Bansko in Bulgaria offers the cheapest family ski holiday this season, according to new research by Ipsos Mori.

A family of four can spend a week in the resort for an average cost of £1,631, not including travel, a third of the cost of the most expensive resort, St Anton, Austria, where a week costs £5,026, the survey shows.

Commissioned by travel review website Trip Advisor, the research compiled the average cost of a week's hotel accommodation, equipment hire, lift pass and lessons, as well as the cost of dinner and drinks over a week.

Other resorts deemed good value in the survey include Sierra Nevada and Formigal in Spain and Arinsal, Ordino Arcalis and Soldeu in Andorra. Host of this year's Winter Olympics, Sochi in Russia, was the third cheapest, with a week's family costs of £2,205.

At the other end of the scale, Switzerland had four resorts in the 10 most expensive, St Moritz, Zermatt, Laax and Verbier. In France Val d'Isère, Val Thorens and Tignes all clock in at over £4,000 for a week's family costs.

^{Prices from Trip Advisor's research, based on a family of four, and rounded to the nearest pound}

The costs given are averages across the season and do not take into account peak weeks such as Christmas or February half term, when prices for accommodation can often double.

Though Trip Advisor claims its rankings indicate best value family holidays, the research is based solely on price and does not consider the quality or size of each ski area or resort as a suitable family destination.

Cattherine Weakley, deputy editor of Telegraph Ski and Snowboard, said: “Shopping around and trying lesser-known resorts is a great idea, but there's more to 'good value' than basic costs. A resort like Bankso is always going to be much cheaper to stay in than a big-name like St Anton, Verbier or Val d'Isère, and factors like snow reliability, number and difficulty of pistes, quality of lifts, resort atmosphere and ease of access might swing a skier's decision.

"Sochi for example has amazing terrain but is quite a schlep, and getting there adds hugely to the cost of the holiday. Bansko has a medium-sized, mainly intermediate ski area. While its lift system is modern, queues for the access gondola are notoriously long."

 By Hugh Morris
Telegraph Travel Collection
telegraph.co.uk
10:04AM GMT 05 Nov 2014

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