Europe’s ‘best value ski resort’ has £3 beers, amazing slopes and epic après ski

Brits who love to hit the slopes each year but don’t like to shell out a fortune may be surprised that an Italian resort has beat out cheap destination Bulgaria for the lowest prices. The ski resort undercut ski resorts Borovets and Bansko for the first time in a decade.

Bardonecchia, a ski resort in the town of Turin, in the Italian Alps came out as the cheapest ski resort for holidaymakers in 2023. The Post Office Travel Money Ski Resort Report in partnership with Crystal Ski Holidays found that the previous winners in Bulgaria had been beat by the gorgeous Italian ski hotspot.

Bardonecchia is not only the cheapest spot for Brits, but also one of the prettiest. The mountains are in the Alps meaning there are tonnes of trails, white powder snow and lots of trees that surround the cleared routes. Utterly gorgeous!

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The report looked at 36 popular ski resorts across a number of European countries – including France, Italy, Bulgaria and Bosnia & Herzegovina. It found that Bardonecchia was the best value in a comparison of costs including for a week’s ski pass, ski equipment, tuition, meals and drinks.

As around 12% of Brits are apparently planning a ski holiday within the next year the information about the best priced resorts can’t come soon enough! Using local prices provided by Crystal Ski Holidays and converted to sterling by Post Office Travel Money the report found that Bardonecchia, in Italy, was the best priced option.

Bardonecchia has overtaken Borovets to take the top spot after prices rose just 1.4 per cent year-on-year. The report found that a week’s holiday including the cost of lift passes, ski and boot hire and ski tuition plus lunch and drinks on the slopes would cost you just £531.65 in the Italian resort.

Bankso has apparently seen a big rise in ski school prices while Borovets was the runner up to Bardonecchia. According to the study, the Italian resort a six day ski pass costs just £157 while boot hire sits at £80.99. Ski school will set holidaymakers back around £145.

Meanwhile the cost of a glass of wine in the resort was a tiny £2.64 and a beer was just a touch higher at £3.08. Lunch on the slopes will cost around £13.20 while your morning coffee will set you back £3.52.

Now, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t cheaper individual prices elsewhere – Borovets will only charge around £1.87 per beer and £2.33 for a glass of wine. But ski school and ski passes cost more then at the Italian resort.

So it’s all about the overall cost. The research didn’t look at there cost of accommodation, however, so you should definitely check out all of the cheapest resorts – Bardonecchia, Italy, Borovets, Bulgaria and Le Corbier, in France, to find out which is the best value for your stay.

Looking on booking.com, the cheapest stay in Bardonecchia for the upcoming ski season was Residence Les Lacs – just 600 yards from the ski lift – for £278 for five nights. That’s £27.80 per person per night when split between two people.

Meanwhile, the lowest cost Borovets stay was just £157 for five nights – that’s just £15.70 per person per night. The same stay at Le Corbier just 150yards from the ski lift will set you back £172 for five nights.

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