Ski season is almost here. Get saving…
After buying your flights, accommodation and lift pass, don’t forget you’ll be eating and drinking a lot.
How much will all those calories cost you?
I’m glad you asked…
Methodology
Every year the Post Office (UK) compiles their Ski Resort Report. For this post I used the latest 2018 edition.
Lunch prices are based on two courses (main course and dessert) for a family of four, excluding drinks.
Individual drink items are calculated on a per person basis.
Results
The morning coffee
La Thuile in Italy offers the cheapest daily coffee at just £0.90 — that’s over two thirds cheaper than the price of a coffee from a generic London coffee shop.
Overall the mean price for a large coffee on the slope is £2.91.
Though you’ve probably already gasped at the far right of the chart. Yes, I double checked. A large coffee in the Norwegian resort of Trysil does cost an astounding £8.86 (thanks, unfriendly exchange rates!). Over a 6 day holiday that equals a spend of £53.04 on a daily coffee.
An alternative caffeine hit
Want something sweeter. A Coke could be the slightly cheaper option. The mean price of a small Coke across all resorts is £2.88.
The cheapest small Coke can be found in the Bulgarian resort of Bansko (£0.77), and the most expensive… Yes, it’s Trysil again, where a a Coke costs the same as a coffee (£8.86),
Lunchtime
Lunch in a Trysil restaurant is expensive, as expected, at £32.40 per person (almost £130 for a family of 4). Interestingly though, Trysil is not significantly more expensive than other resorts for lunch, as it is with drinks.
In most major European resorts lunch will set you back around £27 per person.
The average restaurant lunch (two courses) across all resorts costs £20.11.
Wine or beer?
No surprises here, Bansko comes out cheapest where a 25cl beer will cost you £1.35.
A glass of wine (50cl) on the other hand ranges from £1.88 (Bansko) to almost £18 (Trysil).
In almost all European resorts, beer is cheaper than wine. In North American resorts its the opposite.
On average, an alcoholic drink will cost you £4.80, with the major European resorts being the most expensive. Here you’re looking at spending between £3.50 and £4.00 on a beer, and £6 to £9 for a glass of wine.
Improvements
The Post Office report provides general guidance of prices, but it is clear the data collection (or at least transparency as to how it was collected) could be improved to provide a more in depth analysis.
tl;dr
Take a pack lunch. The average cost of lunch at European and American ski resorts is £20.11.