Inexpensive Skiing Vacations
Needless to say, once you get hooked on skiing, you might discover that it can be a rather expensive hobby. That being said, most folks end up paying much more than they should for their lift tickets, lodging and ski equipment. Why does this happen? For the most part, many folks tend to take the easy way out. They choose the first offer they find, and fail to do the research that would provide them with valuable information about ski related bargains. Since my purpose in creating this website is to get you hooked on skiing, I’ve done the research for you. Want to “ski on the cheap?” Read on.
Clip Coupons
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Ski Coupons offers thousands of valuable coupons for lift tickets, ski area lodging and dining, ski equipment tuning, ski lessons, ski tuning, ski area shopping and more. Don’t plan a ski vacation without visiting this site. Keep in mind that many of these coupons either have expiration dates, or are only available in a specific time period. And speaking of timing…
Timing is Everything
Although it is natural for people to choose the most popular at the most popular time of the year, it is safe to assume that lift tickets and lodging will be most expensive around Thanksgiving, Christmas, the President's Day holiday. Spring Break, which usually takes place throughout the month of March, is also an expensive period for a ski vacation. The only exception to this rule is specially priced ski packages for college students.
In contrast, prices will drop in the early season, which occurs either in November or December, depending on the resort. They will usually drop again in April, after Spring Break. Although it’s not a hard and fast rule, usually, the higher the average temperature, the lower the lift ticket prices. However, early and late season snow might not be at its best. For this reason, you should consider one of the best kept secrets in the ski industry: The January ski deals. Since people are usually broke after the Christmas and New Years holiday, the resorts are relatively empty. As a result, resort management companies as well as local lodging establishments are apt to lower their rates. There’s more good news: The conditions are often at their best during this period. As such, planning a mid-January ski vacation can be a prime example of a win/win scenario.
Provided that you can get the time off from work, you should consider planning a mid-week, as opposed to a weekend ski trip. In most cases, a Monday through Thursday lodging package might be less expensive than a Friday through Monday package. Some resorts even offer mid-week discount lessons and lift tickets. Even if there is no discount, as mentioned earlier, you might end up with a semi private lesson for the price of a group lesson.
Those of you, who are considering a ski vacation to Colorado, will be happy to discover that many of the resorts stay open until late April. This is a great time to explore the plethora of Colorado’s exciting sales and events. For example, for the month of April, the Town of Breckenridge offers visitors the chance to experience the town’s best restaurants. This delicious culinary event, known is as a Taste of Breckenridge. During this period, many of the top restaurants serve full-course dinners for $15 to $25. To sweeten the deal, the Town of Breckenridge also holds its annual Spring Massive. This is a great place to find where you can find superb bargains on gear and clothing!
Budget Ski Lodging
While the phrase “budget ski lodging” might seem to be an oxymoron, with a bit of research, it is possible to find affordable places to stay at ski resorts. Here’s a hint: The lower priced lodging venues almost never advertise. So how do you find them? Read on:
• Hey! Get off the Mountain: Yes, we all love ski in/ski out lodging. So do the credit card companies when we run up extra interest rates. Fortunately, acceptable lodging options at affordable rates can be found within a 10-minute drive from the resort. In many cases, the off-slopes towns have a lot more off slope activity than the ski in/ski out locations.
• Bah Humbug! Step Away from the Holidays and Spring Break Seasons: Lodging at ski areas very expensive during Christmas, Thanksgiving, President’s Days, Martin Luther King’s Day and Spring Break. On the other hand, lodging deals can be found during early season, late season and most of the month of January.
• Play Hooky Work: Stay Mid-Week: Some lodging venues offer discounts for mid-week stays.
• Look for Last-Minute Specials: In many cases, if a ski resort has not booked all of its rooms, they will offer desirable last-minute specials. This often happens during a major snowstorm, when an airport is closed. If you hear about such a storm, and have another way to get to the resort, get on the phone! The resort needs to fill those empty rooms caused by weather-related cancellations. They will often make you an offer you can’t refuse.
• Listen to a Sales Presentation: If you have acquaintances that live in Summit County, Colorado, ask them to give you a Share Breckenridge invitation. http://sharebreck.com/ This will entitle you to a two-night stay in Breckenridge for $50.The caveat: You have to listen to a two-hour sales presentation from the Grand Timber Lodge. However, for a $50 two-night stay, it may be well worth it.
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