The new season is nearly upon us. Fresh air, mountain scenery and a glass or two of mulled wine await – the only question is whether your budget stretches to a welcome week in the Alps.
We’ve done the homework for you and come up with ten of the best budget ski breaks – perfect for beginners and experts alike.
Here’s our pick, starting with just over £500 per person for seven nights, including flights, transfers and half-board.
Hotel Lion Borovets in Bulgaria has a wonderful pool
ROCK-BOTTOM BULGARIA
Best for beginners and intermediate skiers not seeking too many challenges, Borovets is tucked away in a beautiful pine forest with large communist-era hotels. Expect lively nightlife in traditional wood-framed ‘meyhanes’ (Balkan restaurant/pubs). Meals at restaurants near the slopes cost about £9.
How to do it: Seven nights at Hotel Lion Borovets from £616pp half-board with Manchester flights (crystalski.co.uk).
Arinsal in Andorra is reliable for snow as most slopes are above 1,950m
CHEAP IN ANDORRA
For an affordable package, with lively bars and great slopes for beginners (plus a decent ski school), head for Arinsal in the principality of Andorra, tucked between France and Spain. Runs may be limited, but snow is usually reliable as most slopes are above 1,950m.
How to do it: Seven nights at Hotel St Gothard from £470pp half-board with Gatwick flights and transfers (igluski.com).
Hotel Modlinger in Soll, Austria is a bargain pick at seven nights from £674pp B&B
SOLD ON SOLL
Connected to the huge SkiWelt area, Soll in Austria is also popular with intermediate-level skiers, although there’s a gondola link to more advanced slopes at Kitzbuhel. There’s a small village with good value restaurants serving traditional Tyrolean dishes and apres ski bars.
How to do it: Seven nights from £674pp B&B staying at Hotel Modlinger with Glasgow flights (igluski.com).
Passo Tonale in Lombardy, Italy, is a great affordable place to go skiing
ENTICING ITALY
Passo Tonale in Lombardy, Italy, is not choccy box-pretty, more like a Colorado resort with one straight road lined with shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels. However The Paradiso, a large, American motel-style building with a spa, buffet diner and in-house ski shop makes a great place to stay.
For apres ski, try one of the lurid yellow, lava-temperature Il Bombardino drinks with 30 per cent proof booze topped with cream. Affordable lunches – excellent pizzas – are to be had on the mountain.
How to do it: Seven nights at Hotel Grand Paradiso from £779pp half-board from Manchester, or from £582pp half-board at Hotel La Mirandola from Stansted (crystalski.co.uk).
The French resort of Flaine is connected to the extensive Grand Massif ski area that’s suited to all levels
WELL-PRICED FRANCE
Don’t let the brutalist 1960s architecture put you off the French resort of Flaine, which is connected to the extensive Grand Massif ski area that’s suited to all levels. Much of the accommodation offered is self-catering apartments, which helps keep costs down.
How to do it: Seven nights at the Montsoleil Terrasses d’Eos Apartments from £569pp from Leeds Bradford, based on six sharing (inghams.co.uk).
A snowboarder hits the slopes in Nassfeld, Austria
AWESOME AUSTRIA
Nassfeld in the province of Carinthia is popular with Slovenians, Italians, Czechs and Austrians – but practically unknown to the British. Budget flights to Klagenfurt (just over an hour away) or, similarly close by, Salzburg, Venice, Trieste or Ljubljana mean that there’s usually a cheap way to get there. And decent four-star hotels are a fraction of elsewhere in Austria.
There are stiff red runs, comfortable blues and easy green runs. Stop at a mountain hut for a slice of Kaiserschmarrn – chopped pancake with apple sauce. Delicious.
How to do it: Seven nights at Alm Hotel Karnten from £750pp half-board (almhotel-kaernten.at); return Luton-Salzburg flights from £34 (wizzair.com).
Sunset view of Bardonecchia in the Susa Valley in Italy’s Piedmont region
PIEDMONT BARGAIN
The often-overlooked resort of Bardonecchia in the Susa Valley in Italy’s Piedmont region is another good choice for intermediates. It was recently rated the best value of all European resorts in the annual Post Office Ski Report, with ski passes from £190 for six days. The slopes rise to 2,694m, the highest point of the ski area. There’s even a chance to try a former Olympic halfpipe.
How to do it: Seven nights at Residence Tabor from £498pp with lift passes and Luton flights (sunweb.co.uk).
Four Points by Sheraton Bansko in Bulgaria
BULGARIA FOR FAMILIES
There was trepidation taking a family of four skiing over half term, but Bansko in Bulgaria proved a success. No one’s pretending the resort can compete with those in France, but for beginners it was great – and our week came in extremely reasonably in a four-star hotel with flights, transfers, food, ski passes, equipment hire and tuition included.
The mountains boast 75km of marked pistes rising to 2,560m with slopes for all abilities. Our kids loved the ski school. Bansko has a charming medieval old town.
How to do it: Seven nights at Four Points by Sheraton Bansko from £595pp half-board including flights and transfers (balkanholidays.co.uk).
Hotel Seiblishof in Ischgl, Austria – a resort known for its apres-ski and rock concerts
TEMPTING IN ISCHGL
This Austrian resort allows you to stand astride Austria and Switzerland simultaneously. It’s best known for its apres-ski and rock concerts, at which Elton John, Lenny Kravitz and Rhianna have performed.
Post 5pm, bars pulse with music and the chatter of gluhwein drinkers. The extensive slopes are superb. There’s also tobogganing. Austrian prices are noticeably cheaper than in Switzerland.
How to do it: Seven nights at the plush Hotel Seiblishof from £1,165pp half-board (seiblishof.com); returns to Innsbruck from £45 (easyjet.com). More information: austria.info.
VRetreats Cervino in Cervinia, Italy, which offers seven nights for around £1,600pp all-inclusive
SKI AND SPA FOR LESS
Some spa hotels in Zermatt in Switzerland can cost £2,250pp for a week – without flights, transfers or meals. Enjoy seven nights across the border in Italy at VRetreats Cervino spa hotel in the adjoining resort of Cervinia for around £1,600pp with all included.
Cervinia may be less fashionable, but it has a charming centre with little restaurants, delis and cosy bars set on winding cobbled lanes. The views of the peak of the Matterhorn are spectacular too.
How to do it: Seven nights at VRetreats Cervino from £1,569pp half-board with Gatwick flights and transfers included – all for £224 a night (inghams.com). Just don’t forget that ski lift extra cost.
