Guest Post

If you’re planning on sloping off this coming ski season, you may be thinking of package deals, some of which can offer good, all-inclusive value.

You may not have considered the benefits of organising your trip independently. But by booking cheap flights and arranging accommodation and transfers yourself, you’ll have the flexibility and convenience of being able to choose your UK and destination airport, and the date and time of travel which suit you best.

Some fully inclusive deals, for example, look good initially but turn out to have long transfer times to the resort. Or they may not leave from the best UK airport for you, so that you have to travel from, say, Belfast to London, before you’re even on your way to Europe.

Along with the right flights there are some great hotel deals offering the chance to build your own outstanding value ski holiday, beating tour operators hands down on price.

Equally, going it alone is a great way of getting off the beaten track and away from the crowds. It may also be easier to take in more than one mountain resort in a single trip.

At the same time, you can often save money by only paying for what you need. For example, you may already have somewhere to stay, or have your own skis.

And, while doing your own thing may take a little more organisation than booking a package deal, the Internet has made it easier than ever to gather all the necessary information, and to book everything from accommodation and travel to tuition and ski equipment hire online. It doesn’t have to be a complicated business when everything’s just a few clicks away.

When it comes to finding somewhere to stay, making your arrangements independently means you get the freedom to decide what kind of accommodation and holiday base to go for, from apartments and chalets to hotels, and from party towns to intimate, cosy resorts.

You can often get some of the cheapest flights at quieter travel times by enjoying a midweek break for a few days, or even by sloping off for the weekend! You’ll need fewer days off work, but still get your time on the piste. You could even grab a few bonus snow days in addition to a main family ski break.

When it comes to choosing which airport to fly to, again it doesn’t  have to be complicated.

Geneva is one example of an airport well positioned for most skiing areas of the Swiss and French Alps. There’s an international and French side, and the closest resorts include Chatel, Courchevel, Flaine, Val d’Isere, Chamonix and Verbier.

For onward travel, there are trains to the Swiss ski resorts, which you can reserve online. There’s also an Aero-skibus travelling between Geneva and the French ski stations. Book online or when you get there. You could also consider cab or mini-bus hire, especially if several of you are travelling.

Another good airport to consider is Chambery, in the heart of the French ski region and a smaller airport than Geneva, with easy transfers to all the resorts of the French Alps.

So, with your skis in the hold of the plane, and your accommodation, transfers and tuition all sorted, grab a flight and head off on a flexible DIY break this season. You’ll love the feeling of greater control over your holiday plans: no wonder this style of travel is increasingly popular! – Travel Feeder, your ultimate photo travel guide to Europe

Since many cities of Europe experienced early snow a couple of weeks ago, the weather condition in these cities of Northern Europe, such as London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, had never improved. Continuous snowing had forced traffic and public transport into halt. Yesterday, the situation became worse as the heavy snow has blanketed Paris and forced the Eiffel Tower to close completely for public visit! It was the heaviest snowfall in Paris since 1987, 24 year ago.

According to France’s meteorological service France Meteo, 11 centimetres (4 inches) of snow fell in central Paris, prevented around 100 flights from taking off or landing at Roissy airport during the temporary closure while workers cleared the runways of the heavy snow. Thousands of passengers were stranded at the airport late Wednesday after the access roads to the airport were blocked!

It has caused great impact on Paris tourism as tourists who planned to visit Paris this week would have to cancel their travel plans! This is one of the reasons why people are less fond of traveling to Europe during Winter. Unless you are planning for a Ski Holidays or a snow seeing tour, the best time to travel to Europe should never be in Winter. That is why most travelers prefer to visit Europe during Summer and the demand of accommodations, trains and flights tickets are so high because of this. So to say, planning your Europe Summer Holidays next year well ahead, as early as now, is very important for budget travelers like me, in order to grab early bird’s offers!

Why bother to book cheaper fares and accommodations in Winter but risk your dream holidays in Europe to heavy snow? Always visit your travel destination during its best visiting time of the year if you are traveling there for the first time. The best time to visit Europe would be in either late Spring or early Autumn when there are lesser crowds but still having perfect daylight for capturing great photo of the Eiffel Tower, like the one above. Can you get this kind of shot in winter?  – Travel Feeder, your ultimate travel photo blog

This coming May would be my 2nd time visiting Western Europe. for the second time, my itinerary does not include any ski tour at any ski destination in The Alps. If you’ve read my Europe tour itinerary planning earlier, our travel to Western Europe shall pass across the Alps twice; Firstly, we traveled by train to Venice passing through the mountain range; Secondly, we will fly over the Alps from Rome to London. along the way we could stop at Switzerland or Southern France for a short ski tour but we do not. In view of our tight budget and tight schedule, we have to pass it over for the second time. It happened to be the same situation as in my first time to Europe. So my dream ski vacation to Mont Blanc and The Alps would remain as my dream…

Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, measuring 4,800m above Sea Water Level. The Mont Blanc Massif is the popular site for skiing, mountaineering, hiking and snowboarding. Chamonix is the French town to stay around Mont Blanc.

I skied only once back in my school time in Scotland over 10 years ago. In fact it was only a short hour fun before snow storming. So, skiing remains a new sports to me. I was dreaming then one day I would arrange a long ski vacation at one of the ski destination in the Alps, staying in a ski resort and experience the excitement of the game and the white environment. I did even dream of owning a French property near Mont Blanc so I could overlook the White Mountain every holidays! Perhaps I should start with a proper ski lessons in the near future…

As world temperature is rising every year, thanks to our own human daily activities and desire, ice is slowly melting away. Snows at the Alps or other white mountains are getting thinner and thinner. One day, we would not be able to see any snows on the Alps or Mont Blanc. So, if possible, visit them NOW before it disappears! If there is ski property for sale, consider to grab one for investment as people will rush to see the last piece of snow land in the future! – Travel Feeder, your travel photo blog.

It’s time now to conclude the whole stories of my packaged travel to Shanghai and other 4 cities in South Yangtze region of China. We spent 8 days in the tour to cover many tourist attractions in Shanghai, Hangzhou, SuZhou, Nanjing, Wuxi and also the water village, Wuzhen. For the first 4 days, we explored the financial capital of China, Shanghai, and also the 2 cities of heaven on the earth which were Hangzhou and Suzhou. I’ve posted a half way summary for these first 4 days of tour earlier. Click this link below if you haven’t got a clue where we are coming from:

South Yangtze China Packaged Travel Halfway Update – Where Have I Been On The First 4 Days?

On the fifth day, we traveled to another significant city in South Yangtze region of China, Nanjing and followed by Wuxi, before traveling back to Shanghai. Here are the stories for the final 4 days of travel in China:

1. In Nanjing, we visited the SongMeiLing villa;
2. Later in the evening, we came to Nanjing Bridge and visited the crystal inner art gallery;
3. At night, we went shopping at the largest pedestrian precinct in Nanjing, the FuZhiMiao;
4. On the next morning, we explored the Nanjing Wall at QinHuai Scenic Area;
5. Being the biggest hoax of our tour, we bought a jade pendent from a jade factory;
6. After having lunch in Nanjing, we progressed to another scenic city of Wuxi;
7. On our way there, I realised we would not have such fun if we didn’t pack these 5 items into our luggage before traveling to China;
8. In Wuxi, the first attraction to visit would definitely the Lingshan giant buddha;
9. I recorded a video also on the scene of “Buddha being bathed by nine dragons”;
10. That’s nothing much on Wuxi nightlife where we only went to a shopping mall;
11. Early in the next morning, we took a fresh air at Lihu Lake scenic area;
12. What else could we do in Wuxi? Check out the film shooting base of “Three Kingdom City”;
13. What could we drink in Wuxi? I had a Taihu Lake Water beer!
14. Taihu Lake is also famous for its freshwater cultured pearls;
15. Enough looking at pearls ladies? Let’s move to go back to Shanghai!
16. We were close. We shopped and drank for the last evening at Nanjing Street, the biggest shopping street in China!
17. Still exploring Shanghai on the final day? Yes. We dropped by the TongRenTang chinese pharmaceutical centre before taking the Shanghai Meglev Train to the airport.

Long stories isn’t it? Sorry if it took you so long to follow me on my travel experience in China last last Autumn. However, you may find it interesting and informative to guide you through the packaged tour or at least you would have a preliminary idea on what you should expect from this type of all-inclusive packaged tour to South Yangtze China.

Good news for me! I’ve finally concluded my weblog on China tour, for this round. Next. So I could concentrate my next travel stories on Phuket… – Travel Feeder, your ultimate photo travel blog