Five Money Saving Tips On Planning A Ski Vacation This Winter

Skiing can be expensive, but a few simple tactics can save you hundreds if not thousand of dollars on your Colorado ski vacation.

1. BOOK YOUR SKIS ONLINE AHEAD OF TIME

The price of skis can be very expensive in the villages. With great service and convenience comes premium cost — sometimes over 2 or 3 times budget rentals. Do some online research and you can find good prices if you book in advance online. Rentskis.com and Breeze’s Skirentals.comhave on mountain locations in most major resorts, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge. Advanced online booking typically comes with promotions, such as 25% off, discounts on weekly rentals, and kids skis for free with each adult rental package.

2. PURCHASE YOUR LIFTS TICKETS IN ADVANCE

Not only will you save money, but you will be able to skip the ticket window lines. For ultimate saving buy a Season Pass (www.epicpass.com). Believe it or not, these can pay off in 5 days of skiing. But hurry, the season pass sales end very soon; usually by the end of November.

3. EVALUATE YOUR NEED FOR A RENTAL CAR

Rental cars, during the winter, from Denver airport can be extremely expensive. If you do not need a vehicle in the mountains, consider a mountain shuttle. An alternate trick, is to rent a car from Downtown Denver. You will need to take a cab or car service, but the downtown rates are ofter 1/3 the rate of the airport rates. If you don’t need the flexibility of a vehicle, when at the mountain, then you’ll save substantially. Though (see point 4), sometimes a car can save you money in other ways.

4. DINE LIKE A LOCAL

See my prior post about favorite locals restaurants. Getting away from the resorts will not only give you a chance to explore the local scene, it will get you great values on dining.

5. GO GROCERY SHOPPING

If your accommodations have a kitchen, kitchenette, or even just a fridge, having some basics for breakfast or perhaps a dinner or two, will certainly cut down on costs. If you don’t have a car, don’t fret. Almost all resort towns have free in-town buses to nearby grocery stores, and if you prefer, there are services that, for a fee, will do some shopping for you ahead of time and bring the goods to your accommodations after you arrive.

BONUS TIP: TAKE A BREAK FROM SKIING

Because I always like to offer an extra pointer, here’s my bonus tip… Take a day off from skiing! It sounds counter-intuitive and there may be some objections from the family or friends, but I guarantee everyone will thank you for taking a break, particularly if you are staying for a week. As long as you don’t spend the day shopping, you will likely find some other great activities, such as sledding, snowmobiling, or taking a driving tour, that will be fun and have a different cost basis that a day on the mountain. What for an upcoming post on some of my favorite off-mountain activities.

Enjoy these tips and if you want some other first-hand advice, don't hesitate to drop me a line at skiwithkev@gmail.com or visit my site at skiwthikev.com I’m alway happy to share my enthusiasm for making the most of a trip in the great Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

By Kevin R Foote