Newsflash: Skiing in Europe is more affordable than skiing in America. Here’s a cost analysis of my 3-day ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado vs. the Alps. Verdict? Colorado was $3,400 vs. the Alps at $1,650.
One of my favorite questions people always ask me is, “How can you afford to travel so much? Your trip to the Alps looked beautiful, it must’ve been expensive!” Cue the buzzer noise—wrong! Everyone has this misconception that because I am travelling to Europe, my trip has to be expensive, when in fact, I’ve found that travelling in America is equally if not more expensive. I’m here to debunk the myth that skiing in Europe is more expensive than skiing in America by putting all my cards on the table. Below I’ll outline my cost comparison between my ski trip to Colorado and my ski trip to the Alps. By the end of this article, you’ll be booking your ski trip to the Alps in a heartbeat. Here’s why skiing in Europe is more affordable than skiing in America:
1. Transportation
Transportation at the end of January to and in Colorado, cost me just a little bit less than transportation in Italy in March. So if this was your primary concern, let me help you eliminate it immediately. Airlines now days offer unbelievable winter deals to Italy. Same with the car rentals, sure finding an automatic car may cost you more in Italy, but the price will always be more affordable than in America.
2. Ski Passes & Ski Rental
Ready to get a heart attack? This is where the true expense is in America: ski passes. Ski pass prices have hit the roof in America, to the point where if you decide to ski for more than 7 times in a year, you might as well buy yourself the Epic Pass. It’s become somewhat of a luxury sport in my opinion. In Europe instead? Not only are the views of the Alps some of the most stunning panoramas you’ll ever see in your life, but they are less than a third of the price. The slopes are huge, the snow is soft, and there is room on the trails for all. There’s not much I can say here…the numbers speak for themselves. The price is even more affordable when you use a company like Ski Itineraries like Pat and I did when booking our trip the Alps. They take care of all the ski passes and ski rental equipment. With their instructor pass, they get special discounts and know the best ski shops that won’t rip you off when it comes to rentals. Plus they take care of everything for you, so you don’t need to spend hours researching which ski passes are best for your needs.
3. Accommodations
Ready for some more sticker shock..? Accommodations are ridiculously expensive in the U.S. during prime season. Pat and I rented a ski-on, ski-off condo while in Breckenridge, Colorado and ended up having to pay a ton of money for the convenience of the location. But even if you book a hotel in town, the price is above $1,000. In Italy, I was not staying within the resort, but in a town just 30 minutes away from all the resorts. Ski Itineraries had booked our stay at this quaint hotel because of its prime location and excellent restaurant (we had voiced that food was one of our primary interests in Italy). The price was less than $200 and was just quintessential Italy! Even if you choose to stay within a resort, hotels are still more affordable than America. But with all the different resorts just a short distance from one another, I have a feeling you won’t want to just silo yourself to one resort.
4. Food
I’m only going to show you the price for breakfast and then you can take this 4:1 ratio and apply it to your lunch and dinner as well! For breakfast, 1 Bagel and 1 Gatorade in Colorado cost me $12, while 1 cappuccino and 1 croissant in Italy cost me $3. Needless to say, when in Colorado we ended up stopping by the grocery store and buying a bunch of food so we could cook dinner in our condo. It was too expensive to go out and eat! For lunch, we ended up going back to the condo and eating our leftovers. No view, but at least we were on the ski slopes. In Italy on the other hand? You could enjoy some of the best cuisine in the world for an average price and with a stunning view directly from a chalet on the Alps. No need for you to go back home to enjoy a meal.
5. Ski Lessons
If you’re an intermediate or expert skier, you may be thinking to yourself, I can skip this section. But to be honest, the Alps are massive and getting lost is so easy. Everything is not clearly labeled like in the U.S. We booked our trip with Ski Itineraries and thank god we did. Our ski instructor or tour guide took us on a deep local exploration of the Alps and it’s trails unlike anything we could’ve done alone. It was a mix of cross-country skiing, hard core skiing, and easy riding. Not only does Ski Itineraries offer private lessons, if needed, but they also take you on a different trail every single time. You’ll never have to waste time getting lost or reading a map ever again.
In summary, I think the numbers below speak for themselves. Skiing in Europe is more affordable than skiing in America by approximately $2,000…and this doesn’t include food!! With all that extra money you’re saving, I highly encourage you book a ski trip to the Alps with Ski Itineraries. The cost for Ski Itineraries Discovery Package was included in my cost analysis from my trip to Italy below ($325 p/day). Spare yourself the hassle of trying to figure out what ski passes to buy, where to get ski rentals, speaking the language, having to deal with transportation, and finding the best hotel location. Let Ski Itineraries do it all for you. After all, if you’re skiing in Europe you might as well do it well with an unforgettable white glove skiing experience.
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