With out a doubt a snow trip is one of the most expensive holidays you will ever go on. But I can assure you there are some cheaper ways to have a great time at the snow without breaking the bank!
There are a few key reasons why a trip to the snow can be expensive. In the following blog post I will explore the top elements that can make a snow trip expensive and show you how you can save money to make the trip much more friendly on your wallet.
1. Accommodation
Accommodation is one of the most expensive, but necessary, components of a snow trip, and let me tell you it can chew up a lot of your holiday budget. Prices on accommodation located near the snow fields have jumped enormously in recent years to the point on them being unattainable for most people, so how can you save on this?
Staying on snow or accommodation that is “ski in ski out” may be convenient but is extremely expensive. Consider staying off snow, it’s not only cheaper for accommodation but also cheaper for other things including restaurants and being off snow will mean you more than likely have access to supermarkets, so you can save on eating costs. In my many years of snow trips in Australia there is only a handful of times I have stayed in a unit / resort/ hotel, and only once have I stayed on snow, because I don’t want to spend all my money on a place to only sleep. When my children were younger, I started staying in cabins in holiday parks. They are reasonably priced and there is a roof over your head if the weather turns bad. They also have hot showers and drying rooms so that your gear is dry for the next day’s adventures. When my youngest child turned 5, we moved to camping in tents at holiday parks. (I wrote about our favorite NSW snow campground here) If you are prepared it is fine, warm sleeping bags / blankets and sleeping off the ground is the key. Also taking advantage of the camp kitchen meant that we are not only in a warm space, but we also got to hang out with others snow enthusiasts. Nowadays we have our converted VW transporter so can find ourselves camping in National Parks that surround the snow fields in Australia. For only a small processing fee (around $6.50) you can stay close to the snow, and while you have access to toilets, there are no showers, power or drinking water. If you are not into camping or roughing it, Airbnb’s are an option and also sharing accommodation with other friends will break up the costs. With lots of options when it comes to accommodation for your snow trip, planning and research as well as looking on booking sites like Booking.com is key to get a deal that is right for you.
2. Lift Passes.
If you are not interested in getting lift passes because you aren’t going to ski or snowboard, then skip this part but if your plan is to shred it down the mountain then read on!
Lift passes are very expensive, but if you are heading to the snow to ski or board then you have no choice but to buy them. Season passes are the best value if you are going to head to the snow multiple times over the season. They can also offer discounts on various stores; food places and ski hire in the resort. The Epic pass (Perisher) is promoted to pay for itself after five visits and also offer lift access in many other resorts in Australia and overseas. So if you are planning on testing your skills on a trip here in Australia and overseas then it is definitely worth it. The Epic Pass also offers what they call a bring a buddy scheme which means your friends and family can get discounted lift passes- up to 50% off.
If you are not planning on going multiple times to make a season pass worth it, then make sure you research all of Australia’s resort’s lift passes. Look at the smaller resorts, Charlotte pass has not only cheaper passes then Perisher and Thredbo but they also include over snow transport, lunch and a drink! Also keep an ear out for cheap days, both Selwyn and Charlotte offer random discounted days, generally during the week and at the end of the season (out of peak time) The last tip I have is to look at multiple day passes rather than single days and plan well ahead of time. Buying passes online well in advance and not at the last minute, will save you lots of money.
3.Snow gear.
Like any type of specialised gear, snow gear can be quite expensive to buy. First timers may want to look at hiring gear. There are plenty of places close to the snow fields that hire out gear. Most places will do package deals bundling up clothes with ski / boarding equipment for a discounted cost. Your best bet is to do your research on this before you get to the snow. Hire places generally have their prices listed online so a search beforehand can save you money Our favourite place to hire over the years in Jindabyne has been the Base Ski Hire . They always have helped us out, and they have a member’s card which you order on their website and this gives you an extra 20% off hire.
If you want to purchase your own gear, you can always check out the Aldi sales (check out my YouTube Video here!) and Anaconda over the years have stated selling reasonably priced gear for the whole family. These two places also sell ski socks, gloves, helmets and googles which are necessaries.
My biggest tip for buying cheap snow gear is to buy second hand. Marketplace is filled with gear that people don’t want anymore, and Op shops will also have snow gear for sale. Obviously check out the gear to make sure it is all in working order and pay a price that you are happy with. 90% of our gear is second hand. and we have found the closer you get to the snow fields the more gear you can find in the secondhand stores. Our favourite spots are the op shops in Cooma and Jindabyne and I recently picked up a pair of ski pants and ski boots for my daughter at an op shop in Mount Beauty Vic for $55 total! Keep your eyes out during the year while secondhand shopping you never know what you might find!
Lastly, I have purchased great ex rental ski’s, stocks and a snow board from hire places. Sometimes they will have ex rental gear outside the store, or I have asked sales guys and they have found something suitable. The best thing about this is they will generally give them a good wax, so you are ready to hit the slopes.
4. Eating on the mountain.
Food at the snow is expensive! A serving of chips and gravy and a can of drink will easily set you back close to $20. This adds up if you are buying food for the whole family. There is a couple of ways we combat that. Firstly, we have a daily food budget. This is for food we buy out on the mountain; we all know what it is for the day, and we stick to it. To be honest our daily food budget has gone up a little since last season and is now generally $30 a day at the most. As you can tell that doesn’t get us much between all of us! So, this is where our other tips come in.
Snack packs are our life saver… we each fill zip lock bags up with chocolates, lollies, muesli bars, nuts, licorice etc. and that is what we snack on throughout the day. They fit perfectly in our jacket pockets and provide us some energy when we need it.. I have also carried a small backpack with sandwiches and fruit over the years, this is so good for when the kids where little, just remember you have to take off the pack when riding the chair lifts. You can also carry a bottle of water and keep in mind that many of the pubs / eating areas have free water to access as well.
This year though I discovered my favorite way to save money on eating on the mountain and that is cooking back at the van! With our new converted van, we can make our way back to the carpark and cook something up for lunch and the kids always have noodles ready for the end of the day. Handy if we aren’t skiing on the other side of the mountain and the weather is nice. I have seen many people do this even if it is to come back to the car to make up some sandwiches and have a cuppa out of a thermos! Definitely a great way to save some cash.
5.National Park / Resort entry costs.
This is a hard one to save one but there is a couple of ways you can make it a little cheaper. So, the NSW nationals parks and the individual resorts in Victoria charge you a fee to enter. In NSW there is a couple of ways you can reduce these costs. Buying the National Parks pass as an annual pass may work out cheaper than buying individual days to enter Koscisousko National Park. The annual pass can be used for 12months and also covers a variety of other national parks within the state. These have to be pre purchased online before entry. Another way to save on entry is if you are an NSW pension card holder. Pension card holders receive a free annual pass, these again need to be ordered online so check that out to see if you are eligible. Other ways to get up the mountain may work out cheaper and more convenient than driving include the snow tube and the recently established bus service that takes you up the mountain from Jindabyne. Check out both of these for comparison. I will also add here that in NSW you have to carry snow chains at all times if your car is not a 4wd or Awd and in Victoria you have to carry them for all car types. Chains can be hired for many different places around the mountain. You will be told when you have to put them on, they pull you over to a chain bay.
In Victoria the resorts charge an entry fee. These can be bought online for a small discount then buying at the gate, or you can also buy annual passes if you are visiting multiple times. Falls creek did offer a bus service from Mount Beauty so that may also work out cheaper and convenient.
So, there it is, my top tips for saving on your next Australian ski holiday. For us the memories that we have made skiing together are worth every cent, and yes while it still can be more expensive than many holidays, we think it is worth saving up for and doing it as cheap as we can.
Do you have anything else you can add? Please write it down in the comments section below!
Safe Travels
Kerrie.
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