Ten tips for a cheap ski holiday

A ski holiday can be expensive - even if it only lasts a few days. Some are therefore even of the opinion that they cannot afford such a holiday anyway. But if you take a few tips into account, you can drive more cheaply.

If you don't necessarily have to go on vacation, you should better avoid this time and choose the off-season. Holiday dates are usually the most expensive, confirms Florian Schmidt from the German Ski Association (DSV).

If you have to travel as a family with children during the holiday season, you should at least skip the popular days over New Year's Eve or Easter, advises the tour operator Snowtrex. There are much more attractive offers before Christmas, after New Year or in the week after Easter.

Compared to the high season, the price differences are usually enormous. In addition, the slopes are usually emptier in the off-season and the ski passes are cheaper.

Avoid Ischgl, Kitzbühel, Sölden and Co. - "the smaller and less well-known a ski area is, the cheaper it is usually," says Sandra Timár from Österreich Werbung. There are often only a few kilometers of pistes, a small selection of huts and not the newest lifts. But if you only go on a ski holiday for a few days, have children with you or fall into the category of beginners, you are not necessarily worse off with smaller areas.

The tour operator Snowtrex has calculated that a ski holiday in a manageable area in France, Germany, the Czech Republic or Poland can save up to 70 percent compared to large areas. Ski pass, equipment rental, ski school, meals and accommodation are much cheaper there.

Instead of a four-star wellness hotel with a three-course menu, it would be better to look for a holiday apartment to save money. That's cheaper and no less relaxing, says Florian Schmidt.

In addition, many holiday apartments offer more space than hotel rooms. Comfortable and cheap offers can be found in almost every ski resort. Of course nobody cleans for that – but you know that.

Rule of thumb: The closer the accommodation is to the lift, the more expensive it is. That's why Sandra Timár advises all bargain hunters to stay in places that don't have a ski lift and aren't right around the corner from ski areas. From there you can usually get to the nearest ski area in less than 60 minutes by public transport.

Ski vacationers without their own equipment should compare prices for rental equipment in advance. In some cases it can be worthwhile to borrow the rental equipment from a sports shop in your home country and take it with you, says Florian Schmidt.

If you don't want to transport the equipment, Snowtrex recommends reserving or booking the equipment online in advance in a sports shop in the ski area. This saves up to 70 percent.

According to Florian Schmidt's experience, some sports shops also have special offers for buying ski equipment for children: the children's ski set can then be exchanged up to three times for the new ski length required for a service fee.

Or the used material can be returned and the price will be credited pro rata to the new ski set.

If you spend several days in a ski resort, you should always buy a multi-day ticket instead of individual day ski passes. Rule of thumb: The more days you ski, the cheaper the ski pass is per day. According to Florian Schmidt, offers such as “pay for five days, ski for six days” are also particularly interesting.

Whether from the tour operator or the ski region: With certain campaigns, the ski holiday can be booked particularly cheaply - for example, if you do not commit yourself to a ski area. Sandra Timár advises looking for offers or packages on the websites of the ski regions that are significantly cheaper for skiing holidays with children.

According to Florian Schmidt, children up to the age of six can ski for free in many ski areas if one parent buys a ski pass. In some ski areas, this even applies to older children. Families should look out for such offers when booking. According to the DSV expert, there are often discounts on ski passes for pupils, young people, students or seniors.

Many book their ski holiday individually. They think: Package tours are more for a beach holiday on the Mediterranean. However, a total package of accommodation, ski pass and rental fee can also be cheaper on a winter holiday than booking everything individually. This also helps some to keep an eye on the costs of the holiday.

Florian Schmidt also refers to the combined offers from Deutsche Bahn or bus tour operators. In addition to arrival and departure, the day ski pass is included in the price. The Garmisch Ski-Ticket from Deutsche Bahn, for example, takes you directly from Munich Central Station to the Zugspitze and Garmisch-Classic ski areas. Restriction: This is often only about day trips.

If you keep your eyes open when choosing a ski resort, you can also save money. "In the east of Austria, a winter holiday tends to be cheaper than in the west," gives Sandra Timár as an example.

Hannah Lorbach from Snowtrex emphasizes the good value for money on a ski holiday in France. Here the standards in the accommodation are not as high as in Austria or Switzerland. But you are often in the immediate vicinity of the slopes. The high-altitude ski areas impressed with a high degree of snow security, a wide selection of slopes and a solid infrastructure.

Warming up at lunchtime in a rustic mountain hut while eating a hot meal: that's tempting after a long morning of skiing. The huts know that: the prices are often steep. The alternative: spread a sandwich for the slopes.

Even if many public holidays fall on a weekend again in 2022, you can still arrange your vacation days in such a way that you have as many days off as possible in a row. With these tips you can use the bridge days as efficiently as possible.

Source: WELT/ Viktoria Schulte

This article was first published in January 2022.