Warning to French Half-Term skiers in 2024

Going on a February Half-Term ski trip requires special planning and especially if visiting France!

For the past few winters, the UK and main French February school holiday dates haven’t clashed. That changes in 2024 when zone C (Paris schools) and the main UK holidays both fall on the 11th February, the same week as the UK holiday.

That will make the popular French ski resorts rammed next February:

• Expect longer delays to transfers
• Overcrowded ski slopes
• Longer lift queues
• Difficulties with lunchtime reservations
• Higher prices for hotels, ski chalets and apartments
• Fewer ski school instructors
• Delays in collecting and returning rented skis and boots

Christmas and Easter skiing or the February half-term week

Is a February half-term ski trip worth the hassle or should you ski another week?

As a seasoned skier over the half-term week (although my youngest is now 24) I did over 30 weeks of skiing during this week. I recall all too well how busy the slopes are when the two nations’ school holidays clash. It’s always the busiest week of the ski season anyway.

If you have to go that week, you will have a good time, but if you can, you might save a few £000’s by switching to another school holiday date.

Christmas is a great time to go skiing, the ski resorts look wonderful in lights under darker winter skies, all the runs will be open, as ski resorts always preserve snow for the first peak week of the ski season. And it’s usually much cheaper than New Year or Half-Term.

At a similar price to the Half-Term week, the New Year week, often falls within the school holidays, so is a viable alternative.

For many, the draw of longer warmer sunnier days and the prospect of long lunches on mountain restaurant terraces make an Easter ski holiday the obvious choice. Prices can be 30% lower and schools are out for two weeks. Over the years, clients have questioned the snow quality at the end of the ski season. Skiers are often surprised to hear that more often than not, there is more snowfall in April than in January. The sun melts the snow quicker and the days generally start a little icy, but reach that sweet spot after just an hour’s sunshine, and it will reward you with a few inches of soft snow that are a dream to ski on. By the end of the day the lower slopes in a poor year can be very slushy and therefore we recommend that skiers take a late long lunch and finish the afternoon at one of the après ski bars such as the Folie Douce which reach a hedonistic level in the sunshine.