Welcome to ThinkVail – we hope you find this article about Vail discount ski tickets helpful.
Yes, skiing in Vail, Colorado is tons of fun, and a mind-blowing 2.5 million skiers and snowboarders visit Vail and Beaver Creek each year. But with day-of lift tickets costing over $200 a day, it can also be very expensive. However, if you do your research and plan ahead you can save a lot of money and ski tickets can be almost affordable!
Here are 5 different ways to save money on lift tickets. Remember, the first rule is get started as early as you can, to save the most money.
See also: How EpicMix can make your ski vacation awesome!
If you and your family plan to ski 5 days or less, then the very best way to save money on lift tickets is to bundle them with your lodging. When you bundle your hotel reservation with your ski tickets you can get HUGE discounts off the regular full day price of a ski ticket.
Lift tickets are by far, one of the most expensive parts of a ski trip, so it pays to plan ahead and bundle them when you are reserving your hotel. SnowPack.com or Vail.com lets you choose the perfect Vail or Beaver Creek hotel from their extensive list of offered properties and then bundle your room with your ski tickets for up to seven days to receive deep discounts.
You can also bundle ski and snowboard equipment rentals, car rentals and more for even greater savings. If you plan to purchase any of these for your vacation, bundle them upfront to lock in the best rates for all of your “extras”
.
.
Ok if you have already purchased your lodging or there is another reason you can’t bundle your ski tickets with your hotel reservation, then the next best way to save money is buying ski tickets in advance, online.
Vail Resorts has their lift tickets online early, usually around Labor Day or even earlier, so that you can lock in great rates, EARLY. We’re talking up to 55 percent off. This cannot be stressed enough, the earlier you book, the better the rate you can lock in.
Lift ticket prices increase as the dates get closer, which means there are little to no last minute deals. Each ski day has a set number of tickets at a range of prices. As the set ticket number sells out, the price automatically goes up. This means if you want to save money, you need to be first in line to purchase ski tickets to the resort you want to ski this winter, because the price will only keep going up.
View all ski ticket and pass options available
Buy more ski days and save more money! Buy up to 14 days in advance to save over $1,000 dollars off the single day ticket price.
Multi-day tickets are a great way to save money if you know ahead of time, that you want to ski multiple days and how many. So if you will be in Vail for 7 days you may want to buy a 3 out of 5 days ticket or a 5 out of 8 day ticket, depending on how much skiing you and your family plan to do.
Local Ski Shops – Colorado Ski & Golf, Christy Sports and Breeze Ski Rentals, sell discounted lift tickets and season passes. Mostly to other ski resorts not so much Vail and Beaver Creek.
King Soopers/City Market sells lift tickets at its customer service desks. Again, usually to other Colorado ski resorts but it doesn’t hurt to ask, you might get lucky.
Costco offers discounted tickets for its members. Remember that these deals are usually not advertised so ask the person at the counter and keep in mind that availability and inventory keeps changing daily.
Ebay and Craigslist – People do sell lift tickets on Ebay and Craigslist but, it is NOT advisable to purchase them this way, as there are lots of scams. When you buy from these outlets it is difficult to verify if they are genuine until you are in the lift line getting your ticket scanned. Also, to purchase tickets from a third party, is actually against the law because lift tickets and ski passes are non-transferable. But some people have had great success with this, so just be very, very careful if you do.
American Express Points, you can go online and purchase a voucher good for a daily or a five-day lift ticket at Vail or Beaver Creek Ski Resorts. But order the voucher as soon as possible, as it takes a week or two to receive it in the mail.
Reserve Vail Ski Tickets on American Express
The Epic Pass is the true insider ‘s secret on how to save a lot of money at Vail Resorts. If you are planning to ski 5 days or more than it is the absolute best deal, the EPIC pass lets you ski or ride whenever you like. And not just in Vail and Beaver Creek, the Epic Pass offers access to 68 resorts internationally.
If you will be taking multiple trips to different ski areas in the Vail Resorts ski portfolio, this is a no-brainer. You must buy the pass BEFORE mid-November of each year. After that date, the pass is not available and you will pay full price for lift tickets. The cost for the full Epic Pass is $949.00 so if you plan to ride at least 5 days you will break even. If you plan to ski or snowboard on holidays or more days you will be saving BIG time!
With the EPIC pass hanging around your neck, you will have unlimited and unrestricted skiing and riding from opening day to closing day at 13 resorts across the world: Colorado, Park City, Utah, Lake Tahoe, California, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Whistler in Canada. In addition, the EPIC pass lets you also ski at resorts in Europe, Japan and Australia. Epic Pass comes with Ski with a Friend and Buddy Passes as well.
If you do not think you need this much pass, take a step down and purchase the Local Epic Pass. The Local Epic Pass starts at $709 and also must be purchased by mid-November. This pass is also awesome, but geared for people who have a job, actually work and cannot ski and travel every day.
The Epic Local Pass offers three key features:
It offers Unlimited Skiing at 10 destinations:
It offers skiing with Blackout Dates at:
It also offers 10 days of Skiing with Blackout Dates at Vail/Beaver Creek C and at Whistler Blackcomb, B.C.
This means it only costs you $70.00 a day if you go all 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek. Go a day or two at Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte or Arapahoe Basin and you are way ahead of the game!
There are also additional Epic Passes like the 7-Day Epic Pass and the 4-Day Epic Pass. Each is cheaper than the last but still saves you a TON off the list price. All passes must be purchased before mid-November.
To find out which pass best fits your needs or to purchase a pass visit the Vail Resorts Website
What did you think of this article Vail Discount Lift Tickets-5 Ways to Save? Did you find it helpful? Did any of these suggestions save you money? What is your favorite way to save money on skiing? We would love to hear your thoughts, comments and suggestions for saving money when buying Vail or Beaver Creek ski lift tickets.
.
Related Articles: Slopeside Ski-In, Ski-Out Hotels in Vail, CO
This website uses cookies.
View Comments
Hello, I am moving to Denver this summer I am very excited to ski again next winter. I work full time but will have most weekends available and holidays that I can drive to the mountains. What is the best way to save money and and still get some skiing in?
Hello Ibrahim and welcome to the neighborhood! You have lots of options available to you. The best way to save money on ski tickets is through a winter Ski Pass. There are lots of them around the Denver area but the biggest and best are the IKON Pass and the Epic Pass. The IKON Pass is for Copper Mountain, Aspen Snowmass, Steamboat, Eldora, and Winter Park Resort. The Epic Pass is for Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and A Basin. You have to buy both passes before mid November but it you can get out more than 5 times you will save money! It will really depend on just which ski resorts you want to ski next winter For an IKON Pass go to http://www.ikonpass.com for an Epic Pass go http://www.epicpass.com
This is a great article for anyone looking to save money while trying to go skiing. I for one know how expensive it can get with all the equipment, lift tickets, lodging, etc, so providing a way to save money while taking these things into account is super clutch. Thanks so much for providing this info as I'm sure it will enable people to go on trips they didn't think they could afford.
Great tips to save on ski tickets. I have in the past bundled my hotel room, 4-days of ski tickets and my families' ski equipment rentals and it did save me a lot of money and we loved the hotel that we stayed at, as it was just steps from the slopes. It did take some time to find someone who would bundle all of the items so I appreciate the fact that you included a provider that does just that. I have not used Undercover Tourist but it looks like they offer lots of great properties in Vail and Beaver Creek that are really close to the action. I will bookmark this page so I can use it in the future to save money. Thanks again
Hi Tsquare, so happy to hear that you have saved money in the past by bundling your lodging and ski tickets. Undercover Tourist is a great way to save money on your hotel room, ski tickets and ski equipment but you do need to plan ahead. They have tons of great hotel room from ski in ski out, to super swanky, to affordable hotels that are a short walk to the slopes.