Todd

I'd like to take my son (12 yrs old) on a ski trip between Dec 26th and Dec 31st. We live in Birmingham, AL and would like to spend less than $1,000 for the trip. I understand that this is "high season" and is not the best time to go from an economy standpoint. However, this is the only time that I can take my son on a trip. Are you familar with any great deals that might interest me? Where should we go on our limited budget?

jackie

Lake Tahoe would be your best bet IMO. Fly into Reno and either stay in Reno or at one of the casinos on the South Shore. They are always running deals..

JJ

Hi Todd, Park City would also be a good choice. If you are trying to save $$$ you can stay in Salt Lake and drive to the ski areas.

xxx

Your $1,000 budget will be gone by the time you fly somewhere where there's snow. Add on the sski rentals and lift tickets and you're way over your budget. And you won't have a penny left over to sleep or eat.

bob

Todd,
If I assume correctly, you don't do this often.
Forget the Rockies, You'll spend half your time dealing with altitude sickness. Suggest you try the Poconos....some areas should have a lot of man made by then. I'd post this same challenge here:
http://www.epicski.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?category=1
Good luck!

Sandi

I checked expedia.com and found a package with airfare from Birmingham plus Hotel in Salt Lake for $549 person. You might also want to bid on priceline and check hotwire. Check your Sunday newspaper's travel section to see if there are any deals. As to the Poconos it is going to be just as expensive flying there. If you are in good shape and take it easy the first day or so altitude should not be a problem also drink TONS of water. That helps.

x

Mt. Tremblant, Quebec
Killington
Stow
Sugar Loaf, ME

Check lastminutevacations.com

gc

Todd,
X brings up a good point...if you can get yourself to Monteal on the cheap, food lifts and lodging will be at 55-60 cents on the dollar at Tremblant.

rachel

I would check on the Canada forum. As another poster said, your dolar will go much further in Canada. Besides Montreal, there are lots of ski resorts about 2-3 hours north of Toronto. altitude won't be as great as Montreal area resorts.

Barbara

Skiing is not an inexpensive pasttime, and the time you are planning is likely to be the most expensive. the great deals will be, unfortunately, when your son is back in school.

You will spend $1,000 flying from the east coast to the west, so forget the rockies. Unfortunately on the east coast, its very likely that there won't be snow, or at least enough to make it fun. We went to Snowshoe WV last year during the same time frame, so no airfare (from suburban Maryland). but it was touch and go up until the last minute whether there was going to be any snow. In the end, it was fine because it got very very cold the week before Christmas, but the snow was by and large manmade. Actually, Snowshoe was very enjoyable -- my husband and kids are excellent skiers and they said the snow and slopes at Snowshoe were very good, compared to other ski areas in the mid atlantic.

s

Gee Barbara all of us who ski know that it is not inexpensive. Save the lecture. And there are deals out there you just have to look for them, I agree with Mont Tremblant or Canada. Check out expedia, travelocity and orbitz package tours with air and hotel. You might also want to check with AAA Travel in your area or another reliable travel agency. Sometimes they have deals or can find them.

xxx

Todd, although not the best skiing, you could drive to Sugar Mountain or Beech Mountain in North Carolina. We went the day after Christmas and it wasn't too bad. Lift tickets and rental were around $50 per day. Reasonable lodging abounds. Good luck!

Kay

As you point out, you know you are trying to go budget on an expensive sport at peak season, so I don't have any miracles for you. We go on budget ski trips each year to Colorado, but not on your terms. We go before Christmas or catch one of the last minute air specials Sat-Mon or Tue. We rent a car rather than a shuttle. We rent skis with coupons, sometimes away from the resort, checking online. We buy lift tickets at the grocery in Denver. We stay in a basic motel room or rent a condo directly from the owner and do our own cooking.

I thought Southwest Airlines might be the key, using them or someone matching their fares for a deal to a ski destination, but they look pretty full on Dec 26 to ABQ, RNO, SMF, and SLC. Best competition was to Manchester, NH for a roundtrip of $300 per person. It would take you 5.5 hours of flying to get there and back, so no skiing on arrival or departure days. Then you'd need to get from MHT to resort, rent skis, buy lift tickets, and find a place to stay. I've never skied in New England, so I'm no help there. A search here or a post on epicski.com might turn up budget ski resorts in VT, MA, and NH.

If you could travel on Dec 25 and 31 it's usually easy to get seats.

It looks like it would take you over 6 hours to drive to the North Carolina resorts. I've never skied there either, so no recommendations.

Sandi

Check with Southwest Vacations. They had some pretty good deals on airfare and hotel. Here is the link.

http://www.swavacations.com/ski/index.asp

I would forget North Carolina snow will be too iffy in December as will Snowshoe.

Dawn

Check Delta.com they are always running a ski vacation package including airfare & hotel