The Cost Of Europe’s Most Popular Ski Resorts Revealed

The Alps are glorious wherever you look. The bill is another matter.

There is no polite way to put this. A week in Zermatt, in the shadow of the Matterhorn, will cost a family of four £9,720. A week in Chamonix, beneath Mont Blanc, costs £5,924. The £3,796 difference is more than the average household spends on groceries in a year (£2,953), and leaves enough for a rather good fondue.

That is the headline from new research by travel money specialists No1 Currency, which priced a week on the slopes at 20 of Europe’s best-known resorts. The result is a map of wildly uneven pricing, where the snow is equally white and the invoices are not.

THE PRICE OF A VIEW

Switzerland and Austria are the continent’s priciest addresses. Grindelwald tops the table at £10,100 for a week, about the cost of a new Renault Twingo. It is also 80% more than Les Deux Alpes, which is blessed with the largest skiable glacier in Europe. For £188 less (£9,912), you could take the family to the Maldives for two weeks, all inclusive. Whether the Eiger is worth the premium is a matter for your own conscience.

Zermatt has some of the longest runs in Europe and some of the steepest lift passes. A week’s pass is £314, nearly £100 more than in St Anton (£219).

THE SMART MONEY GOES EAST AND SOUTH

Bulgaria is the quiet star of the table. Pamporovo is the cheapest resort of the 20, at £4,396 for a family of four, with ski hire and lift pass included. Bansko comes in at £4,442, almost half the price of Saas Fee (£8,546), and Borovets at £5,556 is cheaper than any resort in France, Austria or Switzerland.

Italy offers more than a bargain. Cervinia, La Thuile and Selva Val Gardena have good weather, good food and prices that suit a romantic week for two: £2,790, £2,914 and £2,988 respectively.

The extras matter too. Renting skis and boots in Borovets costs £55 a head, against £195 in Ischgl, a saving of £140 per person before you have even clipped in.

THE VERDICT

“Skiing has never been a cheap holiday,” says Simon Phillips, Retail Director at No1 Currency, “but the weak Pound has ratcheted up prices even further.” In his view, a week in Switzerland “can set you back the cost of a small family car before you even board the plane.”

His advice is simple: if the budget is tight, look to Bulgaria and parts of Italy, and shop around for currency before you leave to get the best rate.