For a good price on the slopes, experience tells us that we should go to Bulgaria – to Borovets and Bansko, known for their budget-friendly hotels and après-ski. But not necessarily anymore, says the Post Office: Italy now tops the rankings of Europe’s cheapest ski resorts, namely the seaside resort of Bardonecchia, on the border with France, about an hour west of Turin.
The report, produced in partnership with ski tour operator Crystal Ski Holidays, compares costs across 36 resorts – including France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Andorra, as well as ‘wildcards’ such as Finland and Slovenia. And there’s more good news: Prices have fallen year over year in several locations, and in most other locations they are only slightly higher than last year.
However, it is frustrating that, especially given the Post Office’s partnership with Britain’s largest ski tour operator, accommodation or travel costs are not included in the rankings. Rather, they are a comparison of costs along the way, although we have conducted our own research into package prices below.
The cheapest resorts in Europe
Overall, Bardonecchia in Italy was the cheapest resort for adult skiers (another survey looks at family costs – see below). Here a six-day lift pass, equipment hire, ski school and various food and drinks cost £531.65 per person. Prices have risen by just 1.4 percent year-on-year, pushing Bulgaria’s Borovets – the 2023 winner – into second place.
Prices in Borovets have risen by 8.2 percent year-on-year to a total of £553.98. However, if you dig into the details, the food cost is much lower than Bardonecchia’s: just £99.36, compared to £147.84. That includes six coffees (£12.60 in Borovets; £21.12 in 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 fees put it in first place: just £383.81 in total for a six-day lift pass (£157.57), six-day equipment hire (£80.99) and a week’s half-day lessons at a ski school (€ 145.25). In Borovets the same items cost £70 more, £454.62.
France’s Le Corbier comes in third, offering decent value for lessons (£139.96, less than both Bardonecchia and Borovets), but with more expensive food and drink (£169.02). It is a new entry in the rankings, with a total of £611.32.
As in previous years, Italian resorts offer the best value among the Big Four ski destinations. The country’s resorts are in the top ten: Livigno is fourth (total cost £614.25, a new entry for this year), Sauze d’Oulx fifth (£639.08, up 2.7 percent ), Sestriere eighth (£698.93, up 8.1 percent). cents) and La Thuile ninth (£709.85, up 2.9 percent).
Bulgaria’s Bansko takes sixth place. In 2018 it was crowned the destination with the best value for money, but price increases of 18.1 percent have pushed the city down the rankings.
Overall, prices fell in nine of the 31 resorts also surveyed last year, with the biggest falls of 5.5 per cent in Les Arcs (18th place, £811.96) and 5.5 per cent in Wengen ( 35th, £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 the basics for a ski holiday costing £1,164.80, £1,259.99 and £1,334.76 respectively – 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 and yet is a much cheaper place to stay. It ranks 13th in the rankings, with a total cost 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, up 4.1 percent) and St. Anton (£1,037.35, down 1.7 percent).
The largest expense during a ski holiday
The most expensive item in the shopping cart is the six-day ski pass: in only two resorts (Bardonecchia and Borovets) it costs less than €200. The former offers even better value, when you consider that £157.57 gets you access to 70 miles of piste.
Austrian resorts look expensive (from €284.33 in Ischgl to €352.99 in St Anton), but again it is Switzerland that comes out on top, with Zermatt, Wengen and Saas-Fee costing €362.83 to Asking €416.94 for the slopes a week later.
The best budget-friendly resorts for families
A separate report covers 32 family-friendly resorts, with a group price for a family of four: two adults and two children (six and eight years old). The cheapest is Jahorina, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a newcomer for 2023 following Crystal’s launch of package holidays to the lesser-known destination. Holiday essentials here cost £1,656.62 per family, including £1,319.54 for ski activities and passes, and £337.08 for food and drink.
Italian resorts take second and third places: Passo Tonale (total basket £1,677.95, down 6.6 per cent since last year) and Bardonecchia (£1,751.70).
Bansko in Bulgaria (£1,968) has fallen from last year’s best value spot to fifth place, after a significant increase in ski school prices – pushing overall costs up by more than 27 per cent. A 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 holiday
The Post Office investigation is about 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’ve collected some numbers below.
Traveling in January, a week’s skiing in Bardonecchia, Italy, costs around £550 per person on a half-board basis, including return flights to Turin with Crystal. In Sauze the equivalent package price rises to around £600pp, and in Livigno £800pp – a good reflection of the resorts’ Post Office rankings.
However, prices for the Borovets and Bansko resorts are much lower than those in Italy – so in terms of overall holiday value, Bulgaria is still the winner. For a week of half board in January, Borovets ranges from £387pp to £834pp, while Bansko costs £394 to £816. In Bansko you can get a B&B for a week with return flights and hotel transfers from just £300pp, a stunningly good price.
But price aside, can a ski holiday in Bulgaria really compete with the classics? “That’s subjective,” says our expert Rebecca Miles diplomatically. “You may not be able to rent the fanciest equipment or endless miles of piste, but when you enjoy five-star accommodation at three-star prices and great food, it’s not all about melted cheese, who’s complaining? Not me and my family.”