The new European budget ski destination – and it’s not Bulgaria

For decent value on the slopes, experience tells us that we should head to Bulgaria – to the likes of Borovets and Bansko, renowned for their budget-friendly hotels and après ski. But not necessarily anymore, says the Post Office: Italy now tops its table of Europe’s cheapest ski spots, namely the resort of Bardonecchia, on the border with France about an hour west of Turin.

The report was compiled with ski tour operator Crystal Ski Holidays, and compares costs in 36 resorts – across the likes of France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Andorra, alongside “wild cards” such as Finland and Slovenia. And there’s more good news: prices have fallen year-on-year in several locations, and in most others are only slightly higher than last year.

Frustratingly however, especially given the Post Office’s partnership with the UK’s largest ski tour operator, the rankings do not include accommodation or travel costs. Rather, they are a comparison of on-the-slope costs, though we have conducted our own research into package prices, below.

The cheapest resorts in Europe

Overall, the cheapest resort for adult skiers (a different survey covers family costs – see below) was Bardonecchia in Italy. Here a six-day lift pass, equipment hire, ski school and various food and drink totals £531.65 per person. Its prices have risen by just 1.4 per cent year-on-year, forcing Bulgaria’s Borovets – 2023’s winner – into second place.

Prices in Borovets have risen 8.2 per cent year-on-year, to a total of £553.98. Drill into the detail, though, and its food costs are far lower than Bardonecchia’s: just £99.36, compared with £147.84. That covers six coffees (£12.60 in Borovets; £21.12 in Bardonecchia), six sodas (£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 earn it the top spot: just £383.81 total for a six-day lift pass (£157.57), six-day equipment hire (£80.99) and a week’s tuition of half-days at a ski school (£145.25). In Borovets, the same items cost £70 more, £454.62.

France’s Le Corbier takes third place, offering decent value for lessons (£139.96, less than both Bardonecchia and Borovets), but with pricier food and drink (£169.02). It’s a new entry on the rankings, with expenses totalling £611.32.

As in previous years, Italian resorts offer the best value among the Big Four ski destinations. The nation’s resorts appears throughout 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 per cent), Sestriere eighth (£698.93, up 8.1 per cent) and La Thuile ninth (£709.85, up 2.9 per cent).

Bulgaria’s Bansko takes sixth place. In 2018 it was crowned best-value destination, but price hikes of 18.1 per cent have forced it down the rankings.

Overall, prices have fallen in nine of the 31 resorts that were also surveyed last year, with the biggest drops 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 priciest destinations are the three Swiss resorts surveyed: Saas-Fee, Wengen and Zermatt. They are much more costly than others, with the ski holiday essentials priced £1,164.80, £1,259.99 and £1,334.76 respectively – well more than double the cheapest resorts in the survey.

However, if you want to ski in Zermatt this season, you could always base yourself in the Italian resort of Cervinia – which is linked to the same domain yet a far cheaper place to stay. It is 13th place in the rankings, its essentials totalling £740.75, half the price of Zermatt.

Of the other most expensive destinations, Austria and France also dominate: the fourth priciest is Val d’Isere (£1,119.36, down 1.4 per cent year-on-year), then Kitzbühel (£1,041.35, up 4.1 per cent), and St Anton (£1,037.35, down 1.7 per cent).

The biggest expense on a ski holiday

The most expensive item in the shopping basket is the six-day lift pass: in only two resorts (Bardonecchia and Borovets) do they cost less than £200. The former offers even greater value, when you consider that £157.57 will grant you access to 110km of pistes.

Austrian resorts look expensive (from £284.33 in Ischgl to £352.99 in St Anton), but once again it is Switzerland that comes out as the most costly, with Zermatt, Wengen and Saas-Fee charging £362.83 to £416.94 for a week on the slopes.

The top budget-friendly resorts for families

A separate report covers 32 family-friendly resorts, providing a per group price for a family of four: two adults, two children (aged six and eight). The cheapest is Jahorina, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a new entry for 2023 following Crystal’s launch of package holidays to the lesser-known destination. Holiday essentials here cost £1,656.62 per family, of which £1,319.54 accounts for ski activities and passes, and £337.08 food and drink.

Italian resorts take second and third place: Passo Tonale (total basket £1,677.95, down 6.6 per cent since last year) and Bardonecchia (£1,751.70) respectively.

Bansko in Bulgaria (£1,968) has fallen from the best-value spot last year to fifth place, after a significant increase in ski school prices – hiking its overall cost by more than 27 per cent. Ski school for two adults and two children aged six and eight now costs £815, compared with just £465 in Jahorina and £467 in Geilo, Norway.

How else to save money on a ski holiday

The Post Office survey deals with day-to-day costs – not the cost of the holiday itself. Without these figures, it’s much harder to make a meaningful comparison between resorts, so we’ve crunched some numbers below.

Travelling in January, a week’s skiing in Bardonecchia, Italy, costs around £550 per person half-board, including return flights to Turin with Crystal. In Sauze, the equivalent package price rises to around £600pp, and in Livigno £800pp – a fair reflection of the resorts’ Post Office rankings.

However, prices for Borovets and Bansko resorts are far lower than Italy – so for overall holiday value, Bulgaria is still the winner. For a week half-board in January, Borovets ranges from £387pp to £834pp while Bansko spans £394 to £816. In Bansko, you can get a week’s B&B with return flights and hotel transfers from as little as £300pp, staggeringly good value.

But price aside, can a Bulgaria ski holiday really compete with the classics? “That’s subjective,” says our expert Rebecca Miles diplomatically. “You might not get the shiniest kit to hire or endless kilometres of slopes, but when you’re enjoying five-star accommodation at three-star prices and great food that isn’t all about melted cheese, who’s complaining? Not me and my family.”