Austria and Italy are the cheapest Alpine countries to head for in 2013, with in-resort prices markedly lower than in France. Switzerland remains expensive due to the high price of the franc rate. Consequently its resorts are going to great lengths to cut costs in order to appeal to potential visitors, including offering a 20% discount on lift passes in a handful of resorts.
Take a look also at the all-inclusive packages available through companies as diverse as Action Outdoors (action-outdoors.co.uk), Skiworld (skiworld.co.uk) and Club Med (clubmed.co.uk). It's a welcome trend where you know exactly what you'll be paying before you set off on holiday.
The Jungfrau, Switzerland
Star of the bargain hunt is the Jungfrau region, which comprises Wengen, Mürren and Grindelwald, as well as the valley towns of Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen. They've reduced the price of their adult area lift passes – with 20% off all season. So a week's skiing now costs 252CHF, around £168 (jungfrau.ch). Compare this with €260 (around £210) in the Trois Vallées and €235 in Espace Killy. The only stipulation is that you buy the pass 21 days in advance (shop.jungfrau.ch/en).
The best value accommodation around here is in the valley town of Lauterbrunnen, from which a train chugs its way up to the higher resorts for the skiing each day. A week at the 11-bedroom chalet-hotel Rosa (skimiquelholidays.co.uk/chalet/rosa) starts at £499pp half-board, including flights and transfers.
St Moritz, Switzerland
This winter more than 100 hotels – varying from the most humble pension to glittering Badrutt's Palace – are offering the chance to buy a lift pass for 25CHF (£17) per day when you book for two nights or more (engadin.stmoritz.ch/winter/en).
Stay in a pension such as Hotel Stille (hotelstille.ch) in St Moritz Bad, to get some of the best prices in the resort – from £115 per double room per night for a minimum of five nights B&B. It contains simple studios, apartments and hotel rooms, and bathrooms are shared between two bedrooms.
Verbier, Switzerland
La Vache is a new low-priced mountain restaurant, the brainchild of three famous Brits who love skiing. James Blunt, Lawrence Dallaglio and Carl Fogarty got together to launch the restaurant – decorated with three life-sized cows – which serves simple homemade dishes at around half the price of its Swiss rivals. You'll pay around £4 for a bowl of soup, £10 for dish of the day, and £13 for a giant pizza or burger.
Stay for £399pp half-board (excluding travel) at the nine-person Chalet Rendezvous (powderwhite.com) from 12 January – a saving of £100pp. The chalet is a few minutes' walk from the resort centre and has a cosy log fireplace. There are plenty more offers on the site, and prices plummet for last-minute bookings.
Val d'Isère, France
Thomson (thomsonski.co.uk) leads the pack in this fashionable resort by offering free learn to ski or snowboard packages worth £384pp. The offer is open to 300 first-timers, on a first-come-first-served basis. Participants only have to pay the holiday cost and then receive free tuition, free lift passes and free equipment hire. Departures are either 12 January or 16 March. For example, a week's self-catering from 12 January at the two-star Jardins & Les Verdets Apartments with flights and transfers based on four sharing is £255pp (was £488pp).
Tignes, France
Tignes is generally cheaper than its neighbour Val d'Isère and, if you're taking the family, it makes sense to go with a tour operator offering childcare. Stay half-board in Chalet Caribou (espritski.com/chalets/caribou) for £375pp (was £591pp). A family of four pay £1,399 (was up to £2,364) including flights departing 13 January, transfers, three days' ski hosting, and evening kids' clubs. Childcare with ski lessons is an additional £199pp a week.
Saint-Lary, France
Good savings are to be had in the lesser-known French villages, such as little Saint-Lary in the Pyrenees. Here you'll receive up to 20% off when booking a six-day lift pass in advance (altiservice.com). It costs £343 for a one-bedroom apartment in Le Clos Saint Hilaire (lagrange-holidays.co.uk)starting on 12 January. The building is 750m from the village centre and the cable car, which takes you up to the surprisingly good and extensive ski area.
La Clusaz, France
Another resort slightly off the beaten track, yet conveniently close to Geneva, is La Clusaz. Stay at the four-star Les Grandes Alpes (peakretreats.co.uk), which has a heated indoor pool and spa, from £240pp based on five people sharing a two-bedroom apartment departing 19 or 26 January. The price includes return Eurotunnel crossings with a free FlexiPlus upgrade.
Alpbach, Austria
As of this winter the pretty little resort of Alpbach has become part of the bigger Ski Juwel area linked with Auffach in the adjoining Wildschönau Valley. This gives intermediates a playground of 145km of mainly easy pistes. When you use the resort's free Alpbach Valley Seenland card, you receive free lift passes for children up to 15 years – and other goodies such as free ice-skating and snowshoe hikes, and discounts on paragliding. A week's B&B at Haus Edelweiss (inghams.co.uk/ski-holidays) costs £374pp (saving £165pp), including flights departing 19 January, and transfers.
The Skiwelt, Austria
The massive Skiwelt area (skiwelt.at)has 145km of pistes and is great for families with children up to 15 years old, as they receive free lift passes – provided their parents buy a ski pass themselves. It's now £378pp (was £599pp) half-board in the 19-bedroom chalet-hotel Mounty in Söll, including flights departing 12 January. The chalet is a short walk from the resort centre and Söll's famous nightlife.
Cervinia, Italy
Crystal Ski (crystalski.co.uk/beginner-ski-holidays) has free learn to ski or snowboard packages in the Italian resort that shares a ski area with Zermatt in Switzerland. The offer is worth £315pp and is open to more than 300 first-timers, on a first-come-first-served basis. Participants pay the holiday cost and then receive free tuition, free lift passes and free equipment hire. The departures dates for this offer are 12 or 19/20 January and 9 or 16 March. For example you can stay half-board in three-star Hotel Astoria (crystalski.co.uk) for £465pp (was £635pp) including flights departing 20 January, and transfers.
• The above holidays are all for one week unless stated otherwise. Prices correct at time of going to press
Felice Hardy is co-editor of ski information website welove2ski.com
