How Can You Keep a Christmas Ski Holiday Affordable?

How much more Christmas costs

Christmas is a peak week, so the saving has to come from where you go, what you book and which days you travel, rather than from the season itself.

Most of the Christmas premium sits in the accommodation. On 21 September 2026 we compared week-by-week prices for the same chalets at one UK operator, Le Ski. Christmas week was 21% to 39% dearer than the cheapest January week, with a median of 29%. New Year was dearer again, and the week before Christmas was about a third cheaper. The details are in how much a Christmas ski holiday costs.

Lift passes in many areas cost the same at Christmas as in January. Les 3 Vallées charges €421 for a six-day adult pass from 19 December 2026 for the rest of the main season. Ski Arlberg's peak price of €468 runs from 19 December 2026 to 2 April 2027.

Which Alpine resorts cost least on the ground

The Post Office Travel Money Ski Resort Report is an annual price survey aimed at UK skiers. The 2026 edition, compiled with Crystal Ski Holidays and published in December 2025, prices a week's skiing in 32 European resorts: a six-day lift pass, ski and boot hire, five or six half-day lessons, six lunches on the slopes and some drinks. It does not include accommodation or flights. It uses mid-season prices, not Christmas prices, converted at December 2025 exchange rates.

Here are the resorts on this site that appear in it, with the cheapest and dearest resorts in the survey for scale.

Resort	Adult week, on-mountain costs
Bardonecchia, Italy (cheapest of 32)	£601.02
Cervinia	£817.33
La Thuile	£836.19
Morzine	£838.38
Les Deux Alpes	£906.02
La Plagne	£914.45
Selva, Val Gardena	£940.56
Val Thorens	£991.60
Méribel	£997.09
Les Menuires	£1,003.76
Les Arcs	£1,040.07
Tignes	£1,083.82
Obergurgl	£1,181.82
St Anton	£1,215.34
Saas-Fee	£1,265.48
Val d'Isère	£1,313.14
Wengen, Switzerland (dearest of 32)	£1,372.32

Italy had six of the ten cheapest resorts for adults, including Cervinia (8th) and La Thuile (10th). The report found Swiss and Austrian resorts the most expensive, at around double the cost of the cheapest.

For a family of four

The family table prices two adults and two children aged six and eight.

Resort	Family week, on-mountain costs
Passo Tonale, Italy (cheapest of 30)	£1,796.78
Cervinia	£2,681.81
Morzine	£2,796.46
La Plagne	£3,034.49
Les Deux Alpes	£3,102.80
Alpe d'Huez	£3,105.47
Avoriaz	£3,212.77
Serre Chevalier	£3,223.78
Tignes	£3,439.19
Les Arcs	£3,567.07
Saalbach, Austria (dearest of 30)	£4,059.71

How the cheaper resorts compare for Christmas snow

Price and Christmas snow do not line up neatly. In our Christmas Snow Report, Cervinia's record comes from a village-height station at 1,820m, which had 30cm or more on the ground on 12 of 20 Christmas mornings. Tignes costs more on the ground, and its slopes station at 2,559m reached 30cm on 28 of 30. The two stations sit at different heights, so compare like with like on each resort's page. Check a resort's Christmas Snow Score alongside its price.

Andorra and Bulgaria as a comparison

The cheapest resorts outside Italy in the Post Office survey were in Bulgaria. For adults, Borovets was 2nd at £668.06 and Bansko 4th at £706.34, although Bansko's costs rose 23.3% on the year before. Andorra's Soldeu was the only resort in the survey where costs fell, and came in at £842.95 for an adult, about the same as Morzine. For families, Bansko was 3rd at £2,093.22 and Andorra's Arinsal 8th at £2,440.66.

These resorts can be cheap at Christmas too. In October 2025 Crystal listed a half-board hotel in Bansko for 20 December 2025 from £591 per person with flights and transfers. They are outside the Alps, so they are not covered by our Christmas snow measurements.

Catered or self-catered at Christmas

A catered chalet price usually includes most of your food and wine. In November 2024 Ski Beat's Christmas-week price for Chalet Sorbier in La Plagne was £1,366 per person, including flights, transfers, breakfast, afternoon tea, three-course dinners with wine and a Christmas Day meal. Self-catering prices cover the accommodation, and you add food, eating out and travel. Peak Retreats listed a two-bedroom apartment in Tignes 1800 for 19 December 2026 at £653 per person, based on five sharing, including a return Eurotunnel crossing for one car.

The two are not like for like. Price the whole week, including food, Christmas dinner and fuel or flights. If you want catered, book early: SNO said in February 2026 that the cheapest catered chalets sell out faster than anything else. See catered or self-catered at Christmas and our catered Christmas chalets.

Travel dates that cost less

• The week before Christmas. Ski Beat priced Chalet Sorbier at £936 per person from 14 December 2024 against £1,366 from 21 December, and Chalet Cristal in Val d'Isère at £1,043 against £1,691. Lift passes are cheaper too: €378.50 in Les 3 Vallées from 5 to 18 December 2026 against €421, and €395 on Ski Arlberg from 2 to 18 December against €468. See skiing in early December.
• Christmas rather than New Year. In our September 2026 comparison, New Year was 38% to 43% dearer than Christmas week in the same chalets.
• January. In December 2025 InTheSnow listed January holidays from £379 per person in Alpe d'Huez and £515 in St Johann, Austria, and Ski Beat said prices are keener after the festivities.

Lift passes and the extras

The Post Office report found that rising lift pass prices were the biggest driver of higher resort costs, with a week's pass costing an average of 10.7% more than a year earlier. In St Anton it cost £403.08 in sterling, against £180.14 in 2016. Ski schools add a Christmas premium in some resorts, and our cost guide lists examples. For the dates that fit the 2026 school holidays, see Christmas ski holidays 2026.

Sources

• Post Office Travel Money — Ski Report 2026 (updated 18 Dec 2025, with Crystal Ski Holidays): basket of six-day pass, ski/boot hire, 5–6 half-day lessons, six lunches and drinks; mid-season prices; Dec 2025 exchange rates; adult top 10 incl. Bardonecchia £601.02, Borovets £668.06, Bansko £706.34, Cervinia £817.33, La Thuile £836.19; family top 10 incl. Passo Tonale £1,796.78, Bansko £2,093.22, Arinsal £2,440.66; Swiss and Austrian resorts most expensive, around double the cheapest; Soldeu the only resort to fall in price
• Post Office Travel Money — Full report tables: adult totals for Morzine £838.38, Soldeu £842.95, Les Deux Alpes £906.02, La Plagne £914.45, Selva £940.56, Val Thorens £991.60, Méribel £997.09, Les Menuires £1,003.76, Les Arcs £1,040.07, Tignes £1,083.82, Obergürgl £1,181.82, St Anton £1,215.34, Saas Fee £1,265.48, Val d'Isère £1,313.14, Wengen £1,372.32 (32nd); family totals incl. Cervinia £2,681.81, Morzine £2,796.46, La Plagne £3,034.49, Les Deux Alpes £3,102.80, Alpe d'Huez £3,105.47, Avoriaz £3,212.77, Serre Chevalier £3,223.78, Tignes £3,439.19, Les Arcs £3,567.07, Saalbach £4,059.71; Bansko costs up 23.3%; week lift pass up 10.7% on average; St Anton pass £403.08 vs £180.14 in 2016
• Chalet for Christmas — Measured Le Ski prices on 21 Sep 2026: Christmas 21–39% dearer than cheapest January week (median 29%); New Year 38–43% dearer than Christmas; week before Christmas about a third cheaper
• Les 3 Vallées — 2026/27 six-day adult pass €421 from 19 Dec; €378.50 for 5–18 Dec and 10–18 Apr
• Ski Arlberg — 2026/27 six-day adult €468 peak (19 Dec 2026–2 Apr 2027), €395 in Wedel and Sun weeks (2–18 Dec 2026)
• InTheSnow — 21 Nov 2024: Ski Beat Chalet Sorbier, La Plagne £936pp from 14 Dec vs £1,366pp from 21 Dec; Chalet Cristal, Val d'Isère £1,043pp vs £1,691pp; catered with flights, transfers and Christmas Day meal
• InTheSnow — Peak Retreats Kalinda, Tignes 1800 self-catered £653pp (5 sharing), 19 Dec 2026, with return Eurotunnel crossing; Peak Retreats Le Cristal de l'Alpe, Alpe d'Huez self-catered £706pp (5 sharing), 20 Dec 2025, with Eurotunnel; Crystal Hotel Lion Bansko half board from £591pp, 20 Dec 2025, flights and transfers
• InTheSnow — 13 Feb 2026: SNO says the cheapest catered chalets sell out faster than anything else
• InTheSnow — 19 Dec 2025: January deals e.g. Alpe d'Huez from £379pp and St Johann from £515pp; Ski Beat says January prices are keener after the festivities
• Chalet for Christmas — Christmas-morning snow at stations serving 38 Alpine resorts since 1996; Cervinia village station 12 of 20 Christmases with 30cm+; Tignes slopes 28 of 30