If you’re craving some time on the slopes in Europe,
there’s still plenty of time left to fit in a trip this ski season. Or,
if you’re super organized and looking to next year’s season, you may be
wondering just how far your dollars will go. Ski trips can be
expensive, even if you manage to find a cheap flight to your snow
destination.
The U.K. Post Office publishes an annual survey
of the most expensive and the most affordable ski resorts in Europe. It
looks at the costs for a week of skiing across 30 popular European
resorts, comparing the costs of items like lift passes, equipment hire
and daily food and drinks on the slopes. Accommodation is excluded, as
the costs can vary wildly even at the same resort. Flight costs are also
excluded from the survey.
If
you’re looking to save some pennies, or splash out, here are the two
ends of the spectrum when it comes to cost options for 2020 — plus read
how to plan your trip with points and miles here.
Most expensive
1. Zermatt, Switzerland
At
a whopping $1,344 per person for a weeklong ski trip, you’ll need deep
pockets to enjoy a holiday in the notoriously expensive country of
Switzerland. Depending on the cost of your accommodation, you could
easily be doubling this amount for your week on the slopes.
What’s
all this money going toward? According to the survey, ski school
lessons are exorbitantly expensive — five to six half-day group lessons
will set you back $569.
2. St Anton, Austria
Only
slightly cheaper at $1,257 for your week, this resort is popular for
its 88 cable cars and lifts as well as more than 186 miles of marked ski
runs, with 124 miles off-piste.
Ski hire is by far the most expensive at St Anton of any resort surveyed.
3. Saas Fee, Switzerland
While
still located in pricey Switzerland, the price for your week in Saas
Fee will be noticeably cheaper than Zermatt, at $1,138 — more than 15%
less for the same items across the week. Ski lessons are less than half
the price of Zermatt, according to the survey.
Saas
Fee is close to the Italian border, so if you are looking in this
region you may want to cast your search a bit wider as you’re likely to
receive a lot more value in Italy.
Rounding out the top-five most costly were Wengen, Switzerland, and Obergurgl, Austria.
Least expensive
1. Borovets, Bulgaria
You
may be surprised at just how cheap Bulgaria can be for skiing. The same
weekly items that can set you back more than $1,300 in Switzerland will
be a cheap $578 in Borovets — that’s less than half the price. You can
expect all the same facilities in Bulgaria that you would find in any
European ski resort — modern ski lifts, plenty of bars, cafes and
restaurants both at the top and bottom of the mountain, and snow-making
facilities, should there be insufficient snow.
Oh, and your accommodation is likely to be significantly cheaper than Western Europe ski resorts too.
2. Bansko, Bulgaria
The
other major ski resort in Bulgaria, Bansko, is a similar low price to
Borovets — $584 for the weekly surveyed costs, excluding your flights
and accommodation.
So
what’s the difference between Bansko and Borovets given the prices are
almost identical? Borovets is closer to Sofia (SOF) Airport, meaning
quicker, cheaper transfer times. Bansko is an existing town with a ski
resort built around it meaning it has plenty of town infrastructure and
facilities. Borovets is a purpose-built ski resort, without the existing
town, so has fewer facilities than Bansko and may mean higher
accommodation prices as there is less available.
3. Bardonecchia, Italy
Only
slightly more expensive at $623, Bardonecchia combines good value with
delicious Italian cuisine. The Telegraph has even suggested it could be
Italy’s most underrated resort. You can expect fewer crowds on top of this decent value proposition, as well as 62 miles of mostly intermediate-level pistes.
Rounding out the top five least costly were Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, and Sestriere, Italy.
Bottom line
Ski
trips can vary hugely in terms of costs, convenience and facilities. If
you want your dollars to go further, consider looking beyond the usual
hot spots of Switzerland, Austria and France.
Featured photo by TPopova/Getty Images
Ben Smithson
is a Senior Writer for TPG UK. Originally from Australia, he is the
primary miles and points writer for the UK site. Ben joined TPG UK from
One Mile At A Time where he freelanced previously.
Originally published at https://thepointsguy.com on February 9, 2020.
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