Great options for a value ski holiday?

SportyHenry

I went skiing last year and absolutely loved it. (Pamporovo Bulgaria) and would like to go again this year

Do any of the moneysavers out there have any value resorts they'd recommend? I've started looking for next year (2012) and it seems so expensive when I factor in lift passes and equipment hire.

I'd like to see somewhere new this year.

Nile

Hello SportyHenry

Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

I'll move your thread to the 'Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning' board.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

poe.tuesday

if you are not tied to the school holidays then avoid them like the plague

I would suggest that you wait for a deal, there are always plenty about, check out inghams, crystal ski etc

if you are only a beginner then don't go to one of the massive resorts where you have the lift passes that take you all over the place as this is where the money starts to go right up - pick a smaller resort with fewer slopes

I always will say to go to finland as I love it there, the lift passes and hire etc are good value but it can be expensive when you are there

plodder73

Hi, whilst Pamporovo and the other East European resorts are cheap their snow record is not as relaible as other resorts and whilst you may have been lucky when you went I know that some resorts in Bulgaria had poor snow for a lot of the season. If you are going to consider such a resort again I suggest you book last minute or when you know the resort has some snow.

Avoid France I went to Serre Chevalier in March which is supposed to be one pf the cheaper French resorts but was still paying 6/7 euros for a beer and 13-15 euros for a mountain snack. I also dont think that most of the French resorts have a lot of charm.

I went to Austria in January, much cheaper and much more picturesqu(imo). Prices 3euros for a beer 5 euros a snack, this was at a small resort and some of the larger Austrian resorts I believe can be just as expensive as France(St Anton i believe is one)

So my recommendation would be Austria, decent snow, prices and charming resorts. I booked late to Austria and got a good deal with ski passes tuition and skis incuded, but you wont get good offers yet, I went in January and booked late December.

Havent tried Italy but I am told they range from good value (Livigno)to very expensive(Courmayeur). I may well give one a try myself next year.

Last bit of advice, whilst MSE is great I suggest you go the Snowheads forum, where you get very helpful advice from experts(one of which I am not!)

Coolhandluke

Second the advice about checking out Snowheads,also have a look at the Soldu area in Andorra ,cheaper prices but decent sized ski areas.