The Best Ski Resorts in Europe and North America - 2023/24 Edition

With the winter ski season well among us, choosing between the best resorts to visit can be a difficult task to navigate. Whether you’re jet-setting as a family, planning a getaway with friends, looking for the best value for your money, or wanting to simply experience the picturesque snow-dusted slopes, there are a multitude of factors to consider when choosing the best destinations based on your preferences!

A new study by MoneyTransfers.com reveals the best ski destinations in Europe and North America for 2024, analysing 50 ski destinations across factors including:

• The average cost of flights

• Cost of ski hire

• Cost of accommodation (for a three-night stay in a studio apartment, one-bedroom apartment or hotel suite)

• Number of black, blue, and red runs, etc

• Average annual snowfall (cms)

• Number of bars

• Number of ski schools

Whether you’re a newbie or an advanced skier, the study has categorised the best resorts by a variety of cost, weather, family-friendly and ski-level categories. Read on to find out which ski resorts are best suited for you this winter!

Top 10 Best Value Ski Resorts

Stubai Glacier is officially the best value ski resort across Europe and North America. The Austrian year-round ski destination has 64.9km of slopes, 60 nearby bars, 24 ski schools, and the resort's accommodation averages out to be a reasonable $418 for a three-night stay in a studio, one-bedroom apartment or a hotel suite. The Ski day pass at the resort will set you back a reasonable $56, and with an average annual snowfall of 401cm, it’s almost guaranteed the best value for your money in this Austrian ski destination.

Espace San Bernardo, the French-Italian area which includes the La Rosière and ​La Thuile ski resorts, ranks as the second best value ski resort destination in our study. With 143km of slopes, $332 for average accommodation, $47 for a ski pass, and 55 bars, this resort destination offers great value - and if you're dreaming of getting away to the Alps, the area also regularly ranks in the top five best areas for snowfall in the region.

Kaprun in the Austrian Alps, is the third best value ski resort, with 61km of slopes, 407cm of annual snowfall, 27 ski schools and a $480 average accommodation price. Livigno in Italy and Obertauern in Austria also rank in the top five best-value ski resorts, with accommodation costing $345 to $793 respectively.

Top 10 Best Ski Resorts For Beginners

Austria’s Stubai Glacier also ranks first in our study as the best ski resort for beginners, owing to its 24 different ski schools and 22km of blue ski slopes. This is closely followed by another Austrian resort, Kaprun, which boasts 27 ski schools, though accommodation at Kaprun will set you back $480 ($62 more expensive than Stubai Glacier). Swiss resort Parsenn places third in our study, with an impressive 35 ski schools on hand to upskill beginners at winter sports in addition to 17.3km of blue ski slopes.

Fourth in this study is Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, a resort located in Austria, with 73 ski schools and 140km of blue ski slopes - but accommodation will set you back on average $723. USA’s Mammoth Mountain ranks fifth with 18 ski schools on site and visitors having access to 18.4km of blue ski slopes.

Top 10 Best Resorts For Advanced Skiers

The french-Italian destination, Espace San Bernardo, ranks as the best ski resort for advanced skiers (as well as the second best-value location overall). The region’s resorts host an impressive 71km of red ski slopes and 15km of black slopes for thrill-seeking intermediate skiers to explore, as well as receiving 451cm of annual snowfall. The resort is cost-effective, with ski pass day hire costing just $47, while average flight costs from London cost a reasonable $111. In second place is Austria’s Obertauern Resort, home to 35km of red slopes that receive a significant 482cm of annual snowfall. Obertauern also offers tourists 46 different bars to choose from during their stay.

Ranking third for advanced skiers is Stubai Glacier with 15km of red slopes and 27.9km of black slopes. This is closely followed again by Kaprun Resort, which offers 23km and 9km of red and black slopes respectively. Kaprun is also affordable to get to from London, with average flights costing approximately $95. In fifth place is Austria’s four-mountain Schladming, which has 68.3km of red slopes and 8.3km of black slopes across a total of 123km - though the resort receives less snow than higher-ranking resorts on this list with 163cm of annual snowfall.

Top 10 Best Resorts For Apres Ski

For many ski-holiday enthusiasts, après-ski, the French phrase for 'after ski', is an integral part of the holiday experience, and for some, as crucial as skiing or snowboarding itself. Our study revealed that Stubai Glacier is the best resort for an apres-ski holiday. With 60 bars in the area, coupled with its great value for holiday-goers - there isn’t a shortage of after-ski activities in restaurants and bars at the destination.

Schladming Dachstein in Austria, ranks as the second best destination for apres-ski, with 65 bars for visitors to enjoy. Espace San Bernardo in France, Parsenn in Switzerland and Obertauern in Austria also rank in the top five, with a sizeable 46 to 57 bars at these ski destinations.

Top 10 Most Child-Friendly Ski Resorts

When it comes to the most child-friendly ski resorts, the Skicircus Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang resort in Austria comes out top. The resort offers 140km of blue slopes and a whopping 73 different ski schools for youngsters to develop their skills. In second place is Austrian resort Stubai Glacier, home to 22km of blue slopes and 24 ski schools. The resorts of Kitzbühel and Kirchberg in the Kitzski area of Austria rank third, with visitors of these resorts having access to 102km of blue slopes, 55 different ski schools and an affordable ski hire day pass at $58.

Also ranking in the top five is Kitzsteinhorn and Maiskogel in Austria’s Kaprun, and Switzerland’s Parsenn Resort. The town of Kaprun has access to 29km of blue slopes and 27 ski schools, whilst Parsenn offers 17.3km of blue slopes in addition to 35 schools for children to build up their snow confidence.

Top 10 Best Ski Resorts For Optimal Weather

With 795cm of snowfall every year, coupled with a good number of ski schools (18) and bars available (41), Mammoth Mountain in the US is the best ski resort destination for the best ski and snowboarding weather experience. Whistler Blackcomb in Canada ranks second, with 782cm of annual snowfall, with the cost of a sky day pass at $145. Espace San Bernardo in France, Stubai Glacier in Austria, Palisades Tahoe in the US also rank in the top five for ski weather, with average annual snowfall ranging from 401cm to 944cm per year.

Jonathan Merry, travel expert at MoneyTransfers.com, comments:

“Whether you’re seeking a resort that’s best value for money, has child-friendly amenities, or if you’re simply looking for the best Apres-ski experience, our comprehensive study of 50 ski resorts across North America and Europe showcases the wide range of factors to consider when choosing your ideal ski destination.

“Considering the economic climate, for international travellers considering a ski holiday, it’s crucial to make sure to shop around and aim to book your holiday earlier rather than later. Once January hits, prices will very likely substantially rise. A good tip is to opt to consider a variety of both popular and lesser-known resorts, and avoid flying on Saturdays to cut costs where possible!”

Jonathan Merry, Founder of MoneyTransfers.com

If you’re planning to set off abroad and want to ensure you have adequate funds for your holiday, visit MoneyTransfers.com for more information.

Methodology

To calculate the best ski resorts, MoneyTransfers.com combined a variety of cost, weather, and activity factors across 50 ski resorts. Each category ranking (ie. Best value and most child-friendly) were analysed by standardising and weighting various factors. For example, for the ranking of “Most child-friendly”, 25% was allocated to the number of ski schools, 10% to the cost of ski hire, 10% to Accommodation Price and so on.