Can you recommend a cheap ski resort? (Andorra/Bulgaria/Slovakia maybe??)

[Tiredemma]

DP and his best friend are both 40 on the same day next march. We normally go skiing to Morzine but its so expensive- we are looking for a cheaper resort in Europe for 4 nights but having only been to France and Austria, really unsure of other countries/resorts.

Really limited budget - just a cheapy ski trip away.

Any suggestions?

[winklewoman]

With only four nights you will want a really short transfer. That, I think, will probably rule out Andorra, it was four hours when we went there. What about Isola? You fly into Nice and the transfer is about an hour or not much more, and it is (or was when we went) not unduly expensive.

[Tiredemma]

Thanks for this-

Had a look at Andorra last night and the transfer really put me off- such a waste of a day.

[Johnogroats]

I have just had weekend in the Southern Alps. Les Orres. There are flights to Marseilles, and you can get a hire car and be there in a couple of hours. Not the shortest time, but you might find it quite cheap. If you avoid peak holiday season I am sure you would get a good deal particularly if you went independently.

[AphraBane]

Try Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic. About two hours from Prague by car or you can transfer by bus, I believe. It's about 1400 metres altitude but I think you're pretty much guaranteed snow in March. Most of the runs are red but there are a few blacks too. Lifts passes and accommodation are much cheaper than western Europe.

[CaurnieBred]

We have just come back from a few nights at a German ski resort: Garmisch Partenkirchen. For 3-4 days it was just enough. There are a few areas within the ski lift pass - the Garmisch Classic and the Zugspitze which is the glacier plus another small area. There is a load of off piste stuff up on the glacier too if that is their thing. The runs in the Classic area were getting a bit soft by lunchtime though (the area is not high). You can ski the men's downhilll Kandahar here though (is a black).

We flew into Munich and you can either take the train or hire a car: the drive was about an hour and a half. Garmisch has a proper old town and modern town centre (and the American military have a base there), so is also nice to wander around when not on the slopes.

[clam]

Would second Isola in Southern Alps.
Flights to Nice are much cheaper than to typical Northern Alp airports. You can get a transfer bus for around 4E each (about 90 mins). Lift passes are a lot cheaper than say, 3 Vallees because there's a smaller ski area (120kms) but that would be fine for a long weekend, even if they're hardened "first-to-last-lift-of-the-day-ers."