X-Country Skiing Vacations & Tours

We are an adventure travel and ecotours operator. We offer our guests an opportunity to combine exercise, learning and pleasure. Like other adventure travel operators, we do not cater to the mainstream tourist who wants to spend his vacation on the beach or on a coach going from one museum to another. Our trips combine the following elements:
- Sport. We move around on foot, bicycle, horseback, cross country skis, snowshoes, in canoes, kayaks and rafts. Every guest gets a chance to burn some calories and ventilate the lungs everyday.
- Nature. We spend our time in forests, fields and villages. Away from industry, cars, noise, pollution and crowds. We frequently travel with naturalists and get many chances to see and interact with wild and domestic animals. We also offer specialized ecotours and birdwatching tours.
- Folklore. In areas where we travel, life has not changed much in the last hundred years. People live, work and dress the way their ancestors did. We observe these people and spend time with them. We visit the more interesting examples of village and small-town architecture, especially places of worship: Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches, Jewish synagogues, Muslim mosques.
- Comfort. We travel with no more than 10 guests. They are accompanied by a guide and his assistant. The guide speaks English and knows one other language, e.g. German, French or Spanish. We allow no children and no pets on our tours. Smokers are welcome as long as they do not smoke in the vicinity of other guests. We do not stay in 5-star hotels, but neither do we pitch tents. We stay in one lodging for several days, so instead of spending your time packing and unpacking, you can devote it to more pleasant pursuits. We offer good food and wine and cater to your special dietary requirements. We base our schedule on the weather, e.g. if it rains and our guests do not want to get wet, we will skip a bike trip and drive to visit an old wooden church instead.
- Character. We look for experiences a little out of the ordinary. We will rather stay in an old country manor or a water mill than a Marriott or Holiday Inn. We are more likely to eat on a meadow or in a small village restaurant than at Pizza Hut.

We offer adventure travel with a twist. What is the twist? We differ from other operators in several important ways:
- We custom tailor each trip to the preferences of our guests in terms of the type of sport, level of exertion, level of comfort, region visited, special activities, etc.
- Our trips are free from children, pets and cigarettes.
- Our groups are small: typically six guests and two hosts.
Each day is packed with exercise, sightseeing and adventure. While the selection of routes and sights is prepared beforehand, the decision which route to take and which sights to visit on a given day is made on spot by the guide and is based on the weather, guest preferences, local events, tourist traffic and other considerations, some of which cannot be completely predicted weeks in advance.

Each trip is devoted to one mode of transportation: feet, bicycle, horseback, kayak, canoe, raft, bicycle, cross country skis or snowshoes. We may add variety by cycling in the mountains or in the snow or both. When cycling in wetlands, sometimes you are on the bicycle, sometimes the bicycle is on you and sometimes both of you are barely visible above water. We may use the canoe to ram through dense vegetation or as an icebreaker (and we do not mean your social life). If the snow is knee deep we hike slowly. If it is thigh deep we crawl. If we feel like moving faster, we put on snowshoes. Sometimes we break the routine and devote one day to a different activity. For example, we may jump from a bicycle to a horse or ask the horse to pull us in a cart, sleigh, on skis or skates. By varying the exercise, we allows our muscles and ligaments to recover. Besides, variety is the spice of life.

We will typically eat breakfast at our lodging. Then we set out on our daily trip. We may drive to the trailhead if it is not next door. The trip’s length and exertion are matched to the abilities of the guests and to the weather, but we will strive to spend much of the daylight hours outdoors. Sightseeing and nature observations are interwoven into the trip. If nature predominates, we will be accompanied by a naturalist. If architecture or other elements of culture are on the menu, we may be joined by a historian or tourist guide. If the activity carries an element of risk, e.g. hiking in high mountains or whitewater kayaking, an expert rescuer will accompany us.

We eat lunch on the way. We either pack or visit a local restaurant. After we return from the trip, there is an opportunity to freshen up and change into leisure clothes before dinner. After dinner we may spend time talking about the events of the day. The guide will tell you what is coming tomorrow and share a story about local history, culture or nature.

All the activities are voluntary. You can skip any of them and do whatever your heart desires, as long as we do not have to pay for it and bail you out of the local gaol.