For the latest installment of our Getaway Guide series, T asked readers what types of trips they had in mind for their winter vacation this year — and to share their approximate budgets, not including airfare — so that, with the help of travel experts, we could make a suggestions. Below are a few of the queries that caught our attention. Rates are for December unless otherwise noted. For even more winter-travel inspiration, take a look at last year’s recommendations.
“I’m desperate for a break and dreaming of snow. My spouse and I are looking for a lazy and relaxing snow-sports vacation destination to spend two weeks. I’d like to ski (downhill and cross-country), snowshoe and ice-skate, but also sleep in and read by a roaring fire. We like low-key locales — après-ski and shopping are wholly unimportant — but we want to stay in a nicely designed place where we can cook most meals for ourselves. Proximity to an excellent diner or pancake establishment is essential. And we don’t want to stay at an Airbnb-type place. We’re looking to stay at a proper hotel or lodge. Is there anywhere that fits the bill within a 12-hour drive of New York City?” Meg, Queens, N.Y.; budget: $10,000
The laziest, snowiest and most fun winter vacation I’ve ever had — aside from a near miss with a moose — was at Paw’s Up, a ranch resort in western Montana. It has luxury cabins, miles of cross-country trails and its own ice-skating rink. But the downhill ski slopes are about a two-hour drive away, and since Montana itself is a much farther trek than you’re looking for, I turned to Alli Widman, the New York City-based founder of the travel agency Avant Ski, for her closer-to-home recommendations.
Her first thought was Stowe in Vermont’s Green Mountains, about a five- or six-hour drive from Queens. “It’s the king of the East Coast ski towns,” says Widman, “with a great variety of terrain and a really fun winter atmosphere.” For lodging, she’s fond of Spruce Peak, a luxury ski-in, ski-out resort with both hotel rooms and several vacation rentals — including the two-bedroom Treehouse — all with kitchens, and some with mountain views (from $1,000 a night). Closer to town, you’ll find more modestly priced accommodations, including AWOL Stowe and its neighbor and sister property, Bluebird Cady Hill Lodge, two former motels newly transformed into stylish boutique hotels. Each offers a stand-alone two-bedroom with a fireplace in the living room and cook-friendly kitchen (from $455 a night for AWOL’s Lark Suite, and from $450 a night for Bluebird’s Tall Timbers Cottage). Less than a mile away, Butler’s Pantry on Stowe’s Main Street is said to have the best buttermilk pancakes in town.
If you feel a little restless after a week or so at Stowe, consider combining your stay there with a trip to Mont-Tremblant, about 180 miles northwest across the border in Quebec. “It’s a lovely and lively village and a great value,” says Widman. For ski-in, ski-out luxury, one of her top choices is the Fairmont Tremblant (from about $700 a night for a one-bedroom). You’d have to forgo your own fireplace, but from the Fairmont you could easily walk to the gondolas, cross-country trails, an ice-skating rink and, most crucially, La Maison de la Crêpe.
“I’m a 47-year-old gay Asian American man who works in the tech industry. I spent last year suffering from work-related burnout and anxiety, and the stress of dealing with aging parents and settling into a new home. This year, I’ve been on a journey of rediscovering joy and purpose. I’m looking for an adventurous vacation — about two to three weeks long — that will allow me to recharge, reflect and immerse myself in an engaging destination, one where the locals live vibrant lives and where there’s a strong sense of community, tradition and place.” Richard, San Francisco, Calif.; budget: $5,000
Every September, thousands of people who work in the travel business descend on Marrakesh for a trade show. I’ve been going off and on for years, and this time I decided to tack on a trip to Tangier, a favorite spot for designers on Morocco’s northern coast, where I’d never been. I planned to spend two days there and wound up staying five, reluctant to leave my little hotel (Nord Pinus Tanger, from about $290) with sea views from the terrace. When I asked Bilal El Hammoumy, a co-founder of the travel company Inclusive Morocco, where he’d suggest you spend your much-needed vacation, he immediately thought of Tangier too. “It’s such a soulful city,” he emailed me. “For decades, it’s been a refuge for artists, writers and outsiders, and you still feel that energy today. It’s open-minded, creative and full of warmth — perfect for reflection without isolation.” It’s also full of small, abundantly charming and inexpensive hotels, including La Tangerina (from about $100 a night) and Riad Mokhtar (from about $150 a night).
For a bigger splurge, but also a place where, he says, you “can connect more deeply with people,” El Hammoumy recommends adding a few days at La Fiermontina Ocean, a seaside resort about a 75-minute drive from Tangier (from about $400 a night). The owners also run the Orient-Occident Foundation, a nonprofit that helps fund local schools and other projects in the nearby villages. Guests can visit those villages, share breakfast with families and help with a reforestation project. “It’s stunningly beautiful, but also rooted in community,” wrote El Hammoumy.
And finally, he recommends spending time with artisans in Fez by joining a workshop (in, say, weaving) with the Anou Cooperative, which helps preserve traditional crafts, and staying in one of the ancient city’s many affordable guesthouses. Among El Hammoumy’s favorites are Dar Seffarine, a 600-year-old, exquisitely restored house (from about $70 a night) and the cheerfully bohemian Jardin des Biehns (from about $175 a night).
“My husband and I want to celebrate a monumental milestone (he turned 70 and retired, and I turned 60) with a 10-day trip. We are well traveled, avid gardeners and love observing the natural world. My husband rode freight trains in his youth and has nostalgia for train travel. We’re looking for local experiences focused on food, wellness and nature. Megan, Chapel Hill, N.C.; budget: $6,000
It’s an excellent time to be a train buff. You can book plush sleeper cars that run everywhere from England’s Cornish coast to the Japanese island of Kyushu, zip around China or France and Germany on new high-speed rail routes and rumble through South Africa on the glamorous Blue Train. But for Eleanor Flagler Hardy, a luxury train-travel adviser and a co-founder of the Society of International Railway Travelers, there’s no better way to celebrate a milestone than aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. “It’s the trip that hits the ball out of the park every time,” she says, and the one that most vividly conjures what most people think of when they think of a classic rail journey, all gleaming mahogany panels and silver tea sets. But even the one-night option from Paris to Venice would consume your entire budget.
For a far more affordable and still dazzling alternative, Flagler suggests Switzerland — over Christmas, when the outdoor markets are in full swing, or in January, when the room rates ease a bit — where you can binge on the winter scenery by taking a series of day trips. “You could easily fly to Zurich,” says Flagler, “and then take wonderful trains [all over the country].” She’s a particular fan of the Glacier Express, a highly scenic eight-hour trip from St. Moritz and Zermatt (from about $270 a person).
When I asked Adam Graham, a travel writer based in Zurich, which trains he’d recommend, he gave a rousing endorsement of the Bernina Express, which traverses the historic Rhaetian Railway, going from Chur, the oldest city in the country, to the Alpine town of Tirano, just over the Italian border, in about four hours. The entire railway, built in the early 20th century, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “It isn’t just scenic — passing glaciers, lakes, mountain villages and incredible viaduct bridges,” Graham says, “but it’s an actual service train for the Swiss, so it has normal [not touristy] prices.” Round-trip tickets start at about $100 per person.
Throughout the country are reasonably priced, atmospheric inns with great food. Graham especially likes L’Auberge du Raisin in the medieval town of Cully, on the shores of Lake Geneva and 15 minutes by train from Lausanne (from about $160 a night during Christmas week). Southeast of the lake are a cluster of thermal baths (especially delightful in winter) such as the ones at Les Bains de Lavey, a lavish spa resort where you can book a room (from about $450 a night) or just go for the day and celebrate your milestones with the Edelweiss package — massage and a fondue included — for about $215 per person.
Deborah Dunn is the executive features director of T Magazine.
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