Poiana Brasov, Romania

Think of Romania and you probably don’t immediately think of skiing. You might think of the matching bleach-blonde haircuts the Romanian football team had at the 1998 World Cup or Dracula’s Transylvania, but we doubt that skiing holidays are the first thing that spring to mind.

However, one quick glance at the seriously affordable prices on offer in Romania and it soon becomes clear that there’s much more to Romania than vampires and international footballers with matching bleach-blonde haircuts.

Poiana Brasov, in Transylvania no less, offers decent slope-based thrills with minimal overdraft spills. The resort isn’t particularly steep, but the pistes are well-suited for beginners and intermediates. According to our sources, the local ski school has also built up a great reputation in recent years for its friendly English-speaking instructors.

Six-day lift pass: £88.40

Seven nights’ accommodation in a 3 star hotel: £218

Equipment hire: £53 (including helmet)

Average beer price: £1.40

Flights: London to Bucharest with Ryanair for under £50

10 Best Skis For Beginners

Jasná, Slovakia

In recent years, Slovakia has started to build up a feisty reputation as one of the best places to go for a cheap yet awesome ski holiday in Europe. Is all this hype justified? Absolutely. Slovakia might be small but, boy oh boy, it does pack a punch.

Jasná, in particular, offers great skiing for anyone who makes it their mission to go there. And before you reach for your generalisation hat, and make comments based on stereotypical views, you might be more than a tad bit interested to know that Jasná possesses some wonderfully modern facilities and chairlifts. There’s certainly no skiers getting pulled up the mountains on rickety carts, if that’s what you were thinking.

Jasná spreads itself over the picturesque Chopok mountain, which is one of the highest in the Low Tatra range. Those just starting out, as well as intermediates, are well-catered for here. On top of that, when conditions are right, advanced skiers and freeriders will be able to enjoy some of the most breathtakingly untouched off-piste tree runs in all of Europe. The ski lifts are also extremely well-placed, making it easy for adventurous skiers to go up and down the mountain like a winter gear wearing yo-yo.

Six-day lift pass: £145

Equipment hire: £70

Seven nights’ accommodation: £179

Average beer price: £1

Flights: EasyJet fly to Krakow from £47 return (3 hours from Jasná).

For more information on Slovakian skiing, visit Ski Jasna.

Zakopane, Poland

Zakopane, just south of Krakow, is Poland’s most popular ski resort. And while it might not be as well-organised and as efficient as the resorts in Switzerland, it certainly won’t let you down when it comes to offering stunning “fairytalesque” scenery. If you’re heading to Zakopane, you’ll certainly be needing your camera.

But, anyway, enough about the views. Let’s talk money. How much is this place going to cost you? And, just as importantly, what sort of things will your money get you? Well you already know about the slightly archaic lift system so we’ll leave that topic where it is, and move things onto a discussion about the slopes in Zakopane.

Zakopane’s slopes, in all honesty, are a bit tame if you want to be tearing it down black runs from dawn till dusk. However, we think this is the ideal budget ski resort if you’re a beginner or intermediate who’s interested in vodka and culture…as well just charging it on the snow.

The town itself will steal your heart with its enticing mixture of idyllic 19th-century wooden buildings and cobbled streets. If you can ignore the communist high-rise tower blocks on the outskirts of town, you really will feel for a moment like you’ve travelled back in time through the medium of affordable ski holidaying.

Sunshine World Poland offers affordable all-inclusive ski resort packages from as little as £175 per person. These include, as standard, a six days ski rental, five days worth of ski instruction, five day lift passes, and five days of return transport to and from the slopes.

Average beer price: £1.20

For more information on Zakopane, visit Local Life – Zakopane.

Janské Lázne, Czech Republic

About two hours drive outside of Prague, up in the Karkonosze (“giant mountains”), sits a cosy spa town called Janské Lázne. There you will uncover a magical 14km’s worth of of gentle forest-weaving slopes that are ideally suited to beginners, intermediates, and young children who are just learning the ropes.

Janské Lázne is extremely accommodating for those with children so don’t sweat about taking the kids to a restaurant, and having to spend the entirety of your evening avoiding the glares of disgruntled ‘tut-tut’ customers. Chill out, everyone. It’s not that kind of place.

Cheap ski lessons are the name of the game in the Czech Republic, with good-quality instruction available from as little as £8 an hour. The top lift at Janské Lázne is situated at 1,275 metres so the snow depth can be a wee bit fickle. However, the resort has thrown a whole heap of cash at snow cannons in recent years and this has helped immensely. Night-skiing is also available for those who are that way inclined.

Six-day ski pass: £94

Equipment hire (six-days): £60

Average beer price: £1

For more information, visit the Czech ski resort website.

Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, SkiBro is the innovative online platform that helps you get the best out of your trip. Find your perfect instructor, snowboard school, or mountain guide and book with ease. The best choice, best info and flexibility – be sure to check SkiBro out.

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