You know whose house you're going to for Thanksgiving. You have your flight for Christmas and a hotel for New Year's Eve. Your winter travel plans are set. Well, sort of. Typically you also make it to the mountains for a snowy vacation. But this year, you're holding off uncertain if you can afford it? With some careful planning, you probably can. Here are a few tips to help make it happen:Go in the off season. The holidays are going to be the busiest and most expensive time. If you're on a budget don't even considering visiting a ski resort area between December 25 and January 2. The weeks of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday and Presidents' Day are other dates to avoid. The best time for winter travel is in the dead of winter, after New Year's and before Presidents' Day. Kids are in school, and people are staying home because their wallets are empty after the holidays. Hotel rates during this hidden low season can be as much as 20 percent less than during the peak time. Another option: March, which can be a beautiful time to be in the snow, especially if you get a spring storm.
Opt for low-key ski resorts. Food, lodging, lift tickets, everything is going to be pricier at a ritzy ski resort. Instead check out of some of the more laid-back ones such as Colorado's Copper Mountain, Utah's Brian Head, Idaho's Schweitzer Mountain Resort, New Mexico's Taos Ski Valley, British Columbia's Fernie, and Vermont's Ludlow.
Save on lift tickets. Before you book your vacation, check on the price of lift tickets, which can cost up to $90 for an adult these days. This might determine where you want to go. You can call the resort's toll-free number ask if local grocery stores or ski rental shops sell discounted lift tickets for their resort. Also you can often save by buying tickets online. Another option: check the ski association's Web site for the state you plan to visit and you'll find all sorts of deals. For example, on the Colorado Ski Country USA Web site you can order a free card that will allow you to save at nine of the state's resorts (some of these savings include free ski days) and you can apply for free lift tickets for kids in fifth and sixth grade. The Utah Ski Association site offers the same deal for fifth and sixth graders.
Photo credit: Colorado Ski Country
3 comments:
Nice post - I'll add in Colorado especially - ski weekdays, and avoid weekends.
Resorts are packed on the weekends with locals from Denver - to the point where many of us prefer to take a day off work to hit the slopes. Traffic is much easier on the road and the slopes.
And rentals: if you're driving and not confined to a resort do your renting in Denver (sports authority is a great place) and there's some places along I-70 in Idah Springs. and you won't waste your time at the resorts slugging through rental lines with other tourists
here's a couple more of my ski/colorado articles
http://www.futuregringo.com/index.php/category/colorado-the-west/
Great post, always nice to find other tips to finding deals. Also, check out Liftopia, which sells discount lift tickets to ski resorts in the same way travel sites sell airline tickets and rental cars. It is relatively new and needs to keep adding resorts, but the savings are really good.
Good post, thanks for the info.
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