For some people, winter is actually the best time of the year, when they can visit marvellous Alpine resorts to enjoy the annual ski trips. However, such a trip could be hampered with inadequate bank balances and relatively strong Euro. Regardless of these financial obstacles, our annual ski trip shouldn’t be banished and become a pipe dream. Although a one-week ski trip in Europe for two persons could cost us thousands of dollars, there are still ways to save some money. It should be noted that many items in ski resorts are sold at exorbitant prices, so we could do steps to avoid paying too much. Here are we should do:
1. Choose Good Gears not Branded one:
When buying ski clothing, we should avoid branded items. Jackets with certain logos could cause us to pay a hundred dollars higher. In fact, many jackets regardless of their brands come from similar factories in Far East. We should still make sure that our clothing is waterproof and breathable. Hiring skiing gears may not be a good idea because they could cost us more than $200 for the entire week. It is possible to buy second hand by checking eBay. We could always re-use them for the next annual skiing trip or sell them to people in our town.
2. Always Book in Advance
During our trip to Europe, we should consider spending on airlines, extra baggage, skis, taxis and others. Because people who are on a ski trip tend to bring more items, things could begin to look rather expensive. We should book in advance, preferably outside the holiday season to make sure we get lower airfares and accommodation costs.
3. Save Money at the Resort
Once we arrive to the ski resort, we shouldn’t rush out and immediately purchase a week’s lift pass. Unless we are particularly energetic and eager, it likely that we won’t start our ski activities at the first day of our arrival. Most resorts offer discounts if we purchase lift pass at specific hours, such as after lunch. We should find out the lowest fees based on hour of purchase to make huge savings on tickets. Another obvious step is to bring as much as food from outside the ski resort. Resorts could charge up to 5 Euro for soft drink and snacks. Little things can get really expensive if we are not particularly aware. Mountain restaurants are among the most expensive places to eat throughout the Europe. Make sure we consume instant, milk-based energy drink each morning; as well as high-calorie snack, to prevent hunger around lunch hour. Instant energy drinks and high-calorie meals could save up to $100 per person each day.
4. Plan our Destination
One of the greatest potential in saving money is to have a clear idea about where we should go during the skiing trip. Alpine resorts can get really ridiculous in terms of pricing. The Euro tends to strengthen at specific months of the year, so we may need to adjust the time of our trips accordingly.