Salt Lake City, UT – If you think that a European ski vacation has to be priced for Royalty, think again, drop that Hello! Magazine and follow our winter travel tips to score the lowest airfares to reach the ski resorts that offer the best value for money in Europe and the wildest après ski around.
1. Barcelona, Spain: You many not think of Barcelona, Spain as a ski destination, but Barcelona is not just cosmopolitan city with great restaurants and nightlife, it’s also the gateway to one of the best ski resort on the Iberian Peninsula. Take the shuttle bus or rent a car from Barcelona airport to the nearby Principality of Andorra, located on the Pyrenees Mountains, for shredding and wild après ski, Catalan style. Fly Chicago to Barcelona from $791 Roundtrip total
2. Sofia, Bulgaria: Sofia offers the cheapest ski resorts in Europe and wild après ski galore. Some of Sofia’s most popular ski resorts are reachable by public transportation from the city center (less than 15km from Sofia’s downtown) The most popular one, Vitosha Mountain, is open for night-time skiing above Sofia’s city lights. Another happening ski resort is Borovets, about an hour from Sofia in the Rila Mountains. It offers fantastic value for money, great skiing in pristine mountains and après ski fun galore in cheerful pubs, bars and grills with plenty of inexpensive but very good local beer. Fly New York to Sofia from $725 roundtrip total
3. London, UK: There is no skiing in London, but winter is the best time of the year to visit London’s Museums, galleries, theatres and opera. And if the ski bug bites you, the www.vayama.co.uk website offers a great platform to find low cost flights from London to all the happening ski resorts of Europe. You can even go skiing by train from central London by Eurostar to Paris and then on to the French Alps from Gare du Nord, or take the train north to Scotland for some Highland skiing near Aberdeen, followed by some single malt to keep warm après ski. Fly New York to London from $555 roundtrip total
4. Granada, Spain: Ski Spain’s Sierra Nevada for almost nada: Spain’s fabulous Sierra Nevada Mountain has a fantastic ski resort. Hit the slopes during the day and then go out for tapas and cava wine après ski in Granada’s old town at night. One of the few cities in Europe where you can visit a medieval Islamic fortress in the morning (The Alhambra) and then hit the powder up the Sierra in the afternoon, capped with a sunset drink on the beach down the hill in Malaga or Marbella. Not bad for a cheap ski vacation that is rich in culture. Fly New York to Granada from $786 roundtrip total
5. Zurich, Switzerland: Hurry to Zurich. A trendy city by the lake, with nightclubs galore and great shopping and gastronomy. Zurich is not a cheap city, but you can reach most Swiss Alpine resorts by rail from there. Don’t miss the classic cog train up the Gornergrat glacier in Zermatt, with breathtaking views of the Matterhorn and other Alpine peaks and access to over 200 ski runs. You can even rent toboggans right on the glacier. Fly San Francisco to Zurich from $567 roundtrip total
Do you like to travel with your own equipment? When you buy your next international airline ticket, don’t just focus on the price of the airfare, but also be sure and check for baggage fees and the additional cost for oversized baggage. Over the limit bags are penalized heavily (hence Delta’s infamous $450 excess baggage fee). Some online travel websites offer links to every airline’s baggage rules page, so take a couple of extra minutes to examine your chosen airlines baggage rules and make sure that you fly on airlines that offer at least one free piece of checked in luggage.
The sport of skiing originated in Scandinavia and was perfected in the Alps into the form now practiced all around the world. When you travel to any one of the European destinations above you pay homage to the spiritual homeland of skiing.
Author Max Milano is a travel expert who is currently blogging and providing content and travel expertise for online travel at Vayama.com. He is an avid world traveler and blogger with more than 15 years experience in travel writing with his first published novel, ‘The Mechanicals of Recoleta’, now out on paperback and available through Amazon.com.