Going to the snow this weekend, any tips on ways to save money from everything from chair lifts to equipments to lessons and anything else?
Hotham - Ways to Save Money
RickyPoontang on 22/07/2025 - 10:34
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I read this and laughed
i love snow boarding but if you are going to go snowboarding/Skiing during the Victorian Seasons you're going to get ripped off i hear NZ is cheaper
The only tip i have is organise everything you need off the mt once you are up their you will pay top dollar for EVERYTHING
Take your own food and alcohol. Everything on mountain is expensive. However, I would hire equipment on mountain in case you need adjustments or have a failure.
Bring food/drink and skip the lift pass and just walk up the mountain
Find someone that looks just like you with their gear on and borrow their season pass :)
Buy a secondhand backcountry set up, bring your own food and camp?
Need to book in advance for a small discount on lift passes and lessons. Stay off mountain overnight and only eat lunch on the mountain.
We just came back from a 2 day trip there for 2 adults and 2 children with private morning lessons. Total spend was $2166. Tickets and accommodation was booked in May.
We already own all the clothing.
Did you hire skis/snowboards or do you own your own?
Was our first time learning to ski so we hired them off mountain near where we stayed.
Thanks for the update. Did they give you an on mountain mob you could go to if you had issues?
Pack sandwiches, fruit, cookies, soft drinks, beers for lunch.
Going to the snow this weekend, any tips on ways to save money from everything from chair lifts to equipments to lessons and anything else?
What do you intend to do in the snow? If you don't have any prevailing interest in snowsports (i.e. skiing and snowboarding, in particular), then don't go, and definitely don't go to Hotham.
If you just intend to go to take a skiing / snowboarding lesson just to "try it out", and you never have before, it'll be a very dismal experience. You'll take a lot of falls, spend quite a lot of time on the ground, and struggling to get up. Learning to ski / snowboard is not an enjoyable experience the first time you do it, and the pain is only really worth it if you intend to keep at it, go every year and actually get good at it.
It's a big investment - if you have no intention of actually pursuing this, it's just wasted money. If you just want to "see snow", just pay for a day pass, drive up there and just walk around for a bit and build a snowman.
I go to Hotham every second weekend usually, and let me tell you.. there ain’t much you can do except pay the Australia tax.
For reference, I have an annual lift pass, I own my own board and all my own gear, and I own snow chains.
A return day trip is still $200 easily when I factor in fuel, resort entry, and food. If I stay overnight, I’ll either camp in Omeo or AirBnB in Omeo unless I can get enough friends to jump in. A month ago we stayed in a chalet on the mountain with 10 of us and that was $3,800 in accomodation for 2 nights, so roughly $380 per person which was good value.
I have found the best way to save money is BYO food and drink, especially just basics like a bottle of water. Plus carpooling, such that I can split fuel and resort entry between a few people.
Don't go?