Planning your skiing holiday...So you are dreaming about your next ski holiday – what can you do help yourself have a better holiday and be a Responsible Skier?
Firstly – consider the type of resort you want to stay in.... Think realistically about your ability and the amount of skiing you actually do in a day and the whole holiday. Do you really need one of the large resorts with hundreds of kilometres of skiing? Yes – they have a great name, but you’ll find the lift passes are more expensive, they are likely to be busier and you may not get the benefit. Think about some of the smaller resorts – they still may have plenty of skiing and challenges for you – but are easier on the wallet. They can offer a much more authentic stay and be more peaceful with quieter pistes. Purpose built or real village? There are purpose built resorts that are convenient, efficient and modern and can offer benefits to the local community – but why not visit a real mountain village with a soul, real shops and locals! It’s atmospheric, you can visit bars and restaurants that the locals visit and get a real taste of mountain life. Invariably, there will be more to visit for non-skiers and on that infamous third day when the skiing is just not happening and you’re better off exploring elsewhere! Are they looking after the resort? There are resorts out there that are really taking care to look after their destination responsibly for the benefit of you, the locals and the environment. Look out for them by checking out the case studies and examples quoted in this site, or look at the resort websites. Why? Because you’d rather stay somewhere with a pedestrianised centre, safe pistes, no pollution, beautiful scenery, quaint buildings and local food wouldn’t you? What is there to do? Some resorts are all about the skiing – that’s great if the weather is good, you all stay well and you have no young children or non-skiers in your group. But what about if high winds close the lifts or someone doesn’t feel like skiing? Look out for all the other activities that a resort offers and select one with a variety of sporting and cultural attractions. It makes for a more diverse and sustainable economy and many of the other activities are low impact and get you closer to mountains. You never know you might even prefer some! Hotel, chalet or apartment? It is sometimes difficult to find out how ‘green’ accommodation is – particularly when some places don’t talk about it as it’s just the norm to have biomass heating and triple glazing. If you can, check out their websites – but otherwise look out for whether it’s locally owned and the size of the place and where the all important food comes from! You’ll have a more memorable experience if it’s family run and the eggs and cheese come from down the road. Be bold too – what about staying in a working farm or an igloo?! Independent or packaged? Your budget, location, group size, length of stay and confidence will determine whether you choose to go independent or with a tour operator. Tour operators offer convenience and great deals but just remember that they can’t always showcase the small resorts or hotels as they need a threshold number of people to make it viable. And if you prefer to be away from other Brits – you might do better putting it together yourself. Whether you choose to go independent or packaged, you have options for your journey since tour operators are now offering a range of travel options – check out Tips and ideas for Skiers – Getting there for the best ways. Remember too that you can make your journey part of your holiday – what about a night in Paris en route or an overnight stop in Munich to visit the Christmas markets? What about that kit? Yes – the airlines are making it very expensive for us to take ski equipment now but have you thought about hiring? If you are a regular skier – you know it used make sense to buy skis – they usually paid for themselves in couple of seasons and were so much better than the hire skis. Now you have to spend on carriage (and there’s the hassle factor) and the servicing. Think about hiring again – you can now hire the current seasons’ skis (and try out a few), they are already serviced for you and waiting for you when you get there. There are tons of skis thrown away every season so it’s better for the environment too that a ski is used all season rather than for one or two weeks a year and then left languishing in the loft. Now.... Check out Tips and ideas for Skiers - Getting there and have a better journey... |
 Getting to your resortSo how are you going to travel? Read our tips to have a better journey -
find out more When you are thereSo you're in the resort - what can you do whilst
on holiday? find out more How about having A Real Winter Holiday?
Are you someone who likes to ...
Get away from the crowds? Ski on empty pistes? Find a unique place to stay? Try those local delicacies? Have a special experience? Then visit... ARealWinterHoliday.com for inspiration... |
