Lake Tahoe Ski And Stay Packages

You have decided you want to take a winter vacation in Lake Tahoe, and as all the reviews of the area suggest, it is a good choice. But now, how do you get the best deal? Luckily, for the savvy traveler, “Ski & Stay” Packages are a staple of most Ski resorts and winter vacationing towns. “Ski & Stay” Packages are special deals that hotels, resorts, and even local towns and businesses put packages together to get visitors to not only stay in local hotels and eat at local eateries, but visit key area recreational activities. During the winter months, ski towns, like Lake Tahoe (both North and South Shore) offer tons of different tempting ski, snowboarding, snowboarding, spa, and shopping “Ski & Stay” packages.

The easiest way, for the internet savvy traveler, to discover a vast array of packages it to use your favorite search engine and search: Lake Tahoe Ski & Stay packages. Literally hundreds of sites pop up. Lots of the local hotels and time-share resorts have their own “Ski & Stay” specials on their sites.

Click on the Squaw Valley link and there you are, on one of Tahoe’s most famous resorts and the site of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games. This site has many different packages ranging from the $122.00 per person, per night package that includes two days of unlimited skiing at Squaw Valley and two nights stay at America’s Best Value Inn in Tahoe City to the more deluxe Ski, Spa, and Wine Tasting package from $553.00 per person for two nights. This package includes two nights of lodging at the base of the Squaw Valley Mountain and two days of unlimited skiing. Breakfast is included each morning and a facial or a massage per person and a wine-tasting event are included in the price.

If you visit www.northstarattahoe.com and look on the main page, there is an advertisement for “Stay & Ski” packages, click on the link, and you can see the packages they are featuring at that time. The day I searched, they had several packages ranging fro $103 a day per person to an American Express package that offered a free night’s stay with the purchase of three. North Star was also adding a little sugar to the package pot by adding a $25.00 gift certificate (per person) to be spent at the resort and lift tickets being exchangeable for cross-country trail passes. The lodging also includes access to the recreational facilities, fitness center, pool, spa, and a game room.

Not all the resorts call the packages “Ski & Stay” (even though many do) but Heavenly Resort, just call them vacation packages, but they are essentially the same idea. If you go to skiheavenly.com, not only can you see a live webcam of the snow and skiers at Heavenly, you can also search for packages and be redirected to a page that shows all sorts of vacation and savings packages that Heavenly is offering. They have a “BIG SNOW PACKAGE” offering five nights four days at $389. The great thing about the Heavenly website is it also has custom plans that you can create working with one of their agents and exclusive online deals.

Not only the resorts offer great packages online, but also hotels in nearby Reno and Carson City also have “Ski & Stay” packages that include transportation to the nearest ski resorts, not the mention the deals and packages the departments of tourism for Nevada, California, city of Reno, city of Tahoe, and city of Carson City have cooked up… And they all can be accessed through a simple engine search.

If you happen not to be internet savvy, that does not make your Ski & Stay options non-existent, just a little bit harder to track down. Most of the hotels, tourism groups, and resorts have little pamphlets scattered all over the airport, restaurants, and any visitor center in the Reno/Tahoe area. But if you want to plan something before you get there, you could start with calling the Reno/Tahoe tourism board (officially called Visit Reno Tahoe) and they will gladly send you all the pamphlets that they have in stock. I called information and was given the 800 number and a local number .800.FOR.RENO (800.367.7366)775.827.7600. when I called, I was greeted cheerfully and when I said I was looking for pamphlets and brochures on “Ski & Stay” packages, I was told they had plenty of great deals and information they could send me. They then asked a few questions about my interests in the area, and my name, address, and phone number, and that quick and easy, I had a bulging envelope of brochures on their way to my house! Local travel agencies also have information, but the deals are a little bit more outdated, and of course, include a travel agency commission. But you could always go and get a handful of brochures and then follow up booking and new pricing information on your own!

Either way you get the “Ski & Stay” package information, it is a great way to visit Lake Tahoe on a budget and get some coupons and passes for things that you might not normally visit, making your vacation all the more memorable and rich! And isn’t that really the point?