Easter falls late this year — Easter
Sunday is April 12 — and while
this time of the year can o en
produce fantastic conditions
(and quiet slopes), if you want to
book more than a week ahead of
time, it’s best to aim high for
guaranteed snow.
That means looking for ski
resorts that are around 5,905
above sea level with a ski area up
to 9,850 or so. Thankfully, these
aren’t hard to fi nd in Europe.
In France, consider Val d’Isère
and Tignes, which share the
Espace Killy ski area and two
glaciers or Les Arcs-La Plagne in
the Paradiski area. In the ThreeValleys, Val Thorens is Europe’s
highest ski resort at 7,545 , or try
Les Menuires, which is a smaller,
quieter village close by with
access to the same ski area.
If you’re looking for more
chocolate-box charm, Zermatt
and Saas-Fee in Switzerland both
o er long seasons with reliable
late snow thanks to their glaciers
while in Austria, Obergurgl and
Ischgl are great choices for April.
However, Cervinia in Italy
would be top of my list for April.
It shares a ski area with Zermatt
(and access to its glacier), but
o ers much better value for
money. ABI BUTCHERIt sounds a complex process. You
have a house. You want to swap it
for someone else’s — but only for
a holiday. Would anyone really
want to play ball?
The answer, in short, is yes.
Even the briefest internet
search will give you a long list of
specialists in the fi eld; there’s
HomeLink, Love Home Swap,
HomeExchange and Home
Base Holidays, to name but a
few. The names are similar, and
so is the concept — you pay a
membership fee (this varies:
Love Home Swap asks from
£8 a month; HomeExchange
charges $150 [£116] per year),
upload details of your property
along with a wealth of attractive
images that, you hope, will enticefellow swap-seekers — and wait
for the o ers.
Of course, while it’s possible
another member will want to
stay in your home at the exact
time you temporarily want
theirs, life is rarely that simple.
So, HomeExchange allows
subscribers to swap properties
on di erent dates. And Love
Home Swap has a currency
system — you earn points by
o ering your house to one party,
then you can spend them on
‘renting’ another listed on the
site. The main principle is that
the swap is largely cost-free.
lovehomeswap.com homelink.
org.uk homebase-hols.com
homeexchange.com
CHRIS LEADBEATERQ // Where’s
high enough for
a late ski trip
that will have
availability?
Q // I’d like to
try a house
swap for a
couple of weeks,
but have no idea
where to start.
Can you help?
Q // If I’ve booked a
trip and the FCO
advise against travel
because of a pandemic
outbreak, what does
my insurance cover?The Foreign O§ ce (FCO) changed
its travel advice to China following
the outbreak of a new strain of
coronavirus, which has caused a
number of fatalities in the country.
Initially, the FCO advised against
all but essential travel to the city
of Wuhan and Huabei province,
and then against all non-essential
travel to all of mainland China.
When FCO advice changes,
tour operators will do their best
to get customers home swi ly,
and for imminent departures,
give customers the option to
defer their date of travel, transfer
to another destination or have a
full refund. For later departures,
this will be reviewed on a rolling
basis for as long as the advice is
in place. Independent travellers
should speak to their airlines,
which generally allow customers
to amend their fl ight options and
in some cases get a refund, though
they have no obligation to do so.
Regarding insurance, it’ll come
into play if independent travellers
su er a cancellation fee for
unused ground arrangements. A
good quality policy should cover
this under consequential loss.
gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
abta.com SEAN TIPTONJENNY BASHAM //
CARIBBEAN PRODUCT
MANAGER AT CARRIERCHRIS LEADBEATER //
CONTRIBUTING WRITERSEAN TIPTON // ABTAABI BUTCHER //
FREELANCE JOURNALISTTHE EXPERTS
April 2020 157