How to get cheap travel insurance for adventure holidays

Helen Warwick    ash     adventure holidays, Adventure Sports, Adventure Travel, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays

Despite the warnings, one in five travellers headed abroad uninsured last year, according to ABTA, the travel association. Whether you simply don’t remember to set up a policy or want to spend your money on other things, travel insurance can prove to be a very wise investment.

When it's an adventure holiday, get insurance. Image: Flickr/ Zach Dischner

As well as buying peace of mind, it may save you thousands in hefty overseas medical bills or compensate you for lost luggage. Accidents do happen, and cutting corners really isn’t worth the risk.

If you are booking snowboarding holidays or other activity holidays that have any added risk involved, first thing’s first, ensure you have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

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Top Travel Laptops 2012

Mark Pawlak    ash     computers, laptops, travel gadgets, travel gear, travel laptops, travel technology

Well, last year it was the dawn of the tablets. But what changes are afoot in the growing market for travel laptops in 2012? Basic requirements remain largely unchanged: long battery life, light weight, portability, ruggedness, connectivity etc.

Really, it’s all about the ultrabooks this year. And with faster chips and strengthened build, they are proving ultra-light and ultra-capable.

In our Top 10 Travel Laptops for 2010 and last year’s Best Travel Laptops 2011 we had small, light and useful; this year you can add powerful and pricey. We’re seeing a a no-compromise approach, where super-svelte (commonly silver) ultrabooks deliver everything you’d expect from much larger machines. And some even cram in a DVD-drive. How retro!

If the MacBook Air started this category, it’s now got a stream of competitors eager to get your custom. We’ve got you the basics here, and a couple of heavyweights to finish for the die-hard adventurers out there.

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Overseas Adventure Travel: Top 10 undiscovered destinations

Alice Cuninghame    ash     adventure holidays, Adventure Travel, australia, Greenland, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Overseas adventure travel, RTW travel, tanzania, Tibet

Adventure travel should be just that, an adventure. Although, when you’re surrounded by busy tour buses and every other person you see is a fellow ‘adventurer’, it can be hard to feel as if you’re experiencing anything special.

Overseas adventure travel opens up a fantasy world of opportunity, yet if you want to really get away from it all, you need to go ‘undiscovered’.

Some more remote than others, each of the destinations here will take you closer to nature and satisfy your insatiable urge to experience life.

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Travel Gear: Camera bags built to travel the world

Jonathan Tait    ash     Camera bags, digital cameras, gear review, travel equipment, travel gear, travel photography

Everyone travels with a camera: there’s few other travel items that can be considered ‘must have’s’. But unless you’ve bought travel gear and camera bags designed to withstand wind, rain, sand, snow – and the inevitable beverage spillage – you’ll always be taking a chance when travelling carrying expensive equipment.

Choosing camera bags is largely dependent on two factors: Size of camera and duration of stay. You could be a pro photographer who’s travelling for just 2 days, or a gap-year adventurer off to travel the world packing just a compact camera; any combination of size/duration will demand a fresh solution – the most difficult combo is if you are a gap-year traveller who’s also a semi-pro wanting to carry all your photography gear. In which case, you may need a sherpa!

Here’s a review of what’s out there to suit travel snappers, pappers and adventure travellers.

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Baby on a ski holiday: Review of the Pepi Penguin Club

Luke    ash     Crystal Ski, skiing holiday, Skiing Holidays, skiing with baby, skiing with children

Last season my wife missed out on a ski holiday due to pregnancy, and she was adamant she would go skiing this year, despite us having a baby less than a year old.

We considered leaving our son with the grandparents, but felt it would not be fair on him or them – and of course we would miss him too much! So we researched childcare on ski holidays and came across the Pepi Penguin Club run by Crystal Ski.

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Travelling with a baby on a winter sports holiday

Luke    ash     family ski holiday, ski holidays, ski holidays with a baby, Skiing, skiing holiday, skiing in France, skiing with children

As any skier or snowboarder knows, the time from leaving home to actually getting on the slope is full of excitement and anticipation. But with lots of extra luggage to get safely to the resort, long transfers, more frequent delays and the inevitable first morning scramble to get kit and lift passes, it can also be frustrating and tiring. Now try doing all that with a baby…..

Pre-departure our flat was divided into different packing zones: baby food, baby bottles, baby clothes, baby toys, baby toiletries, baby nappies, baby medicines (just in case), baby sleep stuff, baby outdoor kit, baby day bag and a small corner for everything else (including snowboard and snowboard kit for me, skis and ski gear for my wife).

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Winter Festivals 2012: Snowboard Events and Ski Parties

Lucy Grewcock    ash     chamonix, ski fetivals, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, skiing in Austria, skiing in France, Skiing in Serbia, Skiing in the US, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays, Switzerland, whistler, winter festivals

What could be better than spending a week in the mountains, shuushing down iced-white pistes and bounding through fresh powder? How about adding world-class DJs, all-night parties, arty events and extreme freestyle competitions? Welcome to the world of winter festivals 2012…

Winter festivals are never just about the sports Photo: Will Bremridge

From Austria to North America, ski parties have snowballed in the past few years, and they’re set to get even bigger and better in 2012. Here’s a few that are full-on winter festivals, add these to your calendar: read more