Best Ski Vacation Destinations

Last updated on 12/04/2023

Peak Thrills: A Guide to the World's Best Ski Resorts

From the majestic peaks of the Alps to the pristine slopes of North America, join us as we traverse the globe, discovering the perfect blend of powder, panoramas, and après-ski delights. Whether you're a seasoned skier seeking new challenges or a novice eager for the thrill of the slopes, we’ve found the best resorts for every level.

At InsureMyTrip we wanted to find out the best ski resort based on a variety of factors, such as how much a ski pass costs, how much snowfall there is annually, and how highly rated the hotels and bars are.

Best Ski Resorts

At the top of our list is Morzine in the Portes du Soleil ski area of France. With an overall score of 9.69 with more than 1,100 feet of ski slopes and an average hotel rating of 9.34/10 Morzine scores highly across most metrics.

In second place is Kiroro, Japan, with an overall score of 8.9, it has the highest number of views on TikTok with more than 451 million views and the most snowfall at more than 780 inches a year on average. Although there are only 18 miles of ski slopes, Kiroro makes up for this with one of the lowest daily ski pass prices at $43.

The third best ski resort is Val Thorens in Les 3 Vallées, France. With an overall score of 8.54, this resort boasts the longest slopes with 1,220 feet across the resort. Val Thorens also offers affordable passes for the ski slopes - $79/day.

Best Country for Skiing

If you’re interested in going to multiple ski resorts over the winter, but don’t want to travel large distances we’d recommend heading to Japan. With four ski resorts ranking in the top 10, Japanese resorts boast high levels of snowfall and affordable daily pass prices. The top Japanese resorts are Kiroro with 8.9 overall, Nozawa (8.05), Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort (8.03), and Myoko Suginohara (7.92).

If the quality of where you’re staying is the most important, we’d recommend heading to the Italian Alps. Italy has the four highest rated resorts for the quality of hotels; Rosskopf has an average hotel rating of 9.64/10, next is Racines-Giovo with an average hotel rating of 9.64/10, in third is Ladurns with an average hotel rating of 9.51/10, and in fourth is Carezza with an average hotel rating of 9.47/10.

Conclusion

For high-quality skiing, Morzine in the Portes du Soleil region of France is the best, with an overall score of 9.69 including 1,100 feet of slopes. Kiroro, Japan, secures second place with 8.9 overall, it has 451 million TikTok views, and an annual snowfall of 780 inches. Val Thorens in Les 3 Vallées, France, claims third with an 8.54 score including 1,200 feet of slopes.

Japan proves an ideal winter playground, boasting four of the top 10 resorts. Meanwhile, the Italian Alps shine for hotel luxury, with Rosskopf, Racines-Giovo, Ladurns, and Carezza securing the top spots.

Methodology

Each data point consists of the latest research available from reputable sources. All sources are destination-specific level data points. The data was standardized using minmax normalization. The minmax normalization value is multiplied by 10 to create a score (between 0-10). A score of 10 is always the best result, while a score of 0 is the worst. Each destination is then ranked on its overall rating across all ski-related data points, to find which resort destination is the best.

Sources

Ski Pass Price ($)

The cost of a day ticket according to Skiresort

Ski Slope Length (m)

The total length of ski slopes according to Skiresort

Annual Snowfall (inches)

The average yearly snowfall according to data from the last 10 years according to On the Snow

Hotel Rating

The average rating of hotels out of 10 according to Booking.com

Bar Rating

The average bar rating on a score out of 5 according to Google Maps

TikTok Views

The number of views each ski resort received on its TikTok discover page