The best and worst places to go skiing in Europe this winter – with Bulgaria losing its crown as the cheapest destination to ITALY

For the first time in a decade, the Bulgarian ski resorts of Borovets and Bansko have lost their position as the best value in Europe.

Their crown has been taken over by Italian Bardonecchia for the 2023/24 winter season.

The resort is rated as the best value for adult skiing in the Post Office Travel Money Ski Resort Report 2023, with Bankso dropping to sixth place on the chart.

The most expensive resort, the research shows, is Zermatt in Switzerland.

The report, in collaboration with Crystal ski holidayswas compiled by comparing the total cost at 36 resorts of a six-day lift pass and ski/boot hire for one person, plus ski school (five to six half days) and a range of drinks and lunch on the slopes.

According to the report, the total for Bardonecchia is £532 per person, putting Borovets in second place for the first time since 2019.

Prices at the Bulgarian resort have risen 8.2 per cent year on year to £554, the research shows.

Bansko, which was rated best in 2018, comes in sixth place thanks to a year-on-year price increase of 18.1 percent, bringing the cost per person to a total of £642.

The cheapest French resort according to the survey is Le Corbier, where a total of £611.32 confirms third place. It is the first time that a French ski resort is in the top three destinations.

Italian resort Livigno is in fourth place at £614, while Baqueira Beret, the first Spanish ski resort to be included in the Post Office Travel Money Ski Resort Report, is in seventh place (£696).

Overall, Italian resorts continue to represent the best value for British skiers among the ‘big four’ ski destinations (Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland), with three more resorts in the top 10: Sauze (fifth, £639), Sestriere ( eighth, £699) and La Thuile (ninth, £710), the report reveals.

With prices only slightly higher than last season, Finnish resort Ruka completes the top ten with the best value (10th, £735) for adult ski trips.

At the other end of the spectrum, Switzerland is the most expensive ski country in Europe, with the three resorts on the list each costing more than £1,000 per person.

The research shows that Zermatt, the most expensive resort, costs £1,334.76, followed by Wengen (35th, £1,259) and Saas-Fee (34th, £1,164).

Laura Plunkett, head of Post Office Travel Money, said: ‘The cost of ski resorts is likely to play a major role in destination choice this year, as the rising cost of living in Britain puts pressure on the amount of money ski enthusiasts have available for their vacation. annual winter sports holiday.

‘The good news is that prices are lower in some popular holiday resorts and where they have risen, the increases are not as high as you would expect given inflation across Europe.’

Budget-conscious families will find the lowest prices for a weekly lift pass, ski equipment, tuition, meals and drinks at Jahorina (£1,657) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of eight new ski areas introduced in the family ski resort report this season.

Jahorina is the cheapest for a family of four (two adults and two children, aged six and eight) of the 32 ski resorts surveyed, narrowly beating Italy’s Passo Tonale (second, £1,678), where prices have fallen by 6.6 per cent have declined.

This year’s report shows that more than half of family resorts – 13 of the 24 previously surveyed – have seen price declines. The biggest drop – 8.9 per cent – ​​is in Ruka (£2,098), Finland, which has moved up to seventh place in the family list. Among the 12 other family resorts that have recorded year-on-year price falls, Rauris (sixth, £2,085) is the only Austrian resort to feature in both top 10 tables.

The most expensive resort in the family rankings is Austria’s Kitzbühel, where the total cost for a family of four rises to £3,260.53, the report shows.

Laura adds: ‘Many parents who take their children on ski holidays want them to go to ski school and the costs of this can significantly increase the ski holiday.’

The findings come as consumer research carried out for the Post Office supports reports from the travel industry of a surge in demand for European ski holidays following heavy early snowfall in the Alps.

The survey of 2,001 adults showed that a significant number – 12 percent (246 respondents) – are planning a ski holiday between December 2023 and April 2024.

Chris Logan, Managing Director at Crystal Ski Holidays, says: ‘With the rising cost of living, offering value for money when it comes to ski holidays is more important than ever before.

‘We continue to see strong demand for destinations that offer great value to price-conscious Brits, with Italy remaining a firm favorite for our customers for the 2023-2024 winter season.’

Visit www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money.