Meat on the bones – Austria ski deals offer the best value in the Alps
Cheaper cooling costs in Austria? – image ©www.skiingaustria.co.uk
What a job - skiing between mountain huts getting beer and cake prices!
Everyone who has travelled (and I mean everyone) has inevitably been drawn into price comparisons with home prices as well as previous excursions – you hear it in every après ski bar, mountain restaurant, lift ticket office queue, everywhere. I was as shocked at how good value the ski resort prices were inn Hokkaido, Japan as I was appalled in Courchevel, France. The cost of flights, transfers and accommodation are pretty transparent but a holiday is about enjoying time during the stay and that means digging into the pocket. How far you have to dig is based very much on the ski and snowboard destination. The team at WTSS have run a survey which broadly separates the Alps into 2 distinct cost zones, Austria & Italy and Switzerland & France. They surveyed over 2500 items in a variety of resorts across the world and in the Alps they found Italy & Austria to have prices broadly between the average and below average (with 2 exceptions) whilst Switzerland & France had prices broadly between average to above average and together occupied 18 of the top 20 most expensive resorts (source wtss.co.uk). The Ski Welt resorts of Ellmau, Scheffau, Soll, Otztal Valley with Solden and Obergurgl and Ski Amade ski holiday resort of Schladming came out best in the survey for Austria. Something we have always experienced but never had quantified.
Yep, Austria does the best and cheapest schnapps with a random pear in it!
Yes I am not sure how the intrepid survey team managed to differentiate that one. To the devotees of this particular beverage it represents both an enjoyable and thirst quenching après ski tipple as well as tick on the 5-a-day chart of fruit and vegetables. You actually can’t blame the locals for this belief in the restorative powers of schnapps, it is widely prescribed here by practicing doctors for all manner of ailments – another reason to celebrate life in Austria.
Matt - saw you’re entry about japan. North Island has some interesting ski and snowboard tracks and yes it’s currently cheap to come out ant play. I have a place in Hakuba, which was the location of the 98 winter olympics. People seem to have forgotten about this, great for locals as there are fewer crowds than in the North. Some great snow. Roll on the snow!!
Hi Andrew. I honeymooned in Japan and then had a ski tour of the Hokkaido resorts last year. 2 things – both occasions I was blown away by the value. I thought I was going to go hungry with the price of things and that I might be able to afford a glass of beer once I a while. Crazy thinking - Japan (even Tokyo)offered fantastic value right across the board from travel to the price of a beer or plate of sushi. Secondly I rated the skiing and snow as outstanding, I imagined a few surface lifts and some bemused locals looking on, but hey Japan is a real ski nation. The snow levels are superb and yes I am one of the every biggest fans of Japan and Japanese skiing. There are 3 areas in the world I would always choose to ski, the west of Austria, the west of Canada and Japan. We run http://www.skiingjapan.co.uk and http://www.ineedsnow.com – feel free to mail me through some information on your region. And thanks for taking the time to write on our blog. Any snow yet?
HUM…. the luxury ski chalets are the ideal place for the honeymooners.Along with that they can go for skiing also.Enjoy the nature to the fullest.