Winter vacation 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.”

Chloe Knott is Mont Blanc and all round alpine expert at Exodus, one of our leading winter activity vacation suppliers: “On all trips, you need to take comfortable shoes for the evening , when you will really want to just put on some jogging bottoms and comfortable shoes. Take a good book. If you have a metal water bottle, at the end of the season when it is getting colder, you can fill it with hot water at night, put it in a sock and use it as a hot water bottle in.”

Tom Wilkinson, Exodus: “Pack a drinks bottle/flask. Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you don’t get thirsty. Also I’m also a mega snacker, so need things to eat to keep me going.”