June 1, 2020
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with travel dates on or after
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with effective start dates on or after
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Unless you have an unlimited vacation budget, you're probably not going to just blindly cram the gang into the car and go bumbling off to the nearest ski resort without room reservations, a meal strategy and advance-purchased lift tickets. Further investigation into the prospect of a ski vacation may even prompt you to choose to fly instead of drive and to set your sights on lesser-known destinations that offer a quality experience at a fraction of the price. The bottom line is this: Since skiing and snowboarding are such incredible fun, people are willing to pay top dollar in order to make their way onto the slopes. You can exact a competitive edge in claiming your share of the powder with a preemptive plan built on insider tips and bargain-hunting scrutiny.
A major setback of travel is uncertainty, especially when it comes to where you will be sleeping for the night. Booking your accommodations as far in advance as possible offers the assurance that you will not be inconvenienced by overbooking or exorbitant rates. The further in advance you book your rooms, the more money you can save. The inverse of this strategy is to roll the dice on last-minute bookings — relying on the possibility that other travelers may cancel their plans at the last minute. This is an OK strategy if you are flying solo but probably not the best approach for a family adventure. Another aspect of lodging to consider is renting an apartment, a condo or a house in a town near your destination as opposed to incurring the high cost of hotel rooms at the foot of the slope. These are known as "feeder towns" and are common throughout the skiing regions of Colorado, California and Utah. You can further fortify your peace of mind with coverage from Allianz Travel Insurance, turning disasters, such as wrecked rental cars, into mere setbacks.
In addition to saving you money on rent, non-hotel accommodations offer the added value of a kitchen, which minimizes a huge portion of your overall spending equation. Making breakfast every day before hitting the slopes, packing a lunch for everybody and cooking dinner every night can save dozens of dollars every day and hundreds over the span of an entire trip, especially with a large group. Meals in ski lodges are grossly overpriced due to the fact that they are catering to a captive audience that is famished from the caloric burn induced by skiing and snowboarding.
Similar to accommodations, lift ticket rates fluctuate according to holiday and weekend proximity. Tickets in early November are cheaper than in late December, and a ticket on a Monday is cheaper than one on Saturday. Consider walking up to the lift ticket window to be the final option, only to be used in a worst-case scenario. Looking for deals on discount sites like Liftopia.com is a great way to save extra funds for travel expenses instead of handing over top dollar to the ski area at the last minute. Many regions offer multiple mountain passes, while some areas, such as Steamboat in Colorado, offer a free five-or-more day lift ticket for a child under 12 with the purchase of an adult five-or-more day ticket. Grocery stores in feeder towns also offer discount tickets for nearby resorts, adhering to the unwritten rule: The closer to the lift you get, the more expensive the ticket.
Driving across the country to your skiing destination may or may not be the most economic strategy, depending on seasonal gas prices and how far away from your vacation destination you live. Flying into DIA (Denver International Airport) puts you anywhere from one to two hours from most major ski areas along the I-70 corridor, such as Copper Mountain, Keystone, Breckenridge, Aspen and Vail. Meanwhile, flying into SLC (Salt Lake City International Airport) puts you within one hour of the slopes of renowned places like Deer Valley, Snowbird, Brighton and Sundance. Both airports offer shuttle service to most nearby ski areas, and there is always the prospect of renting an SUV to complete your trek from the airport to your accommodations. Opting for airfare purchased at least two months in advance along with final-leg ground transportation can be cheaper than buying gas, while also sparing your car expensive wear and tear.
Marketers in high-profile resort towns like Vail and Park City know the value of those names and charge accordingly. Lift tickets at a posh ski mountain can cost up to $150.00 for one day. Thankfully, there are more affordable options with terrain that is just as pristine. Choose a ski adventure at Loveland, Colorado and accommodations in the feeder town of Georgetown, and you could save thousands compared to the same experience in the nearby resort of Breckenridge. Or? Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho.
Securing trip insurance and planning several months in advance can help you plan a safe and affordable vacation. You can stretch your recreational budget by taking advantage of discounted accommodations, meals, lift tickets, transportation and airfare.
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