Save clients £££s on ski holidays
Skiing on a tight budget can be tricky, but if you choose the right resort, you can make big savings.
Research by foreign exchange company No1 Currency shows that you can still save cash when skiing in a world-class resort, as long as you pick the right one.
For instance, skiing in the world-renowned resort of Chamonix in France will cost a family of four £5,924 a for a week, but Zermatt in Switzerland will cost £9,720, according to its research.
Similarly, a family of four can ski in Cervinia in Italy for a fortnight for the same price as a week on the slopes in Grindelwald in Switzerland.
However, care is needed when recommending the more affordable ski resorts to make sure you’re comparing like with like. It might be only a quarter of the cost to hire skis and boots in Borovets in Bulgaria than Ischgl in Austria, but the latter is a large, snow-sure resort with a fast, modern lift system and luxury accommodation.
Similarly, a week’s skiing in Bansko in Bulgaria will cost a family of four £4,442, half as much as in the Swiss resort of Saas Fee, but it offers a completely different experience.
The price of lift passes varies enormously from resort to resort, but the cost often reflects the extent of the ski area, the quality and speed of the lifts and other mountain facilities.
That said, a family could swap Grindelwald, one of the world’s most expensive resorts, for Les Deux Alpes in France, which has the largest skiable glacier in Europe, and save 80% of the cost, according to No1 Currency.
Also worth considering is that first-time skiers are unlikely to need a large ski area, so they could save money choosing a smaller, cheaper resort such as Bansko where the lift pass costs only £119 compared to £291 in Cervinia.
As a general rule of thumb, Bulgaria and Italy are cheaper than Austria, France and Switzerland, but even within the same countries there are huge price differences depending on the size, reputation and quality of the resort.
|
Location |
Ski/boot hire per person (6 days) |
Area lift pass per person (6 days) |
Flights & Accommodation per person (7 nights) |
Total family of four |
|
Pamporovo, Bulgaria |
incl |
incl |
£1,149 |
£4,396 |
|
Bansko, Bulgaria |
£64 |
£119 |
£1054 |
£4,442 |
|
Borovets, Bulgaria |
£55 |
£124 |
£1449 |
£5,556 |
|
Cervinia, Italy |
£92 |
£291 |
£1301 |
£5,580 |
|
Les Deux Alpes, France |
£121 |
£229 |
£1335 |
£5,620 |
|
La Thuile, Italy |
£140 |
£212 |
£1168 |
£5,828 |
|
Chamonix, France |
£158 |
£274 |
£1226 |
£5,924 |
|
Selva Val Gardena, Italy |
£107 |
£267 |
£1279 |
£5,976 |
|
Kitzbuhel, Austria |
£177 |
£243 |
£1200 |
£6,064 |
|
Val Thorens, France |
£155 |
£263 |
£1533 |
£6,148 |
|
Tignes, France |
£140 |
£258 |
£1531 |
£6,320 |
|
Solden, Austria |
£144 |
£209 |
£1225 |
£6,312 |
|
Courchevel, France |
£135 |
£263 |
£1818 |
£6,652 |
|
Meribel, France |
£163 |
£263 |
£1732 |
£6,784 |
|
St. Anton, Austria |
£171 |
£219 |
£1369 |
£6,788 |
|
Ischgl, Austria |
£195 |
£267 |
£1239 |
£6,804 |
|
Val d’Isere, France |
£176 |
£258 |
£1793 |
£6,852 |
|
Saas Fee, Switzerland |
£199 |
£275 |
£2091 |
£8,546 |
|
Zermatt, Switzerland |
£150 |
£314 |
£2492 |
£9,720 |
|
Grindelwald, Switzerland |
£230 |
£259 |
£2113 |
£10,100 |
Information sources: Skis, boot hire, flights and accommodation: www.crystalski.co.uk (Date: Feb 10th – 17th)
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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