A holiday is the most appropriate way to recharge your tired batteries. You may be unsure about the destination to select for your holidays. If you love snow clad peaks and skiing, then Grindelwald may be the most appropriate destination for you. Situated in the Bernese Alps, Grindelwald is renowned as a tourist destination for skiers.

Skiing and other activities

Grindelwald village is located in the Interlaken district of Switzerland. Located at a height of 1,034 metres, it has popular slopes for beginners and intermediates. Experienced skiers can also test their mettle on the Eiger glacier. The non skiers can also enjoy a great time by indulging in activities like tobogganing and hiking trips.

You can also spend a splendid cross country skiing trip between the Grosse and Kleine Scheidegg ridges. Various events are held in the Grindelwald village throughout the year. The Festival International des Neiges is the most popular event, which is held in the month of January every year. You can time your visit accordingly to be a part of this unique event.

Excursions

You can undertake several excursions in the beautiful village of Grindelwald and its surroundings. You can enjoy an amazing trip in the modern cogwheel railway around the Kleine Scheidegg. The railway station is situated below the Eiger North face. You can also enjoy a full day trip and dine in style at the world’s first revolving restaurant situated in Schilthorn.

Museum

A stay in Grindelwald is incomplete without a trip to the Heimat museum. The museum is situated in the Talhaus.

Pack your skiing gear and get ready for a beautiful trip to Grindelwald.

Holidays are the most anticipated part of the year for many people. Whether it is just a short weekend break, or a couple of weeks away, a holiday should be relaxing and reviving. If you are looking for completely unique experience, Grindelwald is an excellent choice. Grindelwald is a Swiss municipality which is located in the district of Interlaken.

Holidays to Grindelwald are never boring, as there are plenty of breathtaking places to visit. Below are some of the most popular attractions:

Maennlichen- This is the longest aerial cableway in Europe, which takes you 7300 feet above sea level and brings you eye to eye with three mighty peaks- Jungfrau, Eiger and Moench.

Bachalpsee and First- Here you can enjoy a hiking area that is not only beautiful but also extremely vast. Over 90 km of high-alpine and valley walking trails can be easily accessed through the panoramic gondola, Grindelwald-First lift.

Blue Ice Grotto- The Blue Ice Grotto can be found at the Upper Grindelwald glacier. You can climb towards the glacier on a specially built stairway, enter the cave and get a magnificent view of the glacier’s mystic and natural beauty.

There are also a number of other places to visit during holidays to Grindelwald, including Heimatmuseum, Glacier Gorge and Niederhorn, the panorama mountain.

Holidays to Grindelwald during the winter months will also allow you to witness the Winter Snow Festival, a popular festive event.

On 20th April, Swiss airways saw their first new aircraft, the Airbus A330 make its first inaugural flight from its hub in Switzerland’s banking capital city Zurich to make its long trip to New York City.

On the new Airbus A330 were 227 holiday makers and business passengers and the airline reported that following in-flight surveys the passengers confirmed that they had enjoyed a “totally new in-flight product in all three seating classes”.

The modern aircraft has a number of luxury features which includes the provision for more leg room even in economy class including seating that is air cushioned which can be converted into a comfortable seat which lies flat in the first class and business suites.

The demand for more direct flights between New York City and Zurich for both business and holiday purposes has been extremely high and for the airline to offer another direct connection with a range of special facilities for its long haul passengers is a milestone for them.

Christoph Franz CEO of Swiss Airlines said:

“Swiss today stands on firm foundations in a turbulent business environment. All our personnel have worked very hard for this moment. In putting our first more efficient Airbus A330-300 into service, we are further consolidating our market position and underlining our ongoing strategic investments in our corporate future.”

The international flight routes that Swiss Airlines operate include connections to some of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe including Los Angeles and Athens.

Recent reports from TAP Portugal show that over 8.7 million passengers were served by the company during 2008. This is a massive increase of over 1 million holiday makers and business travellers over their 2007 figures.

The largest overall growth was reported by the Portuguese airline as coming from its flight routes within Europe. Their records show that on these routes, additional passenger figures reached over 600,000 in 2008.

The growth that was achieved by TAP Portugal was well above the industry average in 2008. Figures released from the International Air Transport Association showed that overall global air passenger traffic had increased by a mere 2% in 2008.

The Portuguese airline claims that its recent success was “a reward for the efforts made by the company and its employees to correspond to the expectations of our customers.”

During December 2008, TAP Portugal also opened a new premium lounge at Lisbon airport in Portugal. The lounge offers over 500 square metres of additional space for Star Alliance Gold customers and premium passengers.

The new luxury lounge gives premium paying holiday makers many new facilities. These include a multimedia business centre, wireless internet access, a restaurant and private showers.

From this spring, Swiss Airlines will be gradually introducing its brand new first class premium product.

The new Swiss Airlines first class cabin is due to be made available for holiday makers to book soon. It has a huge selling point in the form of a ‘lie flat’ seat which is adjustable to the person’s individual preference and specifications.

The first class Swiss Air cabin features their new guest seat which will allow their premium passengers to work or dine with a fellow passenger during the flight.

The chief marketing and product officer at Swiss Airlines is Christoph Beckmann, who recently commented ‘Our “suite above the clouds” underlines Swiss Airlines positioning as a top quality airline, and marks a further step in our ongoing quality drive, both on the ground and in the air.’

Swiss Airlines are planning to introduce their first class product in conjunction with their fleet renewal programme which involves the replacement of their current Airbus A330-200s with A330-300 models which are more fuel efficient aircraft.

Based in Zurich, Swiss Airlines fly holidaymakers to 42 countries and 76 cities around the globe.

This New Year’s record snowfall and huge choice of cheap holidays, last minute deals and bargain hotel rooms have drawn the British holiday maker back to some of Europe’s most popular ski slopes in France and Switzerland.

The winter tourist industry had been acutely aware of the possibility of thousands of unoccupied hotel rooms as a direct result of the impact from the global credit crunch.

The Times newspaper published recent research on a survey they had carried out reporting that the boom in winter city breaks to France and Switzerland is largely due to the best skiing conditions seen in Europe for over ten years; and in particular, the slopes of France and Switzerland enjoying very high levels of snowfall.

Publisher of Snow magazine, Graeme Spratley said to the Times:

If you’ve got the money, it’s a great year. There is no shortage of bargains.

It also appears that economic concerns are leading British holiday makers to look at the all inclusive winter sports holiday packages, due to the weakness of the pound making the self catering holiday options more expensive than they were a year ago.

Experts say that those British holiday makers who have been searching for winter sun breaks this New Year are likely to take their holiday in countries such as Egypt, the Canary Islands and Tenerife.

ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents, have just recently reported that the British public will quite often book a holiday abroad over the Christmas break and it normally includes destinations such as Egypt and Tenerife; though, Mexico and the Caribbean have always proven to be very popular at this time of year.

Spokesperson for ABTA, Frances Tuke stated:

Christmas and New Year are always big when it comes to people going away on holiday. People book their holidays way in advance and they go away to see friends and family, they go away to get away from friends and family and they can also get free days. People expect this time of year to be quiet at work and people take that opportunity.

Other ABTA figures also show over two million people would be leaving the UK through British Airways Airports including Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton and the main Scottish airports of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Any of those who are planning their winter sports holiday either now or over the forthcoming weeks have recently been reminded that proper travel insurance whilst participating in dangerous sports is absolutely vital.

Great Britain’s Ski Club has just made a recent warning to skiers / snowboarders who do not have full winter sports insurance because if anything did go wrong a dream holiday could quickly turn into a hugely expensive nightmare.

A recent survey carried out by The Ski Club Great Britain revealed that 34% of travellers doing winter sports had only taken either basic travel insurance or no cover at all.

People on family holidays and independent travellers are being reminded of the importance of not taking the cheapest insurance option without checking the small print or the insurance options because most basic packages will not cover winter sports in the unfortunate event of a medical emergency.

The information manager, Alyn Morgan from Ski Club, GB, stated:

‘People who are unlucky enough to have an accident on the slopes can often get caught out by either forgetting to take out insurance, thinking they can risk going away without it or not taking out adequate cover. The key is to read the small print and make sure your policy covers you for all the activities you will be taking part in.’

There are a number of winter pursuits that need to be covered as an additional option in your travel insurance and some of these are probably considered unusual but these sports are additional extras on many travel insurance policies along with ski-ing and snowboarding (snow mobiling, dog sledding, off piste skiing, tobogganing).

Emirates, the Dubai based airline, has announced that they are opening the 21st executive lounge for passengers in Zurich, Switzerland.

The lounge has been located so that visitors will be able to look out at the Swiss Alps.  Emirates has stated the lounge offers:

‘the latest in comfort, convenience and luxury whilst on the move’

Various facilities within the new executive lounge include showers, widescreen TVs, a complimentary bar, free broadband access, massage chairs and even cuisine prepared by on-site chefs.

First class and business class passengers will be able to take advantage of the lounge, as well as the gold members of the frequent flyer programme Skywards.

Walter Riggans, vice-president of airport services for Emirates, said:

‘We have invested millions of US dollars in providing dedicated Emirates lounges for our passengers and we are proud to bring our superb product to Zurich airport.  The Emirates lounges are a true sanctuary for air travellers and add ease, luxury and comfort to their journeys. We have no doubt that our valued customers will enjoy the excellent facilities in Switzerland just as much as those who have enjoyed Emirates lounges elsewhere on our six-continent network.’

Emirates also offers lounges in places such as Bagkok, Frankfurt, London Heathrow Airport, New York JFK and Sydney.

Geneva is a glorious city in South Switzerland, close to the French border. It is renowned worldwide for its expensive watches and Swiss chocolate, but there is so much more to see and do.

Geneva is the perfect luxury holiday for those searching for a scenic break. Lake Geneva is one of the largest lakes in Europe, more than 582 sq km (225 square miles). You can see its clear azure waters from a boat or steam ship, which run from the landside quays from Easter to October. Both Lord Byron and Shelley made pilgrimages here. (more…)