Jetsettersblog

Popular Landing Spots For British Skiers & Snowboarders

Leading flight search engine, Skyscanner (www.Skyscanner.net), dips into its data to see where British winter sports enthusiasts are flying to this winter. Despite economic woes, European ski searches appear healthy with a small rise in flight search traffic for ski airports compared to last year. With a strong US dollar, it seems many Brits are avoiding transatlantic mountains and favouring the more local European peaks.

1. Geneva (Switzerland) – at number one by quite a long way it’s Geneva. Close to the French border (the airport even has a French sector), Geneva is an ideal landing zone for skiers and snowboarders, offering the choice of over 100 ski resorts within two hours’ drive. One of the closest is Lelex, a small resort served by 13 ski lifts, ideal for families and beginners, and at the other end of the scale – Morzine, part of Les Portes Du Soleil ski area, a huge interlinked domaine offering some 650 different pistes, served by over 200 ski lifts.

2. Nice (France) – located for good access to the ski resorts of the Southern French Alps and the Italian Alps, Nice offers access to 12 ski resorts within 3 hours’ drive. Isola 2000 is one of the best in range, rising to 2610m, offering about 50 pistes and around 120km of downhill skiing and snowboarding. Alba, about 2.5 hours from Nice is an ideal choice for beginners, a compact area which is also good for cross country skiing, boasting 52km of Nordic trails.

3. Salzburg (Austria) – located in the north of the country, Salzburg is surrounded by over 100 resorts to the south, east and west, all of which are less than 2 hours drive from the airport. Mayrhofen is one of the most famous in the area and one of the highest resorts in Austria; part of the Zillertal ski area, it offers access to 130 pistes. If you’re looking for a family ski area and need something with shorter drive times, try St Wolfgang – one of the closest ski areas to Salzburg, this small resort has 9 ski lifts as well as 30km of cross country trials.

4. Munich (Germany) – another good access point with almost 100 ski resorts within 2 hours of the airport. Choose from a great selection of Northern Austrian resorts, or for something a little different, why not visit a German ski resort? Though little known as a skiing destination, Germany has some great options; Sankt Englmar is a small ski area best suited to beginners and young families in the east of Germany – or try Grainau – one of the bigger resorts in Germany offering an impressive vertical drop of over 2000m and 44 pistes.

5. Grenoble (France) – there are over 50 ski resorts within 1.5 hours of the airport, including some of the biggest and best such as Alp d’Huez, Courchevel, La Grave, Meribel and Valmorel. For somewhere a little more secret, try Autrans - a quieter area with 16 lifts and about 18km of downhill slopes as well as 160km of cross country ski trails.

Best of the Rest:

Toulouse (France) – offers access to Pyrenean ski resorts in France, Spain and Andorra. Pas de la Casa is a firm favourite with the Brits, renowned for its excellent value and lively après ski action.

Innsbruck (Austria) – great for getting to resorts in the Tyrol region and the city of Innsbruck itself is home to Nordkette, a small ski area with slopes overlooking the city, which boasts one of the steepest runs in Europe.

Milan Bergamo (Italy) – good for Northern Italian resorts. Try Livigno, a duty free ski resort with an excellent terrain park and good off piste options, a quaint alpine town untouched by overdevelopment.

To find more cheap flights, fast – visit www.Skyscanner.net

Rail Europe, a distributor of European rail products in North America, announced the launch of Trenitalia’s new Milan to Rome high-speed rail link. The new line shaves an hour off the route, connecting Italy’s political and financial capitals in 3 hours and 30 minutes. The new route establishes Milan as Italy’s main point of connection with Europe’s high-speed larger rail network for the benefit of business and leisure travelers alike. Milan is currently served by Artesia trains from Paris, Cisalpino from Basel, Bern and Geneva, Riviera from Nice and Elipsos overnight trains from Barcelona.

Trenitalia’s ETR500 AV Red Arrow Train, which will service the new route and will be available for reservations on www.agent.raileurope.com in January, was designed by Italian automotive designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro. Giugiaro was recently named Automotive Designer of the Century for his achievements in designing for Audi, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Maserati, Volkswagen and others. The Red Arrow reaches a maximum speed of 186 miles per hour, offering rail travelers in Italy an equivalent level of speed, service and convenience as other European countries.
Passengers can order from a menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner selections from the restaurant car, as well as snacks and beverages from the bar car. TrenItalia’s InterCity Plus and Eurostar Italia trains, offer speedy connections between Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Bologna and Naples and convenient access to many smaller Italian towns. Rail Europe offers a full range of TrenItalia tickets that can be tailored toward each traveler’s individual needs.

To book any of Rail Europe’s wide range of economical railpasses and point-to-point tickets on trains throughout Europe, call 888-382-7245 or visit Rail Europe’s website at the banner at the right.

Ski Freshtracks, the market leaders in adventure skiing, are offering the perfect solution for single skiers this season.

Every Ski Freshtracks holiday is graded by skiing standard which means everyone on the holiday skis and socialises together – ideal for those wanting to hit the slopes, when friends otherwise engaged.
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For the 2008-9 season Ski Freshtracks is offering nine holidays where everyone gets their own room at no extra cost. On all other holidays there are a small number of rooms which can be booked for single occupancy. The holidays with no single supplement include an instructional week in Courmayeur, Italy, a week in the chic Swiss resort of St Moritz and a testosterone-free girls’ weekend in Grindelwald, Switzerland.

For those keen to take advantage of the amazing early-season snow conditions there is still availability during Christmas week in La Plagne and a New Year off-piste week in Flaine.

Caroline Boileau, General Manager of Ski Freshtracks explained the secret to Ski Freshtracks’ success: “All our holidays are ideal for those who don’t necessarily have friends or family who ski at the same level as them, or maybe don’t even ski at all. Anyone can come on our trips and ski at the level that suits them, meaning their skiing nearly always improves and at the same time they make new friends.”

Ski Freshtracks offers 54 off-piste adventure and improvement courses as well as a large ski touring programme and heliskiing trips. Other trips on offer include Action holidays at varying levels of ski standard, weekend trips and a large ‘Peak Experience’ programme aimed at skiers over 50 years of age.

For more details and for booking visit www.skifreshtracks.co.uk  or call 0845 45 807 84

Regent Holidays ( 0845 277 3317 www.regent-holidays.co.uk  is delighted to unveil its new 2009 brochure for The Baltics and Poland, meeting all holiday dreams and aspirations with its definitive collection of value-for-money city breaks, tours and itineraries tailored to suit your needs.

As a fully bonded tour operator with over 37 years of experience, Regent’s specialist team of well-travelled experts will bring your holiday dreams to life, providing the most personal of services.

A fantastic new addition to the 2009 brochure is Regent’s 7 day tour from £595 pp From Gdansk to Wroclaw, which includes plenty of time to explore the cobbled streets, historic harbour and medieval Old Town of Gdansk before cruising down the Elblag Canal, an astounding feat of hydro-engineering from the 19th century, as featured in Michael Palin’s book New Europe. Take the train to Torun, one of Poland’s most picturesque cities, whose Old Town is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 The tour also takes you to Wroclaw with its breathtaking cathedral, endless canals and bridges, its Old Market Square and magnificent burgher houses.

For those returning to the Baltic States or wishing to travel outside the main cities, Regent has introduced Vilnius & Druskininkai, a 7 day tour that gives you the chance to familiarise yourself with Lithuania’s capital city, Vilnius (European city of Culture 2009), before travelling to Druskininkai, a spa town close to the Belarusian boarder surrounded by natural springs, peat bogs and pine forests and home to Grutas Park, where toppled statues of Lenin and Stalin are gathered together in a form of Soviet theme park. From £460 per person, this tour offers the kind of value for money with which Regent has become synonymous.

The popular 9 day Cycling on Saaremaa Tour, explores this tranquil island by bicycle and spends each night in one of the island’s many cosy farmhouses. Alternatively, check into the luxurious Padaste Manor, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World with elegant bedrooms, exceptional restaurant choices, a renowned spa and stunning scenery on tap on the Tallinn & the Islands 6 day tour from £780 pp.

Back for 2009 are old favourites including Regent’s best-selling Classical Baltic Group Tours (from £775 per person for 8 days) and its Capital Cities Tours (from £635 per person for 10 days), which continue to be excellent value and offer an ideal introduction the delights of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

For those wishing to explore Poland for the first time, take your pick of Regent’s collection of tours, which include the 10 day Highlights of Poland tour from £795 per person, the Warsaw & Krakow 7 day tour from £495 per person and the 8 day Classical Poland Group Tour from £850 per person.

For 2009, Regent is delighted to offer three fly-drives, which remain an extremely popular holiday choice for those wanting flexibility as well as value for money. The fly-drive options are a 10 day Baltic Fly-drive from £880 per person, a Lithuanian Fly-drive from £715 per person for 10 days and an 11 day Coastal Baltic Fly-drive. From £890 per person, this unusual fly-drive itinerary starts in Vilnius from where you drive to Lithuania’s coastline, heading north via pretty fishing villages, the Curonian Spit, via ferry to the islands of Saaremaa and Muhu, before reaching Tallinn, your final destination.

Regent has added a selection of the region’s new hotels, including the 4* Mabre Residence Hotel, a former 17th century monastery on the edge of Vilnius’ Old Town and Hotel Shakespeare, a boutique hotel in the heart of Vilnius’ Old Town – many of its 31 rooms, all named after famous writers, overlook St Anne’s Church or Gedmino Castle while the hotel’s Sonnet restaraurant and its cosy lounge bar are a must.
The variety of the 2009 brochure perfectly reflects Regent’s deep-rooted understanding of The Baltics and Poland and its commitment to providing clients with endless possibilities for adventure in this increasingly popular part of Europe.

Trafalgar Tours will explore Europe and Britain “The CostSaver Way” next year on 40 diverse tours planned to ensure flexibility, choice, and outstanding value with rates as low as $126 per day.

Drawing on Trafalgar’s 60-plus years of knowledge and expertise, CostSaver itineraries offer clients the opportunity to enjoy enriching, hassle-free touring vacations at savings of up to 40 percent when compared to traveling independently. Targeting multi-generational family vacations — the fastest growing segment in travel — Trafalgar is introducing three new Family Experience CostSaver tours.

Also new in 2009 is a 10-day Spanish Experience featuring seven of the country’s most intriguing cities. “For couples, singles, or families, our CostSaver tours ensure tremendous flexibility and choice as well as incredible value. We know that even during these challenging economic times, our guests do not want to sacrifice the unique life experiences enjoyed through travel,” said Trafalgar Tours President Paul Wiseman. “We see this commitment to travel especially among our growing family market and have created new tours to appeal to their specific needs.”

Reinforcing Trafalgar’s commitment to savings and value, the company’s Price Guarantee offers added peace of mind when making future travel plans. Once a deposit is paid in full, the land portion of the tour is 100 percent guaranteed — regardless of fluctuating international currencies or possible increases in fuel costs, guests will not be charged any surcharges. Trafalgar also pays the same commissions on its CostSaver programs as it does on its First Class Europe & Britain tours.

Trafalgar’s three new Family Experience CostSaver tours feature special pricing on itineraries designed to be exciting for children and stress-free for parents with special family accommodations (all rates are land-only, double-occupancy). European Adventures takes guests from the White Cliffs of Dover to the Toy Museum in Prague, the Glockenspiel in Munich, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This 15-day journey, priced from $2,250 per person, visits nine countries, including England, Belgium, Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France.

Castles, Highlands & Heritage showcases the beauty of Great Britain on a 15-day tour through England, Wales, and Scotland, with stops at such sites as Stonehenge, Shakespeare’s home, a journey to Loch Ness, and a visit to St. Andrews. The tour is priced from $2,050 per person. Gladiators, Gondolas & Mountains explores the crown jewels of Italy, France, Monaco, and Switzerland on a 13-day tour visiting Rome, Florence, the Tuscan Hills, Nice, Geneva, Zermatt, Italian Lakes, and Venice. The program is priced from $2,175 per person.

Celebrating the art, architecture, and delectable cuisine of Spain, a new Spanish Experience CostSaver program is priced from $1,425 and visits Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Valencia, Peniscola, and Barcelona. CostSaver tours are priced at savings of up to 40 percent less than traveling to Europe on an independent itinerary: City Breaks range from 8 to 11 days, allowing guests the luxury of time to completely immerse themselves in some of the world’s greatest cities including Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Rome. European Discoveries include 14 destination-rich journeys exploring the heart of Europe, ranging from 10 to 34 days. Regional Experiences allow for more in-depth exploration of Europe’s fascinating history, pageantry, and culture on tours of 8 to 34 days.

Traveling “The CostSaver Way” combines all the benefits of fully escorted touring with the flexibility of independent travel. An affordable travel option for couples, singles and families alike, CostSaver tours provide great value with accommodations in carefully selected, quality hotels; the personal concierge services of a professional, knowledgeable tour director; daily sightseeing and optional excursions hosted by expert local guides; excellent culinary options; and, transportation by deluxe motor coach.

 For more information and reservations, call 800-854-0103 or visit www.trafalgartours.com

Hassle free vacation planning with all-inclusive river cruises

According to a new survey conducted by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and Cruise Critic, “Cruising can be a great choice for multigenerational travel, with over 60% of the respondents on this survey saying they sometimes or always travel as an extended family (with grandparents and/or grandchildren).” Uniworld understands this, and has developed multigenerational family-friendly river cruises specifically to appeal to grandparents and parents who wish to share the gift of Europe with the special young people in their lives.

According to Guy Young, president of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, “With such a huge demand for new opportunities for multigenerational travel, it was a natural evolution for us to offer river cruising programs geared towards families. Our family-friendly programs have been developed around summer vacations in July and August, so planning a vacation is always easy.”

The value of an all-inclusive Uniworld cruise is unbeatable. Uniworld’s offers special family pricing with young people between 8 and 18 traveling at 50% off the cruise price when traveling with an adult. Add in all meals with soft drinks, entertainment, lectures and demonstrations onboard, and exciting shore excursions, fully hosted by local guides, and you have the ideal, hassle-free, value-packed family vacation.

Uniworld’s multigenerational programs provide the opportunity for families to explore amazing countries, gain valuable insights, and intimately learn about different cultures up-close and personal as a family. “It is important to note that Uniworld’s itineraries are different from ocean cruises in that the goal of our programs is to give young travelers an understanding of European culture, art, music and history in an engaging way,” adds Young.

Family-friendly itineraries include:

A 9-day Castles Along the Rhine River Cruise sailing the Rhine River between Amsterdam and Basel. The fairytale castles, combined with the breathtaking landscape, old-world towns with quaint half-timbered buildings, exciting museums with self-playing musical instruments and legendary myths are certain to enchant the entire family. Special highlights include a mini-train ride to Siegfried’s Mechanical Museum, home to one of the largest collection of self-playing musical instruments in the world, and the Speyer Technical Museum with a walk-in Boeing 747, the largest propeller aircraft in the world, a U9 German Navy submarine, fire engines, locomotives, aircrafts and helicopters.

Cruise only prices are from $2,399 per person, based on double occupancy for July and August departures. Children between 8 and 18 years of age receive 50% off cruise-only rate when accompanied by an adult.

A 9-day Paris and Normandy River Cruise sailing along the Seine from Paris the” City of Lights,” past the luminous countryside of Northern France to the nostalgic beaches of Normandy and then back to Paris. This unique program offers the adventures family-friendly guided tours of Paris, Honfleur, Rouen and Giverny, and the real-life education of standing on the beaches of Normandy as a family sharing in the meaningful events that forever changed the world. Special highlights include: Joan de Arc Museum in Rouen, the Naturospace Museum in Honfleur, and a hike to the Stronghold of Richard the Lionheart, Chateau Gaillard.

Cruise only prices are from $2,599 per person, based on double occupancy. Children between 8 and 18 years of age receive 50% off cruise-only rate when accompanied by an adult.

About Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection
Los Angeles-based Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, the premier river cruise company, was recently named to Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Top 10 Small Ship Cruise Lines, Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List and their Readers’ Choice Awards for World’s Top 10 Small Ship Cruise Lines. Uniworld features intimate, elegant boutique, hotel-style cruise ships with an average capacity of 134 guests, an award-winning staff with a ratio of one staff member for every three guests, world-class cuisine, and expertly planned itineraries with custom-blended shore excursions. The company offers over 500 departures on more than 40 itineraries sailing on 12 rivers in over 20 countries throughout Europe, Russia, China, and Egypt.

For more information, contact your Preferred Travel Professional. Call Uniworld at 1-800-733-7820 or visit www.uniworld.com

Cruise Baltic has announced two new members — the Scandic hotel chain and the destination of Kemi, Finland. Cruise Baltic is a network of cruise destinations in the Baltic Sea offering access to 10 countries. Scandic has hotels in eight of the 10 countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. Kemi, often considered the home of Santa Claus, is Cruise Baltic’s 26th destination in the network, a number that has nearly doubled since its origin in 2004.
“We can offer cruise passengers easy and accessible accommodation in the majority of Cruise Baltic’s destination,” said Stephan Stahl, vice president of sales at Scandic. “Cruising in the Baltic Sea region is expanding hugely, and with our number of rooms nearly doubling by 2012, this works together well. We are pleased to be part of Cruise Baltic, which we view as a very professional network.

All in all, it is a very good platform for us to work together.” Scandic hotels are situated in city centers and close to key transport routes. The number of rooms will expand from 26,000 in 2008 to 44,000 by 2012, located in Northern and Eastern Europe as well as the Baltic States and Russia.

Situated on the northernmost coastal region of the Baltic Sea, Kemi provides a gateway to the northern areas of Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the Murmansk area in Russia. During the past five years, Kemi has focused on the cruise market. “We are very happy to join Cruise Baltic as the fourth destination in Finland,” said Markku Oravainen, managing director at Kemi Tourism.

 “With the increasing focus on cruise in our city, it seems a natural synergy to join Cruise Baltic. The success achieved by Cruise Baltic during its first years is highly motivating and we look forward to learning from the professional branding process from which we will certainly develop our products. Of course, working in partnership with all the other destinations is a huge advantage for us.”

Kemi was founded in 1869 and today guests can take tours through the city to see its historic influence from the Russian and Swedish eras. Finland was part of the Swedish Kingdom for over 700 years. The Finnish War between Russia and Sweden took place from 1808-09. Kemi today has 23,000 inhabitants and its urban and rural landscape changes completely with the seasons.

For more information, visit www.cruisebaltic.com

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is reintroducing its Pay-In-Full Savings program that gives savings of $600 to $2,000 per couple on 2009 itineraries throughout Europe.

The deal is good for those who pay in full by Jan. 31. “In the current challenging economic environment we want to give our customers every incentive to travel. With the reintroduction of the pay-in-full savings, coupled with the all-inclusiveness of a Uniworld river cruise, consumers now have a very compelling reason to travel to Europe and the other destinations we offer,” said Guy Young, president of Uniworld.

For more information, call 800-868-7905 or visit www.uniworld.com

Auto Europe has announced details of a new partnership with Europe’s largest golf travel company, Golfbreaks.com. Auto Europe will now be a sole supplier of rented vehicles for www.Golfbreaks.com  offered via its call centre and website booking system. Auto Europe will be providing Golfbreaks.com with a system designed specifically to help its call centre process car hire requests simply and quickly. Golfbreaks.com was formed in 1998 to make booking golf breaks as simple and straight-forward as possible. It offers a range of golfing breaks and holidays across the world.

For more information, visit www.golfbreaks.com or www.auto-europe.com

Peter Deilmann Cruises is offering three classical music voyages on the Dresden and the Mozart.

 The Dresden sails from Germany’s Hamburg to Dresden on April 25, while the Mozart departs on April 26 and Oct. 4, sailing roundtrip from Munich (Passau). In addition to hearing an array of classical performances onboard, passengers can also purchase excursion packages that include five shore excursions and concert performances ashore for $257 per person.

 The 106-passenger MV Dresden’s classical music program is punctuated by performances in Dresden’s Semper Opera House, with headliner Sophie Koch singing chansons from Hector Berlioz, Henri Duparc and Richard Strauss. The MV Mozart, with its 100 guests, features five classical musicians who serenade guests en route with pieces from the Baroque era, classic sonatas repertoires and harp music; live performances will take place in several of the itinerary’s ports. Fares range from $1,625 to $4,500 per person, double.

In addition to hearing Koch perform at the Semper Opera House, guests who purchase the $257 Dresden shore excursion package will also take a behind-the-scenes tour of the opera house on the banks of the Elbe River. The itinerary will visit the well-preserved medieval city of Tangermünde;

 Magdeburg, home to the tallest church building in eastern Germany; Meissen, renowned for its quality porcelain; and Wittenberg, where an optional excursion travels in the footsteps of Protestant Reformer Martin Luther. Guests will also visit Prague and Decín. Fares range from $1,625 to $3,135 per person, double.

The Mozart’s two Danube itineraries feature sonata repertoires and piano and harp music by French Impressionists Ravel, Debussy and Jolivet.

The cruise includes live musical performances in Budapest and Vienna, a tour of the Theatre of Vienna, where the “Magic Flute” was first played; the Stephansdom Cathedral, where Mozart was married; and Figaro House, where Mozart wrote “The Marriage of Figaro.” Other stops on the river include Dürnstein, Melk, Grein and Bratislava. Fares range from $2,000 to $4,500 per person, double.

For more information, call 800-348-8287 or visit www.deilmann-cruises.com/theme