Skiing holidays are notorious for many things, but chief amongst it seemingly having its own language and lots of excuses to eat fondue is that they can be really expensive. With remote resorts, lots of food and drink being brought into the mountains and other costs, our traditional view of lavish skiing holidays in the Alps, Italy and Austria come with a hefty price tag. But things are changing, and changing fast.

This change is being driven by up and coming resorts in Eastern Europe, with the once creeking resorts in the likes of Poland and the Czech Republic getting huge amounts of investment in new lifts and accommodation and budget airlines making it easier than ever to reach the other side of the continent directly from the UK.

Here are Hoodie Tee HQ we’ve been doing a bit of research into some of these resorts and where you can ski this winter, last time it was unusual places that you can ski, today it’s skiing in Eastern Europe. Here are a few of our favourites, but do tell us where you plan on going on social media.

Jansské Lázna, Czech Republic

Beginner or intermediate? This is the highest ski range in the Czech Republic and is only about two hours’ drive from Prague. Amongst forests there are lots of gentle slopes, making this perfect for beginners and intermediate snow sports fans (or kids!). There are snow cannons if it’s not quite as deep as they’d like and with a five day lift pass and accommodation for about £265 and ski hire for around £80 it won’t break the bank like Courchevel. All you really need here are flights to Prague.

Jahorina, Bosnia

Looking for an affordable party? Then Jahorina is where you need to go. Today this resort boasts 20km of slopes (relatively empty slopes, for that matter) with plenty to keep all levels of ability busy, and with trips here easily extended to include time for partying in Dubrovnik or Sarajevo this really is a great shout for this winter. You might also like to know that Jahorina was the venue for the women’s alpine skiing events for the 1984 Winter Olympics in nearby Sarajevo – you know, the games where Torvil & Dean stole the show? It was also a strategic stronghold during the war, but has seen huge investment in recent years. A six day lift pass will cost you just £65 with accommodation about £300 for seven nights.

Jasná, Slovakia

New lifts – five of them, to be exact – and chocolate box vistas of snow-capped mountains make this Slovakian resort one of the best alternatives to the Alps. Beginners and intermediates will enjoy the slopes, whilst those who are more advanced will find barely used off-piste runs easily accessible. The more challenging slopes around the top of Chopok mountain also hold qualifiers for Red Bull freeride competitions, if you’re feeling adventurous. The modern resort means a ski pass is now £150, but with accommodation approximately £179 for seven nights and beer about £1 it’s hard to go wrong in Slovakia.

There we have it, three Eastern European skiing destinations for this winter. Do you go skiing somewhere unusual? Let us know and we’ll feature you on the Hoodie Tee blog, and don’t forget that we’ve got everything you need for your ski trip hoodies, all you need to do is personalise them.

If you want to know where we got our prices from, they came courtesy of The Guardian; photo credits: Telegraph.co.uk & Slovakia Travel.