Winter vacation tips
Aurora travel tips
Ali McLean, from our supplier, Activities Abroad, shares his Aurora travel tips:“A couple of years ago I was at a place called Lake Inari, standing on a frozen lake waiting for the Northern Lights it was -27°C and the kids were sitting inside a hut under blankets and next to a fire. About midnight the lights came out and I ran in asking them to come and see the display. My daughter looked at me and said, ‘nah dad, we’ve already seen them.’ Kids have to be a certain age to appreciate them; I’d say anyone below their teenage years doesn’t have enough of a grasp of what they are and gets too tired and too cold for the hunt. It tends to be a trip for the older generation while the kids get stuck in to all the great winter sports.”
Training & preparation
Chloe Knott at Exodus:“Always read the trip notes that accompany your trip, as they will give good guidance on how fit you need to be. We find that women tend to underestimate and men overestimate their abilities”
Cross country skiing advice
Tom Wilkinson, cross country skiing expert from our supplier, Exodus:
“Don’t compare cross country skiing to downhill! It’s smooth, often peaceful, and a wonderful way of experiencing the landscape. Also, if you are a downhiller you often forget your heel is not attached particularly when doing a snowplough. It’s not about going 100 miles an hour. It is however more of a full cardio workout.”
“Don’t compare cross country skiing to downhill! It’s smooth, often peaceful, and a wonderful way of experiencing the landscape. Also, if you are a downhiller you often forget your heel is not attached particularly when doing a snowplough. It’s not about going 100 miles an hour. It is however more of a full cardio workout.”
Snowshoeing
Xania, co-founder of our relaxingly active vacations partner, WearActive:“If you can hike, you can showshoe. Obviously the length of the hike and the ascents involved matter. But do some cardio in the gym before you come, get on a stairclimber or anything that takes you uphill, and you’ll be fine. Because we can tailor our walks to groups’ abilities, we can either take you on four-hour, 1,000m ascent trek, or a flat riverbed trek that would be just a little more strenuous than a short walk at home.”
Finland Northern Lights vacation, Wilderness Auroras
Winter activities and Northern Lights in Finland
From
£2105
5 days
inc UK flights
Snowshoeing vacation in Finland
A hut-to-hut snowshoe tour in beautiful Hossa National Park.
From
€1110
7 days
ex flights
Venabu cross country skiing vacation in Norway
Independent cross-country skiing in dramatic landscape
From
£1799 to £2179
8 days
ex flights
Lapland vacation, husky safari & log cottage
Thrill of dog sledding meeting the luxury of unique igloos
From
€3564 to €4018
5 days
ex flights
Northern Lights tour in Iceland
Springs, waterfalls, volcanoes and Europe’s biggest glacier
From
US $2995 to US $3695
6 days
ex flights
Highlands walking
Andy Bateman, co-founder of our Scottish Highlands walking vacations partner, Scot Mountain Vacations:“People often ask me what my favorite season is for walking in the Highlands and it would have to be winter, with the snow on the pine trees, and views that on clear days can go on forever. You can see Ben Nevis fifty miles away from the high Cairngorms. I know a lot of the other guides up here feel the same way.”
Sleeping in snowholes
Andy Bateman, co-founder of Scot Mountain Vacations, and expert guide:
“Snowholes are actually safer than a tent, as you’re in naturally sheltered areas. You could have a raging storm outside but the snow would muffle it completely. It’s about zero degrees but because there’s no wind chill factor, you’re actually warmer than you might be in a tent on an exposed hillside in summer.”
“Snowholes are actually safer than a tent, as you’re in naturally sheltered areas. You could have a raging storm outside but the snow would muffle it completely. It’s about zero degrees but because there’s no wind chill factor, you’re actually warmer than you might be in a tent on an exposed hillside in summer.”
Wolf-tracking
Sally Guillaume, founder and director of our activity vacation partner Undiscovered Mountains:“My husband and I run wolf-tracking vacations in the French Alps just two or three times each year. Timing is important in winter, when their enormous territory has been reduced by snowfall so you’re more likely to find them, and tracking becomes easier, but it’s not such heavy snow that you can’t get around easily.”
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Winter vacation tips from our travelers
At Responsible Travel, we think the best people to advise our travelers are often... other travelers. They always return from our tours with packing tips, weather reports, ideas about what to do - and opinions about what not to.
We have selected some of the most useful winter vacation travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your vacation - and the space inside your suitcase.
We have selected some of the most useful winter vacation travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your vacation - and the space inside your suitcase.
Go if you want to spend time in amazing nature with few distractions and get away from it all. If you want to hang out in cafes, walk out to shops etc, it is probably not for you!![]()
- Adrian Porter on a snowshoeing vacation in the Mercantour National Park, France
"It was easy to put too many layers of clothing on when doing sporting activities such as skiing. Take your own balaclava or two and glove liners. You can rinse out your clothes it you get too sweaty and dry them in electric dryers that each hotel has. So you don't need to go over the top with too many winter clothes. The warm winter clothes they supply are excellent and all you need are some thermals for a couple of days" - Thomas White on a Northern lights short break, Finland
"Get as fit as you can before you go. Take layers of clothes for skiing and lighter clothes to wear indoors - Austrian hotels are very warm!" – Amanda Ariss on a cross country skiing in Austria
"Get as fit as you can before you go. Take layers of clothes for skiing and lighter clothes to wear indoors - Austrian hotels are very warm!" – Amanda Ariss on a cross country skiing in Austria
Stay as long as you can, both on the vacation and in the wilderness cabin - it is amazing. Be interested in what the guides can teach you, if you are willing to ask they know so much about everything it is fascinating![]()
- Kathy Agashi on a Swedish Lapland winter activity & Northern Lights vacation
"I thought that "winter equipment provided" meant snowshoes, skis & boots etc but all clothing (plus thermos, head torch, rucksack) was also available to borrow, no need to pack anything other than a few baselayers & something comfortable for the evening. Having said that, it was nice to wear my own ski gear but don't buy things if you don't already have them....except maybe a balaclava/buff for the minus 30 days!" - Pauline Hawes on a snowshoeing vacation in Finland
"Take a tripod for your camera! An essential item" - Russell Needham on a Northern Lights vacation
"Don't be worried if you are going alone - I made some great friends on the trip that I'll keep in contact with and no doubt plan other trips together" - Sarah Daly on a Scotland winter walking vacation
"Take a tripod for your camera! An essential item" - Russell Needham on a Northern Lights vacation
"Don't be worried if you are going alone - I made some great friends on the trip that I'll keep in contact with and no doubt plan other trips together" - Sarah Daly on a Scotland winter walking vacation
More Winter articles
You don't have to go far to find true winter wilderness, where reality matches the fantasy.
The long nights of winter are ideal for spotting the Northern Lights.
Be whisked off to Scandinavia and the Alps, and to the Canadian wilderness.
Escape busy ski resorts in favour of snowshoeing and cross country skiing that make the most of local guides.
You can head to Lapland and the Arctic Circle for a taste of spectacular wilderness or explore pristine national parks.
Track alpine wolves, trek on snowshoes between remote refuges and learn how to climb a frozen waterfall.
Look north towards the Dolomites in winter. These jagged peaks enclose a remote and beautiful wilderness.
Give Santa a swerve and head out into the pristine wilderness; exciting activities await.
On a mixed activity vacation, you can try your hand at mushing a team of huskies or cross country skiing.
Find winter fun by escaping to a frozen wonderland of bracing and exciting activities.
Spend time together and create magical stories to recount for years to come.
As snowfall becomes more sporadic, Europe’s ski resorts rely on manufacturing artificial snow to keep their slopes open.
Look beyond skiing if you want to climate proof your next winter trip.
For those who don’t want to join the piste posse, the traditional ways of enjoying winter are becoming hugely popular again.
