This article
originally appeared in the December issue of AGENTatHOME magazine. Subscribe
here to receive your free copy each month.
Some travelers
spend the winter trying to escape the cold, but this list of tours is for those
who are looking for snow, ice and cozy evenings by a toasty fireplace.
USTOA tour
operators offer plenty of winter adventures for travelers who crave the cold —
here are a few that I recommend.
Svalbard With
Exodus Adventure Travels
An action-packed
adventure is in store for guests on Exodus Adventure Travels’ Svalbard Arctic
Adventure. This trip through one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas
includes a dogsled tour of the Arctic wilderness and a two-day snowmobile ride
to a remote cabin. Guests will also don headlamps for a journey into a
sparkling ice cave.
Northern Africa’s
Atlas Mountains With Intrepid
The stunning Atlas
Mountains of Northern Africa are the highlight of Intrepid’s Mount Toubkal
Winter Trek. This tour takes travelers from Marrakech, Morocco, into the
mountains, where an expert crew and trusty pack of mules guide a hike through
the snowy terrain. The climax of the trip is the view from the “roof of North
Africa” — the summit of Mount Toubkal, where hikers can see both the Atlantic
Ocean and the Sahara Desert on a clear day.
Yellowstone
National Park With Tauck
Travelers can also
witness winter in one of America’s most iconic national parks with Tauck’s
Wonderland: Yellowstone in Winter tour. The park’s thermal features, such as
geysers and mud pots, are most prominent in the winter, prompting clouds of
steam to roll across the snowy landscape. Guests can also expect majestic
transportation, including a sleigh ride into the National Elk Refuge and a trip
to remote parts of the park by snowcoach, a mode of transportation dating back
to the 1930s.
Austria’s Ski
Slopes With Contiki
For clients who
want to spend a week on the slopes, Contiki’s Ski Austria: 1 Week tour is just
the ticket. The trip begins with a train ride from London, followed by six days
of exploring the Alps. Of course, skiing is on the itinerary, but guests can also
try Austrian paragliding or tobogganing at night. In between extreme winter
sports, travelers can relax in the sauna, warm up with a hot beverage or
explore charming local villages.
The Antarctic
Peninsula With Quark Expeditions
No list of snowy
destinations would be complete without mentioning our southernmost continent.
Quark Expeditions’ Antarctic Explorer: Discovering the 7th Continent tour takes
travelers from the tip of Patagonia to the Antarctic Peninsula by boat. Guests will
have the opportunity for Zodiac excursions to get up close and personal with
penguins, leopard seals and whales. Plus, they’ll earn bragging rights for
crossing the famed Drake Passage.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
