Planning a Ski Trip on a Budget: How to Toe the Line Between Your Vacation and Wallet
The savviest tricks can save you hundreds of dollars on your ski trip, even to high-end destinations such as Big Sky, Montana.
By Steven Reale
It’s no secret that skiing and snowboarding have a high cost of entry. And while it is very possible to spend a king’s fortune enjoying luxury lodging and a posh on-mountain experience, it is by no means a requirement. Ski travel may never be bargain-basement cheap, but world-class downhill experiences can be had without paying a royal sum.
In this piece, we’ll cover the elements that go into the total cost of booking a typical ski trip, how to get the smartest deals in each of these domains, and how to preserve a high-quality vacation while doing so.
What are the Costs of a Ski Trip?
The major factors that go into the total price of your ski vacation are travel, lodging and food, lift passes, and gear. In each one of these domains, you are more likely to save money by following two principles: 1) booking early, and 2) being flexible.
As you might expect, the longer you wait to make your plans, the more you will pay. The tradeoff is that it can be difficult to make a firm commitment too early in advance—you will have to weigh your risk tolerance for booking early against your desire to save money. Similarly, the firmer you are with your travel and gear preferences, the fewer options you leave yourself for less expensive alternatives. Conversely, if you have an unorthodox job or school schedule, booking a trip during an off-peak time can discount your trip by 50% or more.
Speaking of travel preferences, the mountain (or mountains) you choose to visit will have a substantial impact on the price of your trip. Even if you’re choosing between resorts in a similar region, one may have a much higher cost of access than the other. In many cases (although not all), the resorts that lead in our rankings will command a premium over those lower in rank, not to mention the hundreds of smaller, budget-friendly resorts that do not (yet) appear in our rankings.
Although we’ll consider each of these domains separately, it’s important to remember that they are not independent of each other. Sometimes, cutting costs in one domain raises another. For example, staying further out from the resort might incur cheaper lodging costs, but might also force you to rent a car and pay to park at the resort. A mountain off the beaten path might have less expensive lift tickets and lodging, but it may introduce greater logistical complications and expenses just to get there.
A note on pre-planned itineraries
If you are sufficiently flexible, you may find that the easiest way to travel to a mountain resort on a budget is to join a group trip. Check with your local gear shops and investigate whether any ski clubs in your area sponsor arranged trips. The savings are especially pronounced if you’re traveling solo and don’t mind rooming with a new shredding buddy. Also consider booking a package deal with a dedicated ski/snowboard travel planning agency—they often have access to special rates and promotions that the general public does not.
Your time is part of your budget; in addition to potential cost-savings, an added bonus to joining a pre-planned vacation is that someone else will be taking care of the nitty-gritty trip logistics.
In many cases, driving to a ski resort will make much more sense than flying. Pacific Northwesterners may want to consider driving to a resort such as Mount Bachelor, Oregon.
Travel
This may be stating the obvious, but planning a trip by car is almost always going to be more budget-friendly than relying on flights. The cost savings scale with the size of your group: carpooling vacationers can split driving responsibilities and the cost of gas, parking, and wear-and-tear. Of course, the feasibility of driving depends entirely on where you are located. New Yorkers on a budget might opt for a day or two at a local hill or a road trip to Vermont. South Floridians, I am afraid to report, are pretty much restricted to air travel.
When flying, you will need to account for airfare, baggage fees, and transportation to and from the airport. Then, consider your options for getting to the resort. As before, renting a car scales: the larger your party, the smaller each person’s share of rental fees, fuel and parking will be. Depending on weather conditions, you may want to ensure that your vehicle has 4-wheel drive. Rather than paying top-dollar for this option with a rental agency, it may be possible to save money by using a car sharing company like Turo. If you are traveling solo, renting a car might be a needless expense: there are more affordable options such as hiring a shuttle or taking public transportation (or even a train!). Either way, the earlier you book your transportation, the better.
Members of credit card, hotel, or frequent-flyer rewards programs can sometimes find phenomenal deals on flights and lodging, especially outside of peak times like winter holidays. Some programs also offer perks such as seat/room upgrades and free checked bags. Here again, flexibility is key. It might be worth playing with dates on a travel website, allowing the ebb and flow of airfare and hotel rates to guide your travel timeline: if there’s lower demand for these two major vacation components, there will probably also be shorter lift lines!
If you don’t mind sharing a room or bathroom with others, hostels and shared Airbnbs are great ways to save money on lodging.
Lodging and Food
Lodging and food go hand-in-hand. A basic hotel room might decrease lodging costs, but may force you to rely on sit-down or take-out meals for your entire stay, thereby increasing food costs. On the other hand, a vacation rental could potentially be more expensive, but it might offer amenities like a full kitchen, allowing you to save on meal costs by buying groceries and prepping breakfasts and packed lunches. You can make a tasty sandwich or whip up a high-protein, electrolyte-rich trail mix for a fraction of the cost that you’ll pay at the on-mountain lodge, and you won’t lose any precious downhill time standing in line (if you do eat lunch at the resort, avoid the peak 11-1 lunch rush—lodge lines will be long, and lift lines short). If you won’t have a car, consider how you will get to the slopes, shops, restaurants, and grocery store before you book. Can you walk? Is there public transportation? A hotel shuttle?
A good rule of thumb is that the closer the lodging or the restaurant is to the slopes, the more you will spend. Expect to pay a premium for the convenience of ski in/ski out accommodations and lunch at a mid-mountain restaurant. But there are some exceptions to the rule; some resorts will bundle lift tickets, lodging, and even breakfast into a single reasonable rate. It is absolutely worth investigating the value of a ski, sleep, and eat package.
Some resort towns also have simple, inexpensive hostels, which can be a great option if you need no more overnight frills than a roof over your head and a bed beneath you—and these can even be a hop, skip, and a jump away from the lifts. These accommodations involve shared bedrooms or bathrooms, but if you’re solo or in a small group, they can save you tons of money—even at top-of-the-line mountains. If this option is unavailable, look for a shared Airbnb space. Budget options like these often have full kitchens, but even if you eat out for every meal, you’re likely to save more money than at any hotel or private vacation rental.
Lodging can book up fast, so the earlier you make a reservation, the better. Less expensive options will only dry up the closer you get to your trip.
At Fernie, British Columbia, as well as nearly every other ski resort in North America, buying lift tickets or passes ahead of time is substantially cheaper than buying at the window.
Lift Passes
Day passes purchased at the ticket window are a terrible value; the earlier you commit to buying lift tickets, the more you will save. By the time you are reading this, the Epic and Ikon season passes have already gone off-sale for the 2022-2023 season, and you either have one or you don’t. It is still possible, though, to purchase day passes in advance, and you will usually save money doing so.
As you mull over buying a pass for 2023-2024, here is something to consider: if your heart is set on skiing at a top Epic or Ikon destination for more than 2-3 days, it is almost certainly worth buying the pass. Even if you only plan on a handful of weekend trips, products such as the Mountain Collective or Indy Passes may make more sense than lift tickets. Check out our in-depth comparison on all four of these pass products to understand which may be right for you.
This all being said, do bear in mind that Vail Resorts and Alterra fully expect to recoup the difference in lodging, parking, food, and other amenities. Just because you are skiing on a relatively cheap pass does not mean that your ski vacation will be inexpensive. And, during peak times, you may find yourself in a throng of thousands of other passholders waiting for a lift, each of whom was, before that moment, just as happy as you were to get a reasonable per day rate on their Epic or Ikon pass.
Check out our coverage of how a strategy to push skiers and riders onto pre-purchased pass products has sent lift ticket prices at premier resorts to stratospheric heights, with the highest per-day rate reaching, or even exceeding, $270.
Gear rentals are almost always cheaper at independent shops than the resorts themselves.
Gear
Once again, plan ahead. You’ll get a better price on gear at a local ski shop or outdoor retailer than you will at an onsite ski shop, and depending on the length of your trip, and when you buy, purchasing gear ahead of time can be even cheaper than renting at your destination. There are exceptional deals to be had at the very end and before the beginning of the season. If you don’t have your heart set on any specific models, check your local ski shops and clubs for ski swaps; you can often find great, inexpensive gear that’s only a year or two old. If you are a beginner, you will not reap the benefits of paying for high-end gear, so don’t feel tempted to spend top-dollar…yet.
If you plan to rent gear, look for offsite ski shops unaffiliated with the resort for the best bargain: they may well even undercut a Vail-owned rental shop after accounting for the Epic Pass’s advertised 20% discount. As with everything else, you can sometimes save money by booking your gear rental ahead, so research the best shop for your needs a few weeks or a month in advance of your trip.
If you’re flying, it is possible to pack everything you need except for skis or a snowboard into a carryon—even your boots! Most airlines consider a ski and boot bag pair to be a single “checked bag”, meaning that they’re no more expensive to check than a standard bag. If you have an airline status that gives you free checked bags, you may be able to bring all of your equipment on a plane for no extra cost! You can then weigh the cost of renting gear at your destination against the hassle and expense of hauling it to and from the airport.
While undoubtedly expensive, a mountain like Snowbird may still be the right choice for those who value high-quality snow, extreme terrain, or a beautiful skiable footprint.
Choosing the Right Resort for Your Trip
Since everyone’s needs and wants are different, the best place to start planning is to make a list of the things that matter the most to you. Be firm with the items at the top of your list, and flexible with the rest.
Maybe you have always dreamed of shredding the Back Bowls of Vail. Great! You just need to find ways of cutting lodging and transport costs. If you are an inexperienced skier or rider, a smaller resort with a more modest ticket price might allow you to stay in cozier accommodations. If you are a foodie, you may be perfectly happy staying in a cheap room while splurging a bit more on your meals. If you’re into the après scene, Alta is probably not your best bet, but if you are into truly extreme terrain, you may not be satisfied by Park City. Figure out what is most important to you, and budget outward from there. And, as always, our rankings and reviews are here to help you find the best mountain to fit your needs.
We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to plan early. As time goes by, prices will only increase, and options will only dry up.
Mount Baker, Washington offers reasonably-priced lift tickets, but it still may be an excellent choice for those who appreciate limited crowds, daunting expert terrain, and a distinctive, remote footprint.
Final Remarks
By making the right planning decisions, it’s more than feasible to plan a high-caliber ski or snowboard trip on a budget. In essentially every circumstance, booking early and planning a trip with others will save you money without sacrificing quality. But even if you can’t do either of those things, there are still plenty of ways to maximize your trip while still maintaining a great value. If you have other cost-saving ideas we may have missed, please feel free to share them in the comments below.
Looking to compare resorts for your next ski trip? Check out our overall rankings here.
