If there's anything scarier about a ski holiday than ungroomed, black hump pistes at the top of a mountain where you can't take the lift back down, it's the prospect of having to pay the hefty sum of money that eventually has to for you to be able to go on a skiing holiday at all. In many of the most popular European ski areas, a week's lift pass in high season can cost up to 300 euros (2200 DKK !!!) - and sometimes even more. You thus do not need to have a doctorate in applied mathematics to calculate that, when you add that price together with the staggering costs associated with hotel, transport and food, a pleasant skiing holiday can suddenly shift the retirement age by several years.
Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way! At brugteski.dk, we have taken a slalom tour down through the European continent and found the best, cheap ski resorts with a decent size, so you have the opportunity to go on great ski holidays in the high season with a lift pass in hand, which has not cost the white out of sight.
Remember to check out the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' travel guidelines before pressing the button and booking your ski holiday. You can familiarize yourself with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' general travel guidelines and find information about travel to specific destinations here .
Ready to find the best of the cheapest ski holiday destinations in Europe? Here's our best bet!
Borovets in Bulgaria: The perfect travel destination for party-loving skiers
Borovets has been a popular ski destination since the end of the 19th century. The ski resort, which consists of over 58km of pistes, is primarily made up of blue and red runs that run criss-cross at the foot of the Musala mountain, which with its 2560 meters is Bulgaria's highest.
Borovets is - for better or for worse - a favorite ski resort for students and other party-loving youngsters who glide down the resort's well-groomed slopes during the day and hit the après-ski bars at night and in the evening. Borovets, where there should be the possibility of a good brandet, is known for its underground nightclubs, cheap beer and a special drink, rakia , which is a form of brandy that the local ski bums can consume in quantities, so that you would believe it was water. It is not!
Shelter in Borovets usually involves simple hotel furnishings and simple ski huts, but there is nothing to say about that when the prices for accommodation are often below 300 euros (2200 DKK) for two people for a whole week. If you combine it with a lift pass at a price of approximately DKK 1100. in the high season, it quickly becomes clear that you can go on a ski holiday in Borovets for little money.
How to get to Borovets:
Book a flight, train or bus to the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, and take a local shuttle bus from Sofia to Borovets in 90 minutes.
Vogel in Slovenia: Beautiful landscapes and delicious prices
At the foot of the mythical Triglav mountain peak in western Slovenia, where early Slavic peoples believed that a three-headed god had a home, is the Vogel ski resort. With 22 kilometers of blue and red pistes, the resort is not among the world's largest, but it is beautiful - and cheap!
One of the main reasons why we recommend a ski holiday in Vogel to anyone looking for a good deal is that all bus transport in the area is free if your location is written on the local bus schedule . We can both recommend visiting Lake Bohinj (40 minutes from the piste) and Lake Bled (1 hour from the piste), which only become more beautiful when covered with snow.
In Vogel you have to pay 75 euros (DKK 550) for an overnight stay for two people close to the ski lift, and a lift pass in high season costs no more than 153 euros (DKK 1100) for six days of skiing.
How to get to Vogel:
Vogel is not more than an hour and a half from the Airport in Ljubljana, but there is also a good opportunity to save a lot of money on transport if you travel to Bohinjska Bistrica by train instead.
Sauze d'Oulx in Italy: Best value for money
The Via Lattea ski area, which in Danish can be translated directly to "Mælkevejen", is bursting with red pistes, which in total make up approximately two thirds of the ski resort's groomed slopes. That is why Via Lattea, which is actually on the border between the French and Italian Alps, is the perfect place to go on a ski holiday if you are a new or intermediate skier looking for new challenges. The area is easily accessible from Italy's Sauze d'Ouz, and with its 440 kilometers of pistes, the area should satisfy even the most adventurous skier.
Although the place is a favorite destination for all kinds of winter sports, Sauze d'Oulx, with its old, beautiful buildings and special Italian Alpine culture, has retained its charm. Sauze d'Oulx may be more expensive than some of the other ski resorts on this list, but you have our guarantee that you'll get great value for money here too.
You can save a lot of money on your skiing holiday to Sauze d'Oulx if you take care of the cooking yourself, and thus you don't have to spend more than 600 euros (4400 DKK) for a week in an apartment near a ski lift in the Italian Alps. At the same time, for only 208 euros (1550 DKK) you get access to all the lifts on the Italian side of Via Lattea, and we dare say that it will be difficult to find a similar area with so much groomed pist for so little money.
How to get to Sauze d'Oulx:
If you fly to Turin, for around 40 euros (DKK 300) you can be driven by transfer bus from the airport to your ski resort in an hour and a half. However, you can save approx. half if you take the bus from Turino to Porta Nuova and jump on a train to Oulx station.
Jasná Nízke Tatry in Slovakia: Try night skiing
Slovakia's largest ski area offers high mountain peaks and low prices. Jasná is a 49 kilometer spider web of ski slopes located on the 2024 meter high Chopok mountain. The area is equipped with 20 fast ski lifts, good off-piste potential and with the possibility of evening skiing (and après ski , of course).
Jasná is also a town characterized by the Slovak highland culture, which, among other things, offers delicious food, prepared as the shepherds in the area did it in the old days - and the price is not to be trifled with! If you order the national dish bryndzové halusky, you will be served a huge plate of dumplings filled with cheese and bacon for a price, so that for 10 euros you also have money left over for a couple of local Zlatý Bazant beers.
Shelter in Jasná doesn't cost a fortune either: it is usually possible to find double rooms in the area for 100 euros (DKK 750) per person. night, and at the same time you don't have to drop more than 136 euros (DKK 1,000) for a lift pass that is valid for six days.
How to get to Jasná:
A lift from the airport in Poprad, which is less than an hour from the ski resort, costs approx. 30 euros (DKK 220) per person, but you can also take a taxi, train and bus from the airport to Jasná and complete the journey for less than 10 euros (DKK 75).
Białka Tatrzańska in Poland: The best choice for beginners
Poland's largest winter sports area, Białka Tatrzańska, is a perfect combination of ski terrain suitable for beginners, hospitable local culture and stunning views of the Carpathians. The pistes between Kotelnica, Bania and Kaniówka form an excellent network of beginner-friendly ski slopes that together stretch 18 kilometers. It may not sound like much, but the local lift pass also covers the neighboring areas, where more experienced skiers can try their hand at more difficult terrain.
You can get a room in Białka Tatrzańska with breakfast included for 40 euros (DKK 300) per person. night, and then another 4 euros (DKK 30) can buy you a hot bowl of soup or some Polish pierogi (dumplings). It should also be mentioned that the vodka prices in the area do not have the potential to blow the budget. The locals often give them out for free! For 112 euros (DKK 850) you get a lift pass, which also gives access to the adjacent ski resorts.
How to get to Białka Tatrzańska:
Easy and cheap: Hop on a public bus from the train station in Kraków for less than 8 euros (60 DKK).
Sudelfeld-Bayrischzell in Germany: The obvious choice for experienced skiers
The pistes in the Sudelfeld-Bayrischzell area are literally blanket-bombed with fine snow by snow cannons that run 24/7 throughout the ski season, and the place is therefore designed to give skiers ample opportunity to challenge and explore a sea of red pistes and countless off-piste routes. Compared to the huge ski resorts you can find in Austria, which borders Germany a little south of Bayrischzell, Sudelfeld-Bayrischzell, with its 31 kilometers of pistes, is a modest ski resort. Fortunately, the prices are also just that: Modest!
A week's stay in a cozy guest house costs no more than 550 euros (DKK 4100), which is a treat compared to the towering prices you can otherwise pay in the nearby ski areas. If you are interested in saving further, you can alternatively choose to stay at a hiking hotel and thus share a dormitory with others at a price of 25 euros (200 DKK) per person. night. A lift pass in high season costs 222 euros (DKK 1,650) for six days of access to the lifts in the area.
How to get to Sudelfeld-Bayrischzell:
There are frequent trains between Sudelfeld-Bayrischzell and Munich main station. Hop on one of them and you'll be in Bayrischzell in an hour and a half for under 22 euros (DKK 160).
Remember: No skiing holiday without skiing!
... and there is also good money to be saved here. You don't get far down the slope without skis, regardless of whether you have paid expensive prices for a jet-set ski resort in the French Alps, or whether you have chosen one of the more affordable options for a ski holiday, we have given above. If you are therefore looking to save, where there is really money to be made, you can advantageously invest in a pair of used skis. In terms of price, used skis are far below new, but used skis in most cases also outperform rented skis when it comes to price. You can read much more about this in our blog post , where we, among other things, examines the price difference between new, rented and used skis and compares them to the price of a Rolex watch.
Not sure where to start? Read our good advice for buying used skis , or go directly to our large selection of used skis right here !
