worry – your Ski Specialist will be able to advise you on all the options and how they affect the price.
Another way to save a bit of money on transport is to leave by coach right after skiing on the last day. Leaving before the final evening meal could save you £10 per person, help you to avoid any queues at Calais, and get back to school earlier.
Finally, travelling on a Saturday can help you to avoid a Channel crossing supplement. Hoteliers also offer better rates from Sunday to Friday. So, an 8-day trip really offers great value for money and means you get home on Saturday, leaving you the rest of the weekend to recover.
If you want to travel by air, we advise looking at a term-time trip if you can. A January term-time trip by air can actually cost less than a half-term trip by coach.
Accommodation
With accommodation, it can be a bit tricky to work out what is the best value for money. We advise speaking to our Ski Specialists about your requirements, and they will talk you through the various options.
Doorstep skiing is usually the most expensive option, so you could opt to stay down in the valley and take the coach to the slopes. On paper, this would be the cheaper option. However, when you factor in hot lunches on the slopes, the price can then rise back up to the doorstep skiing option.
Some groups prefer to buy a meal in the restaurants on the slopes rather than book a packed lunch from their accommodation. If this is your preference, you could book your accommodation on a half-board basis and save around £60 per person on the tour price.
Ski Resort & Lift Pass
When choosing a ski resort, consider the level and requirements of your group, especially if you want to keep costs down. That’s because there is usually a direct correlation between the size of the ski area and the price of the lift pass. The larger the ski area, the more expensive the lift pass.
If your students are mostly beginners, they will not be able to get the maximum use out of a large ski area.
On average, pupils can ski around 25km in a 2-hour lesson, depending on their speed and ability. And with ski school starting and finishing at the same place, that means you can only get so far. If the resort is bigger, the group will simply never get to see it all. As such, a large ski area doesn’t usually offer good value for money for beginners and intermediates.
The other benefit of the small resorts is that their usually less busy, so you may find your students also spend more time skiing and less time queuing. In this way, smaller resorts usually offer quality over quantity.
Some of the larger resorts, like Les 2 Alpes, offer quality and quantity. If your group are more advanced and can ski a little further, Les 2 Alpes offers very good value for money per km of piste.
And there are also some resorts that offer the best of both worlds. Claviere, for example, offers a choice of the Claviere lift pass or the Via Lattea lift pass, so you can tailor your lift pass to suit your budget and the ability of your group.
The other thing to remember is that you do tend to find that lift queues are much more of a problem in the larger resorts. A smaller resort where you’ll spend less time queuing may actually give your students more time on skis.
Ski Lessons
If you do want to make a significant saving on your ski, one way you can do so is to consider taking an 8-day trip with 5 hours of ski lessons per day over 5 days.
This actually gives you an extra hour on skis than the traditional 9-day trip with 4 hours of ski lessons per day over 6 days.
Plus, it will save you money on a night’s accommodation, a day’s lift pass and ski hire.
Après-Ski Activities
If you’re travelling to your ski resort by coach, you can take some items for après-ski activities with you. Popular choices include bibs and balls for 5-a-side, basketball, or dodgeball, and prizes for a quiz or bingo night.
Some accommodation options have sports facilities or large rooms that you can use for your après-ski activities. If this is of interest to you, please do ask your Ski Specialist about the options available in your chosen resort.
We strongly recommend that you make use of your rep when it comes to après-ski activities. They’re super fun, have oodles of experience, and have lots of creative ideas for fun après-ski activities on a budget.
Time Of Year
If you’re really keen to keep costs down, think about going in December.
Ski trips are often at their least expensive pre-Christmas, so if your school can travel at that time, it could save a lot of money. If you do choose to travel in December, Italian ski resorts are a great bet, because they open early and have a fantastic record for early-season snow.
If you can’t travel before Christmas, the next best time to travel in terms of value for money is normally Easter. The days are longer and warmer, and the slopes are less busy, so you’ll spend more time skiing and less time queuing.
But don’t worry if you can only travel during the February half term. Although this is the busiest time of the year for schools, we’re well placed to advise you on the best value options for your group.
Interested in a ski trip for your school?
Of course, where you are able to make savings will depend on your specific requirements.
With that in mind, our final tip is to talk to us. We’re not a ‘one price fits all’ tour operator; we always work with you to build a quotation that fits your requirements. And our experience and knowledge of our resorts means that we can help build a trip at the price you need for your students.
So, for any advice or information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.