Dreaming of a family getaway to the mountains, but worried about the costs? With expenses like transport, equipment rental, ski passes, and accommodation, a ski vacation can quickly seem out of reach. But don’t worry—it’s entirely possible to enjoy an unforgettable ski trip on a budget. Here are 10 tips and tricks to make it happen!
1. Skip Hotels and Vacation Rentals: Try HomeExchange for Budget Accommodation
Whatever your destination for your mountain holiday, HomeExchange has a lot going for it compared with more usual forms of accommodation such as renting or hotels, which can be prohibitively expensive. Accommodation accounts for around 30% of a holiday budget, and it's particularly high in ski resorts!
- By choosing to home exchange, you'll make considerable savings on accommodation, so you'll have the budget you need (and more!) to really enjoy your ski holiday.
- Another advantage of home exchanging is that you can enjoy accommodation with a kitchen: this will allow you to have a leisurely breakfast, prepare your sandwiches for the day and have meals there from time-to-time, which is much cheaper than eating twice a day in restaurants in the mountains or in the resort.
- With HomeExchange, you can enjoy a warm and spacious chalet or flat, and often even benefit from the loan of snow equipment for your hosts, such as skis, helmets, sledges and snowshoes.
- Skiing with HomeExchange is an authentic and unique experience: your hosts will be happy to communicate their shopping tips, point out places not to be missed and share the addresses of their favourite restaurants, far from the usual touristy hotspots and hopefully at reasonable prices.
2. Pick a Family-Friendly and Affordable Ski Resort
For a cheap ski holiday, forget the big resorts! In the mid-altitude mountains, you'll find family resorts that are much less expensive than the ‘behemoths’ located at higher altitudes. These more authentic mountain villages may have fewer kilometres of pistes to ski, but they offer more affordable ski passes, and generally more attractive and decent prices on activities, restaurants and shops.
What's more, these inexpensive ski resorts are particularly well-equipped for beginners. You'll find nursery facilities for the little ones, and a wide range of non-skiing activities for the whole family.
3. Book Early
Early booking, 5 to 6 months in advance, is advantageous in more ways than one.
Booking in advance means you have a better chance of finding accommodation in your favourite resort, as it's first-come, first-served! If you're thinking of going on a home exchange, HomeExchange gives you access to a wide choice of exchange options to suit your needs. For example, you might find accommodation close to the slopes, homes with larger capacities if you're intending on skiing with your family or a group of friends, homes that can accommodate you in school holidays etc.
Planning your ski holiday in advance can also enable you to get attractive rates: on your train journey, your ski passes and your equipment hire.
4. Choose Cost-Effective Transport
Choose your mode of transport to get to the resort carefully: compare trains, coaches and cars and opt for the solution offering the best value for money, comfort and journey time.
Better yet, try to favor environmentally-friendly transport and reduce your carbon footprint when skiing: the car is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions for journeys to mountain resorts (source Greenly - ‘carbon footprint and comparison by type of transport’ - October 2023). If possible, opt for cheaper, more environmentally-friendly alternatives such as the train, car-sharing or the electric car (which has a smaller carbon footprint).
5. Explore Non-Ski Activities
For many people, getting away from it all means skiing. But it's possible to enjoy other activities in the mountains when you're not skiing.
Ski resorts offer many other activities that are cheaper than skiing, so you can save money: you can go sledging, ice skating, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, visit the surrounding villages, or visit farms or cooperatives to learn about local traditions and taste delicious cheeses.
6. Save on Ski Equipment
If you only ski for a few days a year, there's no need to invest in ski clothing and equipment. There are plenty of inexpensive alternatives available to you:
- You can find second-hand ski clothing at low prices on a wide range of sites: Vinted, Leboncoin, and even Decathlon, which has launched a dedicated platform!
- Get great deals on your ski equipment hire with HomeExchange: thanks to our partnership with Skiset, you can take advantage of a 10% discount (outside school holiday periods) and a 5% discount (during school holiday periods). It's very simple: different ‘packs’ are available depending on your level of skiing and the equipment you already have or don't have (skis, boots, helmet, etc). Once you've completed your request (ski resort, preferred rental shop, your dates, your height, weight, shoe size, etc.) all you have to do is validate your request using the HOMEEXCHANGE code that appears automatically, and collect your equipment on the day you arrive in the resort!
7. Buy the Right Ski Passes
If you're going on a week's skiing trip, are you sure you're going to ski every day, morning and afternoon? It may not be worth buying passes for 6 full days!
You may only want to ski in the mornings, or every other day to take advantage of other activities in the resort. Ask yourself what your real needs are, and find the package that suits you best to save on expensive ski passes.
Look out for the resorts' best deals: some offer reduced rates for families. For the very young, ski passes are generally free up to the age of 5.
8. Compare Ski Lesson Prices
If you're thinking of taking ski lessons for yourself or your children, you can find out more at your resort's tourist office or directly at the ski school.
It's important to think about your needs: do you just want to take one or two lessons to brush up on your technique? Are you planning to enrol your children in ski school for a whole week so that they can learn the basics and proudly pass each level? Find the best package or packages to make the most of these ski lessons, without blowing your budget.
9. Limit Restaurant Visits
Here’s how to eat affordably at a ski resort with a bit of planning and preparation:
- Do your grocery shopping in advance: Plan your food needs ahead of time and purchase basic items (non-perishables, snacks, beverages) at supermarkets outside the resort, where prices are typically much lower.
- Take advantage of your accommodation’s kitchen: If you’re staying in a home with a kitchen, prepare simple and cost-effective meals, such as sandwiches to take with you on the slopes or family-style dishes like raclette or fondue. These meals are perfect after a long day outdoors. Buy regional specialties like cheese and cured meats from local supermarkets or agricultural cooperatives. Preparing these at your accommodation can be far cheaper than dining out, while allowing you to experience the local flavors.
- Research affordable restaurant options: If you want to dine out occasionally, look for budget-friendly options like pizzerias or creperies, which are often less expensive. Ask locals or regular visitors for recommendations and check menus online beforehand to ensure prices fit your budget.
- Allocate your savings for special outings: Staying in a home exchange property saves you money, making it possible to budget for one or two special dining experiences in an on-mountain restaurant or in the village. Enjoy these moments guilt-free, knowing you’ve saved on other meals.
10. Choose the Right Time and Duration
If you're dreaming of enjoying the great outdoors in the mountains but don't have a big budget, you can opt to go away for a weekend or a short ski break. Escaping to the pistes for a few days will give you a change of scenery and really recharge your batteries!
If you want to ski for less, avoid at all costs the high season and expensive periods such as New Year and the February school holidays. Instead, opt for January, March or April, which are more suitable for cheap skiing holidays.
A top idea: Want to find out more about HomeExchange? Talk to members of the HomeExchange community? Ask your questions? Join us on the HomeExchange Forum, which is open to everyone.
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