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Winter activity holiday in Switzerland

COUNTRY:
Switzerland
LOCATION:
Swiss Alps
HOLIDAY TYPE:
Moderate walking holidays
DEPARTURES:
2011: 20 Dec, 27 Dec
PRICE:
From £899 - £1149 (8 days) including flights from the UK, from £769 - £999 excluding flights. Single supplement £90.
VOUCHERS:
Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
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Winter activity holiday in Switzerland
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Winter activity holiday in Switzerland

Small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.

How this holiday makes a difference

Our whole ethos of an 'snow' holiday is about promoting alternative versions of winter tourism that use nature in its unspoilt condition, rather than seeking to alter it. We use small villages and family run hotels, chosen for their access to unspoilt mountain terrain, rather than number of lifts and resort facilities.

We travel from Zurich airport to our hotel by rail: the Swiss network is famously efficient and very environmentally friendly. The hotel itself - small and family-run - is very much a part of the local community: the village yodelling club practises in its lounge one night a week. Our programme of activities lets us see the very best of Switzerland's imposing mountain scenery, but in a way that does no damage.

We will ensure that our operations do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people so we ensure that our type and scale of tourism is appropriate to local conditions and operate within the limits set by local appropriate infrastructure and carrying capacity.

We have teamed up with Friends of Conservation to support projects at Ranthambore, India, Nava Kiran Orphanage, Nepal and on the edge of the Masai Mara, Kenya.

We have at our UK offices worked to reduce our carbon footprint through a reduction of energy use and energy conservation measures. We also actively reduce the waste produced by having active reduction and recycling policies in place. We run annual staff workshops on Responsible Tourism.

Global warming is a reality and to help you make a difference by reducing the carbon dioxide that is produced when you travel we offer a chance to carbon balance your flights. We encourage all our clients to do this and do so for all our staff travel. Go on do your bit!

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Story of the thingstodo provider

This small group adventure holiday company offers winter holidays with a difference. From dogsledding through remote wilderness in the Arctic to snowshoeing on an active volcano, if you are looking for a special winter holiday you need look no further. Many of their guides are local and fully trained which means they have exceptional knowledge of their destination and for all winter is a passion. With expertise in cross-country skiing, they have holidays throughout Europe and Scandinavia. So if you fancy building your own igloo, climbing an ice waterfall or simply snowshoeing through sparkling snow-laden forests then this is the company for you.

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Day tour/Attraction provider no: 55

Winter activity holiday in Switzerland
Winter activity holiday in Switzerland

Winter activity holiday in Switzerland

Reviewed 30 Dec 2007 by Lynne Bull4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


The toboggan ride down from the top of the chairlift.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Be fit before you go and have sufficient money in Swiss Francs.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Yes - we supported local restaurants and locals were employed in the hotel.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


Excellent - I loved every minute of it.

Reviewed 10 Mar 2007 by Pamela Addison4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Most memorable part of the trip was the absolutely exhilarating toboggan ride down the mountain.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Take lots of layers as the temperature varies and the weather can change quickly. Make sure you have lots of film or a large memory card because the scenery is stunning!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Yes, and our tour guide made a conscious effort to distribute our money around different restaurants in the village where we ate out for group meals. The food is just fantastic too!

4. Any other comments?


This really was an activity holiday with the emphasis on fun. Absolutely suitable for beginners, and a great introduction to lots of winter sports. There were also optional activities for the evenings. It was well organised, the accommodation was excellent and the hotel staff friendly. Food is particularly good with several local specialties to try. I think the best thing about this holiday is the variety of activities, especially if you are a beginner. I would rate this holiday highly, indeed several of the group passed comment they would like to do the same holiday over again next year!

Reviewed 18 Feb 2007 by Barbara Baty4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


The most memorable part of the holiday was snowshoeing over thick virgin snow surrounded by snow covered mountains and trees with a brilliant blue sky above. Most exciting though was tobogganing.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


This holiday is exhilarating and action packed, so a good level of fitness and endurance is advisable. We travelled during half term week which meant that flights were heavily booked. As a result we had to leave the hotel at 2.30 am in a minibus to get to Zurich in time for an early morning plane We had travelled out a week earlier by an early afternoon flight that got us to the hotel in the evening, so we lost two days in effect. I would advise anyone booking the holiday to insist on better timed flights or to book the flights themselves, remembering to allow 2-3 hours for the train transfer to Kandersteg

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


The local traders and guides are very dependant on tourism so our being there was of benefit of them Our leader was British, but took us to locally owned and run restaurants where locally sourced food was provided.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


**** I would rate the holiday as excellent and recommend it to any friend who was sufficiently fit

Reviewed 24 Feb 2007 by Sian Harrison3 star rating

Great mix of people aged 13 to 67 and great variety of activity - langlauf, walking, snowshoeing, toboganning, skating, ice hockey, curling, skittles. However there was virtually no snow in Kandersteg and learning to langlauf was dangerous on ice. The one day there was snow we were, inflexibly, given our free day and strongly advised to take the train to Bern when most of us would have preferred to remain in Kandersteg.

As a more ecofriendly option it would have been nice to travel out and back home by train - and can have taken little longer. It was also a pity that no evening meals were included as our hotel did provide these. Food bought was at least double in cost the recommended allowance in the holiday details.

All that said, we had a wonderful time when we took lifts up into the snow and enjoyed the range of activities that would be difficult to find elsewhere and all spent convivial evenings out in Kandersteg. Someone please bring curling to England!

Reviewed 04 Jan 2006 by Pippa Thomas4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


It was fantastic to wake up every morning with a beautiful snowy landscape to look out at. Toboganning was amazing; totally exhilarating!

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Make sure you take warm clothing; I did and I needed it!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


The local people benefited from our currency and I don't feel as though we had a negative impact, but were in harmony with what everyone else was doing.

4. Any other comments?


It was nice not to feel 'touristy'. I met like-minded people who I am sure I will stay in contact with. Some stories to tell the grandchildren (don't have any, but I'll bear it in mind...), I would not hesitate to recommend it to a friend (definitely!).
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Day tour/Attraction Reviews

We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!

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Winter activity holiday in Switzerland
Winter activity holiday in Switzerland
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