This programme includes all that is offered in the standard Family Week package, but the resorts (Flaine, La Plagne and Valloire) are ski in/ski out and the rooms are all en suite. Towels are included for Family Plus guests.

Family Plus weeks include ski instruction for children aged 3+ so you don't need to organise lessons or kids club externally (our standard family weeks only have lessons/ski equipment/lift passes for those aged 7+). Those aged 3-5 (or 4 - 5 in Flaine) will have ESF lessons and will be accompanied to their lessons by UCPA staff. 

The Family Plus weeks also include kids clubs from Mon - Fri. There may be a choice of snowboarding* or introduction to off-piste courses* 

*Snowboarding is only for improver+ level (i.e. not for complete beginners) for 12-15 age group or 16+/adult and the off-piste introduction (for 16+ adult) is only during the February (& sometimes Easter) holidays. 

UCPA was founded with the aim of getting young people into sports and the outdoors, all at an affordable price. This is achieved through many efficiencies, one of which is the 'multi-share' rooms. The rooms can be described as comfortable, warm, and quiet but basic with no frills.

During family weeks you and your family will have a room to yourselves (or multiple rooms). Still, occasionally we may need to ask smaller or two 2-person families to share together (unless you have booked into a twin room). This is because as a not-for-profit organisation, UCPA keep prices as low as possible and therefore as many beds as possible need to be filled. Twin rooms are always put aside initially for 2-person, single-parent families i.e. 1 x parent + 1 x under 18 child to book (without additional supplement), but where there is an excess of twin rooms available larger families can book them. In some centres, there are very limited twin rooms available and these may not be avaialble for single-parent families. Also note that 2-person adult families may be asked to share rooms. If you are a 2-person family wanting to have a private room, you can be guaranteed one in Flaine or Les Contamines.

Bathroom facilities vary from centre to centre, the most common being bedrooms having a sink and a shower ensuite with shared toilets in the corridor. Some centres have toilets & showers either on the corridor or shared between several rooms. The family week plus centres (Flaine, La Plagne and Valloire) all have ensuite rooms.

UCPA save costs by the guests pitching in and helping out. For example when you arrive you will be provided with clean linen for your bed, but you will have to make it yourself. You will be expected to strip the beds and give the room a quick clean before checking out. This little bit of mucking in is what makes UCPA trips such excellent value and follows the 'community living' ethos that UCPA was founded on. 

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The instruction provided by UCPA is suitable for all levels and it is included for adults as well as children (see below for ages). It is not compulsory to attend lessons but they are a great way to meet others staying at the centre, be shown the best parts of the resort and fine-tune your skills.

UCPA Family Ski Instruction

Includes 4 sessions of approximately 2.5 hours Monday-Friday and is available for adults and children aged 7 and over (or for ages 3 and over on Family Plus weeks (over 4 in Flaine). Adults and children may have lessons together, depending on ages and levels. There is usually 1 lesson a day (often with Wednesday as a free day) and usually alternates between mornings and afternoons. There is usually an introductory session for beginners on Sunday afternoon.

In Chamonix, the instruction is always full-time (approx 23 hrs during the week)

UCPA Accommodation Only

This package is for children under 7 years of age and adults who don’t intend on skiing (during the standard family weeks only). The package includes accommodation and meals but excludes equipment hire, lift pass and ski instruction. The price is discounted to represent the smaller package. For children under 7, lessons equipment hire and lift passes must be arranged externally with ski schools such as ESF.

Children aged 2 and under

UCPA does not charge for children under the age of 2 (age 3 in Flaine), however a bed will not be provided. You will therefore be required to bring your own travel cot, high chair and baby stuff with you. Childcare is not provided and you should therefore contact the local tourist information centres to find out about local provision. There is a small £10 administration fee to process the booking. 

For the family weeks, UCPA centres will amend evening meal times to better suit children. The French do tend to eat meals later than we do in the UK therefore the adjusted times may still be later than your normal family meal times. We therefore advise you to plan accordingly. Most resorts have food shops however these may be very small and the choice limited so you might prefer to bring some non-refrigerated snack options with you.

It is usual in France for children to eat what the adults do, so there are unlikely to be separate options aimed specifically for children.

If a member of your family has a serious dietary requirement please let the centre know in advance. UCPA chefs will always try and offer an alternative option for those with allergies or dietary needs, however, it is not always possible to cater for all dietary requirements and they will be unable to provide specialist food alternatives such as gluten free bread or soya milk. We would advise you to bring such food stuff with you if you rely on these alternatives, as they may not even be available in resort.

Helping out also applies at meal times - you help yourself to food and are expected to clear your table and give it a wipe when you are finished.

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We are able to provide our customers with transfers to and from airports in most resorts, as well as a coach option from London at some resorts. The prices vary depending on resort and airport. Transfers can be applied at the checkout for some or all of your group, or they can be added post-booking.

It is important to check that your flights fit within our possible transfer times for the resort and airport you are going to - you can do this on the resort page under the 'getting there' tab.

Each year we have a selection of resorts available for family weeks during UK school holiday dates (with other UCPA centres being used for the standard individual market (for 18-40 year-olds). These resorts and the number of places at each change slightly year-on-year. On some dates, we have the whole centre for Action Outdoors customers (primarily English-speaking/UK customers). On other dates, we share the centre with international UCPA partners and there will be an international mix of French, Swedish, British and other nationalities.

For the 26/27 season, the below resorts/number of places that are originally available. For price information and to book, have a look at the 'dates & prices' page. Full availability will be shown when we go on sale. When these are sold out they will show as crossed out on that page (resorts/dates may disappear in the lead up to the sales day: 1st May).

You can add your name to the notification list if places sell out, which you can find in the drop-down menu below.

We will open a notification list for the 26/27 season once the sales have opened in early May. We do not have a pre-sale waiting list. Note that it will be a 'notification list' and not a 'waiting list'. Therefore, if more places open up, we will put the places online and send an email to everyone on the notification list i.e. places will be available on a first-come, first-served basis as soon as they are back online.    

New for August 2026: Tignes summer family week, multisport, mountain biking, hiking. Have a look at what we have on offer here