Skiers save millions by avoiding France

British skiers are wasting millions of pounds each year by heading to France for their holiday instead of trying out new resorts in eastern Europe, a new survey finds.

Analysis of 30 ski resorts in ten European countries by price comparison site www.pricerunner.co.uk finds skiers could save more than £2,500 by avoiding the trendy resort of Courcheval in the French Alps and heading instead for Bulgaria.

The country has made a name for itself on the ski circuit in recent years, with the latest Great Skiing and Snowboarding Guide describing the main resort Bansko as "the best developed ski resort in eastern Europe".

Today's survey finds it is good value for money too. A week's holiday including hotel accommodation, food and drink, ski passes and ski and boot hire would cost a family of four about £1,073 in Bulgaria, compared to £3,803 in France.

Other countries in the region also fare well – a week in the Czech Republic costs an average of £1,272, followed by Slovenia (£1,402). At the other end of the scale, the next most expensive places after France are Italy (£2,436) and Austria (£2,223).

However, it all depends on how skiers plan to spend their holiday – those who spend more time hitting the bars than the slopes would best avoid Norway, where a beer costs more than £4 and a basic lunch will set them back more than £12.

By comparison, holidaymakers can pick up a beer in Italy for less than a £1 and in Germany for about £1.35. And although there's no such thing as a free lunch, Slovenia's average meal up the mountain costs just £4.27, well below the average.

For the more committed skiers, Zelena Rhuda in the Czech Republic is a bargain at just £50, compared to £132 in Val D'Isere, a favourite haunt of the 390,000 Britons heading to France for their fix of snow and air each year.

"The prices of ski holidays differ greatly, but it is wrong to assume that the most expensive resorts are always the best," said Mattias Berg, UK country manager at PriceRunner.co.uk.

"If you are flexible in terms of resorts and countries, you can have a truly great skiing holiday on the cheap."