steamboat transport from DIA
 

Hi, we are a family of 2 adults and 2 childrenn (10 and 12yrs) from New Zealand, coming over for skiing. We arrive Denver on 11 January from Orlando and are looking for a cheap way to get to steamboat from Denver Airport. we have found accomodation in Steamboat on VRBO at Storm meadows C, it is ski in and out, so will not need a car. How long should we ski at Steamboat? We fly out to Vegas on the 29th of Jan. We want to go to Vail, Breck, Copper, Keystone after Steamboat. How would we get to Vail from Steamboat? How long should we have at each mountain? Should we stay somewhere cheap like Frisco and drive to Vail etc? Or stay in Vail for a while then move to Breck? Our budget is around $250 per night ( we cannot obviously afford to stay in Vail Village. Thanks for any info. Reggards Kate

Wow, that's a lot of moving around for not wanting to have a car. There are airport shuttles to the I-70 ski resorts (Vail, Breck, Keystone, Copper), but I don't know about Steamboat. Surely you can google that at the Denver Airport site or the Steamboat Springs website?

Your cheapest option would indeed be to stay in Frisco/Dillon/Silverthorne. There are budget hotels in those areas, or you can check VRBO in those areas too. I believe there are ski shuttles from one or all of those towns (they are all adjacent) to certain ski areas.

All of the ski areas you want to visit have excellent skiing. Vail is big in many ways - the village, the mountain, and it's a fabricated swiss village type of set up. Breck is more of an authentic town, Copper and Keystone are resort areas although they do have restaurants and a bit of shopping.

You might reconsider budgeting for a car.

Steamboat is about 3 1/2 hours from the airport. After getting onto I-70 from the airport and traveling up into the mountains, you go N. on Highway 9 from Interstant 70. Vail is about 2 hrs. from the airport and from Steamboat. It's also 2 hours from the airport straight up I-70.

Good Luck!

Kate -

<cheapest way to get from DEN to Steamboat>

Probably rent a car. I'm not aware of any regular shuttles, as it's 160 mi from Denver (and I couldn't see one on their web site). Also look into flying into Steamboat/Hayden (HDN). AA, CO, DL, and UA all fly into HDN in the winter and the airport is only 30 min. from town. It's a nice, small airport. You might be able to make a connection via other cities from Orlando for very little extra money (and IMO it's nice avoiding DEN). We rent a car when we get to HDN.

<how long should we stay>

At least 3 days.

<how do we get to Vail from Steamboat>

I'm not aware of a direct shuttle and would again think rental car is best.

<should we stay somewhere cheap like Frisco and drive to Vail>

Yes. From there you can make day trips to Breck, Vail, Keystone etc. I don't recall offhand what their shuttle schedule is during the winter. But do think a car would be very handy. Moving from resort to resort would be a big hassle IMO and not worth it. We like Frisco and often use it as a base.

There are shuttles from Vail etc to DEN. You might look into renting a car in HDN (if you fly there), turning it in at Vail, then shuttle back to DEN. Or simply rent at DEN and return it there.

You will most assuredly need to rent a car. Shuttles are not really very cheap and when there are 4, it adds up quickly.
And I agree about staying in one place after Steamboat and deciding where you want to ski by the day. Silverthorne/Dillon would be good. Good supermarkets for food shopping too.

I think Frisco is a better alternative to Silverthorn and Dillon. There is less of the strip mall, last minute, little planned construction atmosphere.

I checked into doing the shuttle one way from Frisco to DIA last winter. It was going to be at least $60 per person. Just not worth it for multiple people.

Lets see if we can get this summed up for you.

The ski area grouped together somewhat with most clustered along the I-70. Steamboat is off a good distance to the north. Most people going to Steamboat either fly or drive from Denver but it is a good four hour drive. No schedule shuttle service between Denver and Steamboat.

Cooper, Keystone, and Breckenridge are nearly distance (10 miles) from Frisco. Frisco is a good hub for all three areas. Summit Cty bus (free) runs hour and will take you to all locations conveniently. Each area has their own free internal bus system for moving within each area. Breckenridge is the best for that. I would recommend Breckenridge and then Frisco which would be 10 to 25% less expensive for housing.

At one time there was bus service ($25 ??) from Frisco to Vail but you would have to confirm that. Again Vail has a free bus system connecting Vail and Beaver Creek. Avon would be reasonable place to use for Vail and BC. The Eagle/Vail airport is very convenient.

It is easy to avoid using a car once your are there but getting there is the problem.

thanks for all of your feedback. We will look into frisco, sounds like a car may be the best option. We can shuttle everywhere, but with four people it gets expensive and a hassle. I will have a look tonight at VRBO Frisco. What time do you need to get to the mountains for a car park?