The winter season is upon us, and so is our desire for a ski holiday: evocative atmospheres, majestic mountains, spectacular landscapes and unforgettable adventures with ski, snowshoeing and sledges.
Why shouldn’t we fulfill our wish in full compliance with the environment? An eco-friendly ski holiday not only is possible, but it’s probably more relaxing, more authentic and cheaper.
For a good start, let’s leave the car in the city.
We can leave back home the stress that traveling by car produces we won’t need snow tires or chains and above all we won’t find ourselves stuck in the endless traffic jam before reaching our destination.
The traffic impact on the nature near the mountain vacation sites is highly harmful and dangerous, given the delicate environmental balance of these contexts, often remote locations and natural reserves.
Ski holidays without car? Yes, you can!
There are many holiday resorts reachable by train or by a combination of vehicles (train and buses) and, in addition, the people who enjoy these solutions can often benefit from reductions and special ski pass prices, otherwise very expensive.
For example, Val di Sole offers its tourists the Dolomiti Express service, the only italian train that carries the skiers to the gondola lift base station. From Trento (easily reachable from all over Italy andChiara Marras beyond) you can arrive in Val di Sole, where, at the train stop Daolasa, there is a gondola lift that arrives in just 12 minutes at an altitude of 2000m, in the spectacular Brenta Dolomites.
Among the railroads that can reach tourist areas in the mountains there are also the line Merano-Malles, the Trento-Malé, the Aosta-Pré St Didier.
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- Sky holiday by train with dolomiti express
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- Malles, Alto Adige, italy
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- Pré Saint Didier Valle D’Aosta hot springs
Traveling by train, but keeping in mind the possibility of carpooling, also allows us to discover exceptional landscapes and locations of remarkable beauty, so that the travel becomes a part of the journey.
If we want a greener (and cheaper) holiday, we have to remember that the winter holiday doesn’t mean only downhill skiing, but you can have fun away from the ski lifts, with activities that require minimal infrastructure and that are therefore less polluting, such as cross-country skiing and hiking.
In these ways the ski holiday can become responsible tourism, without giving up any comfort or enjoyment, but rather discovering a more genuine and touching contact with the mountains and even managing to save money.
Cover image: Relaxing on the Snow, photo by Matteo Leoni, via flickr
Info: Find your ecofriendly accommodation in Val d’Aosta, Trentino or Alto Adige, Italy
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