Where Is The Best Value Lift Pass in Europe?

14th September 2023

Last modified on September 17th, 2023

The ski operator, Sunweb, has revealed its findings in a new survey.

The analysis reveals:

• Portes Du Soleil (€0.49) and Sauze D’Oulx (€0.56) round off the top three best value for money.
• Vallnord Pal Arinsal in Andorra is the worst value at €4.29.
• Val Thorens (€2.04) and La Plagne (€1.47) were the two most popular destinations for UK skiers last season, according to Sunweb data.

Ski passes have become more expensive in recent years and make up a large part of the overall cost of a holiday.

One of Europe’s leading holiday operators, Sunweb, has analysed the cost of a six-day ski pass in 21 of Europe’s top ski destinations to reveal the best value ski pass in Europe broken down by cost per km.

Also revealed is the most expensive and cheapest ski passes.

It is just one way to examine prices – some people look at the overall cost regardless of quantity of terrain, while others are not after quantity of terrain but variety and quality.

A point made by regular reader, Nick Davies, on the PlanetSKI Facebook page.

“Most people interested in total cost of the pass… per km is irrelevant to most,” said Nick.

In addition off piste skiing is not taken into account in the survey – an important factor for many PlanetSKI readers.

We have more reaction and observations to the survey from PlanetSKI readers at the end of this article, some of whom question its findings.

At €373, the Dolomiti Superski lift pass provides access to 12 resorts scattered throughout the Dolomites.

Val Gardena, The Dolomites. Image © PlanetSKI

It offers up to 1,200 km of skiing – twice as much as the next largest areas, the Portes Du Soleil (€0.49 per km) that straddle France & Switzerland.

Les 3 Vallées  in France is next (€0.60 per km).

For skiers looking for a smaller area Sauze D’Oulx in Italy comes in as the third best return on investment at € 0.56 – the best offer anywhere in the region.

Despite having a fairly low price, Vallnord Pal-Arinsal offers the worst value ski pass, with just 63km of ski-able slopes.

For six days the cost per km is a hefty €4.29.

Similarly, the steep price of a pass in Solden doesn’t give skiers much bang for their buck, with only 144km of slopes – €2.62 per km.

Soelden, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

Data c/o Sunweb

According to Sunweb’s bookings data from last season, Val Thorens was the most popular resort destination for UK holidaymakers.

It is the highest in Europe.

La Grande Derniere, Val Thorens. Image © PlanetSKI

It has 150km of slopes and is linked to the mighty Les3Vallees which gives a return on investment at €0.60 per km, compared to €2.04 in Val Thorens.

In the middle of the pack, La Plagne costs €1.47 per km and  was the second most popular destination for Brits last season with its 225km of skiing.

“The cost of a ski pass is often not factored into budgets by holidaymakers but at Sunweb, all our packages include a ski pass, meaning that there are no hidden or unexpected costs upon arrival in the mountains,” said Jack Bolus from the Sunweb group.

“With certain early bookings, skiers can get flights, accommodation, and a lift pass for less than the cost of a six-day pass in almost every resort researched.

“And, with the ongoing cost of living crisis meaning that ski holidays are becoming harder and harder to finance, Sunweb is more determined than ever to ensure all holiday packages are accessible and affordable for all.”

The Dolomite Superski area is also available on the Ikon Pass.

The multi-resort pass mainly offer ski areas in North America, but five European areas are on it:

• Dolomiti Superski
• Chamonix
• Zermatt
• Kitzbuhel
• Andorra

PlanetSKI goes Ikon

Val Gardena, The Dolomites. Image © PlanetSKI

Updated:

There has been reaction and observations over on the PlanetSKI Facebook page:

Antonia Simpson – Great value? Try Crévoux (yes it’s tiny) with a season pass costing £180€.

Richard Goddard – Bulgaria is cheaper than all of these.

Pete Cowen – Good luck skiing 1200km mostly greens and blues.

Mihai Dragota – Wondering why multi-resort passes, like Austria’s SuperSkiCard and Snow Card Tirol, are not included in the ranking. These offer much better value, especially as season passes.

Mark Coomber – These are last season’s prices.

Alexander Irwin –  Iif you put it this way the 3V’s don’t look that expensive 

Justin Garrett – It’s an interesting approach to measure value of piste skiing. It has some sense to it but has flaws also. It’s good to see the reader’s comments being incorporated into this version of the article.

This is probably not the place to debate, and I get it’s PR driven by Subweb, but let’s do it for shits and giggles…

1. It’s not a random or another representation of resorts in “Europe” – I believe it’s based only on the resorts Sunweb operate. Other resorts could be very different.

2. As acknowledged, many skiers do judge resorts by piste length, and that is quiet reasonable. But it’s not relevant for all skiers. Even among “piste skiers” there are factors like vertical meters, ratio of blue/red/black, ease of access. I wonder what a weighted value calculation considering these other factors would look like. For example, 100km of piste with 1500m of vertical would be more valuable than 300km with 1000m for some skiers, and vice versa.

3. At some point total length of pistes becomes irrelevant. How many days would the average skier require to ski 1200kms? I’d reckon 20-30days. So in fact, for the typical week holiday you’re actually getting LESS value because you’re paying for lifts and pistes you won’t use.

The analysis proves that value is relative and in the eye of the skier. It’s good for some skiers but certainly not all.

I’m now thinking what all the variables for the “best value skiing” algorithm should be…! .

For a start i think there should be one for piste only, off-piste only and a combined measure, and it probably needs factor in skiing ability. What other factors are important to your skiing and thus choice of ski resort?

Vicki Blacley – Why is Snowcard Tirol not on here.. & Zillertal doesn’t feature either? I feel Austria is misrepresented here

See more reaction on the PlanetSKI Facebook page and feel free to add your views.

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