WinterTravel

Keys to Staying Warm in Winter Weather

Whether you're traveling in it or just trying to live your daily life in it, cold winter weather can be miserable and even downright dangerous if you don't dress appropriately. Staying warm is more complicated than simply throwing on a coat and scarf, here are some tips for keeping toasty from your head to your toes.

Layer layer layer!
Not only does layering help prevent drafts and help wick moisture away from the body, but you can remove them one at a time if you start feeling too warm. It's much easier to remove layers than it is to add them. See some good info here about the difference between the wicking layer, warmth layer, and wind layer.

Wear a hat and cover your ears
While not to the degree that some myths claim, body heat is lost through the head so wearing a hat is important. Ears shouldn't be ignored either, cover them as they're especially susceptible to frost bite.

Go waterproof, and bring backups
Waterproof socks, gloves, and even wind or ski pants can make a huge difference in comfort level. Have extra pairs on hand so you can change in case something does get wet.

Get boots that fit
Boots need to be snug enough not to flop around and trip you up but not at all too tight. Make sure when you're buying boots that you wear several pairs of thick socks so you can ensure there's enough room. Tight boots equal cold feet, and cold feet equal no fun.

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Tags: journeys, travel, weather, winter, winter travel, winter weather, winter-travel-pedia, WinterTravel, wintertravel-pedia, WinterWeather

Winter Travel Emergency Kit: Do You Have One?

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Winter can be a great time to take a trip but traveling through the cold, ice, and snow can pose a real safety risk. Being prepared for the worst is key to preventing the worst, and that means having an emergency kit.

If you're driving the entire way just pack an emergency kit ahead of time and throw it in the trunk. If you're flying and then renting a car pack an emergency kit in something like a small gym bag and pack it into the bottom of one of your checked luggage pieces.

Winter Car Emergency Kit

3lb coffee can, candles, and matches (to keep warm and for melting snow for drinking water)
Whistle and a red bandana/brightly colored garbage bag to call for help/let rescuers know where you are
Some granola or candy bars
A flashlight with spare batteries
A first aid kit (including any essential medications)
A blanket (special foil-type survival blankets fold up to a very small size)
Basic tool kit
Jumper Cables
Ice scraper (most rental cars don't come with them)

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Tags: emergency kit, EmergencyKit, journeys, safety, travel, winter, winter travel, winter-travel-pedia, WinterTravel

Continue reading “Winter Travel Emergency Kit: Do You Have One?”

How to Protect Valuables While Traveling

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Few things can ruin a trip faster than having something precious get lost or stolen. Although the best policy is to leave valuables at home while traveling (do you really need to bring those diamond earrings?), sometimes you just can't do without. When that's the case here's how to protect your irreplaceables while traveling:

Document your valuables before you leave for insurance purposes, in case the worst happens. Take a copy with you and leave one with someone at home.
Make a point to be (and look) alert Pickpockets and theives often target those who look preoccupied and innattentive.
Never pack valuables in checked luggage. Keep them with you in your carry-on instead.
Use see-through bags when packing your carry-on so the TSA inspectors can easily see what's inside without needing to directly handle the contents and potentially spill, drop, or pocket anything.
Don't put items loose into the TSA bin Anything small (like watches, cell phones, etc) should be put into a coat pocket, handbag, or ziplock bag to keep them together before going through security.
Always keep your carry-on as close to you as possible Make a point to stash it in the compartment either directly above or in front of your seat, if possible keep your most precious cargo in the bag that goes under the seat in front of you, and don't leave your carry-on behind when to go to the baggage carousel to pick up your luggage.
Have locks on everything You can't lock your carry-ons while they're going through security, or your checked luggage while it's on the plane, but having them locked at all other times (i.e. while your carry-on is stowed in the overhead compartment or your luggage is in the trunk of a taxi) can still help prevent theft.
Use the hotel room safe Locking items in your hotel room is all but worthless, and locking locked luggage in a hotel room isn't much better. Stash valuables in the room safe, hotel safe (even better), or if neither of those is an option you can always bring your own (check out Pacsafe).
Don't leave your luggage on a tour bus Just because everyone else is doing it, and the tour guide says it's okay, is no guarantee. Lock up any luggage you must leave behind and take all irreplaceable items with you.

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Tags: journeys, luxist-awards, main-pedia, summer-travel-pedia, summertravel-pedia, travel, travel tips, traveling, TravelTips, winter-travel-pedia, wintertravel, wintertravel-pedia

Hold A House Party at Temple Guiting Manor in the Cotswolds

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Design

Maybe you can't afford to buy a Luxist Estate of the Day, however you may enjoy living in in similar splendor for a week. In fact why not invite your friends and family to share a totally planned fun filled vacation, otherwise known as a House Party.

Sophie Conran, the daughter of the renowned British design guru Terrance Conran, has teamed up with Temple Guiting Manor to help visitors plan a bespoke country house party. A perfect way to celebrate a holiday, special occasion or just enjoy time away with family and friends, a house party allows for a quieter more relaxing level of conspicuous consumption. Ideally, even though you may be the host or hostess, that role exists for you in name only. Renting a manor house somewhere in the British Isles is a stress free way to entertain as if you were in your own luxury home but with none of the ensuing hassles.

Temple Guiting Manor, which has been privately owned since the 15th century, has been restored to the highest standards. Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner stated that it is "one of the finest, if not the very best of the small Cotswold Tudor houses." While the house which sleeps 10 is available on a self-catering basis why not let Sophie and her team cater to your every whim for a true break. Not only do they provide you with all the normal amenities of a fine hotel but there are countless experts in every category imaginable to inspire you and your guests. Sophie's philosophy is "If you want to make something, then learn it from the best".

Examples include:

Executive chef Alan Bird, of the ever popular celebrity frequented The Ivy, will hold a master class.
Jim Murray proclaimed by the BBC as the "world guru of whiskey" will educate you on the process of making whiskey.
Knitting and crochet lessons from Clare Ward and Sarah Coates
Flower design workshop with talked about florist Nikki Tibbles whose clients include Gucci, Chanel and Ralph Lauren
Simon Stocken a former national bridge and poker player will teach you all the tricks you need to excel at the games

Favorite country pursuits such as golf, gliding, fishing, clay pigeon game shooting are also available.

The bespoke house party tradition has been updated for the modern lifestyle, and it is a unique experience to be able to relax in a rural retreat in a spectacular setting where every whim and need is accommodated by the most talented in the business.

Gallery: Temple Guiting Manor

Tags: Cotswolds, England, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, house party, HouseParty, Sophie Conran, SophieConran, Temple Guiting Manor, TempleGuitingManor, Terrance Conran, TerranceConran, travel, wintertravel, wintertravel-pedia

SkiResorts Website Offers Winter Travel Advice And Planning

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports

Ski season has begun and winter sports enthusiasts are dreaming of soft powder and bracing trips down the slopes. A new website, SkiResorts.com has launched and promises to be the new resource for planning every detail of your trip. The site has the inside scoop on 50 mountains in North America.

On the site you can map out your entire ski itinerary online, choosing a destination, a place to stay, lift tickets, après ski massages and dinner reservations. The site also includes editorial from experts on subjects like winter style must-haves, tips for getting in shape, top ski schools and more. The site's travel booking capabilities are available through both an online engine as well as live agents and the Deal of the Day feature connects you with discounts on gear and accessories. One stop shopping for winter adventure makes planning your much-needed vacation just a little easier.

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Tags: ski travel, ski trips, skiing, skiresorts, SkiTravel, SkiTrips, winter, winter travel, WinterTravel

Zai Skis Filled with the Spirit and the Granite of the Swiss Mountains

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

When I first opened the Zai web site I was greeted by a poem written by Leo Tour "In the beginning was the mountain". I was sure that I was going to learn about a new bottled water from the purist of mountain springs or possibly even a zen retreat. I was in fact entering a kind of temple, a secular one, where the worshipers follow not a god, but snow and a the sport of skiing.

The word Zai means "tough" in the little know dialect of Sursilvan which is spoken in the mountains of Switzerland and specifically in the town of Disentis where the Zai skis are crafted. As seems fitting, the town lies below an ancient Benedictine monastery. The personal dream of Simon Jacomet, who insists that his skis be made by people who have skiing and the mountains in their heart and soul, the company produces some of the finest and most technologically innovative ski equipment on the slopes. The skis are produced in a small and tightly controlled production plant using state of the art machinery and assembled by hand.

All of the Spada skis are limited editions, only 111 pairs of each model are made. The newest innovation just out for this winter season is a special ski that uses a carbon-stone-technology with a rubber exterior. Zai was the first manufacturer in the world to use a stone core in their skis and is still trendsetting in their product development being the first to use a natural rubber surfacing. It is not just rhetoric that the skis are "of the mountain" as each pair has Grisons granite in the core of the ski. As with all carefully thought out designs the skis themselves are beautiful too, they will definitely not get lost in the pile on the ski racks outside the lodge at lunch.

Available in the United States exclusively at the high end winter sports retailer Gorsuch whose stores in all the nicest ski areas of Colorado, such as Beaver Creek, Vail and Aspen, sell the Zai Spada skis for $5,900.00 a pair.

Tags: Aspen, Gorsuch, skiing, skis, switzerland, winter travel, WinterTravel, wintertravel-pedia, Zai

New Boutique Hotel Opens in Cartagena

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Yesterday, while browsing at the incomparable Idelwild, a travel book store in New York's Union Square, I learned that the store is having trouble keeping South American guide books in stock -- the weather starts to get super nice down around those parts just as North American weather takes a nose dive.

If you're looking for a good South American destination to aim for, try Cartagena -- which has been called the next Buenos Aires. There's a new place to stay, too: The Tcherassi, a boutique hotel owned and designed by Latin fashion designer Silvia Tcherassi. She restored and renovated a 250 year old colonial mansion in the heart of the old city for the project, creating a hotel with just seven rooms, each named after a fabric she works with. The result seems a decidedly happy marriage of the old with sleek contemporary lines. (The roof pool is pictured here, see the gallery below for other images.) If The Tcherassi lives up to its promise, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it become a regular on hot design hotel lists.

Gallery: The Tcherassi Hotel in Cartagena

Entrance to Hotel Tcherassi Restaurant VERA

Tags: boutique hotel, BoutiqueHotel, cartagena, hotel, southamerica, wintertravel, wintertravel-pedia

Calabash Cove To Open In December

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

This winter the latest place to play in St. Lucia is Calabash Cove, a new boutique hotel resort set to open in December 2008. The resort offers three types of suites as well as nine teak and mahogany Water's Edge cottages, shown above, which have plunge pools, outdoor rain showers and hammocks as well as TV/DVD/hi-fi systems, refrigerators and coffee/tea makers, large patios and Jacuzzis. The suit offerings include the "Swim Up" suites which have private Jacuzzis and ar located just steps from Sweetwaters--the resort's designer pool with a 40-foot infinity edge, mahogany loungers and tropical refreshments provided by pool butlers. The swim-up suites afford private access directly from the patio of your room. Calabash Cove will also have a spa, fitness studio and full-service beauty salon as well as the Windsong Restaurant and C Bar. Rates at Calabash Cove range from $295-$895 per night and include the resort's island breakfast buffet. The entire resort can also be rented out for destination weddings for up to 52 guests for $50,000 per day.

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Tags: calabash cove, caribbean, resort, st lucia, StLucia, travel, winter travel, WinterTravel