16 Practical Tips for Cheaper Skiing in Switzerland

Although skiing is an expensive activity, it’s possible to plan to an affordable ski holiday in Switzerland if you plan ahead and do your research. Despite it’s reputation, Switzerland has relatively low ski lift ticket prices, especially compared to the US. Plus they offer lots of discounts for advanced booking, families, train travel combo, etc.

Here are my top tips for how to ski in Switzerland on a budget.

See also Cheapest Ski Resorts near Zürich

What does it cost to ski in Switzerland

In Switzerland, a day pass at a mid-sized ski resorts costs CHF 55 – 70/adult, CHF 25-35/child. Larger resorts in popular tourist destinations, like Zermatt, Davos, and Jungfrau Region, charge about CHF 80 – 100/adult. All resorts have discounts for students and children. Children under 6 generally ski free.

You’ll also need to budget for other expenses like equipment, meals, parking and accommodations. For ski rental, you should expect to pay about CHF 45 for skis, boots and poles for a day. Your per day cost decreases if you rent for multiple days. Rental costs are usually less at big sports stores like Migros SportXX or Ochsner Sport, rather than the on-site rental shops.

For lunch, you should expect to pay about CHF 20 – 40/person including drinks. For hotels, you should expect to pay about CHF 250-400/night for a 2 person room. 

Saving money on Swiss ski passes

1. Book ski tickets in advance

Many ski resorts offer dynamic pricing based on demand. So the earlier you buy your ticket, the better deal you get.

In my opinion, this only makes sense if you are booking a ski holiday there and will definitely be skiing those days. Here are a few that offer dynamic pricing.

• Arosa Lenzerheide 
• Engelberg Titlis 
• Chäserrugg 
• Aletsch Arena 
• Adelboden-Lenk 
• Crans Montana 

Some resorts also offer a discount for booking ski tickets online, even the same day you are skiing. So check online before heading out.

Andermatt has a seasonal half-fare card that gives you a 50% discount on tickets.

When buying lift passes online, you can load them onto a ski card you already have by entering the number on the card. Usually it doesn’t have to be a card from that resort. Sometimes you can load it directly onto your Swiss Pass travel card.

Kids under 6 ski free almost everywhere. But many resorts also offer family discounts which include one or two parents and 2 children, sometimes all of their children. This is great for any family and fantastic for large families. Here are a few examples:

Eastern Switzerland

• Braunwald – family day pass for 2 adults and all their children under 15
• Pizol – family discount for children under 17
• Wildhaus (Toggenburg) – family day pass for 2 adults and 2 children under 15
• Corvatsch – first two children get discounts and remaining children ski for free

Lake Lucerne Region

• Stoos – family day pass for 2 adults and all their children under 15
• Hoch Ybrig – discount for adult & children lift passes if bought together as a family
• Brunni Alpthal – discount on day passes if bought as a family
• Ibergeregg – discount for families
• Andermatt – discount for families only given at the ticket office, not for online purchase

Bernese Oberland

• Jungfrau Region – up to three children under 16 receive a free ski pass on Saturdays when their adult also buys a ski ticket
• Meiringen Hasliberg – discount for families
• Adelboden – on Saturdays, one adult ticket gets you two free children tickets (age 6-15)

Valais

• Zermatt – kids up to 9 years old ski free everyday and on Saturdays, kids under 16 ski free.
• Aletsch Arena – when buying lift passes for the family, the third and any further child (age 6-15) ski for free.

3. Ski half-day

Many resorts sell partial day passes, which come in different flavors. Partial day passes are particularly helpful if you are skiing with that won’t last the full day, look for resorts with partial-day tickets.

Most resorts sell an afternoon pass that gets cheaper the later you buy it, sometimes starting as early as 11:00. Others sell a 2, 3 or 4hr pass, which can be used any time of day. For example, Flumserberg sell a 4 hour pass, so you get money back if you turn in the pass after 4 hours. I like these better because you can use them in the morning. My kids were always full of energy in the morning and but fade after lunch.

Some resorts sell point passes, where you spend points each time you ride the lift. You can use this card the whole season. This is good if your child only rides the lift 3-4 times each visit, perhaps a younger sibling of an older child that is in ski school.

4. Multi-day ski passes

Most resorts offer multi-day passes, which give you a discount over purchasing those tickets individually. Usually the more days you buy, the more you save. For example, a Flumserberg you can purchase a 5-pack (non-consecutive), which basically gives you one day free. 

Most multi-day passes are consecutive (aka aufeinanderfolgenden Tagen), meaning you have to use the passes on consecutive days. This makes sense if you are staying for the weekend or full week. A few resorts also sell non-consecutive multi-day passes (aka Tageswahlkarten), that can be used on any days throughout the season, which are more convenient. Make sure to check the conditions of the multi-day pass before purchasing.

5. Season pass for multiple resorts

Many regions offer season ski passes that are good at multiple resorts in the region. For me, the downside of buying a season pass was always that I was stuck skiing at the same resort every time. With these multi-resort passes, you still get a lot of variety and value if you ski a lot during the season. Here are a few multi-resort passes in Switzerland.

Some of these are only available to purchase in pre-season. Some offer a discount if you buy them in pre-season. Some offer discounts for people that live in the region.

• MeilenWeiss – include 18 mountain resorts in eastern and central Switzerland including Flumserberg, Pizol, Elm, Braunwald, Stoos, Sattel Hochstuckli
• Top4Ski Pass – includes Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad, Jungfrau Region and Haslital
• TopCard – includes winter and summer for Arosa-Lenzerheide, Davos-Klosters, Flims-Laax, and three days at Engelberg-Titlis
• SnowPass Graubünden – includes the entire Graubünden canton including St. Moritz, Corvatsch, Davos-Klosters, Arosa-Lenzerheide, Flims-Laax, and tons of the smaller local resorts
• Schneepass Zentralschweiz – includes Andermatt, Engelberg-Titlis, Meiringen Hasliberg, Stoos, Klewenalp, Sattel-Hochstuckli, Melchsee-Frutt, Rigi and several others
• Snowpass Valais – includes Zermatt/Cervinia International, 4 Vallées, Aletsch Arena, Verbier, Saas-Fee, Leukerbad, and several others.
• Magic Pass – includes 30 resorts in the Valais, Vaud & Fribourg regions, including Saas-Fee, Les Diablerets, Crans Montana, Leysin, St Luc, etc.

Saving money on ski gear

6. Rent your ski gear for the season

If you plan to ski more than a few days, it is more economical and convenient to rent for the season instead of the day or week. Best to rent in October and November, when they still have a big selection. If you wait too long, you might have to pay a premium to rent new gear since last season’s gear is already gone.

For more tips, see Where to rent/buy ski gear in Switzerland

7. Rent winter clothing instead of buying

If your family is skiing less than two weeks per season, rental can save you time and money. In Switzerland, we suggest Cirkel Supply Co., a clothing rental startup who offer ski clothing for adults and children from premium brands (Patagonia, Houdini and Namuk). Their service is easy to use, great value for money, and they ship to ski holiday destinations across Switzerland.

Simply head over to their website, select your rental period, and outfits (outerwear, midlayers & gloves) for the whole family. At check out, use the discount code SWISSFAMILYFUN10 and select your hotel or alternative delivery point. If your destination isn’t listed, contact them to find a convenient delivery solution for you.

Use our discount code SWISSFAMILYFUN10 to rent ski clothing at Cirkel Supply Co

8. Buy gear secondhand

If you have multiple children, it can be worth it to buy the equipment and use it with the next child when they grow out of it. For adults, it’s nice to rent when you are first learning until you know what kind of equipment you want. But then it makes economic sense to buy, since you can use the equipment for many years before replacing it.

For secondhand gear, I’d start at ski rental shops, because they will have the best quality. For kids, you can look at secondhand shops, but expect very low quality. In any case, it’s best to take the secondhand skis to a shop to be serviced before the first use.

Ski Promotions

9. Snow’n’Rail discounts

SBB Snow’n’Rail offers give you can get a discount on both the train travel and ski passes for many popular Swiss ski resorts, at least 10% but often much more. They also run special promotions giving huge discounts up to 50%. So review these offers before choosing where to go skiing. We’ve used this a few times at Flumserberg and with the discount, it was about the same price as driving, but much more convenient.

10. Hotel guest cards

When you stay overnight in a ski destination, some regions offer guest cards that give you discounts on ski tickets, public transportation and/or other amusements like swimming. These guest cards can really reduce your overall cost if you maximize the benefits.

Engadin St Moritz has one of the best deals, the “Sleep + Ski” offer. In the 2021/22 season, if you stay in a participating accommodation, you can book ski tickets for only CHF 45, almost half of the full price lift ticket. We used this offer one year, skiing at Corvatsch.

In the Saas Fee region, overnight guests get the Saastal card, which gives up to a 30% reduction on 30 offers, including winter hiking passes, ski school, night sledding,  and swimming pool plus free public transportation around the region.

11. Migros Ski Days

Every winter, Migros hosts a series of affordable family ski days at different resorts all over Switzerland, like Hoch Ybrig, Flumserberg, Pizol and Arosa Lenzerheide. For only CHF 85, the family ticket includes ski passes for 3-5 people (min 1 adult and 1 child), lunch, ski race, medal and a small prize. To get this price, you need to join the free Famigros family club. These book out fast (already by early December), so watch for this promotion in November and book right away. More info about Migros Ski Day.

You might also participate in the Famigros Ski Days which are special snow sport days for families hosted by the Famigros family club each weekend at different resorts around Switzerland. It costs CHF 110 per “family,” which is up to 5 people, max 2 adults and at least 1 child aged 13 or younger. (only CHF 85 if you are a Famigros member, free to join). Your fee includes day passes to the ski resort, lunch, the ski race, medals, prizes, and participation in all the special activities. It’s required to participate in the ski race, which the main activity of the event.

You have to sign up in advance for a specific location/date. Some popular destinations sell out already in December. But if there are still spots available, it is possible to sign up onsite, but I wouldn’t count on it. More info about Famigros Ski Days.

12. Pre-season discounts

Ski season in Switzerland starts in mid to late December. But if we get lots of early snow, ski resorts can open as early as the first week of November. Typically they only open a few runs and not all restaurants and hotels are open. But lift passes are often heavily discounted during this time.

For example, in 2021, Arosa Lenzerheide was offering lift passes for as low as CHF 30 during pre-season, regular ticket price is usually around CHF 78. Plus you can avoid crowds, since not many people ski during November or December. The hotels that are open sometimes offer discounts as well.

See Where to ski in November in Switzerland and Where to ski in December in Switzerland.

Affordable ski resorts

13. Choose smaller cheaper ski resorts

If you and/or your kids are still learning, you don’t need to overpay for a huge ski resort that has lots of lifts and runs that you’ll never see. Many local resorts are only about CHF 55/adult instead of CHF 80-90 you pay at the big resorts. This will save you a lot over the course of the season.

The other benefit is that these smaller resorts are often less crowded. Our family still enjoys our smaller local resorts more than the big fancy ones, even though we are all confident snowboarders that love more advanced runs and off-piste.

See 12 Cheapest Ski Resorts near Zurich

14. Use free or cheap beginner ski areas

Some resorts provide small free ski areas with magic carpets and tow ropes, where absolute beginners can spend the day falling down without spending a lot of money. Other resorts have cheaper beginner passes, which cover only a couple lifts in the beginners area. 

We like Flumserberg, which two short magic carpets that free to use and you can park right near them. We also like Brunni Alpthal, which charges a small fee to use a longer magic carpet that services a small ski and sledding hill.

See the Best beginner ski areas near Zurich

Accommodations & eating out

15. Stay at hostels

The most affordable accommodations for ski holidays are hostels, which are not just for young single travelers. While the dormitory is the cheapest option, most hostels offer single, double and family rooms for more privacy. Hostels typically include. Many people recommend the Pontresina Youth Hotel in the Engadin St Moritz region. Friends have also suggest the Fiescher Hostel, which is part of the Fiesch Sport Hotel in Aletsch Arena.

See more Switzerland youth hostels.

16. Bring a picnic lunch

I love eating out, but lunch can sometimes cost almost as much as the skis passes. So if you are skiing on a budget, bring your lunch. Most restaurants have signs reminding you that picnics are not allowed at their tables. But some resorts have designated picnic areas, which make life much easier. Thank you!

Elm has an open-air picnic area underneath the main restaurant, with tables and benches. Hoch Ybrig has an indoor picnic room, which is wonderful when you need to warm up with the little ones. If you know of other resorts with picnic areas, please let us know!

Even if you buy lunch, bring your own water bottles/drinks and snacks. Drinks are so expensive at restaurants, usually at least CHF 5 even for water. Plus it’s more eco-friendly to use reusable containers.