A winter holiday needn't involve any skiing - you can spend a memorable
week away without once donning a pair of skis. Many of our chosen villages
offer a wide range of activities, from winter walking to more unusual
sports such as dog-sledding, though with the majority of our hotels boasting
indoor pools and cosy lounges, it's possible not to venture outside at
all some days.
Just as good a way to explore the snow-clad landscapes as cross-country
skiing, winter walking is an increasingly popular pastime, and as a result
more and more of our featured villages are offering an ever larger network
of paths. These are specially prepared by a machine that flattens the
snow, making walking much easier.
Another activity to consider if you
enjoy walking is snow-shoeing. It takes only a few minutes to master the
movement - all that is required is to walk with your legs a little wider
apart than normal so as not to stand on the other snow-shoe. Balance shouldn't
be a problem, though you are provided with poles. What makes snow-shoeing
all the more enjoyable is that you needn't stick to prepared trails -
you can strike out across virgin snow to hidden corners that you can't
access on foot or skis. Combine these two activities with sleigh rides, ice-skating,
curling and the odd afternoon in the hotel spa (those at our hotels in Pertisau and on the Seiseralm Plateau are particularly worthy of a mention), and you can enjoy a varied and
thoroughly refreshing week.
Arguably the best hotel in our selection for appreciating the magic
of winter without skiing is the Hotel Meisser in Guarda, eastern Switzerland. Guarda
is so pretty it could (and, indeed, was!) be the setting for a fairytale, and makes a great
base for a week of snow-shoeing and winter walking - the views of the
valley as you explore are superb. So good is the winter walking and snow-shoeing
that we offer special weeks which include three guided excursions with
your hosts.
The Seiseralm Plateau above Kastelruth in the
Südtirol Dolomites, the area around Kandersteg
in the Bernese Oberland, and Lake
Achensee in west Austria are three other winter playgrounds. All three
areas offer varied and extensive winter walking, as well as horse-drawn
sleigh rides, ice-skating, and even tobogganing. Believe us when we say
that you can never be too old to enjoy hurtling downhill on a toboggan!
Anyone who was inspired to try their hand at curling after watching the
British women's team win gold at the Winter Olympics a few years ago can have a go
in either Kandersteg or Pertisau, where there are special rinks. Excellent
public transport links also make it possible to enjoy day trips from these
two villages - from Kandersteg head by rail to Bern or the unspoiled Lötschental
Valley, or catch the express bus from Pertisau to beautiful Innsbruck.
To enjoy a selection of more unusual activities, head to Scandinavia.
In
Finland, the Ylläshumina Hotel in Ylläs,
western Lapland, continues to prove extremely popular, and
not just because of the vast cross-country ski domain. Try your hand at ice-fishing, join a torchlit guided excursion to
seek out the Northern Lights, or enjoy a husky or reindeer safari. In Norway, we offer holidays devoted entirely to dog-sledding on which you learn how to handle your own team of dogs and head out to explore the wilderness, an exhilarating experience not to be missed!
Alternatively, our Great Winter Journeys are specifically aimed at those
looking for a winter holiday with a difference. Combining spectacular
rail or boat journeys with stays in great cities and scenic mountain villages,
they are an ideal way to appreciate the magic of winter. Take the famous
Glacier Express from Italianate Chur to picture-book Kandersteg, finishing
with two nights in Bern, on the classic Glacier Express trip, or journey by rail from Toulouse to Barcelona,
pausing for three nights in the tranquillity of the Mediterranean Pyrenees
on our ever-popular Through
the Pyrenees journey. If you are looking for a cultural break,
then we recommend our Austria's
Great Cities holiday, which combines charming Innsbruck, musical Salzburg,
and imperial Vienna, making for a week of great contrasts, or our From Innsbruck to Venice journey. Finally, on
our Beyond the Arctic Circle
journey you fly into Bergen and there board the Norwegian Coastal Steamer.
Over the course of the three-day voyage, the ship works its way north
from port to port against a constantly changing backdrop of fjords and
mountains. On the third day, you cross the Arctic Circle, and by the afternoon
the great peaks of the Lofoten Islands come into view. You have four nights
in a converted fisherman's cottage in the settlement of Mortsund. You
could happily spend your days enjoying bracing walks along the nearby
beaches and strolling round the harbour, or you can hire a car
for a day or two so that you can explore deeper into the immensely dramatic landscapes.
A truly unique experience.
The Alternative Winter Holiday
Another activity to consider if you
enjoy walking is snow-shoeing. It takes only a few minutes to master the
movement - all that is required is to walk with your legs a little wider
apart than normal so as not to stand on the other snow-shoe. Balance shouldn't
be a problem, though you are provided with poles. What makes snow-shoeing
all the more enjoyable is that you needn't stick to prepared trails -
you can strike out across virgin snow to hidden corners that you can't
access on foot or skis. Combine these two activities with sleigh rides, ice-skating,
curling and the odd afternoon in the hotel spa (those at our hotels in 
The Seiseralm Plateau above 
Alternatively, our Great Winter Journeys are specifically aimed at those
looking for a winter holiday with a difference. Combining spectacular
rail or boat journeys with stays in great cities and scenic mountain villages,
they are an ideal way to appreciate the magic of winter. Take the famous
Glacier Express from Italianate Chur to picture-book Kandersteg, finishing
with two nights in Bern, on the classic