Planning · 2026–27 prices
What an Aspen trip costs
Yes, Aspen is expensive. Here is where the money actually goes, what you can get for free, and where it is worth spending.
Yes, Aspen is expensive. Here is where the money actually goes, what you can get for free, and where it is worth spending.
The big lines are lodging, lift tickets and dinners. Lift tickets are dynamically priced, so buying 30+ days ahead saves up to 25%, and children 6 and under ski free. Lodging carries 12.35% to 22.35% tax. Getting around can cost nothing: RFTA buses between the airport, town and all four mountains are free.
Every price below comes from the operator or the city and is linked at the foot of the page; checked September 2026. Aspen prices move with the date, so treat them as a planning guide and confirm before booking.
Paul Montiel · Aspen · Updated September 2026
We live in Aspen. Tell us what matters on the trip and what you'd like to spend, and we'll say where it goes furthest. Plan with us.
Bosq (one Michelin star), Element 47, Matsuhisa and Casa Tua are special-occasion dinners, and holiday weeks fill early. Aspen restaurants.
Some of the harder rooms are easier at lunch or the bar; White House Tavern takes no reservations.
Aspen's first autumn Restaurant Week (September 21–27, 2026) had $45, $75 and $95 prix fixe menus at more than 25 restaurants.
For a group, a private chef on the busiest night is often better value than a restaurant table for ten, and nobody drives. Private chef.
Buy lift tickets a month out, ride the free buses, ski Buttermilk with small children, and eat the big meal at lunch.
The two or three dinners that matter, a lesson on day one, and the transfer from the airport after a long travel day.
The tax on a rental, holiday-week premiums on everything, and the 2027 airport closure (April 4 to November 19), which turns every arrival into a longer drive.
Daily tickets are priced by date and cover all four mountains; buying 30 or more days ahead saves up to 25%. Early and late season (to December 20, 2026 and from March 29, 2027) tickets are $103 for adults with a two-night Stay Aspen Snowmass booking. Children 6 and under ski free.
Yes: lodging, lift tickets and dinners are among the highest in US skiing. But buses between the airport, town and all four mountains are free, children 6 and under ski free, and buying tickets a month ahead saves up to 25%.
In 2026, 12.35% at a traditional lodge, 17.35% at an owner-occupied or lodge-exempt rental, and 22.35% at an investment or second-home rental.
About $25–35 to downtown Aspen and $50–65 to Snowmass with High Mountain Taxi. The RFTA bus is free, and a private car starts at $195 per vehicle.
Early December and late season (from late March) for skiing, and the shoulder weeks of late April to May and late October to Thanksgiving, when many places close.
Airport cars, drivers for the big nights, a chef at the house. Arranged so the trip runs smoothly.
From Aspen's airport to the door in a private SUV, timed to your actual landing.
A car and driver on call for dinner and the night out, so nobody hunts for a taxi at midnight.
Winter-equipped vehicle and driver for the four-hour drive, re-timed as roads change.
Fitted at the residence, not in a shop queue.
Aspen, known
Aspen Snowmass: lift tickets · Aspen Snowmass: early and late lift tickets · Aspen Snowmass: private lessons · City of Aspen: lodging and short-term rental taxes · High Mountain Taxi: rates · RFTA: routes · City of Aspen: parking rates · Aspen Chamber: Restaurant Week — checked September 30, 2026.
Tell us your dates, who's coming and what matters. We'll say where the money goes furthest and arrange the rest.
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