Simple Tips for Cheaper Skiing in Switzerland

Carving up the Swiss ski slopes does not have to carve a hole out of your budget. Follow these tips to enjoy more skiing in Switzerland for less money.

1. Get a ski pass rather than individual tickets

If you expect to ski at least 15 times throughout the season, a seasonal pass will often work out cheaper than buying individual day passes every time you go skiing. Some passes are only good for one resort or slope. Others give you access to a selection of slopes across Switzerland (the Magic Pass and Alps Pass are two examples).

The shorter passes (6 days or 8 days, for example) offered by some Swiss ski resorts are a good alternative if you will only be taking a short winter vacation rather than skiing throughout the whole season.

2. Plan ahead

Buying your ski passes in advance can slash the cost of skiing at many Swiss resorts by around 10 percent. Some resorts offer early-bird discounts as high as 30 percent off. Pre-season sales usually run between September and November.

3. Choose the right hotel

If you expect to spend the night at a hotel anyway, check into hotels which offer complimentary or discounted ski passes. Some entire regions offer heavily discounted ski passes to hotel guests. These are often available at the reception.

You can easily find hotels which offer these ski deals on websites like Bergfex and Snowtrex. Alternatively, check the websites of hotels you plan to book, or simply ask them whether they offer ski pass perks.

4. Ski when the slopes are empty

Some ski resorts have introduced dynamic pricing models. When demand for ski passes for a certain day is high, the price is increased to match. When demand for ski passes for a certain day is low, the price is lowered to match.

Many ski resorts show the ticket prices for different dates online, which enables you to book passes for the days with the lowest prices.

5. Compare ski resorts

The prices charged for Swiss ski passes vary broadly between ski resorts. In some cases, even similar ski resorts in the same region can have price differences of 10 percent or more. Marketing plays a big role in determining the prices you pay, so a cheaper pass does not necessarily mean duller slopes.

6. Take advantage of health insurance perks

The active lifestyle benefits offered by many health insurance providers often include various discounts. It is worth checking whether your insurer offers any ski pass discounts. While these offers tend to be short-lived, and not all health insurers have them, they can knock up to 30 percent off the price if you happen to get lucky. Check your insurer’s web portal or review winter newsletters for current customer discounts.

Some supplemental health insurance offers cover part of the cost of cross-country ski passes as part of their fitness benefits.

7. Take advantage of public transportation deals

If you don’t own a car, then looking into railway deals ahead of your ski trip is almost a must. Getting a Snow’n’Rail deal from the SBB works out cheaper than buying your railway ticket and ski pass separately.

Swiss public transportation passes like the Swiss Half Fare Card, the Junior Travelcard, and the GA Travelcard are accepted by a number of cable cars and mountain railways linked to Swiss ski slopes. Some other transportation providers do not fully accept these passes, but still have discounts for pass holders.

8. Pay with Reka money

Close to 100 ski lifts across Switzerland accept Reka Pay for payments at full face value. The possible savings vary between 2 and 20 percent depending on how you buy the Reka Pay. See the moneyland.ch guide to Reka money for more information.

9. Search classified pages

Swiss classifieds websites like Tutti or Anibis and online auction sites like Ricardo are goldmines for picking up unwanted ski passes, ski vouchers and prepaid ski holidays. Private individuals typically offer these at heavily discounted prices, and you can also negotiate. These outlets also help you save by making it easy to resell passes which you end up not needing.

10. Check supermarket offers    

Swiss retailers (Migros and Aldi, for example) sometimes offer discounted ski passes. Consider taking a quick look in supermarket catalogues or on their websites in case they have any ski pass offers.

11. Play the family card

A few popular ski regions like Jungfrau and Aletsch Arena offer free ski passes for accompanying children on Saturdays. Many do not charge for accompanying children up to a certain age (6 or 9 years old, for example). If you have several children, planning your ski trips based on the total cost of passes for your whole family can save you a lot of money.

12. Take advantage of bank benefits

While ski perks from banks are few and far between, it is still worth checking whether you can get any customer discounts. The Members Plus reward program from Raiffeisen offers discounts of up to 40 percent off ski passes for popular resorts. The Stucard debit card, which comes with youth bank packages and private accounts from many Swiss cantonal banks, gives you discounts of up to 30 percent at some popular ski resorts.

Some cantonal banks also offer discounts for ski lifts in the region through their customer loyalty programs. It is also worth checking whether the points you earn with bank customer reward programs and credit card reward programs can be redeemed for ski passes (through Ticketcorner, for example).

If you use a Cornèrcard credit card, you can get a 20-percent discount for day passes from select ski resorts when you book them with the Ticketcorner app.

More on this topic:
Swiss resturant saving tips
Swiss cinema saving tips
Swiss ski slopes: How to insure your winter fun