My first Breckenridge ski vacation was a memorable experience; I loved the clean air, the beautiful mountains, skiing, Breckenridge lodging and all the fun activities that brought out the outdoorsy part of me. Because of this, I am going take a brief departure from blogging about group travel, and spend some time on Breckenridge as a whole. Here’s my experience with Breckenridge transportation:
Air: via Frontier Airlines
I loved:
- I flew Frontier, based out of Denver, which services over 50 cities with direct flights to Denver. The price was right, and that factor is usually the main driving force behind my airline reservations choice.
- I also loved that Frontier Airline had a direct flight from Dayton (home base) to Denver.
Plan accordingly:
- We are all used to airline fees now, but bear this in mind – since most people on my flight were going for outdoor activities, a checked bag was a must. The first checked bag is $20, and every bag after that is $25. The good news is that they count a ski bag and a boot bag as one checked bag.
- Frontier does not do stand by. Repeat; no standby. The cost to get on an earlier flight regardless of how full is $100. This is especially annoying if your shuttle arrives at the airport at 12:30 PM for a 7:00 PM flight, which mine did. When making your Frontier reservation, keep this in mind.
Ground: Breckenridge Shuttle Service
I loved:
- Getting to the resort towns can be accomplished by renting a car, if you dare drive on the icy roads, or via pre-booked Breckenridge airport transportation. I chose the airport shuttle. The shuttle service to Breckenridge was crowded but it was only about a 1.5 hour drive – so not too bad. Side note: If you are planning a trip to Vail, there are some small planes you can take to skip the ground transportation – I would totally do that.
- Once I arrived in Breckenridge, I was introduced to the “Free Bus,” an amazing innovation in public transportation that I wish every city had. The buses (which as the name implies, are completely free), come around every 15 minutes. They are perfect for catching a ride to the slopes, or downtown.
- Alpine Sports shuttle: Breckenridge ski rentals can be done right at the mountain, where you can also buy your lift tickets. However, Alpine Sports has a shuttle that will pick you up, and take you to the store where you can shop for gear, and rent skis or snowboards for a day, or in my case, several days at a time. Free of charge (well, kind of)!
Plan accordingly:
- Be warned, the Free Bus is not usually on time, and the drivers wait for no one. One saw me running 40 feet away, and pulled away without me.
- Free Bus drivers range from cranky to very personable, and I found them to be a good resource to what was going on, and where to go.
