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From Times Online

February 28, 2007

Ask our expert: skiing for singles

Two readers get advice from our ski expert on wintersports breaks for solo travellers

Kate Whittaker

I have been trying to book a late skiing deal for travel to Austria, but as a single traveller nobody seems interested in taking my money. I am scanning the offers on a selection of direct and broker websites, and there are some great deals available, but only if you are travelling with a partner. If you select one adult in the booking page, it returns a selection of much more expensive holidays, to different destinations to those advertised. It is frustrating that I am unable to pay an under-occupancy fee, on top of the basic advertised price, and partake of the same offers available to two travellers. Stefan Szecsei, by email

A response from Times Online ski expert, Kate Whittaker: The solo skier travel market is one that has so far been fairly untapped. Most of the brokers we spoke to agreed that expensive single supplements are the norm although after a bit of a search, we did find some options for late skiing in Austria.

Anton Aparthotel (www.anton-aparthotel.com) in St Anton has reasonable rates for single travellers and offers single bed and breakfast rates as well as packages that include your lift pass. The nearest airports are Innsbruck or Friedrichshafen. If you are after a package holiday, Red Point holidays offers special deals for solo travellers – stay in a four star hotel in Ziller Valley in the Tirol between 24th-31st March for £411 (half board) with free ski guiding. They will also help you book a low cost flight and pick you up from the airport.

The Ski Club of Great Britain offer single rooms on some of their "action" holidays through Freshtracks – you can join a group for instruction for your level of ability. Lastly, Neilson have a page on their website where they list their accommodation suitable for single travellers – they currently have a good choice of Austrian destinations.

Question: I was wondering if you could help me. My brother is going to Whistler for three months at the beginning of next year. We are both expert skiers, and I want to go out there and see him for approx 10 days in March. Because of the cost and the time off work I cannot persuade any of my friends to come out there with me, so I will be going on my own. I can’t stay in the same place as my brother because he is in a shared room in managed apartment block, where the minimum booking is one month. I have found flights with Zoom airlines to Vancouver costing around £400-£450, and transfers from £50, but the only accommodation in Whistler, i.e. a hotel room or a studio apartment for one, when booked on a stand alone basis, are prohibitively expensive. I have looked at packages, and I have found some for around £800, but they are based on two sharing, and the single supplement’s almost double the cost. Do you have any suggestions of what I could try? Tom Silber, by email

A response from Times Online ski expert, Kate Whittaker: Skiers travelling on their own aren’t very well catered for in Canada. Many of the hotel rooms are big enough for a family and so single supplements tend to be far pricier than in Europe.

There is a hostel in Whistler that you could stay at which would be cheap and allow you to meet other people as well (www.ubcwhistlerlodge.com). You could also use a ‘ski buddy’ finding site such as http://www.skiline.co.uk/searchpages/skiBuddy.asp - where you can find people to make up numbers for accommodation and take advantage of special offers. Although it is more of a gamble, I’d recommend that you get your brother to ask around – season workers tend to have the sort of contacts that don’t appear on websites and in tour operators books. If you work out how much you want to spend on your bed, he could even put a notice up in the local season workers’ hang-outs – there will always be people looking for some extra cash in return for filling an empty bed.

As to whether you should book your flight – March is usually pretty busy so if you have the option of a reasonably priced flight now then you will be getting a good deal. If you are unsure of your exact dates, try and book a flight that allows date changes with low surcharges.

Kate is founder of ski guides Mad Dog Ski and a former chalet girl

my brother has Spina bifida and wants to learn to ski.He uses a sit ski to waterski so I'm sure snow skiing must be possible if only we knew where to try.
Do you have any ideas please as it would make him so happy.
Many thanks

hilary hickmott, sevenoaks, kent GB