Meribel skiing holidays can be great for families as they offer stunning scenery, variety of runs and plenty of nursery slopes for beginners and younger skiers.

Children booked into a ski school will learn from English speaking instructors and nannies will escort them to and from the slopes and supervise over lunchtimes. There are also fun activities such as sledging, snowman building and woodland walks. Adult ski schools will run at a similar time meaning that you could opt for free afternoons to spend together exploring the Alpine towns.

Meribel have introduced the Magnestick system this year. The Magnestick is a vest with a metallic back protection in, this is worn over the ski jacket. A magnet also exists in three of the chairlifts in Meribel so when a child sits on these lifts it is automatically activated and ensures the child stays “stuck” to the seat. It automatically releases on arrival. Chairlifts equipped with this system are Combes, Arolles and Chatelet.

Magnestick system in action

For the younger child there are crèches (with a garden full of snow!) open from 9am – 5:30pm for babies aged from four-months, allowing Mum and Dad to have a full day on the slopes or a drop-in crèche during the evenings.

If you want to take your family skiing to Meribel then we recommend Mark Warner. Mark Warner has over 25-years experience in organising family ski holidays and introducing children to skiing. This year there are money-saving offers including free child places, discounted child-share deals and free ski and boot rental for children. Have a look at the Mark Warner ski holidays to Meribel here.

If you do opt to take your children skiing for the first time here are five top tips help keep little ones safe and for you to have a stress-free time.

• Cooler temperatures can cause batteries to run out more quickly so remember to pack spares
• Remember to keep moisturiser and lip balms handy, flavoured balms are great for kids
• A few thin layers are better then one think jumper. Vests, cotton polo necks and fleeces are lightweight and comfortable to wear under a thicker jacket
• Remember to pack essentials like spare pairs of gloves and hats, in case they get lost en route to the slopes!
• Sunlight is strong so it is vital to use high SPF on any exposed areas such as the nose during skiing and for children to wear protective sunglasses

Following on from the success of Pierre & Vacances’ popular ‘sunshine guarantee’ insurance policy this summer, the European accommodation specialist is now offering a ‘snow guarantee’ on all winter ski holidays. The ski insurance policy allows holidaymakers the option of cancelling their ski holiday free of charge if snow weather conditions in resort are insufficient.

Cancellation applies if a lack or excess of snow entails the closure of over two thirds of the ski lifts normally in service, for a minimum of two consecutive days. A refund can be claimed within the five days preceding the departure date. The insurance policy is being offered in association with Europ Assistance, to offer a full refund on Pierre & Vacances ski holidays booked between the 19th December 2009 and the 10th April 2010. The policy, starting from €30 per booking, is applicable to all ski holidays booked at ‘Pierre & Vacances’ or ‘Maeva’ branded properties this winter.

The ‘Snow Guarantee’ is just another reason to book your winter ski holiday with Pierre & Vacances, as the company has also recently extended its ‘Eurobuster’ deal to offer at least 15 per cent off all ski holidays on all dates throughout the winter, including Christmas, New Year and the school half term holidays. The deal can also be combined with any other Pierre & Vacances offer currently available to lead to savings of up to 32 percent.For more information and to take advantage of the offer, please visit:

The ‘snow guarantee’ comes hot on the heels of the summer ‘sunshine guarantee’ which offered to reimburse sun lovers if their holiday to France was interrupted by more than four days of rain in one week.

For more information and further terms and conditions for the Snow Guarantee, please visit: http://www.pv-holidays.com/hu_ski_services_snow_guarantee.php

The UK ski market is expected to book much later this year but peak availability could still be scarce due to demand from other countries. The claim came from independent bed bank Holiday Brokers which estimates the UK ski market is running 30% down year on year. Sales director Brian Young said that while UK bookings were down sales from other euro-zone areas are much stronger, “which is going to cause a lack of availability for peak booking periods”. He added: “The UK has been much slower than usual to book new year and half term periods, whereas European skiers have been much quicker off the mark, meaning that capacity over peaks is already limited, so travel agents should start promoting offers now, as it really is a case of now or never.”

Easter holidays in 2010 for the French start two weeks later meaning that capacity during the first two weeks of April for the UK skiers is not so restricted, resulting in lower prices and plenty of availability, according to the company. Young added that ski is the same size as the cruise market “but nowhere near as discount led, so agents can make good margins, they just need to spend some time researching the product”.

Thanks to www.travelmole.com for this story.

Our pick of Opodo’s ski deals are:

Le Riviere apartments in Chamonix, situated only 50m from the nearest lift. A week on 23rd of January self catering would set you back £249 (based on 4 sharing). Flights are included from London or alternative airports. Book here.

Le Grand Chalet in Val Thorens is right in the centre of town and only 200m from the nearest ski lift. Val Thorens being high and with a glacier is perfect for a late ski holiday, go early April (3rd) and get an apartment for only £369 per person including flights from Gatwick (or alternative airports). The other good news about the flights is that they really are civilised, you’ll leave London at 12pm and leave Geneva at 15:40, so no crack of dawn starts. Book here.

If you’re still looking for a cheap half term option, then this really must be top of the list. Stay at Pension Niedermuhlbichler in Soll from the 13th February and get a week for only £190 each including flights from Manchester (or alternative airports.) Although this establishment is usually B&B, this week it is self catering only, however for £190 you can hardly complain. There are plenty of great places to eat in Soll, so you won’t have any problems finding breakfast or dinner. Book here.

Browse Thomson ski package holidays
Browse Crystal ski package holidays
Browse Thomas Cook ski package holidays
Browse Neilson ski package holidays
Browse First Choice ski package holidays

Why book a ski package holiday?

Booking a ski package holiday gives you the benefit of having one company organise all aspects of your ski holiday leaving you just to enjoy your ski holiday.

Ski package holidays will normally include the following:

Ski Acommodation – ski chalet or hotel
Transport to ski resort, via plane or train or ferry if self drive
Transfers from airport to ski resort
Breakfast and 3/4 course dinner for 6 nights (most offer wine with dinner also).
Ski package holiday rep on site to arrange your ski pass, ski hire and ski lessons (don’t forget that although the service to arrange this is free, but these are not usually included in the price)

Most ski package holidays also have an in resort creche which you will be able to use (for additional cost). Using the creche run by the ski package holiday company mean you will get English speaking staff and there will be other English speaking children there.

Between all the major ski package holidays providers they have a large range of ski chalets and hotels in pretty much all Worldwide ski resorts, ensuring that you have the best choice available to you.

Because you get travel, accommodation and food included ski package holidays can easily work out cheaper than booking independently plus ski holiday package holidays can be a lot less hassle too.

Our pick of where to book ski package holidays:

Book Thomson ski package holidays
Book Crystal ski package holidays
Book Thomas Cook ski package holidays
Book Neilson ski package holidays
Book First Choice ski package holidays

Quest Bulgaria say “The British pound might be on the rise but those holidaying abroad are still facing mounting costs for their beach or ski holiday. According to the Post Office Travel Services barometer, almost half of UK tourists are looking to slash holiday costs by eating out less or cutting out sightseeing. Those taking a family overseas would pay more than twice as much for six beach items in Greece compared with Bulgaria.

For those looking for something to do at a cheap price, the Post Office highlights the chairlift ride up Bulgaria’s Blue Mountains on the edge of Sliven, which is less than 10 pounds for the whole family. Anyone wanting to take time out of the kitchen and eat out would do well to holiday in Bulgaria.

The Post Office found that a family meal costs about 57 pounds in Brighton – a family meal would be only 25 pounds here! For more information about the cost of living in Bulgaria, read the full and up to date article Cost of Living in Bulgaria 2009 from Quest Bulgaria Magazine.”

Ski Bulgaria is a good option for a budget deal, you can find more information here about skiing in Bulgaria.

A recent survey by American Express Travellers Cheques showed that although 79% of people still plan to take their holiday they are looking to cut costs in various ways. So how can these cost cutting suggestions be put into practice when booking yourski holiday.

• Travelling on an off-peak day of the week 53% (Amex survey respondents that are planning to do this)

With skiing, you’re unlikely to find a deal that makes it cheaper for you to travel on an off peak day of the week, just because most holiday companies are set up for Saturday or Sunday transfers. However it will be cheaper for you to sacrifice your six days skiing and do three or four, you’ve just got to find somewhere set up to do this.

Try a Thursday night budget flight into Turin, transferring to Montgenevre and staying with Flexible Breaks for four nights, leaving Monday evening. Giving you four days skiing for two days holiday (if you live close to an airport.) Flexible Breaks do what they say on the tin, you can book any number of nights you like! Go early or late season and get your ski break even cheaper.

• Going on a flight at an anti-social hour 39%
  Flying with a budget airline 38%

If you’re going independently then there are a range of budget airlines that you can use to get the cheapest price.

Snowjet
Ryanair
Easyjet
Thomsonfly
Air Southwest
Transavia
Bmibaby
Flybe
Jet2

• Going to a destination I have never heard of 15%

It is true that a lot of us skiers prefer to go to the big famous resorts, such as Val d’Isere, Courchevel, Meribel, Kitzbuhel etc etc. However some of the less known ski resorts have just as much good skiing and the beer costs less too.

Try Bansko in Bulgaria, Cervinia in Italy, Brides les Bains linked to Meribel or the Les Sybelles area in France, my personal favourite for good cheap skiing.

• Staying somewhere with communal bathrooms 4%
  Sharing a room with other people 3%

If you’re only on holiday for the skiing and not for the luxury then you could easily save a lot of money. My suggestion for this option is to stay at a UCPA. This is equivalent to our Youth Hostel Association, the UCPA has hostels all over the alps that are open throughout the winter. I’ve stayed in the Tignes UCPA twice now and I can firmly say that they are brilliant value but basic. If you are a solo traveller then they will put you in a dorm (6 beds) of the same sex.  You can get a week in a UCPA, including full board, lift pass and lessons from around 500 euros!

Don’t forget the team at Ski Concierge are here to help you book your ski holiday. Just follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/skiconcierge) and message us your question.