Planning a Snowboarding Trip and Keeping the Expenses in Control

This coming winter, my family is planning a snowboarding trip. We have not yet decided on a mountain. However, I have decided -- as the planner of this trip -- how to go about choosing our destination. Much of my planning will revolve around saving money. Snowboarding trips can be expensive, as evidenced by the money we have wasted on such trips in the past.

The first thing I have to find is the right mountain. We typically choose a mountain in Maine. Not only is the state beautiful, but it has great snowboarding areas. I will choose the mountain by deciding which has the best trails and best local activities. I want to save money, but not to the point of having a mediocre vacation.

Once we decide on the mountain, I will have to find out the best method of buying lift tickets. Sometimes buying them online is cheaper than buying them on site. Sometimes weekday passes are cheaper than weekend passes. If the former is the case, we will buy our tickets online. If the latter is the case, we will plan our snowboarding days for the weekdays and buy tickets for those days. We will do family outings on the weekend. This can save us hundreds of dollars at some mountains, as I have a large family.

The next step is to choose lodging. We always stay on the mountain we choose or right off it. It is more expensive, but it saves us time and money for transportation. To save money, we rent directly from owners of homes on or near the mountain. Renting from resorts or through agents adds fees to the transaction. Several sites online allow you to interact with owners directly.

We drive to our destination. There is no way for us to save money on transportation, as gas is expensive. However, we make sure the truck has a tune up before we leave. The trip gives us an opportunity to buy groceries before we reach our rental. Choosing not to eat out is an obvious money saver, but groceries themselves can be expensive near ski resorts. We buy them 45 minutes to an hour away to avoid the on-season price hike. They stay fresh enough during that time.

Vacations do not have to be about choosing the cheapest place. There are always ways find great vacation destinations for a good price, if you plan well in advance. I simply look for the best deals on the big things and try to avoid small expenses while there. I pack everything I might need, so I do not have surprise expenses. My vacation is sure to cost quite a bit, but it would have cost much more with poor planning.