4 tips to save money at the Australian ski fields

We have just returned from a fun few days at Thredbo, with loads of washing and loads of sore muscles. Australia probably has some of the poorest ski slopes in the world and also some of the heftiest prices. For this reason you'll often hear people questing why you would go to Aussie slopes when you could go to New Zealand. The main reason for Aussie skiing is that, if you live close enough, you can slip away for a couple days rather than taking at least a week off. And of course, skiing is skiing!

1 - Accommodation

Our ski trip was very last minute, because Brandon found out he would not have work on so we only booked things a week out. It was pretty disheartening looking at the options available. We ended up with two nights in a very basic motel-style room in East Jindabyne, about 45mins from Thredbo. Even this was $210 a night, but that was much better than $1 000 per night available elsewhere for a pretty standard room. Who is paying these prices?? I understand they get much less traffic outside of ski season, but you could nearly stay in an overwater bungalow in Tahiti for that price!
As a way to make it a bit cheaper, we stayed a night on either side in Canberra in Airbnbs for less than $70 per night. We actually ended up cancelling our last night and driving straight home from the snow because it was raining. I had checked Airbnb before I booked a motel/unit (whatever they want to call them to make them sound nicer) but there were zero anywhere near Jindabyne/Thredbo. So out of interest I looked up the area without putting in dates, and hey presto, quite a few under a hundred dollars a night including a kitchen! I would definitely book well in advance next time so we could book through Airbnb, and paying that would make it definitely worth skiing in Australia. I find Airbnb is often much cheaper in Australia, but the cheap ones book out fast! You can use this link to get a discount on your first trip with Airbnb if you want to give it a try (and give me a discount too!).

2 - Lift passes

At the moment Thredbo is offering up to 25% off lift and lesson prices if you buy online at least a week in advance. This is definitely a great way to do it, and if you have your accommodation already booked why not book your lift ticket too! The national park entry fee is unavoidable, but if you can carpool that's a great way to reduce costs as well.

3 - Food

Ah food, that all important aspect of living. Definitely do not buy water from the restaurants on the mountains. It is roughly the same price as an engagement ring and most of them have free water available for you to fill up your water bottle, so take one with you! Firstly, do not buy lunch from Friday Flat restaurant, yuck. I think the meat patties are made of sausage mince, they were rank. If you really want to save money, pack yourself a lunch because the food that is edible is costly. I know it's annoying, but cooking yourself dinner is another big saver. If a packed lunch and cooking your own dinner is too much effort, at least buy yourself some cereal and milk and have breakfast in your room.

4 - Gear hire

Number one tip for gear hire is to shop around. We had a voucher for a place in Newcastle that made it a bit cheaper than hiring when we got down there, but there may be places that are cheaper to hire in Canberra or just outside of Jindabyne. Most places in Canberra don't charge for the first and last day you have the gear for, so keep this in mind too.

Bonus tip

Don't get a stone chip in your windscreen on the drive home, that almost instantly turns into a 20cm crack... That's a good way to blow any savings from scrimping at the snow.