 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello
We are looking at honeymoon ideas, I'm already missing the snow. Can anyone suggest resorts/countries where we could go skiing and have a relaxing break in the sun? We plan to fly out around the 14th Sept and only got about 2 weeks, so NZ region to far i think.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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wonderwoman, Tricky. The southern hemisphere resorts will be coming to the end of their winter and the glacier resorts of europe can be sketchy in September depending on the severity of the summer temps. If it were me I'd look to do the first week somewhere sunny like Croatia, Italy, France and then move up to a glacier resort like Zermatt, Saas Fee or Kaprun or Hintertux - hopefully by last week of September they've had some snow and some low temps. Others might recommend carbuncles like Tignes but not my idea of honeymoon territory. Zermatt would fit the bill.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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1. New Zealand.
2. Chile.
3. Timberline, Oregon.
4. Zermatt.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I'd suggest choosing a different month or a different holiday
Sorry
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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...or 2 different holidays. Go on a 'standard' honeymoon break in Sept. and do something else for snow.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'd have a romantic break in Paris in September, and book a more luxurious ski trip for the real winter.
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| Quote: |
I'd have a romantic break in Paris in September, and book a more luxurious ski trip for the real winter.
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+ 1
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Dont cry for me ARGENTINA.
By far the best country for southern hemisphere skiing.
September is perfect timing.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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NZ. September can be great.
And if you fly on Air NZ it's easy to get South Pacific stopovers on the way.
I'd reccommend flying to Christchurch on the South Island, driving down from there to Queenstown or Wanaka, takes about 5 hours, and the scenery will blow you away at that time of year, then you have a choice of Coronet and Remarks in Queenstown, and TC and Cardrona in Wanaka, along with good heli options, and a few gems like Ohau on the way. You can fly back to Christchurch to get the international flight easily and cheaply and do a one way car hire.
Stopover wise, Rarotonga is easy to do and lovely, pretty much spot on for a bit of honeymoon sun, Aitutaki especially, otherwise Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii are all easy enough to fit into the flights. They're all different with good and bad points, so worth figuring out what you're after and taking it from there.
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| Haggis_Trap wrote: |
Dont cry for me ARGENTINA.
By far the best country for southern hemisphere skiing.
September is perfect timing. |
Agreed.
But while you're down there, visit Chile.
Flying in and out of Santiago is easier than Buenos Aries and closer to the snow.
Combine both countries with train, internal flight and rental car. Easy and safe.
bodeswiller must have been unlucky, because I've had deep pow and bluebird in Sept in SA
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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But while you're down there, visit Chile.
Flying in and out of Santiago is easier than Buenos Aries and closer to the snow.
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Yep. We had powder in Chile in the first week of September. As far as sun goes, Valparaiso is a popular coastal resort 1 hr from Santiago and was pleasantly warm (T shirt weather) when we were there. A nice contrast to the snowy Andes - the 3 Valleys of Chile is about 45 mins drive from Santiago.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Zermatt would fit the bill.
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Or Austria. Normally warm (or hot) settled weather into September, fantastic honeymoon ambience and amazing posh hotels (which I've only seen from the outside  .....)
I reckon you couldn't go far wrong with the Ziller Valley and Hintertux glacier - on the proviso that you accept that it may not be a full on winter ski experience. As Bode Swiller has pointed out, the quality/amount of snow on the glacier will depend on what sort of summer they get. There will be skiing though.
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If you want it to feel like a snowy holiday then Southern Hemisphere is what you should be looking at. It will be Spring whereas in Europe it will be Autumn. So whilst the mountains in say New Zealand will still have lots of snow on them the European ones will be in their Autumn finery. You may find that there is early snow in Europe on the glaciers, but by and large I would have thought they will still be coming out of their summer period rather tipping towards winter. That doesn't mean there won't be snow to ski in Europe, but I would imagine the Spring skiing down South in mid September would be a whole lot better than the end of Summer skiing in Europe. I've been skiing in New Zealand based in Queenstown and Wanaka in the first week of September a couple of times and it has been great with plenty of fresh snow falling. There are some really nice luxury lodges round there too. Queenstown has some terrific bars and restaurants too. Of course there are also plenty of great wineries to visit and try as well...
In Europe you may well find yourself in the middle of a heatwave or it could already be cooling (I've had well over a foot of snow on a walking holiday in Lech in September and in the Zillertal in August, but that was the exception rather than the rule). And there are heaps of great places to stay in Austria from luxury spa hotels, to romantic mountain lodges. If I was in Europe I'd definitely be thinking it was primarily a walking/hiking/spa/wine drinking holiday with skiing if the weather was right. In New Zealand a skiing/spa/wine drinking with hiking if the snow had gone early.
The other factor to consider is the time it takes to get to NZ and get over the jetlag and the costs of flying all the way over there. Obviously the time and costs are less with Europe. Have a great time whatever you decide!! 
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You know it makes sense.
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wonderwoman, NZ is a beautiful country but the skiing is pretty average compared to the Alps and it's a hell of a long way to go for 2 weeks. You'd be jetlagged for the first week! My one experience of skiing in Chile was ok but there's no way I'd do it for a honeymoon. Suspect Argentina similar. Zermatt is close, lovely town although check how much is open in September, lots of outdoor activities (not just skiing), some great hotels and restaurants. It would get my vote by miles over the other options. Consider combining it with a few days staying in Bellagio on Lake Como.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Depends where you go and how much you're prepared to spend as to whether or not NZ is "average" compared to Europe. You'd probably be a bit underwhelmed with a week at one of the bigger commercial fields if you're used to massive lift systems and different terrain every day, but there's some other really good options.
The small club fields for starters, if you can handle the rope tows and the drive up the mountain. It's just different to Europe, you get an almost back country experience, with minimal crowds, cheap, and a very laid back vibe.
If you want to splash out a bit, there's some great heli access stuff and a few other interesting options.
For a good heli day - where you pay by the run:
http://helipark.co.nz/
Or your own private ski field in an amazing setting, complete with a hut on the mountain to stay in
http://www.invincible.co.nz/
Along with some top notch accommodation and dining nearby.
And cat skiing
http://www.alpurepeaks.co.nz/
Might be worth having a look at www.chillout.co.nz to see what sort of terrain and lack of facilities some of the club fields offer.
Do a few of those, have a few days at places like Treble Cone and on a heli, and I think you'd be hard pushed to describe what's on offer as average. It's just different.
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Poster: A snowHead
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hang11, When I lived in Oz we did a trip to South Island and did a day each in Mount Hutt, Treble Cone, Remarkables, Coronet Peak, Cadrona and one of the club fields on the way back to Christchurch - I think it was called Craigieburn? While it was nice to ski and we had reasonable snow my memory is that the lifts were a bit of a trek to get to and comprised 1 or 2 chairs plus a few drag lifts with very limited vertical. You'd skied most of it in a morning. As you say, it's different and I'm not dissing it, (I loved the nutcracker tow at the club field) but it's a hell of a long way to go for a ski experience that I would say "most" people used to large, convenient, big vertical European resorts would be disappointed with.
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