Italian resorts also dominate the top of the report’s family chart, due largely to a common money-saving offer of free children’s ski kit hire when purchased with adult equipment. As well as Passo Tonale and Bardonecchia, La Thuile, Sestriere and Cervinia take places seven, nine and 10.
There are no top 10 places for French or Austrian ski resorts in either the adults or children’s tables due to rising resort costs and, perhaps unsurprisingly, resorts in Switzerland were found to be the most expensive options.
Resorts in the Alpine nation took up three out of four of the most expensive destinations, with the average cost for a week’s holiday for an adult coming in at £1,345.76 in Zermatt.
Where can we ski in Norway?
Norway isn’t a classic destination for British skiers, but its inclusion in the top 10 for value could help sway opinion. As well as the resort of Norefjell taking ninth place in the adult list, the hubs of Beitostolen and Geilo came fifth and sixth in the family value list.
While the cost of eating and drinking out is usually considerably higher in Norway and other Nordic countries than in western Europe, its competitive pricing for ski passes, equipment hire and tuition help bring overall costs down.
Norefjell, in the Scandes Mountain range, was the only new entry to the adult ski top 10 this winter. It rose from 14th place last year on the back of a 2.6 per cent fall in barometer costs to £739.
In the family value top 10, Beitostolen and Geilo were found to offer great value, with a week’s break for a family of four costing £2,026 and £2,245 respectively.
However, Post Office Travel Money cautions that visitors should choose restaurants and bars carefully, since the cost of meals and drinks can sometimes be much steeper than in many other European resorts.
There is another factor to consider for a Norwegian ski trip – shorter winter days. In late December, sunrise is at around 10am and sunset at around 3pm.
Norefjell was surprisingly affordable (Photo: torstengrieger/Getty)Norway’s unique perks
In more northerly Nordic resorts, temperatures can also be a lot colder than in the Alps, which can make them more snow-sure (and there’s usually no shortage of saunas in which to thaw out in).
In Geilo, five of the resort’s 22 lifts aerw currently open, and six of the 46 runs. Snow depth is 15cm base with 80cm at the summit. In Norefjell, there is a 20cm base depth and 40cm at the summit with four of 14 lifts open and three of 30 runs.
At the beginning of last year, 37 Austrian resorts were shut, while France, Switzerland and Italy all saw upwards of 11 forced to cease operations due to poor snow conditions.
The sun may set earlier in Norway than in other European ski hotspots, but its sauna culture is hard to beat (Photo: Anastasiia Shavshyna/Getty)
However, the altitude of Nordic ski stations tends to be lower than in classic Alpine resorts, and pistes – while pretty and sometimes through trees – less varied.
Self-catering can mitigate some of the higher costs of eating and drinking in Norway. Crystal Ski Holidays has a one-week self-catering trip at Bergo Apartments in Beitostolen for £393pp on 26 January 2025, with return flights from Manchester and transfers included. This package comes with a buy-one-get-one free offer on lift passes.
For those less worried about the cost of eating out, Crystal also has a week’s package departing 23 February 2025 for the Vestlia Resort in Geilo on a bed and breakfast basis. It’s £1,224pp with return flights from Gatwick. The four-star hotel has several pools, a spa as well as a restaurant serving typically hearty Norwegian cuisine.
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Publish date : 2024-12-13 07:00:00
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