When is the best time to ski?

What we did & why?

Ski Miquel has been looking to run the best value ski holiday package for over 45 years now. Our objective is simple - To give you the best memories in the mountains for the best possible price.

To achieve this, we regularly look at the market, and so we would like to share with you our analysis of this. You can check out the last set of articles we did on this called best value skiing.

We have taken over 8,000 data points of our competitors' package pricing from resorts across the Alps. All holidays include a minimum of flights, transfers, accommodation, breakfast and evening meal for 6 nights. Most of our competitors don't provide a ski concierge service, otherwise they are broadly similar in what they are offering.

We also looked at the historical snowfall data, and thanks to Snow-Forecast for the all the data on this, which was incredibly revealing.

This article will look at the analysis across the season to understand when you can spend least for the best snow base and most likely snowfall, so if you are looking to make the most of your skiing pounds then this article is a must-read!

Snow & Price data for March

For years, March has had a slightly unfair reputation in the ski world.

February has been treated as the “safe” month. Easter has been seen as the brave, sunglasses-and-hope option. And March? March has often been left sitting quietly in the corner, like the sensible skier who packed sun cream, spare gloves and a spreadsheet!  But the data tells a different story.

When you compare historic snowfall with real 2026/27 ski holiday prices, March starts to look like one of the smartest times of the whole season to book. In several key Alpine resorts, March snowfall remains close to mid-winter levels. At the same time, prices are often materially lower than February.

When we compared Ski Miquel’s March 2027 prices with competitor packages in similar resorts, the value case became even stronger. March is not simply “late-season skiing”, it may now be the sweet spot where snow, sunshine and value all meet.

Short version: Why March looks so good

March works because it combines 3 things skiers actually care about:

This is the key point - March is not just cheaper, in the right resorts, it still has a strong snow case too.

The snow evidence

The first question is obvious: Does March still have the snow?

The answer is yes, especially in higher Alpine resorts and areas with good aspect, altitude and piste management.

Snow-Forecast’s historic resort data shows that March remains close to mid-winter snowfall levels in several resorts relevant to Ski Miquel guests (figures below are per week):

Snow-Forecast shows that Tignes averages 36cm of snow per week in March, which is higher than February’s 33cm and almost identical to January’s 37cm. Montgenèvre’s March average matches January and beats February, whilst Serre Chevalier’s March snowfall matches February. Mürren also performs strongly, with March matching February at 30cm per week.

Saalbach and Bad Gastein also show meaningful March snowfall, with Saalbach averaging 20cm per week and Bad Gastein averaging 16cm per week in March.

The data thus shows that March is still very much part of winter, with weekly snowfall that is just as good as February in most cases and often January too, but with a much higher snowpack already in place, opening up more areas for off-piste fun when the snow does fall. It is just winter with better light and a stronger chance of lunch outside!

March snow isn't just about fresh snowfall

Of course, a single snowfall figure does not tell the whole story.

January can bring superb snow, but the season is still building. February is often excellent, but it is also peak demand and peak price. March has a different advantage: the winter base is already there.

That means fresh March snow often lands on top of an established snowpack. The pistes have been built, groomed, managed and topped up for months, so the skiing can be brilliant.

Spring conditions also have their own rhythm. Classic spring skiing often gives you firm pistes first thing, which then soften as the day goes on, with north-facing slopes often staying firmer until the end of the day, especially at altitude.

For most skiers, the sweet spot is just this - Confident morning corduroy, softer afternoon turns and a nice terrace lunch that doesn't require full arctic survival gear!

MeteoSwiss also backs the broader spring snow argument. On the northern side of the Alps, long-term averages show two to three days with fresh snow in March and one to two days in April, also noting that the highest snowfall ever recorded was in March. This is also backed up by analysis from WeatherToSki.

In other words, fresh snow in March is not a freak event, it is a normal part of Alpine spring weather.

March beats February for value

Now we know the snow is there, giving us no reason not to go in March, what does the price tell us?

March is around £237pp cheaper than February on average.

• For a couple, that is nearly £475 saved.
• For a family of four, that is almost £950 saved.
• For a group of eight, that is close to £1,900 saved.

Plus in March, Ski Miquel offers our highest group discounts with up to 1 in 8 going free.

That is not small-change territory, that is “lift pass, ski hire, mountain lunches and maybe a cheeky vin chaud” territory!

Ski Miquel Vs the World

Back to our core objective, to provide the best value mountain memories. The big question is how do we compare to our fellows in the industry? We have already shown we have great snow in March and the best value in our pricing range, but can we hold that against the big guns in the industry?

To test this, we looked at 8,000 ski holiday package prices across the industry, of which 1,753 were in March, so we can confidently say the results are of statistical significance.

For a fair comparison, the analysis filtered competitor holidays to:

• March 2027 departures
• Similar ski areas to Ski Miquel resorts
• Package-style board types: Half Board, Chalet Board and Catered Chalet
• Competitor package prices with flights and transfers
• Operators including Crystal Ski, Inghams, Ski Solutions, Ski Famille and others

The result:

• Average competitor price in March = £1,761pp

This compared to the previously stated £979pp for Ski Miquel results in a saving of £782pp or 45%. I think at this point it is OK to claim that Ski Miquel is simply the best value there is in March!

A snapshot of the pricing used from our analysis: