FORBES – Why An All-Inclusive Ski Trip Might Be Your Best Winter Vacation

Ski vacations can be awesome trips, and are perfect for many types of travelers, including couples, families or friends. But they can also be expensive and full of sticker shock and unpleasant surprises, from outrageous après cocktails and mediocre but overpriced on-mountain lunches to sky high equipment rentals and lessons. 

But it does not have to be that way.

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Beyond the one hotel with food and drink and skiing included model of Portillo and Club Med, there are several other ski trip variations on the all-inclusive theme.

One of these is guided trips, which typically combine lodging, lift tickets, a ski guide/instructor, transfers and most meals. You can do these privately for your group, or more economically as part of a scheduled group trip with strangers. You end up spending a little more out of pocket but still have a very good grasp on your budget going in, and many operators can also bundle air. One nice bonus is that you do get to have a few meals on your own as you would on a more typical ski vacation, giving you a better sense of place. This is perfect for Europe, because the on-mountain dining scene is so much different, so much better, but also more confusing than in the U.S., and the huge, interconnected resort complexes are much harder to navigate (the five largest ski resorts in the world are all in the Alps).

One of the very best destinations offering these kinds of trips is the Dolomites, home to 12 adjacent resorts which form Dolomiti Superski, arguably the largest interconnected ski experience in the world, with a single lift ticket covering 746 miles of trails in one place. For these reasons, most companies specializing in guided ski trips offer the Dolomites a top choice. For more on what makes this area such a great winter spot, read this.

An excellent local ski tour specialist called Dolomite Mountains offers a variety of guided (in English) weeklong nearly all-inclusive ski tours around the region, including all lodging, breakfasts, dinners, local transport, guides, lift tickets and luggage transfers. Some trips also include transfers from Venice, the nearest major airport (2-3 hour). Because the region is famous for its World Cup races and will be hosting the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Dolomite Mountains just added a new specialty group tour, “Olympic Ski Safari,” allowing guests to ski the famous courses of the World Cup races and the upcoming Olympics, as well as the historic courses of the 1956 Cortina Olympics, with lodging in 4 and 5-Star hotels, five full days of guided skiing and six nights lodging, for €4,590 per person. Dolomites Mountains offers less expensive guided group trips from just €2,890, private guided trips, luxury guided trips, even special food-centric “Gourmet Ski Safaris.” It is Italy after all.

Read the full article here.