Skiing is just for the rich, right? That’s what I always thought until last year I attempted to do a cheap ski trip in Borovets, Bulgaria.
After proving that skiing can be affordable, I decided I wanted to get the price down even more and so began my £200 ski trip challenge to Zakopane, Poland, one of the cheapest ski resorts in Europe.
Here’s how I got on!
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Why did I want to do a Zakopane ski holiday for under £200?
Growing up, I always thought skiing was only for rich people and honestly, it was never on my radar as a holiday. However, as I’ve got older, I noticed more and more people raving about ski holidays – be it friends down the pub or people I follow on social media.
And so I thought a trip to Zakopane in Poland made for the perfect budget challenge – seeing as it’s rumoured to be one of the cheapest ski resorts in Europe. I set off to test out whether skiing could be possible for someone who isn’t wiling to shell out thousands of pounds on a ski trip.
What exactly was included in my Zakopane ski holiday for under £200?
The £200 budget had to cover:
- Flights
- Transfers to the ski resort
- 3 nights' accommodation
- Ski hire
- Ski lift pass
- Activities
What about food and drink?
I didn’t include food and drink since they can vary so much based on your individual preferences.
However, I’ll be writing up how much food and drink does cost shortly and I can easily say that if I had given myself £250 I could have definitely included my food and drink too.
Ah, the power of hindsight!
What kind of cabin bag did I use?
As for my cabin bag, as ever I took along my best pal, my Patagonia Black Hole Duffel. And you bet I vacuumed my clothes to get everything to fit. I love this bag so much!
My 3 Day Zakopane Ski Holiday Itinerary
So let’s get into it – here’s what I did and how much my £200 ski trip to Zakopane, Poland cost.
You could even follow my itinerary to recreate this trip for yourself!
Day 1 - £200 in the pot
Flight to Krakow, Poland
I booked my flight to Krakow with Wizz Air around 3 weeks before I travelled and was chuffed to bag it for such a good price.
WizzAir flight – £19.99
£180.01 left
Train to Krakow city centre
There is a direct coach from the airport to Zakopane, but for some reason on the day I travelled, there wasn’t an option for several hours so instead, after meeting my brother, we took the train into Krakow city centre instead.
This would be fun to build into your trip if you’ve never been to Krakow before!
SKA1 train – £3.99 one way
£176.02 left
Coach to Zakopane
The coach from Krakow city centre takes just over 2 hours and bizarrely, is quicker than catching the train to Zakopane. Cheaper too!
Flixbus – £5.49 one way
£170.53 left
Walk to hostel
We had intended to get the bus for around 86p however after spending time sat down on the plane and then the bus, my brother and I wanted to stretch our legs and get to grips with the town and so we walked 1 hour to our accommodation instead.
Great for the budget!
Our legs – £0
Check in to hostel
Cheap accommodation was so important to this challenge, and also was showing an option that meant that solo travellers could do this trip for themselves too!
Since Zakopane is meant to be one of the cheapest ski resorts in Europe, I figured I should be able to find a place to bunk up for a pretty sweet price.
The answer to this was Goodbye Lenin Hostel which was this cute cabin in the woods, with rooms of 6 and 8 beds. And the best bit? £13 a night!!
After a busy day of travel, it was time to turn in for the night!
Day 2 - £170.53 in the pot
Hostel accommodation
I’ve accounted for the hostel cost in my day 2 budget – just £13 per night.
Goodbye Lenin Hostel – £26 for 2 nights
£144.53 left
Breakfast time
Now remember how cheap I said the hostel was? Well, guess what – the price includes breakfast too!
It was pretty basic – bread, spreads, cereal, tea, coffee and hot chocolate – but it was the perfect starter before hitting the slopes.
Brekkie – £0
Rent equipment
I rented a ski set (skis, poles, boots) and a helmet from U KRUPY for just £9.96 a day.
If we had gone to the ski resort’s own ski hire – just a 1 minute walk away – it would have cost £15.93!
U KRUPY Ski Hire – £9.96
£134.57 left
Buy a ski pass
A ski pass is what you need to get access to the slopes – the lifts won’t let you through without one!
Whilst most ski resorts in Zakopane use the Tatry Ski Pass, we headed to Nosal Ski Resort which isn’t included. This makes it a bit cheaper, since you’re just buying access to one resort, but it does mean you’re limited to just the runs there.
However, this is a great place to ski for beginners or to get you warmed up on your first day, as there’s multiple green and blue runs – though they are pretty short.
Also note that there are discounted rates for afternoon skiing, and night skiing.
Day ski pass – £31.87
£102.70 left
Freshen up at the hostel
After a full on day of skiing, we headed back to the hostel where they were hosting a spaghetti night.
Yes – more free food included in the price!
Dinner – £0
Enjoy some local culture
We were probably more excited for this than the skiing. Yep, it’s the Zakopane Wax Museum.
Now, if you pay on the door this will cost you £7 but I found a voucher on Groupon and managed to get it at a massive discount.
Polonia Wax Museum – £3.58
£99.12 left
After a very active day, I was exhausted! That, and I’d managed to snag a bed in my dorm room without a bunk bed overhead – winner!! A proper comfy night sleep awaited.
Day 3 - £99.12 in the pot
Eat breakfast
Time for another free breakfast
Yep, same ol’ story – I made the most of the free breakfast at the hostel.
Make a new plan
We could have gone skiing again – we’d proved that it was totally possible for the budget.
However, I wanted to see what we could do if we took that money – £41.83 for ski hire and lift pass – and see what else we could do with it instead.
Summit a mountain
The first thing on our agenda was to make the most of our location and go in search for views!
This involved a funicular which climbs 1120m in just 3.5 minutes and the views on top were amazing!
The only downside was that I could not get their website to work, meaning I paid more for our tickets in person. It still wasn’t too bad though.
Gubałówka Funicular – £8.93 return
£90.19 left
Try a winter activity
When up at Gubałówka, there were quite a few activities to do including a ski school, winter tubing (£2.98 a go) and an epic looking toboggan (£2.98 a go).
However, the latter of the two both closed all of a sudden even though I had money burning in my pocket.
How dare they?!
Back down the mountain we went.
Check into new accommodation
Okay, so whilst the hostel had been super comfy and cosy, I realised we had enough in budget to treat ourselves on the last night.
That way I could show you what you could get for your money if you wanted something private and with its own kitchen.
We checked in to an Airbnb and for £65 a night – did I say, this is one of the cheapest ski resorts in Europe! – you got a really cute studio apartment. It came complete with a kitchen, cooking equipment, double bed, huge bathroom and even an outdoor terrace.
It was also really centrally located so no more long walks!!
Airbnb – £32.50 each
£57.69 left
Spend the evening in the spa
Who doesn’t love a thermal pool after a day out in the cold?
With two outdoor heated pools and a plethora of indoor slides and jacuzzis, Termy Zakopiańskie is a great shout for the entire family – though you may be glad to hear that one of the outdoor pools is adults only!
For those wanting to avoid the bedlam, I recommend heading later on – they even do a cheaper package for 1.5 hours at the end of the day which I think would be perfect.
2.5 hours thermal spa access – £15.92
£41.77 left
Sweat it out in the sauna
Since we’d been struggling to spend our money on activities – blame the fact I had to do some work in the morning – we had enough money to add on an hour in their sauna zone as well.
But disaster – we didn’t realise they have a strict no swimming costume rule and so had to hire towels too! At least it covered me up!
1 hour sauna zone access – £8.77
Towel rental – £1.59
£31.41 left
Feeling very zen after the steam room, we headed back to our private apartment for an amazing night’s sleep.
Day 4 - £31.41 in the pot
The budget was still looking healthy, but we just had to make sure we could get back home without a hitch!!
Coach to airport
Great news – there was a perfectly timed Flixbus that took us all the way from Zakopane to the airport in 3 hours.
Coach – £7.49 one way
£23.92 left
Flight home
Now this leg of the journey cost me the same as the way out, but somehow my packing technique in Poland was a bit shoddy and my bag was looking super bulky. And even if my spending for the trip had gone pretty well, I did NOT have the funds for hold luggage in the budget!
So I wore about 6 layers, popped my day bag under my jacket, filled my pockets and prayed to the cabin gods I’d make it onto the plane without having to pay any extra for my bag. And I did it!!
WizzAir flight – £14.00
£9.92 left
Total spend = £190.08
The Final Cost Breakdown For My Zakopane Ski Holiday
So there you have it! I successfully did a 3 day Zakopane ski holiday for less than £200.
Here’s a recap of what areas I spent in to get the total of £190.08:
Category | Cost |
|---|---|
Total | £190.08 |
Public transport | £ 16.97 |
Flights | £33.99 |
Accommodation | £58.50 |
Ski pass and equipment | £41.83 |
Activities | £38.79 |
Would I recommend a cheap Zakopane ski holiday?
I think Zakopane offers fantastic value for a cheap ski holiday. I was actually surprised just how much I could do on £200 – and that doesn’t happen often!
Zakopane is great for beginners
I’d say a Zakopane ski holiday is ideal if you’re a beginner, as you can get a feel for things on the blue and green runs, plus there are other things to do like the spa so you don’t have to spend all your time on the slopes if you don’t want to.
Zakopane is great for families
I always get asked where people can go on a cheap family skiing holiday and I have to say Zakopane, Poland would be a fab spot. The lower-level runs are perfect for kids who are just getting the hang of things.
Go Skiing For Less On a Cheap Zakopane Ski Holiday
I appreciate that my costs are personal to me and not everyone can do a ski trip for under £200. You might have dietary or mobility requirements, health conditions or other individual circumstances. Plus it depends how far you live from an airport and which routes that airport offers.
However, this challenge was all about skiing for less, and you can definitely do that!
Choosing one of the cheapest ski resorts in Europe is definitely key to keeping spending down in all areas. And I think that for a holiday like skiing which is notorius for being MEGA expensive, even if you don’t quite manage to go for under £200, I hope this shows you don’t need to spend the big bucks to hit the slopes!
