When is the Best Time to Book a Ski Holiday?

The urge to get your next ski trip secured can hit you at any point.

Many keen skiers can't bear the thought of not having their next trip secured, and tend to book again within days of returning from their previous one (some even in the airport on their way home!). Others keep putting it off and eventually do so last minute, perhaps because of a vague (and likely vain) hope that there’ll be an unbeatable deal to be had, perhaps because that’s just how they like to make most of their decisions in life.

But when is the best time to book a ski holiday? Or perhaps the question should be, is there any time better than another to book?

The Early Booker Gets Best Choice

Holiday companies and ski resorts of course want you to book early to help them plan for the season ahead any perhaps add more holiday options if they see strong early demand, but it works both ways and there are always benefits for early bookers.

The top benefit of booking early is choice, and the more there are in your party – be it a family or a group of friends – the more that matters, particularly if you're hoping to travel in peak periods like Christmas, New Year and other school holiday periods when there's added pressure on availability. We're not just talking about accommodation choice either. We're talking flight choice, transfer choice and even room choices in your favourite hotels or chalets.

Keep in mind it's not just Brits battling for chalet holidays, apartments and hotel rooms. Many more skiers across Europe compete for the best locations in famous resorts like Chamonix, Verbier, St Anton or Zermatt, it's a real global feeding frenzy.  

Lots of holiday companies and ski resorts aim to be 50 - 75% booked by late summer, and those key dates like February half term can be 95% booked by mid-summer. What’s left is often at eye-watering prices at resorts that aren't your first choice. 

Inevitably the longer you leave it the fewer choices you have and the more the holiday price will creep up on a package you might have got for less if you'd booked earlier. 

Flights 

As well as your holiday accommodation, keep in mind that flights can fill up, so even if your chosen resort accommodation still have spaces, your most direct and best-timed flight may sell out, forcing you onto something less convenient in terms of timing and perhaps even needing to travel to a more distant UK departure airport. Again, booking earlier helps secure the best flight and again it's an even bigger concern if you’re in a group or a larger family and need more seats. BA, easyJet and other airlines usually release flights to late March around the April before, so keep an eye on deal alerts.

As flights are priced based on demand, you will of course find very low prices 9-12 months ahead of travel in most cases, but from 6 months to departure, (sometimes even longer), the price for the seats will creep up as demand increases. 

Other Savings 

Once you’ve secured your holiday it is worth following the social media channels of whichever ski resort you’re heading to. They can offer pre-season deals and savings if, for example, you buy your lift pass months in advance direct from them. 

What About Those Last-Minute Deals? 

We are not saying last-minute ski deals no longer exist (we offer some ourselves), but with much more real-time booking systems than in years gone by, they're a true last-minute ski deal in a post-Covid world is quite rare. 

Basically, booking trends are tracked far in advance and prices adjusted accordingly to encourage more booking months before the ski holiday week concerned rolls around. It’s the same dynamic pricing in a way to flights, train tickets and hotel rooms. You don’t find last minute discounts for unsold seats and hotel beds, instead prices are far higher if you opt for last minute as the sales algorithm somehow can spot you’re desperate to get on the snow and thinks it can charge you more to get your ski fix and that there’s no need to discount.

Despite this, if you do manage to find a discounted last-minute ski holiday keep in mind there’s probably a reason why no one has booked it – terrible flight times, a poor location in resort for your accommodation or indeed the accommodation itself would be some of the likely reasons!

So When Is The Best Time To Book A Ski Holiday?

In summary, booking early for the following season - usually between May and July - gives you the best choice of accommodation and flights, and the best prices, especially for peak season dates.

If you are a small group, looking to travel mid-week, then maybe booking flights early and waiting until the very last-minute may secure you a cheap deal, but often not in your first choice accommodation and/or ski resort.