January 14, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Book that European ski trip

by Tony Chamberlain/

Given the economy, this can be a good time to travel overseas. (photo: Passero Pellegrino Hotel)

Given the economy, this can be a good time to travel overseas. (photo: Passero Pellegrino Hotel)

'Tis the season when a fair number of skiers and boarders are making vacation plans for the European trip. In some ways, given the economy and the general downturn in overseas air travel, this can be a great time for the Alps or elsewhere.

The first decision to make is whether to do your own planning — and this does take a fair amount of time and study — or join a group. Having done it both ways, my choice has been going my own way, not because I’m particularly anti-social, but because group planning often takes many of your choices away.

Every year at the Boston Ski and Snowboard Expo at the Bayside Expo Center, I run into Charlie Leocha, who is always getting out a new copy of his well-regarded "Ski Snowboard Europe." There are plenty of similar books out there, but I regard Charlie’s as among the best, and I’ve used it often. It takes a lot of guesswork out of the project.

Once you narrow down a location, check out the local tourism websites. In this Internet age, these can be a great boon, and resulted in one of my most delightful ski stays I’ve had in Europe — at the Passero Pellegrino Hotel in the Piemonte village of Claviere, Italy.

I chose the area to ski after the Torino Olympics ended because it was near several excellent ski areas such as Sestriere, Sansicario and Bardonecchia, a group collectively known as the Milky Way.

But I ended up staying in Claviere often, and taking the lifts that rose out of town and ended in gorgeous terrain that allowed one to ski into Montgenevre, France, for lunchtime crepes.

These are the kinds of choices that group travel often takes away.

► Check the exchange rate. Right now the euro is falling, making foreign travel more attractive than it has been in recent years.

► You can often handle booking arrangements online. This often includes hotel, meals, equipment rental and lift tickets.

► My own preference is to bring my boots and rent skis there. It took me years to realize the pleasure of getting in and out of planes, buses and rental cars without ski bags.

► Many hotels now can book using your credit card, but some may need you to wire a deposit in euros. This is not hard, but it takes as long as a week to make the transaction once you get the bank account information you need.

► Make sure to ask about Internet access. I usually need the use of Internet, but it’s also a way to be in touch with people back home, including family members and neighbors watching your house. My wife needs it to check in with the cat sitter, for instance.

► If you are making your own airline reservations, it has never been easier. Most of the well-known travel sites will give you most competitive rates. Also, if you do bring skis, some airlines are discontinuing their nasty practice of charging travelers with ski and boot bags.

► Check out various routes. Claviere, for instance, was three hours from Geneva and the same from Milan.

► Train travel in Europe is fast and efficient, and in most places so are the bus lines. But we ugly Americans who love our cars can book online through any of the major U.S. rental companies.

► Further fine tuning — whether to hire a guide or attend a ski school — can be done over there. In general, the first day in a new place, a guide can cut through wasted motion and get you to the best skiing and boarding.

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