Fancy a low-cost, last-minute summer holiday in the Alps? You’re in luck. Prices of late August and early September weeks are on the slide. As a result, you can get a holiday in one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth for less than £400pp a week, half-board, and including flights and transfers. By then, the summer heat should be easing off too – probably a relief, given temperatures in the Alpine valleys are currently nudging 35C.
Here’s our pick of the summer discounts, combined with the latest crop of ski-holiday deals. Talk of winter may seem premature in the current heatwave. But let’s not forget: in just over three months, the high-altitude resorts of the Alps will be opening up their pistes.
Prices were correct at the time of publication, and are subject to change.
SUMMER
Kitzbuhel from £399 with Inghams
Summer in Kitzbuhel is a blessed thing: lush, green, laid back, and brimming with activities. Tennis, golf, e-biking and yoga classes are all on the menu, along with 1,000km of beautiful mountain walks. This deal from Inghams, for a week at the three-diamond Chalet Linda from September 1, includes Birmingham-Salzburg flights, transfers and half-board accommodation, as well as afternoon tea and packed lunches, and has been reduced by £100 to £399pp, based on two sharing.
£240 off Lake Garda with TUI
High summer temperatures are cinch if you’re booked into the four star Hotel Panorama on Lake Garda’s western shore. The hotel’s indoor and outdoor pools are complemented by private lakeshore access – and the backdrop of plunging cliffs is never less than spectacular. With TUI Lakes & Mountains, four nights from August 25 are down from £812 to £572pp, half-board, including flights from Glasgow and transfers.
£242 off a summer week in Switzerland with SNO
The Hotel Mirabeau offers classy four-star accommodation in Zermatt, and comes with chic bedrooms, a highly-regarded gastronomic restaurant, tempting wine lounge and a 16m indoor pool. And that’s before you’ve ventured outside to stare, slack-jawed, at the Matterhorn. With SNO, a week from August 29 of fine dining and top-of-the-world walks is down from £1,234 to £992pp half-board, including flights from Luton and transfers, based on two sharing.
Val d’Isere from £50 a head
Anyone with energy to burn, and a tight budget, should consider a self-catering week from August 25 in Val d’Isere. Squeeze a party of six into one of the two-room (plus alcove) apartments at the central, four-star Alpina Lodge, and the accommodation price is down from £500 to £300 with Ski France, not including travel. Sure, it’ll be pretty cosy at night: but with so much to do on the doorstep, from downhill biking on the Rocher de Bellevarde to beach volleyball, chances are you’ll sleep like a log.
WINTER
10% off February half-term with Erna Low
It’s not often February half-term ski holidays are discounted. But that’s the deal if you book the newly-built Residence Alexane in Samoens now, with self-catering specialist Erna Low. The development of 31 apartments is near the Grand Massif Gondola, and has exceptional spa facilities including both an indoor pool, separate kids’ pool and a fridgearium. The early-booking discounts are currently available across the whole season. A week from January 12 costs £217pp, self-catering, not including travel, based on four sharing a two-room apartment.
20% off New Year in with Ski Collection
Book a week from December 29 in the superbly-situated Balcons de Bellevarde apartments in Val d’Isere, and you’ll get a 20% discount with self-catering specialist Ski Collection. These no-nonsense apartments may be a bus ride from the centre of the resort. But they were refurbished in 2016, and sit next to the new La Daille gondola, which will whisk you up to the piste-side parties at La Folie Douce in less than five minutes – as well as offering speedy access to the heart of the Tignes-Val d’Isere ski area. Book by September 26.
A luxurious early-season week in Zermatt with Matterhorn Chalets
Thanks to its high-altitude slopes, there’s always good early-season skiing in Zermatt – alongside the gob-smacking scenery and world-beating mountain restaurants, of course. With Matterhorn Chalets you can add a big fat slice of luxury too. Book the Chalet Ulysse, close to the gondola station, and the week before Christmas (December 15-22) costs CHF 9,000 for a total of eight people, including the company’s gastronomic catering service.
50% off Canadian ski hotels with Ski Independence
Don’t forget – August is the month to pick up a big Canadian discount. Until the end of the month, resorts such as Whistler, Panorama, Sun Peaks are cutting up to 50% off the price of accommodation, and there are deals on offer for Christmas and New Year as well as low-season weeks. With Ski Independence, for example, a week’s accommodation at the Chateau Whistler is on at a 50% discount, with free room upgrades. Meanwhile, Panorama is offering 50% off lift tickets and transfers, as well as lodging.
Check out our budget-skier’s guide for more tips on how to find cheap ski holidays.
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