Skip to main content

The best way to travel with a snowboard or skis affordably

Don't lug those skis through the airport or try to tie them to your car. Skip the stress and ship them ahead.

Most people have a panic attack when they have to pack for a vacation. If you have to take any kind of sporting gear, the anxiety gets a little more intense. And winter gear is no joke, especially those skis or a snowboard.

How are you supposed to carry all that equipment through the parking lot and then the airport, all the way to check it in? What if you don’t have a car that you could fit them in or tie them to? The answer is that you don’t do any of that. We have the way for you to travel to your snowy destination without having to haul those skis or snowboard along every step of the way.

People carrying their snow gear through the snow.

Don’t check that gear in

We all have that fear that anything we check in at the airport will never make it to our destination and be lost forever. There’s not only the chance that your snowboarding gear won’t get there on time – or at all – but there’s the cost of checking it all in for your flight. 

Depending on the weight and how many pieces you have, you could get charged for multiple bags. We all know how those check-in fees have gotten higher in the last few years.

Bag check-in fees

  • The first bag costs between $30 and $90, depending on the weight and airline.
  • The second bag is an additional 35 to $90.
  • A third bag could run you $75 to $150.
People doing jumps on snowboard in the snow.

Ship those skis

If a snowy trip to hit the slopes is in your future, you want the least stressful way to take your skis or snowboard. Shipping your gear to your destination is the only way to go. You have to book your resort and activities, so add shipping your winter equipment to the list.

Companies like Ship Skis are a breath of fresh air. They allow you to ship your snow boots, skis, or snowboards ahead to your destination. 

Fun shipping facts

  • Choose whatever ship date you want.
  • Print out the shipping label to attach to all of your items.
  • Drop your items off at a location near you.
  • Or, if you don’t have time, they’ll come and pick up your stuff.
  • Items will get to where you’re staying before you do.

We love the option to have everything picked up if you don’t have time to drop them off. That’s a huge draw.

Other bonuses

  • Contactless pickup and delivery of your items
  • Actual people running the customer service, available by email, phone, and even text
  • Complimentary insurance on your precious cargo

Customer service that we could text? Yes, please. And contactless service is always appreciated.

Get that skiing weekend booked without worrying about needing extra hands to carry all of your winter stuff. You don’t have to be that guy at the airport, and you don’t have to drop a fortune to look cool sending your skiing gear on ahead of you. Travel in style – while staying on budget – when you ship your winter equipment instead of hurting your back carrying it all everywhere.

Editors' Recommendations

Dannielle Beardsley
Dannielle has written for various websites, online magazines, and blogs. She loves everything celebrity and her favorite…
Summer travel: Airbnb reveals the most popular hot spots
Will you travel to any one of these popular destinations this summer?
Airplane taking off

If you're itching for a summer vacation and want to know where the hot spots are, both internationally and domestic, travel site Airbnb has you covered. For summer travel this year, it is expecting over 300 million guest arrivals on its website, an indication that people are ready to get out of their own houses and into someone else's. "Since the beginning of Airbnb, there have been 1.4 billion all-time guest arrivals," said Airbnb in a recent report. "With more guests traveling last year than ever before," this year is likely to outpace even the first post-pandemic year.

"We ended last year with 900,000 more listings than we had at the beginning, excluding China," Airbnb continued. "Guests are opting for a more affordable stay, which is no surprise amid a rising cost-of-living crisis." If you want to know just where people are searching to see how it may drive summer prices, the company listed the most trending summer destinations, so you can get an idea of where you may want to go (or avoid if you don't like crowds).
Trending summer domestic destinations
Since we know summer airfare is skyrocketing for traveling internationally, staying domestic may just be the way to go for your wallet and your sanity. It's always spectacular to travel to faraway lands, but this country offers so many stunning places to visit.

Read more
One-bag travel: 7 must-know tips to pack everything you need in a carry on
Travel tips for packing light so you can avoid airport stress
About to board a flight.

These days, searching for travel tips to help mitigate travel chaos is the norm (even more so than usual) thanks to a combination of factors that arose largely as a result of COVID. I experienced it firsthand in August when I arrived at the notoriously overwhelmed Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, where I found thousands of lost bags stacked all over the place. Then, while flying from there to Istanbul, my own backpack joined the league of lost luggage, though I was able to track it down.

I had a premonition (from the stacks of lost bags, perhaps?) that I should have trimmed my backpack down a bit better, thereby allowing myself to travel carry-on only, but I decided that I couldn’t live without a bunch of stuff that I definitely didn’t need. I’ve traveled for a decade solid, so I definitely should have known better. With that in mind, here are a few travel tips that will help with packing light and packing right so that you can achieve one-bag travel and limit the odds of your stuff going missing on your flight.

Read more
Winter may never end! Here’s how to snowboard in spring the right way
Finish your season on a high with our spring snowboarding guide
Snowboarder with orange board

Spring is here. Winter is coming to an end, and it's time to pack away your snowboarding gear for another summer, right? Wrong. As snowboarders, we always know that we've chosen the right sport — who'd want to be stuck on two sticks instead of one? — but if there's any time of year those steadfast skiers are going to agree with us, it's when the snow is soft and rad slush turns are in the cards.

If this is your first spring, and perhaps even summer of snowboarding, then welcome to what many consider the best time of the year. If you've been here before, then you know what you're getting into. But do you know how to spring snowboard with the best of them?

Read more