by For value for money on the slopes, experience tells us we should head to Bulgaria, to places like Borovets and Bansko, famous for their budget hotels and après ski. But not necessarily anymore, says Correos: Italy now tops the list of the cheapest ski places in Europe, specifically the Bardonecchia resort, on the border with France, about an hour west of Turin.
The report was compiled with ski tour operator Crystal Ski Holidays and compares costs at 36 resorts, in countries including France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Andorra, along with “wild cards” such as Finland and Slovenia. And there’s more good news: Prices have fallen year over year in several places, and in most others they are only slightly higher than last year.
However, it is frustrating, especially given the Post Office’s partnership with the UK’s largest ski tour operator, that the rankings do not include accommodation or travel costs. Rather, they are a comparison of costs on the slope, although we have done our own research on the prices of the packages below.
The cheapest resorts in Europe.
Overall, the cheapest resort for adult skiers (a different survey covers family costs, see below) was Bardonecchia in Italy. Here, a six-day lift pass, equipment hire, ski school and various meals and drinks come to £531.65 per person. Their prices have risen just 1.4 percent year-on-year, forcing Bulgaria’s Borovets, the 2023 winner, into second place.
Prices in Borovets have increased by 8.2 per cent year-on-year, to a total of £553.98. However, dig into the details and you’ll see that their food costs are much lower than Bardonecchia’s – just £99.36, compared to £147.84. This includes six coffees (£12.60 at Borovets; £21.12 at Bardonecchia), six soft drinks (£11.22/£13.20), six wines (£13.98/£15.84), six beers (£11.22/£18.48) and six lunches on the slopes (£50.34/£79.20).
However, Bardonecchia’s modest ski rates earn it top spot: just £383.81 in total for a six-day ski pass (£157.57), six-day equipment hire (£80.99) and a Half-day weekly ski school tuition (£145.25). In Borovets, the same items cost £70 more, at £454.62.
France’s Le Corbier comes in third, offering good value for money for lessons (£139.96, less than Bardonecchia and Borovets), but with more expensive food and drink (£169.02). It’s a new entry in the ranking, with expenses totaling £611.32.
As in previous years, the Italian resorts offer the best value for money among the big four ski destinations. The country’s resorts appear in the top ten: Livigno is in fourth place (total cost £614.25, a new entry for this year), Sauze d’Oulx fifth (£639.08, an increase of 2.7 percent cent), Sestriere eighth (£698.93, an increase of 8.1 per cent). cent) and La Thuile ninth (£709.85, an increase of 2.9 per cent).
Bulgarian side Bansko is in sixth place. In 2018 it was crowned the best value destination, but price increases of 18.1 per cent have forced it down the rankings.
Overall, prices have fallen at nine of the 31 resorts that were also surveyed last year, with the biggest falls of 5.5 per cent at Les Arcs (18th place, £811.96) and 5.5 per cent in Wengen (35th place, £1,259.99).
The most expensive resorts in Europe.
The most expensive destinations are the three Swiss resorts surveyed: Saas-Fee, Wengen and Zermatt. They are much more expensive than others, with ski holiday essentials costing £1,164.80, £1,259.99 and £1,334.76 respectively, much more than double the cheapest resorts in the survey.
However, if you want to ski in Zermatt this season, you can always base yourself in the Italian resort of Cervinia, which is linked to the same domain but is a much cheaper place to stay. It is ranked 13th and its essentials cost a total of £740.75, half the price of Zermatt.
Of the other most expensive destinations, Austria and France also dominate: the fourth most expensive is Val d’Isere (£1,119.36, down 1.4 percent year-on-year), then Kitzbühel (£1,041.35, down 4 .1 per cent up) and St. Anton (£1,037.35, down 1.7 per cent).
The biggest expense on a ski vacation
The most expensive item in the shopping basket is the six-day ski pass: only in two resorts (Bardonecchia and Borovets) do they cost less than 200 pounds. The former offers even greater value, considering £157.57 will get you access to 110km of pistes.
Austrian resorts seem expensive (from £284.33 in Ischgl to £352.99 in St Anton), but once again it is Switzerland that turns out to be the most expensive, with Zermatt, Wengen and Saas-Fee charging £362, 83 at £416.94 for a week. the clues.
Best budget resorts for families
A separate report covers 32 family resorts and offers a group price for a family of four: two adults and two children (ages six and eight). The cheapest is Jahorina in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a new entry for 2023 following Crystal’s launch of package tours to the lesser-known destination. Holiday essentials here cost £1,656.62 per family, of which £1,319.54 is for activities and ski passes, and £337.08 for food and drink.
Italian resorts come in second and third: Passo Tonale (total basket £1,677.95, down 6.6 per cent on last year) and Bardonecchia (£1,751.70) respectively.
Bansko in Bulgaria (£1,968) has fallen from best value last year to fifth place, after a significant rise in ski school prices, increasing its total cost by more than 27 per cent. Ski school for two adults and two children aged six and eight now costs £815, compared to just £465 in Jahorina and £467 in Geilo, Norway.
How else to save money on a ski vacation?
The Post Office survey addresses daily costs, not the cost of the holiday itself. Without these numbers, it’s much harder to make a meaningful comparison between resorts, so we look at some numbers below.
Traveling in January and skiing for a week in Bardonecchia, Italy, costs around £550 per person on a half-board basis, including return flights to Turin with Crystal. In Sauze the price of the equivalent package rises to around £600 per person, and in Livigno £800 per person, a true reflection of the resorts’ grading at the Post Office.
However, resort prices in Borovets and Bansko are much lower than those in Italy, so in terms of overall vacation value, Bulgaria is still the winner. For a week’s half board in January, Borovets ranges from £387pp to £834pp, while Bansko ranges from £394 to £816. In Bansko, you can get a B&B for a week with return flights and transfers to hotel from just £300pp, amazingly good value.
But price aside, can a Bulgarian ski holiday really compete with the classics? “That’s subjective,” our expert Rebecca Miles says diplomatically. “You may not get to rent the shiniest equipment or endless miles of slopes, but when you get five-star accommodation at three-star prices and great food that doesn’t just rely on melted cheese, who’s complaining? “Neither me nor my family.”
