The Cheapest and Most Expensive Winter Destinations in Europe

Key Takeaways

• Andorra (€262.99), Switzerland (€214.34), Iceland (€200.76), Finland (€186.86) and Austria (€181.18) had Europe’s highest vacation rental ADR in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026), led by ski resorts and Lapland.
• North Macedonia (€37.90), Albania (€39.68), Kosovo (€42.33), Moldova (€44.21) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (€50.75) were the cheapest, at 32% to 43% of Europe’s winter ADR of €119.26.
• Europe’s cheapest markets in winter are Balkan cities and summer beaches on off-season rates; among true winter destinations, where December-February is the high season, the cheapest were Zlatibor (€54.10), Ioannina (€71.51), La Bourboule (€76.70) and the Canary Islands’ northern towns, at under €100 a night.
• ADR on the books for winter 2026/27 was +21.4% higher on 14 October 2026 than a year earlier, from +20.4% in Austria to +36.2% in Iceland among the five most expensive countries, though early bookings lean towards the priciest weeks.

Winter in Europe at a Glance: ADR Averaged €119.26

Winter reorders Europe’s vacation rental prices: in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026), Andorra’s ADR sat +88.6% above its March-November 2025 level while Greece’s sat −43.3% below, so the destinations that are expensive in summer are not the ones that are expensive in winter. AirDNA’s 2026 guide to Europe’s cheapest and most expensive countries ranked them over the full year, where the summer peak sets most rates. This guide asks the winter questions: where a December-February trip costs most and least, and whether a low winter rate means good value or simply an empty season.

To answer them, AirDNA ranked countries and markets with at least 500 available listings by ADR in euros, using what travelers paid last winter and the rate on reservations already made for this winter as of 14 October 2026. It also separates winter destinations, markets where December-February is the high season for demand, occupancy and price, from markets that are simply cheap or expensive in winter. For hosts, the distinction shows where winter is the peak that pays for the year and where it is a quiet season to fill with longer stays. For travelers, it separates the places that are cheap in winter only because they are out of season from the winter destinations where a lower rate still buys snow, sun or the northern lights in season.

ADR in Europe averaged €119.26 in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026), −1.1% compared to winter 2024/25 and −10.3% compared to March-November 2025. For winter 2026/27 (December 2026-February 2027), ADR on the books stood at €152.78 on 14 October 2026, +21.4% compared to the same date a year earlier, an early read weighted to holiday and ski weeks that in past seasons has run ahead of the final change. Across countries, ADR ranged from €37.90 in North Macedonia to €262.99 in Andorra, a gap of nearly seven times set by where travelers go in the coldest months: the Alps and Lapland at one end, the Balkans at the other.

European Winter Vacation Rental Rates by Country

The chart shows ADR for Europe’s 20 largest countries by winter demand nights, for winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026) and on the books for winter 2026/27. Hover over a column for each country’s figures.

The rankings below use winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026), the last complete winter, with ADR on the books for winter 2026/27 shown alongside as the outlook. On 14 October 2026, the ten most expensive markets already had 58.9% of last winter’s demand nights on the books, compared to 28.9% for the ten cheapest markets, where trips to Skopje, Pristina, Podgorica and Tirana are booked a median of 5 to 10 days ahead, so a ranking on this winter’s bookings would set most of a season at the top against a thin early slice at the bottom.

5 Most Expensive European Countries to Visit in Winter: Andorra Leads

Four of the five most expensive countries in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026) are Alpine or Nordic ski destinations. Monaco (€258.65) would rank second but has only about 260 available listings, below this guide’s 500-listing minimum.

1. Andorra

Andorra’s ADR of €262.99 rose +15.7% compared to winter 2024/25 and sat +88.6% above March-November 2025, the largest winter premium in Europe. Occupancy held at 61.6% even as rates climbed, giving a RevPAR of €161.99, the highest of any country in the ranking. Canillo, in the Grandvalira ski area, led at €301.76, and ADR on the books for winter 2026/27 was +24.8% higher than a year earlier.

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2. Switzerland

Switzerland’s ADR of €214.34 was −1.1% lower than in winter 2024/25 in euros, as occupancy declined −1.5 points to 58.7%. Verbier (€519.04), Zermatt (€511.08) and Davos (€380.24) all rank among Europe’s ten most expensive winter markets and book far ahead, with a median lead time of 86 days in Zermatt and 93 days in Davos. ADR on the books for winter 2026/27 reached €275.34, the highest of any country in the ranking, up +23.9% compared to a year earlier.

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3. Iceland

Demand nights in Iceland declined −11.9% in winter 2025/26 compared to winter 2024/25, yet ADR held at €200.76 (−0.1%), which suggests hosts protected their rates rather than discounting into a weaker season. It is the only one of the five that was cheaper in winter than in March-November 2025 (−5.6%), because the ring road brings its peak in summer. Guests stayed 3.1 nights on average, the shortest of any country in the ranking, and ADR on the books for winter 2026/27 was +36.2% higher on −7.6% fewer reserved nights.

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4. Finland

Finland’s ADR rose +9.8% to €186.86 and demand nights grew +12.7%, both carried by Lapland: Kittilä (€366.37), Inari (€334.80), Rovaniemi (€333.71) and Kolari (€332.22) all rank among Europe’s 15 most expensive winter markets. Bookings for winter 2026/27 were the strongest of the five, with reserved nights +43.0% and ADR on the books +29.8% higher than a year earlier.

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5. Austria

Austria’s ADR of €181.18 was +0.9% higher than in winter 2024/25, led by Schladming (€311.49), Kitzbühel (€307.19) and Zell am See (€284.65), while Vienna averaged €123.50. Its median lead time of 48 days was the longest of any country in the ranking, and ADR on the books for winter 2026/27 was +20.4% higher than a year earlier.

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5 Cheapest European Countries to Visit in Winter: North Macedonia Leads

The Western Balkans and Moldova hold all five places in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026). Demand nights grew in all five, from +4.9% in Albania to +27.6% in Moldova, and median lead times of 5 to 12 days show trips planned close to departure.

1. North Macedonia

North Macedonia was Europe’s cheapest country at €37.90, −0.9% compared to winter 2024/25, and Skopje (€35.16) the cheapest market with at least 500 listings. Lakeside Ohrid (€39.91) priced −14.7% below March-November 2025. Reserved nights for winter 2026/27 were +26.7% higher than a year earlier, at an ADR on the books of €38.68 (+11.4%).

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2. Albania

Albania’s ADR of €39.68 was −5.8% lower than in winter 2024/25 and −33.8% below March-November 2025, as its coast empties for winter: Vlorë (€39.00) and Durrës (€36.29) priced −44.0% and −46.7% below the rest of the year, and stays in Vlorë averaged 11.1 nights, which points to monthly winter lets.

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3. Kosovo

Kosovo’s ADR of €42.33 was −3.1% lower than in winter 2024/25 while demand nights grew +21.1%. Pristina averaged €37.02, and travelers booked a median of only 5 days ahead, the shortest of the five, which rewards hosts whose pricing responds within the final week.

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4. Moldova

Moldova had the highest occupancy of the five, 56.9%, at an ADR of €44.21 (−1.9%), with demand nights up +27.6%. Chișinău averaged €44.81, and ADR on the books for winter 2026/27 was +25.9% higher than a year earlier.

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5. Bosnia-Herzegovina

Bosnia-Herzegovina’s ADR of €50.75 (−0.7%) sat only €0.05 below Serbia (€50.80). Sarajevo (€47.50) and Mostar (€47.03) priced almost identically and Banja Luka (€39.22) ranked among Europe’s ten cheapest markets, while occupancy of 41.4% was the lowest of the five.

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Europe’s Most Expensive Winter Markets Are All Ski Resorts

All ten of the most expensive markets with at least 500 listings in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026) were ski resorts, five of them in France and three in Switzerland.

Source: AirDNA

Courchevel led, with more than a third of its winter revenue earned on luxury chalet nights priced in the thousands of euros. Cortina d’Ampezzo’s ADR rose +83.1% because it co-hosted the Winter Olympics in February 2026, and its ADR on the books for winter 2026/27 is −4.5% lower than a year earlier. Excluding Cortina, seven of the nine resorts priced lower than in winter 2024/25, so the top of the market held its level rather than rising. All 21 of the most expensive markets in winter are winter destinations; the first that is not, Almansil in the Algarve (€297.82), ranks 22nd. Mediterranean luxury markets such as Mykonos and Ibiza, where a few villa stays set the winter average, are left out.

Europe’s Cheapest Winter Markets Are Balkan Cities and Off-Season Beaches

Balkan cities and coastal towns filled the cheapest ten in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026), all below €40 a night, and none of them is a winter destination.

Source: AirDNA

Capitals such as Skopje, Pristina and Tirana are cheap all year, within −1.5% to −8.9% of their March-November 2025 ADR, while Durrës, Vlorë and Sunny Beach are cheap because winter is their off-season (−35.0% to −46.7%). Guests in Sunny Beach stayed 16.9 nights on average, which points to long-stay rentals at monthly rates.

Winter Destinations: Where December-February Is the High Season

Ranking countries by ADR hides where winter is actually priced: France’s winter 2025/26 ADR of €113.26 sat below Europe’s €119.26 even though France holds five of the ten most expensive winter markets, because its 63 winter destinations carried only 13.3% of its winter demand nights, with cities and an off-season coast carrying the rest. Winter destinations are the markets where December-February is the high season on all three measures: demand nights per day, occupancy and ADR each sat above their March-November 2025 level. 145 of the more than a thousand markets in Europe with at least 500 listings qualify. In winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026) they charged an ADR of €193.71 at 69.6% occupancy, compared to €115.41 and 51.3% in the other markets.

Winter destinations by region, winter 2025/26 (December-February)

Source: AirDNA

Nordic and Arctic destinations had the highest winter ADR of any region, €246.11, just above the Alps (€239.93), because Lapland’s aurora and Christmas trips price close to the big Alpine resorts: Levi (€366.37), Saariselkä (Inari, €334.80) and Rovaniemi (€333.71) all charged more than Kitzbühel (€307.19). The Pyrenees carried the largest winter premium (+54.7%), as the mountains empty outside the ski season, while the Canary Islands, Europe’s winter-sun destinations, were the fullest at 78.8% occupancy with the smallest premium (+14.5%), because they stay busy all year. Other mountains covers the Massif Central, the Vosges, the Sauerland and the Sierra Nevada.

The table summarises regions rather than ranking destinations. The most expensive individual winter destinations are the ski resorts in the table of Europe’s 10 most expensive markets in winter, all of which qualify, and the cheapest are ranked in the next section.

Europe’s 10 Cheapest Winter Destinations Cost Under €100 a Night

Among the 145 winter destinations, the cheapest in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026) were mid-mountain resorts in the Balkans, the Massif Central and the Pyrenees, and the Canary Islands’ capitals and northern towns.

Lowest ADR among the 145 winter destinations, winter 2025/26 (December-February)

Source: AirDNA

A winter destination costs more than a market that is merely cheap in winter: Zlatibor, the cheapest at €54.10, charged +53.9% more than Skopje (€35.16), and the tenth cheapest, Puerto de la Cruz (€93.39), more than twice Ohrid (€39.91). The higher rate comes with a market in season: occupancy across these ten winter destinations was 62.5% in winter 2025/26, compared to 51.4% across the ten cheapest markets in winter, and the four Canary Islands towns ran at 77.9%, with stays of 5.1 to 7.7 nights on average. For travelers, the Canary Islands’ northern coast and the Balkan and French mid-mountains offer winter in season at under €100 a night; for hosts there, December-February is the season that sets the year’s rates.

Europe’s Cheapest Ski Resorts Cost About an Eighth of Courchevel

Five of the ten cheapest winter destinations are mountain resorts, and the Alps have a budget end of their own: Puy-Saint-Vincent (€96.41), Villard-de-Lans (€108.85), Les Orres (€110.54) and Allos (€114.89) in the southern and western French Alps cost about an eighth of Courchevel’s €838.28 in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026). Bansko in Bulgaria (€95.55) and Poprad in Slovakia’s High Tatras (€96.76) priced at the same level, and Zakopane in Poland at €136.23. Across regions, Pyrenean winter destinations averaged €146.46 compared to €239.93 in the Alps (−39.0%), so the choice of range and resort moves the cost of a ski trip more than the choice of country.

Cities Cost Far Less Than the Slopes in Expensive Countries

Cities away from the slopes cost far less than the national ADR in the expensive countries in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026):

• Switzerland: Solothurn (€84.09) and Lausanne (€98.73) compared to €214.34 nationally.
• Austria: Graz (€70.20) and Vienna (€123.50) compared to €181.18.
• Finland: Vantaa (€63.92) and Turku (€66.13) compared to €186.86.
• United Kingdom: Birmingham (€102.44) and Manchester (€113.47) compared to €158.12.

For hosts in these cities, the national figure is the wrong benchmark, because it reflects ski chalets a city apartment does not compete with.

Winter Costs More in Only 11 of 38 Countries

Europe’s winter ADR was −10.3% below March-November 2025, and winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026) ADR sat above the rest of the year in only 11 of 38 countries.

Among markets with more than 12,000 winter demand nights, Canillo (+111.4%), Courchevel (+97.4%) and Sierra Nevada (+79.8%) carried the steepest winter premiums, while Albufeira (−53.9%) and Crete (−47.2%) carried the deepest discounts.

The discount markets fill their winter with longer stays: across the 182 markets whose winter ADR sat at least 30% below March-November 2025, mostly on Europe’s southern coasts, the average stay in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026) was 6.1 nights compared to 5.4 nights in summer 2025 (June-August), and stays of 28 nights or more made up 31.8% of winter nights compared to 5.8% in summer. Budva (11.6 nights compared to 5.9 in summer, with 63.2% of winter nights in stays of a month or longer), Vlorë (11.1 compared to 4.9, 63.0%) and Hvar (11.4 compared to 4.8, 54.6%) show the shift most clearly, and winter stays ran longer than summer stays in 81.5% of the 65 discount markets with more than 12,000 winter demand nights. Winter destinations, by contrast, held at 5.3 nights in both seasons. For hosts on the summer coast, winter is a season to sell on length of stay rather than on rate.

The Canary Islands, Europe’s winter-sun destinations, break the Mediterranean pattern: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (€98.11) and southern Tenerife (€114.61) priced +24.7% and +25.5% above March-November 2025, at 78.2% and 80.4% occupancy.

Winter 2026/27 Bookings Show ADR Up +21.4%

ADR on the books, the average nightly rate of nights already reserved, was €152.78 for winter 2026/27 (December 2026-February 2027) on 14 October 2026, +21.4% compared to the same date a year earlier, with reserved nights +0.8% higher. Bookings this early covered just under a third (31.5%) of last winter’s final demand nights and lean towards holiday and ski weeks, and in past seasons the increase on the books has run ahead of the final ADR change, so the final rise is likely to be smaller.

The gap between the ends of the table is still widening: ADR on the books rose +20.4% to +36.2% in local currency in the five most expensive countries compared to +7.0% to +14.9% in four of the five cheapest, with Moldova (+25.9%) the exception.

When to Book: Alpine Resorts Fill Months Ahead

Alpine resorts book months ahead: in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026) the median lead time was 129 days in Val d’Anniviers, 100 days in Morzine and 94 days in Val-d’Isère, compared to 5 days in Pristina, Podgorica and Durrës. The cheapest ski weeks go early, while Balkan cities can be booked a week out.

For more insights on the European vacation rental market, check out our latest European Review and our guide to Europe’s shoulder season.

FAQs

Where should you go in Europe in winter?

It depends on what you want from the trip. For snow, the Alps and Lapland are Europe’s main winter destinations, at an average ADR of €239.93 and €246.11 in winter 2025/26. For winter sun, the Canary Islands were the fullest region at 78.8% occupancy and €124.97 a night. On a budget, Zlatibor in Serbia (€54.10) and Bansko in Bulgaria (€95.55) offer winter in season.

What is the cheapest country in Europe to visit in winter?

North Macedonia, at an ADR of €37.90 in winter 2025/26 (December 2025-February 2026), followed by Albania (€39.68), Kosovo (€42.33), Moldova (€44.21) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (€50.75). Skopje, at €35.16, was the cheapest market in Europe with at least 500 listings.

What is the most expensive country in Europe in winter?

Andorra, at an ADR of €262.99 in winter 2025/26, followed by Switzerland (€214.34), Iceland (€200.76), Finland (€186.86) and Austria (€181.18). Monaco priced at €258.65 but has only about 260 available listings, below the 500-listing minimum used for this ranking.

Where is the cheapest ski resort in Europe?

Among Europe’s 145 winter destinations, Zlatibor in Serbia was the cheapest at €54.10 a night in winter 2025/26. Bansko in Bulgaria (€95.55), Puy-Saint-Vincent in the French Alps (€96.41) and Poprad in Slovakia’s High Tatras (€96.76) were among the cheapest resorts for a classic ski trip.

Is it cheaper to travel to Europe in winter?

Usually, yes. Europe’s vacation rental ADR in winter 2025/26 was 10.3% below its March-November 2025 level, and winter cost more than the rest of the year in only 11 of 38 countries. The exceptions are ski and Arctic countries such as Andorra (+88.6%) and Finland (+52.3%), while Greece was the deepest winter discount (−43.3%).

Methodology

AirDNA analyzed vacation rentals listed on Airbnb and Vrbo across Europe. Winter is December-February: winter 2025/26 uses completed stays, and winter 2026/27 uses reservations on the books on 14 October 2026 compared to the same date a year earlier. ADR includes cleaning fees and is reported in euros at each month’s exchange rate, with October 2026 rates for winter 2026/27 bookings outside the euro. Countries and markets need at least 500 available listings on average over the twelve months to September 2026. Winter destinations are markets where demand nights per day, occupancy and ADR in winter 2025/26 were all above their March-November 2025 level.