Hello,

My husband and I are booked on the Winter Explorer Tour leaving London on 13 Decemeber 2008. Is anyone else on there booked on this tour? We've never been on an escorted tour before and definitely looking forward to it.

Would love to hear from someone going, or someone who has gone to chat about clothes!! eg will a ski jacket be required?

Belle you will probably find it cold at that time of year. I did not go on your tour but a tour of France which went from Paris to Nice and Bordeaux to Paris. We went Dec 22 to Jan 4, 3 years ago.
It rained 2 mornings, the rest of the time it was fine. The daytime temps were 8-10C but at night it was close to freezing point. I wore a wool fall coat and my kids had ski jackets. Don't forget to bring lightweight gloves and a knit hat.

Hi Belle1 - we are going to France, Switzerland, London and Rome from 19 Dec - 9 Jan with another tour company (We are hoping for snow for a White Christmas!). I have spoken with a lady who comes from Scotland and she advised me to get a longish wool coat, rather than the shorter "ski" type jacket - which I have. It not only keeps your body warm, but also your legs. We have also purchased a couple of pairs of thermal underwear which we can wash out in our room at night and will be dry by the morning. Another person suggested that the shoes we take should have thick soles as the ground is apparently very cold and we will be doing a bit of walking. We both have a pair of good walking shoes which have thick soles. I will be taking a couple of pashminas with me for neck scarves and they will also double up as wraps to dress up my clothes a bit for evenings and this will mean I will have to pack less clothing. We are also booked to do the Best of Egypt 10 Jan 09 on our way home, so we will need clothes that are a bit lighter for there. Most people say the secret to keeping warm and maintaining a good temperature is wearing "layers". This too will help us with lighter clothing for Egypt as some of what we wear in Europe will be OK to wear in Egypt. Recommendation to take hat and gloves is also good. However remember if you get over there and you've forgetton something or what you have bought with you is not suitable, you can always buy something suitable. Regards Marianne

Dear Marie and Marianne

Many thanks to both of you for your responses. A long wool jacket makes sense and should hopefuly be easier to pack and carry then a ski jacket!

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do for shoes but will start hunting around now for something appropriate.

I very excited and can't wait to set off!

Marianne - sounds like you have a wonderful christmas and new year trip booked - enjoy