Cheapflights.ca Gets Ready to Hit the Slopes

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - Nov 19, 2013) - While the official first day of winter is still over a month away, the shorter days, lower temperatures and leafless trees mean snow is next on the seasonal agenda for many. No need to fret, though, as it also means ski season is on its way. Whether you are a die-hard ski or snowboard fanatic or someone hoping to finally give it a try this year, the price tag may seem off-putting. To keep your winter wonderland dreams intact, the travel experts at Cheapflights.ca, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, are once again here to help with their Top 7 Ways to Save on a Ski Trip.

Here are a few tips from our list on ways to stretch your skiing dollar so you can hit the snowy slopes without burning a hole in your wallet.

• Look for deals on equipment - Before you get out on the mountain, you'll need some gear: skis, boots, poles, a snowboard (if you prefer to ride) as well as goggles and a helmet. If you're trying to stick to a budget, you'll want to look for deals on equipment. Try to find used skis or buy at the end of the season when the sales hit. Attend local ski swaps (check newspapers or search online to find listings in your area) or stop by your local ski store to assess fit and brand then bid for used equipment on sites like EBay. If you'd prefer to rent items like skis, boots and poles at the resort, you can often save money by reserving your gear in advance through sites like rentskis.com, skibutlers.com or the website of the mountain you're headed to. Speaking of renting, check out sites like rentsnowclothes.com and mountainthreads.com if you want ski jackets, pants and the like for hire (and delivered to the resort). With fast-growing kids and big baggage check fees, rental ski clothes can sometimes be a better fit. Other tricks for cutting warm clothing costs: browse thrift and second hand stores and, if you are small in stature, check out youth sizes. The difference between big kids and small adults often isn't that large while the difference in price is. This holds particularly true for helmets, goggles, gloves and boots. Keep in mind that ski companies also tend to set up tents at the base of some mountains to promote their gear, and they'll sometimes allow you to demo equipment for free.
  
  
• Purchase lift tickets in bulk - If you're planning to frequent a particular mountain or group of mountains, one of the easiest ways to save money is to invest in a season pass instead of purchasing one-off daily tickets. For shorter ski trips, look for passes that are available in three- or four-day bundles. For example, Maine's Sugarloaf Mountain offers a frequent skier card for $99, which includes a free day of riding or skiing as well as $25 off on mid-week tickets and $15 off on holidays or weekends, plus the option to use the card at other sister resorts in Missouri and Montana. Check out discount lift ticket sites such as liftopia.com or LiftTickets.com for potential savings. If you're planning to make an annual ski trip into a family outing, check with your respective resort to see if a ski passport program is available for kids. These programs often provide free or discounted passes to kids within a certain age range who are learning to ski.
  
  
• Look for packages - Whether you're booking a sunny Caribbean getaway or a ski vacation, it pays to shop around and look for bundles. Before the peak season hits, many resorts offer discounted packages with air, lodging and lift tickets bundled together for a fraction of the regular package price. Check to see if resorts offer complimentary transportation to and from the airport. You may also want to look into public transportation if transport isn't offered, especially if you won't need wheels once you get to the resort. Make a list of resorts you'd like to visit and sign up for newsletters that will clue you in to current deals. Also, check with your chosen resort for undiscovered perks. For instance, Whistler Blackcomb offers an "EDGE" Card that comes with discounts, free days and more for Canadian and Washington state residents. Other resorts offer military discounts or group perks.
  
  
• Plan ahead when packing - If your skiing or snowboarding ambitions take you far from home, then you need to plan ahead for the challenges of getting your gear there with you (or opt to get gear once you get there). If you want to ski with your own equipment, and you are an advanced planner, step one is to do some homework on shipping options. Those who have planned (and packed) enough in advance may find that shipping everything ahead of time, whether via UPS or FedEx or a service like Luggage Forward, is the right approach. If you are checking everything through with you when you fly, know your airline's rules. Most will count a set of skis and poles and an accompanying bag with the boots and helmet as a single item in terms of baggage count. (It is even usually counted as a regular bag -- no oversized baggage charges.) However, if you have a big boot or gear bag or one that is obviously packed with other items, the two-for-one discount goes out the window. All that is left, then, is to cram your warm clothes into as little space as possible. (Don't forget about spaces like inside the pockets of your jacket; items such as socks fit nicely in those areas.) Fortunately, today's fabrics are much less bulky than the woollies of old. And, just like when skiing, layers can be your friend when flying. After all, what you wear doesn't count toward your baggage and or weight limit. There are those who take that to the extreme and fly in their ski boots. With the current baggage rules, though, we counsel wearing your bulkiest slope-side boots.
  
  

Here are some more cost-saving tips to round out our list: look for cheap dining options; book during the off-peak season; and consider small or undiscovered mountains. To read the complete details from Cheapflights.ca's Top 7 Ways to Save on a Ski Trip, visit www.cheapflights.ca/travel/top-7-ways-to-save-on-a-ski-trip.

About Cheapflights.ca, part of the Momondo Group
Momondo Group is an online travel media and technology company that is driven by the belief that an open world is a better world. The group now serves travel search and inspiration to over 13 million visitors a month -- plus 7 million travel newsletter subscribers -- via its Cheapflights (www.cheapflights.ca) and momondo (www.momondo.com) brands.

Skygate began the sourcing of complex air-travel data in 1992, while Cheapflights pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users in 1996 and momondo launched meta-search in the Nordic countries in 2006.

The Group has offices in London, Copenhagen, Boston and Toronto, with a consumer base across more than 20 core international markets but users all over the world.

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