Skiing and yoga holiday in the French Alps
| country: | France |
| location: | French Alps |
| departures: | |
| price: | From €750 (8 days) excluding flights |
| more info: | Price is based on room share (if you don't want to share there is a €190 supplement). Price includes: 5 mornings of yoga, 3 evening yoga classes, all local transport, Geneva airport or Cluses train station pick ups, a catered week at 5* alpine ski chalet. See below for chalet catered inclusions. There is a €100 Green travel bonus if you share a car or come by train! |
| offers: | There is a €100 green travel bonus if you share a car or come by train! Offer valid until 18 April 2010 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Skiing and yoga holiday in the French Alps
In the heart of the Grand Massif, one of Europe's best and largest ski areas, lies a magical eco-lodge where you can combine skiing-yoga, 5* organic vegetarian food, and a great atmosphere! This week attracts skiers, snowboarders and yogis of all levels. It is perfect for solo travellers and couples, especially with different skiing abilities. (Partners can come and stay for between *€680 and €780 a week and often meet great ski buddies!)
The eco-chalet is breathtaking and the courses we run are becoming quite a 'phenomena'! We set up in May and had to spill over the neighbours for most of the summer. Guests came back 3 times in one season! There aren't many places that combine adventure sports with yoga and sustainable, holistic living. One journalist described it as 'environmentally aware and achingly hip'! Guests often talk about the 'positive energy' here.
The yoga is taught by Saskia who designed and project managed the renovation of the Chalet which was an 1865 Savoyard Farmhouse. Yoga has played a strong part of her life for 20 years and she has studied it all over the world, most recently in India. The yoga is specifically geared towards the strength, grace and flexibility needed for skiing. The classes blend astanga and hatha yoga and are very much designed around the interests of the group. The daily practice may be conventional, bor you may find yourself doing yoga-trance dance to live African drumming or meditating in an igloo!
There are usually between 6 and 12 guests here, depending how many people opt to have their own room. One evening we all go off to a mountain yurt for a fondu. There is a great communal atmospher every week and great freinds are made.
We do yoga every morning from 8 to 9.30am and get the 10.30am shuttle to the slopes. (If there is a powder day we juggle things around a little!). Three evenings a week we will do yoga and meditation after skiing. Then after dinner you can sit in the wood-fired Cedar hot tub under a star lit Alpine Sky.
Included in your week are:
Popular optional extras:
lower carbon travel
Green Travel Bonus - €100 off if you come by train or shared car, hitch or bike! how this holiday makes a difference
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Everything about this place oozes a care for the environment... from the building to the approach to life.
Renovation: used sustainable building techniques where affordable including extra thick Warmcell insulation, triple glazed windows facing North and glass walls facing South, a highly efficient wood pellet burner, low temp under floor heating, organic paint, etc. Mountain source water feeds the toilets and washing machines. We try to consume minimum energy. All our appliances are A or AA and 90% of our lighting is low energy. We recycle metal, plastic, glass, paper and cardboard and compost and the kitchen is set up to make this easy. Our linen is organic cotton and our cleaning products are environmentally sound. Community The local guides, restaurants and shops rely heavily on the tourist trade. We source as much of our food as possible from local, organic farms and eat what is seasonal. We only cook 5 nights a week so our guests can explore the village and try the local restaurants and yurt. Guests buy lunch from local bakeries, shops or restaurants and hire ski equipment from small local business. Environment Our ski area, The Grand Massif are making a concerted effort to minimise the impact of skiing on the environment. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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