Romme, Kungsberget or the mountains – which should you choose?

Romme or the mountains isn’t really the same question twice – it depends on whether you’re going for a day or a week. If you’ve got a free Sunday, Romme Alpin or Kungsberget are obviously the right choice: two to three hours from Stockholm, you’ll be home by the evening and the cost is limited to lift passes and petrol. If you’ve got four days or more, the local slopes aren’t even an option.

Here we compare the two formats head-to-head – travel time, cost, snow reliability and what you actually get out of the days. And for the middle ground – two to three days – we’ll look at whether weekend accommodation in the mountains is worth the trip or not.

Quick answer: Romme or the mountains – day trip, weekend or a week

The format is everything:

• One day: Romme or Kungsberget, without a doubt. The mountains are out of the question – the journey time is longer than the time spent skiing.
• A weekend (two days): The local slopes still win on time, the mountains win on the experience. It’s a close race.
• Three to four days: The mountains take over – travel time is a thing of the past and you get that real mountain feeling.
• One week: The mountains – no question about it. No local hill will do for seven days.

Always calculate journey time as a proportion of the total number of days – that is the only comparison that tells you anything.

Journey time and cost for a day in Romme or Kungsberget

Romme Alpin is situated outside Borlänge, about two to two and a half hours from Stockholm, whilst Kungsberget near Sandviken is even closer – around one and a half to two hours. Both are designed for day visitors, with large car parks, on-site hire and a ski school. A day trip effectively costs one day lift pass per person plus petrol, and you’ll be home in time for dinner. For a family wanting to get their children used to skiing without having to take holiday leave, it’s an unbeatable option, and there’s nothing comparable any closer to the mountains.

What the back gardens actually offer – and what they don’t

Romme has between twenty and thirty slopes spread across both sides of the mountain and a vertical drop of around two hundred metres. Kungsberget is slightly smaller. Both have well-groomed slopes, good beginners’ areas, equipment hire and catering – everything a day-tripper needs. What they lack is that mountain atmosphere, long runs, enough variety to last several days, or accommodation that turns the trip into a holiday. After three hours in Romme, an experienced skier will have covered everything. This is not a criticism: the resorts are designed for day trips and do exactly what they’re meant to do. But they’re no substitute for a week in the mountains, nor are they marketed as such.

Snow reliability: artificial snow in Bergslagen versus a mountain winter

Närbackarna is situated at a low altitude in Bergslagen and is entirely dependent on artificial snow. It works surprisingly well – they often open early and stay open into March – but they are vulnerable to spells of mild weather, and a warm week in February can shut down half the resort. The mountain resorts have higher altitudes, colder climates and a base of natural snow, plus extensive artificial snowmaking on top. The difference is particularly noticeable in December and towards the end of the season: when Romme is struggling with above-zero temperatures, Sälen is operating at full capacity. If you’re planning well in advance, the mountains are the safer bet; if you’re planning for the coming week, the local slopes are easier to check in advance.

A weekend in the mountains – is it possible in two days?

Yes, but it takes some planning. From Stockholm, Sälen is four and a half to five hours away, which means a viable weekend break looks like this: set off on Friday evening when the children can sleep in the car, go skiing on Saturday and Sunday, and drive home on Sunday evening or Monday morning. You’ll get two full days’ skiing, an evening in the chalet and a real taste of the mountains. If you set off on Saturday morning instead, you’ll lose half of Saturday and it becomes a bit of a gamble. With three days – for example, a long weekend – the value for money is considerably better. We’ll go through the cost of such a trip in how much a winter trip to Sälen costs.

The cost of a week in the mountains compared with four days in the local hills

The maths exercise is useful. Four day trips to Romme for a family of four cost four day lift passes times four people, plus petrol for the return journey four times, plus food whilst there – and yield four half-days’ skiing, as the journey takes up the morning and afternoon. A week in the mountains in Sälen costs accommodation, a weekly lift pass per person and one journey – and gives you six to seven full days’ skiing plus a holiday. Calculated per hour of skiing, a week in the mountains is often cheaper than you might think, especially if there are several of you sharing the accommodation. The main difference is that a week in the mountains requires holiday days and planning, whilst a day trip can be decided on a Friday evening. We’ve put all the planning information together in Plan your skiing holiday step by step.

When a back-to-back is just the ticket

Let’s be clear: for many, Romme and Kungsberget are the right choice, and they are by no means a second-best option. If your children are learning to ski, ten short day trips over the course of a season are more effective than a single week in the mountains – technique is built through repetition, not volume. If you want to find out whether skiing is for you, it’s cheaper and more convenient to do so just two hours from home. If you have a day off in the middle of winter, or want to treat your teenager to a day at the park, there’s no need to drive forty-five mil. And if you just want a day out for a change without using up your holiday allowance, the local slope is quite simply the only option that works. The journey time to Sälen is journey time from Stockholm to Sälen for anyone who wants to compare.

Summary – Romme or the mountains, depending on how many days you have

Match the slope to the number of days, and the answer becomes simple. One day: Romme or Kungsberget. Two days: it’s a toss-up – let your fancy decide. Three to four: head for the mountains; the travel time is a non-issue, and you’ll get something a day trip can never offer. A week: the mountains, of course. What’s more, the best of both worlds is the combination – day trips to the local slope in winter to work on your technique, and a week in the mountains during the winter holidays or at Easter for the experience itself. If you’re booking that week, holiday cottages for the winter half-term week It’s the first to go, so make sure you’re out in good time.