Cheap Ski Holidays

Book with NUCO Travel and a brilliant ski break can be cheaper than you might think ̶ bag a bargain when you combine our amazing network of connections across a huge range of ski resorts with insider tricks like booking outwith seasonal peaks, choosing cheap ski places slightly off the typical tourist trail, enjoying value-focused apres-ski and considering self-catering accommodation.

While skiing and snowboarding are special experiences and the customised ski holiday packages we create are uncommonly good, we believe in an inclusive rather than exclusive snowsports culture that welcomes as many people as possible; that is why we have made skiing cheap a possibility for all.

So whether you’re after some cheap snowboarding holidays, are a solo skier who wants to explore the slopes as cheaply as possible, a couple looking for a cheap ski weekend break in the Alps or a mixed ability group looking to maximise savings on an annual ski holiday, we can help you find fantastic cheap ski deals.

Some skiing countries are cheaper than others, but with our expertise and connections we can find the cheapest ski resorts and accommodation in France, Austria, Italy, Andorra and even Switzerland.

If a budget ski holidays in Avoriaz sounds awesome or you’ve been searching high and low for ways to save money on a trip to Zermatt, you can pick our brains for the best advice in the business.

For ski holidays that offer the best bang for your buck, NUCO Travel is your best friend!

Why choose NUCO Travel first for cheap ski holidays in France?

At NUCO Travel, we’ve been making Europe’s mountains more accessible to the masses since 1932 ̶ when you’ve been doing something that long, you tend to get good at it!

And since all our staff have a personal passion for snowsports and Alpine culture, we take pride in ensuring that every aspect of your holiday is cost-effective without ever compromising on quality and always arrange a ski holiday for customers that we would be delighted to take ourselves.

With excellent connections in every resort and across the snowsports sector in general, we’re uniquely placed to create cheap ski packages with in-built savings on everything from flights and transfers to ski resort accommodation and ski hire equipment to lift passes.

At NUCO Travel we make skiing cheap option. We’ll always move heaven and earth to provide you with amazing cheap ski deals that brilliantly balance value with quality.

Cheap ski weekend & cheap ski breaks

There are several highly-rated European ski resorts where you can enjoy a cheap ski weekend.

Italy’s Sauze d’Oulx is a superb example ̶ part of the vast 440km Milky Way ski area, this sheltered ski area features lots of terrific tree-lined pistes and with plenty of red runs, it’s a paradise for intermediate skiers and fights to Turin airport and resort transfers are very reasonable. The village centre is full of cobbled streets and traditional trattorias, while there are bargains galore on self-catering apartments.

Meanwhile, Les Menuires in France is a charming traditional resort that’s choc a block with chocolate box chalets and has benefited from significant investment in modernising facilities in recent years. Part of the stunning Three Valleys ski area, you’ll find sunny south facing runs here that are particularly pleasant in February and March, a Three Valleys ski pass provides brilliant value for money and there are several marvellous mountain restaurants that are very reasonable.

Cheapest times of year for a ski holiday

Ski holiday’s can definitely be cheaper at quieter times of the year, so in most resorts, that means November and December (but before the Christmas season kicks in), January (from the second week onwards), the middle of March and April outwith Easter. When planning for cheap ski holidays, it might be best, to avoid Christmas and New Year if you can, French ski holidays, UK half-term holidays and high season in mid to late February. In terms of resort conditions at these times of year, Alpe d’Huez in France and Italy’s Madonna di Campiglio can enjoy heavy snowfall in early December, Austrian resorts like Zell am Zee and Mayrhofen are top notch in January (as are French picks like Tignes and Les Arcs), while Italy’s Monterosa is in great condition in March.

Budget ski accommodation

Accommodation is a crucial component of any ski holiday and even if you’re economising as much as possible, you’ll still need a location that either offers doorstep skiing or a frequent ski shuttle service so that you can reach the slopes with minimum hassle.

If you opt for self-catering accommodation, it works out cheaper than half-board or all-inclusive arrangements (unless you’re cooking Michelin-standard delicacies and drinking champers every evening!) and if you can opt for the plainer and more practical end of the market, we can help you find some brilliant bargains.

Cheap ski chalets

A catered ski chalet is rarely going to be extremely cheap, but chalet-style accommodation offers the aesthetic attractions of the classical A-frame exterior with several suites sequestered inside, and you can find reasonable prices for these types of residences in ski areas like The Three Valleys, Portes du Soleil, Paradiski and elsewhere. When you want chalet chic and cosiness at a decent price, this type of accommodation is a great fit.

Cheap ski apartments

With a huge range of ski apartments in France, Italy, Andorra, Switzerland and Austria, this category of accommodation often provides the best bargains throughout the season, but especially outwith peak times. With self-catering ski apartments, you can live like a local, pick up fresh ingredients from local supermarkets and delis, and prepare your own cost-effective, healthy and delicious meals. Furthermore, for a cost-cutting double whammy, why not self-drive to your self-catering ski apartment, which also allows you to stay in your own social bubble for the duration if this feels more reassuring.

Cheap ski hotels

Because of facilities and amenities like onsite restaurants, bars and sometimes even spas, ski hotels have a reputation for being expensive and while a self-catering apartment can often be more economical, there are some scenarios where a ski hotel can be convenient and reasonably cheap. For instance, many three-star ski hotels are surprisingly salubrious and staying on a half-board basis can sometime save you cash if you’ve chosen a resort where eating out, ordering in or food shopping are expensive. Furthermore, in a ski region where almost all accommodation is reasonably low cost, such as Grandvalira, you’ll find ski hotels that are comfortable, affordable and in keeping with the surroundings.

Whatever your accommodation and resort preference, there’s no question that we’ll find something to fit your needs and budget.

Save on ski extras

When you arrange a ski holiday independently, the cost of essential extras such as ski passes and ski equipment hire can mount up and especially if this is your first experience organising a snowsports trip, you can end up paying more than you should. However, when you let NUCO Travel arrange your ski extras, you can make some serious savings.

Cheap ski passes

Tap into our experience and expertise to grab the best value ski passes possible ̶ we can often secure discounts on couples, family and group ski passes, making sure that your costs are kept to a minimum.

Furthermore, depending on your plans, skiing ability and resort of choice, we can advise whether a cheaper local pass will suffice, or if you’ll get maximum value for money by spending a little more up front for a lift pass covering the wider ski area and thereby unlocking more ski mileage.

Cheap ski equipment hire

Whether you need skis, a snowboard, goggles, or any other type of ski gear, we’ll source the most reasonably priced deals from reliable outlets near your accommodation and roll the reduced cost into your cheap ski package, saving you time, trouble, or money. We can help source everything from ski boots to jackets and other rugged clothing ̶ but remember that if you want to save as much cash as possible, you might be able to borrow some equipment from friends too, although naturally there’s no guarantee it’ll be a perfect fit!

Cheapest apres-ski

If you’re planning a ski trip as a stag or hen night, or you simply enjoy evening entertainment as much as your daytime adventures on- and off-piste, it’s helpful to know which resorts have pubs, bars and clubs where prices for drinks and admission are perpetually low or there are regular happy hours. Here are a few party zones where it doesn’t cost a fortune to have a great time:

• Livigno in Italy has plenty of blue and red runs for intermediate skiers and a terrific terrain park with huge jumps and tricky rails and kickers to challenge keen snowboarders, tasty food is available for cut-rate prices and you can grab a beer for as little as €3. Fly to Milan for this cracking resort and there’s a smooth bus transfer to the resort.

• Alpe d’Huez is a favourite French ski resort for many of our customers and as well as the perfect powder on offer, the bars and pubs deliver great value, with venues like The Underground Bar, Smithy’s, O’Sharkey’s, Sphere Bar, Igloo Bar and the local branch of La Folie Douce offering cut-price drinks, regular promotions, and distinctive atmospheres that range from cosy bars with brilliant banter to full-on dancefloor experiences where you can let your hair down and party like a rock star.

Cheap ski resorts

If your heart is set on spending your ski holiday in a certain resort, we can find the cheapest options for accommodation and extras, even if overall the location isn’t renowned for affordability. However, in the following resorts, prices are particularly competitive.

Cheap ski resorts in France

For a French ski resort which will stretch your spending money, Flaine is a pretty good pick. It’s simple to drive to from Britain, which cuts your travel costs considerably and as the entire resort is ski-in/ski-out, even the lowest priced apartments have excellent locations and views, with some even offering onsite pools and spas. You also have the gorgeous Grand Massif ski area to explore ̶ all 265km of it! La Plagne is another savvy choice for an affordable French ski holiday, with its 11 distinctive ski villages and whopping 425km of slopes to explore. There’s a wide choice of cheap accommodation here, including plenty of plain but practical apartments which are perfectly fine places to lay your head at the end of an exciting day. If you prefer traditional to modern accommodation, the best choice is Belle Plagne, while Plagne Bellecote boasts some brilliant apres-ski bars.

Cheap ski resorts in Italy

Cervinia is a cheap Italian ski holiday option which is becoming very popular thanks to its sunshine, snow-sure slopes and affordability. Sitting at the edge of the Aosta Valley, the après here is vibrant and varied, with a neat, pedestrianised and modern resort centre. Part of the cross-border Cervinia-Zermatt ski area, there are 360km of slopes here (some of which are amongst the highest in Europe) and you’ll find a fab selection of budget hotels and cheap ski apartments.

Cheap ski resorts in Austria

Ski conditions in Austria are awesome and the hospitality here is legendary. Niederau is a hidden gem of a resort which specialises in cheap family ski holidays and even offers free ski passes for under 16s at the end of each season. There’s also gratis Wi-Fi with great coverage on the slopes and throughout the resort, cheap ski schools aplenty and lots of low-cost self-catering accommodation to choose from, as well as cheap but comfy two- and three-star hotels. St Anton is another amazing Austrian ski resort that’s surprisingly reasonable, especially given its excellent reputation for quality skiing and après attractions. You can actually find affordable catered chalets here offering basic but wholesome meals and warm rooms, the ski pass covers a vast 350km and if you stay in a nearby village like St Jacob it can be cheaper yet.

Cheap ski resorts in Switzerland

There’s no denying that Switzerland can be expensive compared to rival resorts in other European nations, but with NUCO Travels expertise you can even bag a cheap ski break in this A-lister favourite. Thanks to its size, Davos has several reasonable self-catering accommodation options and there are regular supermarkets like Coop, Migros, Aldi and Lidl where you can stock up. The skiing itself is super and you can even eat lunch at a decent mountain restaurant here, grab a refreshing beer and still have change in your pocket. Nendaz is located in the vast 4 Valleys ski area and tends to be cheaper than neighbouring Verbier. Beginners get free access to Parc Tracouet while if you don’t want to shell out for a ski pass covering the entire 412km area, the cheaper Prinze pass still covers an impressive 220km. There are plenty of self-catered chalets and apartments here, but a catered chalet is worth considering as decent prices can be found and the convenience of having all of your culinary needs taken care of shouldn’t be underestimated.

Cheap ski resorts in Andorra

Andorra’s Grandvalira ski area has a considerable 210km of corduroy and three terrific terrain parks to choose from. Pas de la Casa is the most popular resort for price-focused pleasure seekers and its apres-ski scene is superb, with very cheap (but great quality) beer at venues like Paddy’s, half board hotels at wonderfully low prices and tax-free shopping for designer and electronic goods in the resort and the capital city Andorra la Vella, which is only 17 miles westwards.

Budget ski flights & transfers

Wherever you’re based in the UK we can find you cheap flights and shared transfers that get you to your resort fast and maximises your time on the slopes and in the bars and clubs. Alternatively, if you’d prefer the independent travel and privacy of a self-drive ski holiday we can advise on the best routes, secure ferry or tunnel tickets and provide pinpoint directions right to the door of your accommodation.

Booking your cheap ski holidays

Arranging your cheap ski holiday couldn’t be easier than it is with NUCO Travel ̶ we do all the hard work for you, our online system is simple to use and we’re always at the end of the phone to talk you through anything you’re unsure of and apply our expertise to squeezing every penny of value from your fab ski break.

When you want a budget ski holidays that’s bang on the money, you know who to call!