Are you thinking of going skiing abroad? The winter holiday are a perfect chance for going for it. Check out how to get to desired destination, how much money you will spend, and what to take note of.
The winter holidays started last week in five Polish provinces. In Poland winter holidays are divided into four terms, and they end on 28th of February. The peak of winter is a perfect occasion for many families to go on holiday. Those who are planning to spend it actively on ski slopes, need to decide which ski resort to choose. The Polish resorts are cheaper. On the other hand, conditions in the foreign resorts are definitely better. How much can going skiing abroad cost you?
Austrian infrastructure
The Austrian Alps are a popular destination among skiers. SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser – Brixental ski resort is one the biggest resorts not only in Austria, but also the whole Europe. Currently the snow cover in this area is even 70 cm thick.
Skiers and snowboarders can use approximately 280 km of perfectly prepared and level-diverse tracks, 90 modern ski lifts and cable railways, and also many mountain chalets and restaurants to relax in after coming back from ski slopes. There are also many ski schools, and lit ski and sled slopes.
The SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser - Brixental ski resort consists of ten well connected locations. The easiest way to get there is by car. The road from Wroclaw to Brixen im Thale is approximately 850 km. The journey should not take longer than 10 hours. This popular ski resort is only 70 km away from Innsbruck, so you can choose to go by bus or a plane. A ticket to Innsbruck from Wroclaw is approximately 1.5 thousand PLN, and the cost of going by bus is approximately 300 PLN. However, the journey may even take 15 hours.
If you want to book a stay for mid February at a guesthouse, you will pay between 50 euro (approximately 223.5 PLN – all exchange rates are from the 27th January 2015, as provided by Cinkciarz.pl) and 200 euro (approximately 894 PLN). Cost of a room in a three-star hotel is between 90 euro (approximately 402 PLN) and 300 euro (approximately 1340 PLN). Skiers need to additionally buy a skipass. A six-day long season tickets cost 230.5 euro (approximately 1030 PLN) for the adults, 184.5 euro (approximately 824 PLN) for the teenagers, and 115.5 euro (approximately 516 PLN) for children. The youngest skiers who are younger than 6 years can ski free of charge.
Polish prices in Czech Republic
Czech Republic is also a very popular destination among skiers, due to a small distance and low prices. One skipass at the biggest Černa hora – Pec allows you to use more than 40 km of tracks with different difficulty levels. Recently, a heated cable railway with a couch for six people has been put into operation. Skiers and snowboarders have also access to a super-G track, nursery slopes, sled tracks, ski schools, lit tracks, and skibusses. There is also approximately 55 km of cross-country tracks, and a restaurant network.
Due to the distance, it is possibly best to get to the resort by car. The distance between Krakow and Janské Lázně is actually approximately 380 km, but it is only a 130 km drive from Wroclaw. There are also no problems in reaching this location by bus from the southern regions of Poland. The prices of tickets begin from 40 PLN.
Renting a room for two people in a guesthouse in mid February, costs approximately 1.3 thousand CZK (approximately 208 PLN). A room in a three-star hotel costs approximately 2.2 thousand CZK (approximately 352 PLN). You also need to add a price of a skipass to these costs. A six-day long tickets cost 3350 CZK (approximately 536 PLN) for the adults, 2850 CZK (approximately 456 PLN) for the teenagers, and 2350 CZK (approximately 376 PLN) for children.
Currencies on a ski slope
Due to the fact that the zloty weakened to the majority of currencies, the trips abroad will be more expensive, even though the prices in the ski resorts did not change.
During the past year, the Czech koruna gained approximately 5% to the zloty. A journey to Austria will cost you even more. In comparison to a break of January and February 2015, the euro costs by 8% more. This may make the budget of your mountain escapade significantly slimmer. A one-week stay which last year costed 5 thousand PLN, will be this time by 400 PLN more expensive. - Due to the current policy of the Czech central bank, the relation between the koruna and the euro is practically stable, and it will probably not change during the forthcoming months. Thus, it is only the condition of the zloty, instead of relations between the European and the Czech currencies, will have an impact on our escapade. - explains Marcin Lipka, Cinkciarz.pl currency analyst.
It is worth taking online currency exchange under consideration. Exchange rates online are much better than those offered by banks and currency exchange offices. For example: if you buy 2 thousand euro in Cinkciarz.pl, you can save even 420 PLN.