Is It Actually Cheaper to Ski in Europe Than in the U.S.-Airfare Included? We Did the Math

"I was in Andermatt, a Swiss alpine village and one of Travel + Leisure's best places to travel in 2026, this past summer, when I overheard someone say, "You know, it's cheaper to fly to Europe and ski than it is to ski in America." It's an idea I was already familiar with; I'd even repeated it a few times myself over the years. Since domestic lift pass prices continue to rise"

"But instead of going through another ski season assuming this colloquial narrative is mostly accurate, I decided to do the math myself-starting by setting some general guidelines. First, I determined the skier profile: a U.S.-based traveler interested in on-piste skiing. I also used the assumption they'd be renting equipment at the resort, skiing for a full five days in peak season, and requiring accommodations for six nights."

A cost comparison was performed for a U.S.-based on-piste skier renting equipment, skiing five full days in peak season, and staying six nights. Ten popular ski areas were chosen, five in the U.S. and five in Europe, grouped into comparable pairs by overall experience and atmosphere. Airfare was calculated using round-trip economy fares (excluding basic economy) from JFK to the nearest major airport for each destination, searched on Google Flights on Jan. 5, 2026, for travel Feb. 1–7, 2026, averaging the three top departing flights. Hotel nightly rates used Google Hotels' "What You'll Pay" four-star averages multiplied by six.

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