Added: 02/07/2006 |
Winter travel offers cheap hotels, airfares, and, of course, its own charmWhy not to travel in winter? Winter travel offers cheap hotels and airfares, sweaty summer crowds are a dim memory, and there's plenty going on. While it's great fun hanging out under the August sun slurping spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce at an outdoor cafe in Rome, winter travel offers some interesting opportunities you may not have considered. There are the obvious ones, like skiing and snowboarding. But what about the opera and orchestra season? European cultural events in historic halls are going full blast in winter.
Winter travel offers you a chance to see Europe in a whole different--albeit dimmer--light. The season presents you with a chance to put on your woollies and hike snow covered peaks, or squeeze into a tux and go to an opera gala. If you think you can't afford a winter winter travel vacation, take a look at winter airline prices. It could cost you a half to a third of the price of a summer flight to get to Europe in the off-season.
Hotels usually offer discounts in winter as well. Some places are indeed quite chilly for winter travel. But the south of Italy, Spain, Portugal and most of Greece are pretty balmy in winter. Winter is a great time to visit Spain's Andalucian trio of Seville, Cordoba and Granada. Or perhaps you'd rather take a winter visit to almost deserted Pompeii with a stopover in Naples in order to eat some of the best food in Italy. Check our Europe Weather Links for the skinny on temperatures.
In winter, European cuisine changes dramatically. Southern Mediterranean dwellers wouldn't think of eating heavy cream sauces in summer (although they will whip butterfat into just about anything for tourists who demand such culinary blasphemy). But once the leaves fall off the trees, European kitchens burst into winter mode--creamy, long-cooking sauces, preserved duck and goose, root vegetables, and the roasting of wild game all contributing to aromas that will leave you wishing you could stay in Europe forever. In winter you'll come to find all those food "specialties" you've read about in guidebooks but were never able to locate in summer.
Cultural events also come alive in winter. The opera, theater, and symphony seasons are in full swing. Sure, in summer you can spend good money going to a historic building to see short ditties truncated for the enjoyment of limited-attention-span summer tourists, but the shorter days of winter leave time in the evenings for the real deal. Today you'll find many ticket sales for these events online.
One more reason to winter travel - there are tons of winter fun! You'll find crafts, games, and more to celebrate the season, along with fun for the specific winter holidays.
Winter is a beautiful time of the year, especially when a fresh layer of new snow covers everything. Winter can also be a very dangerous time. If you plan on traveling during the winter, it pays to be prepared for the unexpected. Getting stranded during a winter storm can be a matter of life and death. Following a few simple driving habits like planning ahead, driving at a safe and legal speed, driving alert and sober and buckling up could ensure that you safely make it to your destination.
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