There are cheaper ways to have a holiday. You have to acknowledge that as the ski season in Australia opens and you look into a family trip to the snow.

Lift passes, gear hire, lessons, accommodation in small, beautifully located villages, airfares, meals (also in small, beautifully located villages), insurance: this stuff is expensive, as you would expect it to be.

But the payoff, as so many of us powder hounds understand, is incredible. The feeling of being in the mountains in winter, playing in the snow, soaking up the atmosphere of a village where everyone is there to have fun, screaming down a mountain or soaking in a hot spring? It doesn’t get much better.

But how much is this all going to cost? Glad you asked. As I said, there’s a perception of ski holidays as being prohibitively expensive, particularly if you’re including airfares, and particularly at this time when global factors mean many families’ finances are not quite what they used to be.

But is that really the case? And how does Australia, which definitely isn’t a cheap country to holiday in at the best of times, compare to some of our favourite overseas ski and snowboard destinations?

I’ve been doing the sums, comparing the trip I’m currently planning for this season in Australia with a similar journey to Queenstown in New Zealand this season, and to North America and Japan in the 2026/27 northern-hemisphere season.

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Before we begin, a note on the prices in this story: those quoted are correct at the time of writing for a family of four, though they can fluctuate wildly depending on when you book (particularly flights). They will also change for those who have already purchased season or annual ski passes – such as the Epic and Ikon passes – that include access to global resorts.

I also don’t hold these examples up as the absolute cheapest versions of certain destinations; in the case of Japan in particular, they’re definitely not. They are, however, representative of enjoyable family ski trips available at a certain time of year. And everything is in Australian dollars.

Let’s begin with North America, for which I have chosen one of Australians’ all-time favourite resorts, Whistler. The first thing you have to do to ski Whistler is get there, and to travel in January with Air Canada, for a family of four, you’re looking at about $12,000 return.

You’ll then need a shuttle bus from the airport to the resort, which will cost $343 return for the family.

I’ve found five-night accommodation with lift passes included at Whistler for $3642, though you should also add on $2334 for lessons for the kids for three days, and $908 for everyone to hire ski gear.

The total for a five-day ski trip to North America, then, not including any food or insurance (which can be pricey for Canada and the US) or any costs incurred away from the ski fields is $19,227.

Let’s move on to Japan, another huge favourite among Australians, and for good reason: you get a tonne of snow, plus approachable, small-scale ski fields, and Japanese culture. Everybody wins.

To fly with Qantas to Sapporo in January (admittedly, peak time), it will cost a family of four $10,636 return. I’ve then chosen a seven-night package deal at Club Med Kiroro, which isn’t directly comparable with Whistler as it includes two extra days on the snow, plus all meals and all drinks, as well as daily lessons and gear hire for everyone in the family. You won’t spend another cent.

Club Med is also a great ski experience, and in January it comes in at $26,409 for a family of four. With airfares and a shuttle bus from Sapporo to the resort, this holiday comes in at $37,195.

Let’s move on to the southern hemisphere, and turn our attention to New Zealand. Queenstown is a classic destination, beautiful and always enjoyable, so it’s no wonder it’s so popular with those of us from the “west island”.

To fly from the east coast of Australia to Queenstown with Qantas in August will cost about $4168 return for a family of four. Then you’ll need a car: I’ve found week-long hire of an SUV for $566. And there’s accommodation, which I’ve found for $2346 for a family in a basic room, which is a great deal.

For the snow, Coronet Peak has a good-value three-day deal that includes lift passes, lessons and gear hire for $2840 for the family. You’ll probably want to add an extra couple of days of passes and gear, which will be about $1000.

This trip comes to $10,920 all up, though that’s without any food or entertainment or other activities, or fuel for the hire car.

Finally, we have Falls Creek in northern Victoria. No airfares to worry about here if you live in Victoria or NSW and are doing a road trip as we are, so I put fuel at about $300. I’ve found comfortable, ski-in-ski-out accommodation for $3932 for a five-night stay.

Then you need to ski: Epic Pass has a “Beginner Bundle” that includes three days of lift access, gear rental and lessons for $499 a person, which comes to $1996 all up for the family. You’ll want two extra days, which adds $1480 to the bill for two adults and two kids, with gear hire but no lessons.

And that’s us done! This trip to Victoria comes to $7708, with no food costs or entertainment.

Like I said, there are ways to make all these trips cheaper, if you really scrimp and shop around for package deals. You can also reduce the extra costs by travelling in off-peak times, staying in towns away from the resorts and driving in, cooking your own food and holding back on entertainment. But these basic prices give you a good idea of the relative costs: closer to home is a whole lot cheaper, particularly when you stay in Australia and get rid of the airfares.

Australia is the winner for us (as long as there’s a bit of snow).