What's a Fair Price For A Ski Holiday In 2024 and Beyond?

A snowHead

@phil_w, surfing in Costa Rica sounds wonderful. Not that I'd want to surf, but some body boarding or dinghy sailing would be good. But a quick google suggests VERY expensive to go from here, with the big travel firms. I spent 3 years living and working in the Pacific and we did beach holidays in Fiji, in simple local places which cost hugely less than the big resorts and to me were vastly preferable. I don't need luxury and an en-shite bathroom. Are there similar local places in Costa Rica?

A snowHead

It can be done for £1000 per adult for a week I reckon, but only by travelling low season (Jan) and booking hire in advance & taking advantage of any life pass sales and ALWAYS calling to haggle the package cost. I reckon I must saved over £2k over the years just by asking or saying im a repeat customer.

I once paid £300 for last minute catered chalet in La Rosiere with Inghams in about 2016, this Jan I paid £880 per adult which included flights, transfers & hotel half board. The total holiday spend was £1250ish per adult, we managed to grab to 40% off passes that Les Arcs ran and booked hire in advance and ate out less on the mountain and used bakeries for lunch stops. Ive also haggled my holiday price lower every time without fail by usually booking with IgluSki who can somehow get prices lower than the operators offer, and in some cases Ive managed to get the operater and the travel agent competing for the business and their commission by under cutting each other, and then just calling the other back and say "Iglu is now £20 less PP" for example.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I think I need to allow £1500pp once I work it all out (and plausibly aren't allowing a big enough beer fund);

Though that does include (good) guides/instructors.

Cheapest UCPA trip is now ~£650 + travel... So allowing for 2 couples in a car, 2 rooms in travel lodge each way to split drive you could do it for what, £700/week. I can't see it getting much cheaper (short of accom requiring driving 1-2hrs/day to get up to the lowest lift)

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

£1k per head. Family of 4 (2 teenagers):

Val Thorens - Easter (top floor appt, top of resort, ski in/out with unobstructed views)
3 valleys lift passes x 4
All diesel/tolls
Tunnel (but supplemented by Clubcard vouchers)
4 x hotels travelling there and back (relaxing)
Supermarket shops for food/drink
Equipment rental x 3
Meal out on last night and while travelling
Activity or two
Snacks on piste during day eg hot choc

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Skiing costs have definitely gone up. (We normally use Crystal now, but that's not likely for much longer due to them stopping splitting the package across airports, but that's a whole new thread.).Came back from Serre Che a couple of weeks ago and that was 3 of us in a 6 berth shoebox for just about a grand exc food and drink which we thought was pretty good compared to Espace Killy or 3V now which I think works out at about £1400 for the same. Up until Lockdown I used to reckon on about a grand all in per person for EK or 3V. It's way more than that now once you factor in nice bottles of scotch and gin as well as food. (Self catered)

It's not worth going to North America for under 2 weeks, but we've been 3 times before lockdown and it worked out about twice the cost of a week in Ek or 3V which we thought a bargain considering we had a big 4WD as well.

How much is too much? Mrs G keeps asking me that question every year as she doesn't ski!

I think the real question is can you justify paying more and more for the higher resorts when they are getting busier every year due to increased numbers of accommodation? And extrapolating from that, will skiing become the sport of the rich again?

There are ways of going skiing for less money which I am trying really hard to convince my buddies that they want to go down that route!

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Looking at winter 25 we have booked one already via TO as it came out very slightly cheaper than this winter due to offers.
The other trip we are on this year I priced and it is up a fair chunk.
Is the price fair first one yes not sure I will go the same for the second? I am not keen booking things a year in advance.
Im likely to go somewhere though. I think my knees have a finite capacity for skiing and I don't want to waste it.
I have always had an inkling to ski USA and Canada but I can't justify the cost now. (I'm not keen on long haul flights anyway)

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6 to an apartment

Sunweb

Off-peak week (Jan)

Book flights early. Or drive if there are 4 of you, drive

Self-cater

Those are all the ingredients required for a cheap ski holiday.

Book holiday time off in advance

Wait until 2-6 days out before deciding on a destination based on current snow conditions and the conditions likely during your stay

Be open to visiting areas you ordinarily wouldn't visit if it means the snow experience will be better

Go with tour operator if price and destination (snow quality) marry, or go independent

Done this for the best part of the last decade and always come in at under 1k for 7-day trip (6 days skiing) all in

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@ciderinsport, your trip for £650, this is of great interest for me and my friends, please could you help us with a breakdown of costs and dates /timings

Cheers

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Quite a lot of holidays on Inghams - called last minute deals but some are mid March …

£399 in Kitzbuhel 16/03 … a discount of £410 pp. https://www.inghams.co.uk/ski-holidays/deals/late-deals

Or sunweb has some ridiculously cheap offers (to some slightly obscure places).
Risoul on 23/03 for £168 pp including lift pass !!

I think Mike pow had it right … book the time , wait until the last minute (obviously no good for anyone with kids).

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Just did a week in Chamonix for under £1500 all in (5 sharing an 8 man apartment), thats flying to geneva, taking or own boards and eating out every lunch/evening, booked via Heidi.com
Holiday £457
Luggage £57
Board bag £74
Cab to/from luton £40
Money spent in resort and airports £490
total £1461

Love to see people working out how to do it cheaper, hats off if you can.

In the 90's we went to Banf/Whistler every year, ate like kings and the cost was similar to what we are paying now, but those days are long gone, think a 2 week pass in whistler is £1500 these day Laughing

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@dh900, what's your approach to haggling please?

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I haven't read the whole thread, and maybe this has already been said, but it would be difficult to overstress what good value the snowHead Bashes are. So far I have rarely broken the £1,500 all-in threshold and that includes a single room (always) decent half-board food (usually) and even a bit of top- class tuition (sometimes).

Indeed Hurtle. I thought @Admin might have popped up somewhere Smile

It's funny. As I read the various comments saying 'I can get it at this price or that price but it takes a lot of hard work' it did cross my mind that we all need someone like that, and then the realisation that it's what Admin does several times every year. Hat's off!

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@ratkinsonuk, maybe - I'm not actually sure - emboldening admin's name will alert him to visiting the thread for a rosy glow.

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I just had random call from OFWAT survey about customer satisfaction. Daft survey (why don't they pilot questionnaires properly??). One question asked about the "affordability" of my water supply on scale of 1 - 10. WTF does that mean? Reminded me of this thread.

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Perhaps a new thread's required - 'Has water become too pricey and is it time to seek an alternative?' NehNeh

For next year I'll be looking at three limits depending on what the group fancies it can afford:
- sub £1000pp = self catering/self drive
- sub £1400pp = half board hotel/flying
- sub £1700pp = entire catered chalet/flying
These are all-in prices without personal spending in resort. I think these are fair prices.

I'm really hoping the group saves their pennies this year!

You know it makes sense.

@ratkinsonuk, yes, exactly. Asking that question underlines how daft the word "affordability" is about an essential over which you have absolutely no choice!!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

A snowHead

@T Bar,

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Our week in Flachau end of January was below 1250 for everything half board in a nice hotel and for me that would be about par. Usually trying to book it for a smallish group (11 this year) and I think this pushes the price up somewhat. Travelling with maybe 1 other I would hope to reduce it a bit. Hoping to do Arabba next January for 1150 all in and binned off Saalbach when it was creeping north of 1400 for the same or less. But accepting that Arabba is a touch quieter than Saalbach......

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I think if you can waiting til as close to the time you want to go is best in the catered chalet world. Le Ski currently have a week in Val D going this Sunday reduced from £1499 to £799, flights , transfer & food & unlimited wine so that to me is a bargain especially as we've stayed with them before & their hosts & food has always been good.

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@Kramer, on the haggle question, just being straight out honest and asking for discount: whats the best you can do for me? Can you ask your manager for any more off? Ask to remove admin fees, ask for repeat customer discount (this worked for skibeat on my 1st ever trip with them!). I always just ring up and never pay the price online, speak to a sales agent who is working for commission, they will be able to discount to make a sale.

On the trip this year I managed i got an extra £202 off PP in addition to a current offer, and they waived the £50 infant fee for our daughter.

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I used to manage under £600 for 4 or so days when going with mates (around 2012 prices) but since going with school aged family all the usual tricks to keep prices down don't really work. Have to go school hols, ages and different ski patterns mean being by the slopes is a massive advantage, need to rent and get lessons. Then make it more difficult for ourselves by trying to go overland. Just back from a week in Feb half-term to Via Lattea and for family of 5 (3 young kids all skiing) came to:

- £400 return for Eurostar
- £900 return for sleeper to Briancon (another year this would have been £400 but clashed with Paris half term and prices adjust airline style)
- £150 private transfer (this was a pain - a public bus went to Montgenevre on French side and could have cut that by 2/3rds but there's nothing across the border)
- £1,150 for an apartment with ski-in ski-out access in Claviere which was an absolute gem
- £560 for ski lessons for week for 3
- £700 for passes for 5 at different grades
- £400 for equipment hire for 4 (felt steep - kids stuff much cheaper in Sweden surprisingly)
- About £500 on food for week which included 3 meals out in evening and 3 lunches on mountain - all good value.

So not much change from £5k. It was bloody wonderful though.

After all it is free

My knees wont take a week anymore. So it will be a 3 or 4 day ski trip. Certainly a good way to save some money (& my knees!)

Started in the 90s taking the ski bus trips. £99 with mystery resort & accommodation for a week. Usually ended up in a nice quiet austrian pension.

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What's a Fair Price For A Ski Holiday In 2024 and Beyond?

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