FAQs

Yes you will. If you already have travel insurance check your policy to see if you are covered for Winter Sports. If not you can purchase one of our specialist ski policies online.

The normal luggage allowance is either 15kg or 20 kg per person depending on which airline you are flying with. It may be possible to pay for extra allowance at the time of booking; Ski & Snowboard carriage will carry a supplementary charge per bag.

A local pass will allow you to ski in the immediate vicinity of your resort whereas an area pass will allow you to use the lifts in the surrounding resorts which make up the ski area that your pass covers.

You will need a valid British passport for all our ski & snowboard destinations usually with at least 6 months validity. Any additional queries regarding passports or visa’s should be forwarded to either the Passport Office ( 0870 521 0410 ) or your relevant Embassy.

In the unlikely event that there is a problem with your holiday, please put your complaint in writing to us. This must reach us within 28 days of your return date.

We feature so many resorts that it is hard to pick one particular suited to anyone individual. Each resort has its own attractions and each country its own allure. Skiing in Europe has long been popular with the British because we can drive to the destinations and the French cuisine and wine are very popular. But the advent of the cheap long-haul flights have opened up the US and Canadian ski-resorts to the British skier and the service, standards, value for money and wide open spaces keep people going back for more. It’s your choice, but to help you make it please contact our specialist sales team for their advice.

There is no best time to go skiing. As most resorts are reliant totally on the weather and, in particular, snowfall, it is impossible to tell in advance the type of conditions you will experience in resort. Some skiers like the warm sunshine of spring skiing while others prefer the guaranteed snow, but colder conditions of December and January. And then there are the school holidays and Christmas holidays that attract many because of the wonderful, bustling atmosphere, and also detract those who prefer a quieter time with fewer children around. Speak to one of our travel consultants who are more than willing to advise you on what times of year would be more suitable to you.

No, snow is never guaranteed but as the locations we have chosen generally have good historic snow records. Remember that most resorts have snow-making machines that assist in the skiable terrain being open longer throughout the season. Please see our Snow Reports section on our home page for ski conditions at all of our resorts.

Anyone can ski from around 3 years of age upwards. Of course, the older you get, the more you should examine your insurance policy to make sure you are covered.

For as long as you’d like. Some hotels insist on minimum stays during their busy periods and others don’t. The residences in France do tend to insist on a minimum stay of 7 nights but 7 nights is a good period of time for those on their first ski-holiday. This gives you enough time to get settled on the slopes and also enjoy the surroundings of the ski-resort. Other properties do allow shorter stays for those with little time to spare, while many North American hotels will allow you to stay for any duration you would like. Please contact our friendly and experienced team for specific details on each individual property

Of course you can. Each resort has trained ski instructors and we can arrange ski lessons for you. Learning in resort means you can learn to ski on snow, which isn’t the case in most of the UK, and also means that once you feel confident you can head off onto the slopes after your lessons.

Yes. The children love skiing and you’ll soon see that by arranging lessons for them, they’ll be overtaking you on the slopes.

Ski resorts are designed for skiers but many are now offering things for those non-skiers amongst us such as snowmobiling, snowshoeing and ice-climbing to name but a few. Remember, you are in the mountains so most activities for non-skiers will be in the outdoors and will be in cold temperatures. Of course, the non-skier can enjoy the comforts of your hotel, depending on its facilities of course. Many resorts now have spas and most have a wide range of unique shops to pass the time of day in. Please contact our travel consultants for further advice on which resorts would suit a non-skier.

Yes you can. Either in Europe or North America this is possible. Just choose your destinations and we can do the rest for example Aspen & Las Vegas and Whistler & Vancouver.

Why not? Thousands of people visit Whistler each year without setting foot in Vancouver. Many travellers head to Stowe and Killington and their only experience of Boston is the airport terminal. And would you believe that a large percentage of visitors to Lake Tahoe, fly home without seeing the sights of San Francisco. Born2ski can arrange and tailor-make your holiday to suit you, and if you want a couple of days of shopping and sightseeing in North America’s unique cities, then we’ll arrange it for you.

Alternatively in Europe we work with Campanile Hotels who have properties all across France and provide a wide range of stopover possibilities for those looking to drive to the mountains.

Yes we can pre book these for you with great savings on paying in resort and also securing your equipment for peak dates. Please go to the relevant sections within this website. We offer various types of ski & snowboard equipment for different grades of riders and skiers. We can also offer various types of lift passes within resorts that encompass greater areas such as the Three Valleys in France and the Lake Tahoe Interchangeable Pass in California and Nevada. We can make significant savings for you especially in North America and Canada, give us a call.

Yes we have access to competitively priced flights to both Europe and North America.

Yes we can. Please see the section on the web site or contact our call centre for prices and availability with companies such as SeaFrance, and P&O. We also offer Eurotunnel and the Snow Train service with Eurostar.

Yes, please contact our team for details of all private and scheduled transfers.

Yes, we can book car hire in Europe and North America with suppliers such as Alamo and Hertz.

Only the lead name on the booking can make changes to the booking, subject to availability at the time of the change. Any changes are subject to an amendment fee, plus any increase in cost.

The amendment fee is payable per person and will be advised at the time of the change. We can advise the relevant fees when you contact us to make a change. This is payable at the time of the change and is non-refundable. You can’t make any changes once you’ve checked in online. And certain changes are not allowed within 21 days of departure. Amendment fees are payable on the day the change is made and are in addition to any increase in holiday cost. If you’ve already bought a policy from an Insurance company , this is non-refundable after 14 days. If you’re making any changes to your travel dates and/or who’s travelling, you’ll need to buy a new policy.

If possible, the best option here is to replace the person in question with another person by changing their name at the cost of an admin fee.

Otherwise, it may affect the overall per person cost of your holiday, as additional supplements may need to be paid for under occupied rooms

You can make special requests, but we can’t guarantee we’ll be able to fulfil them, as special requests are subject to availability.

Some hotels also charge extra for rooms with a pool or sea view, so we wouldn’t be able to fulfil those sorts of requests. If you want to guarantee this, there may be an option to select a pool or sea view room when you book your holiday.

To make a special request after you’ve booked your holiday, simply call Born2Travel on 01723 671592.

Please check the website of the relevant airline, for latest information.

Your checked-in baggage allowance is From 20 – 22kg per person (dependent on airline, please check which you are flying with), excluding infants. For infants under two, you don’t get a separate bag, but an extra 10kg allowance for their things can be added to their accompanying adult’s 20 – 22kg hold bag, free of charge.

Any baggage that exceeds your total weight allowance will be carried subject to availability and at our discretion. You’ll also need to pay an excess baggage fee, which is £12 per kg. Please note that no single item of baggage can weigh more than 32kg.

In accordance with European Regulations, you’re not allowed to carry the following items into security restricted areas or onboard a plane:

Guns, firearms and other devices that discharge projectiles – devices capable, or appearing capable, of being used to cause serious injury by discharging a projectile, including:

o Firearms of all types, such as pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns
o Toy guns, replicas and imitation firearms capable of being mistaken for real weapons
o Component parts of firearms, excluding telescopic sights
o Compressed air and CO2 guns, such as pistols, pellet guns, rifles and ball bearing guns
o Signal flare pistols and starter pistols
o Bows, cross bows and arrows
o Harpoon guns and spear guns
o Slingshots and catapults

Stunning devices – devices designed specifically to stun or immobilise, including:

o Devices for shocking, such as stun guns, Tasers and stun batons
o Animal stunners and animal killers
o Disabling and incapacitating chemicals, gases and sprays, such as mace, pepper sprays, capsicum sprays, tear gas, acid sprays and animal repellent sprays

Objects with a sharp point or sharp edge – objects with a sharp point or sharp edge capable of being used to cause serious injury, including:

o Items designed for chopping, such as axes, hatchets and cleavers
o Ice axes and ice picks
o Razor blades
o Box cutters
o Knives with blades of more than 6 cm
o Scissors with blades of more than 6 cm as measured from the fulcrum
o Martial arts equipment with a sharp point or sharp edge
o Swords and sabres

Workmen’s tools – tools capable of being used either to cause serious injury or to threaten the safety of aircraft, including:

o Crowbars
o Drills and drill bits, including cordless portable power drills
o Saws, including cordless portable power saws
o Blowtorches
o Bolt guns and nail guns

Blunt instruments – objects capable of being used to cause serious injury when used to hit, including:

o Baseball and softball bats
o Clubs and batons, such as billy clubs, blackjacks and night sticks
o Martial arts equipment

Explosives and incendiary substances and devices – explosives and incendiary substances and devices capable, or appearing capable, of being used to cause serious injury or to pose a threat to the safety of aircraft, including:

o Ammunition
o Blasting caps
o Detonators and fuses
o Replica or imitation explosive devices
o Mines, grenades and other explosive military stores
o Fireworks and other pyrotechnics
o Smoke-generating canisters and smoke-generating cartridges
o Dynamite, gunpowder and plastic explosives.

In addition, you’re not allowed to carry the following items in your checked-in baggage:

Explosives and incendiary substances and devices – explosives and incendiary substances and devices capable, or appearing capable, of being used to cause serious injury or to pose a threat to the safety of aircraft, including:

o Ammunition
o Blasting caps
o Detonators and fuses
o Replica or imitation explosive devices
o Mines, grenades and other explosive military stores
o Fireworks and other pyrotechnics
o Smoke-generating canisters and smoke-generating cartridges
o Dynamite, gunpowder and plastic explosives.

Your balance is required ten weeks before your departure. This will automatically be taken from the card that you used to pay your deposit with. If this process fails, we’ll email you to let you know.

If you want to make payments towards your balance, pay your balance early or change the card you’re paying your final balance with, you can call 01723 671592. We require the reference number, surname and departure date.

If you’ve given us your email address, your holiday documents will be sent directly to that, 28 days before your holiday. If you’ve asked for these to be sent via post, they should arrive around three weeks before you’re due to take off. In the case of a late booking, documentation will be sent via email; there may not be time to send by post.

There are currently no entry requirements to any of the destinations we travel to, or to the UK. Although it’s still a good idea to check any other requirements for travelling to your destination below, as some destinations require you to wear a face mask on public transport. For any further information, please check the FCDO website.*

We also recommend extra safety measures.

*  https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office

ABTA Information on benefits and financial protection:
www.abta.com/benefits.html

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Advice on travelling abroad: www.fco.gov.uk

Department of Health Information on health requirements/vaccinations: www.doh.gov.uk/traveladvice/

Passport Agency Information on UK passports:
www.ukpa.gov.uk World Travel Guide Information on pa ssport/visa requirements and other general travel information: