Thanks to the state of the pound against the Euro, what was an expensive hobby has now become out of reach for many individuals and families. When skiing or snowboarding, it’s not just your accommodation and flights you have to consider; there’s lift pass, equipment hire, lunch on the mountain, lessons… add all that up and it comes to almost the same price as the accommodation!

When picking a ski resort, it’s often easier or more comfortable to pick a well know resort. At least you know people who have been there and the conditions are predictable. However this is where the cost of accommodation can sky-rocket. Some of the best know resorts are often the most expensive; Courchevel, Meribel, Zermatt, Verbier, St Anton, Chamonix to name a few. Here are some top tips for getting the best from your ski accommodation;

Accommodation

If you really want to ski these expensive areas then the top recommendation would be to go self catered. Particularly during peak weeks of Christmas, New Year, Easter and half-term. Seek out a nice big supermarket/hypermarket and stock up on the essentials and buy food to make a packed lunch. It’s often £10-£15 for a pizza in the mountain restaurants at the moment (not even the expensive ones!)

Chose a neighbouring resort. For example the top resorts in the Three Valleys are Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens. People often forget about little sister La Tania which is nestled inbetween Meribel and Val Thorens. Here you may be able to pick up a more reasonable catered chalet! In the Portes Du Soleil you could stay in Montriond or Ardent rather than Morzine itself. The lifts still link up to the same areas but you are often looking at £100-£150 pp difference in accommodation per week.

Choose a little known or smaller resort. Places like Nassfeld in Austria have had very little press coverage in the UK but offer fantastic skiing conditions. It is the biggest resort in Carinthia and right on the Italian border. They have recently built the the longest gondola ski lift and it benefits from having the longest floodlit run in the Alps, a section of the seven-mile Carnia run

Lift Passes

Depending on how good a skier you are and how good the snow is, you could save a packet by taking a "local area" pass rather than an "access all areas" one. In Portes Du Soleil, a full area pass for 6 days is £200. This covers 650km of piste! Unless you are super fast and planning to tour every day then you would have just as much fun picking a Morzine/Les Gets pass for £146. This covers two large ski areas with some excellent blues, reds and blacks. Most large ski areas; Espace Killy, Paradiski, Three Valleys and Chamonix Mont Blanc operate the same way. Check out the piste maps before you arrive to see if you really need that full area pass.

Equipment Hire

If you have your own boots and skis/snowboard then it will cost £30 return to take them on Easyjet. If you want to hire you are looking about £60 for skis only for a week, £90 including boots. So it would seem easier and cheaper to bring them if you have them. Or beg borrow steal. If you are travelling in a large group, negotiate with the hire shop to give them all your business in exchange for a 20% discount.

Flights

This is where you could either pick up a real bargain or be stung heavily. It would be my recommendation to get the cheapest flights to and from the airport and then find a chalet from there. If you only get 6 nights instead of 7 but you save 100’s of pounds on your flights then it would be the more economical choice. I like http://www.skyscanner.net to compare prices

Negotiate!

Book with independent chalets as they can offer a very tailored service. For example if you would prefer to stay only 6 nights to take advantage of much cheaper flights or a 4 night weekend break then this can all be arranged with the highest levels of service!

I specialise in bookings to owner run, independent chalets in the French Alps and can recommend the best chalet for your needs.

I also organise trips for solo skiers and snowboarders under the banner of Pistepals There are currently trips planned for Jan, Feb, March and April!