Before You Go Checklist
Last Updated on Monday, 04 February 2013 11:41
Hopefully you are looking forward to your Marmot Tours holiday. As you think about packing etc, we thought that the information below might help you decide what to bring with you, and help answer any questions that you may have.
What to Bring / Packing Lists
Please see our packing list menu for an idea of what you may want to bring on your activity holiday. Most of the trips have a generic list for the sport but a couple are trip specific. Obviously please do use your own judgement in terms of how many of each item you want to bring, but don't underestimate the mountain weather, even in the height of summer!
Paperwork to bring
Please don't forget to arrange and bring with you your travel insurance policy. Our duty of care to you means that we can not let you participate in your chosen activity if you do not have Insurance cover. For details on the type of insurance required, please see our Insurance section.
All UK residents also need to bring with them an EHIC card (European Health card), which replaced the E111 form some time ago. This will ensure that you do not have to pay up front for emergency health care required in France during your trip. Please apply for your card in advance of your holiday either through the post office, or online at www.ehic.org.uk
WIFI / Internet
Whilst you are of course on holiday, as a couple that run our own business, we understand that work can not always just stop! All the Hotels we use now have some form of WIFI available. Most of them are free, but not all.
Maps
For holidays based in and around Ax les Thermes, you may be interested in bringing your own map or getting hold of your own while you are out here. The IGN series are easy to purchase in Ax or Les Cabannes, and James or your leader will be happy to mark on for you the places you have walked/cycled or visited. The following map numbers are good ones for the area, but as the itineraries for our walking trips do vary depending on the groups abilities and the weather, you may be better waiting until you are on the trip before purchasing your map, so you know which ones to buy.
1:50,000
Covers the whole area so would include all walks on centre based trips:
Carte de Randonees, Pyrenees Carte No 7 Haute Ariege (Vicdessos-Orlu)
1:25,000
IGN Ax les Thermes - 2148 ET
IGN Bourg Madame (Col de Puymorens, Pic Carlit) - 2249 OT
Hairdryers and Toiletries
All of the hotels that we use on our trips provide basic toiletries, though in some this is very basic (ie soap!). Please bring with you any other toiletries that you may need during your holiday.
Hairdryers are provided in the Hotel Terminus in Ax les Thermes (so for all centre based XC skiing trips, walking trips, mountain biking trips and snowshoeing trips). On the Raid Pyrenean and Raid Alpine trips, hair dryers are generally not provided
Laundry and Drying Facilities
On our point to point trips or multi centre based trips (Road cycling holidays and some walking trips), we are not in the hotels long enough to use any laundry facilities available though nearly all of the hotels have a facility of one kind or another for drying damp clothing overnight. Available facilities will be described to you as appropriate during your holiday, by your leader.
For our centre based trips in Ax, staying at the Hotel Terminus, there are unfortunately no hotel laundry facilities. There is a laundrette in town for anyone wanting to use that. For drying wet boots (walking/ski kit) there are some communal shelves available over heaters so that you should be able to dry your wet kit out over night.
Emergency Contact Information
Should a relative need to get in touch with you during your holiday, and you do not have a mobile phone that works abroad, they can contact the Marmot Tours office on 00 33 5 81 15 54 41 or James and Cathy on their mobiles (James 0033 6 30 01 12 98, Cathy 0033 6 84 10 14 35). We also check our email daily.
For centre based trips, the Hotel Terminus details can be found below:
Alain et Elizabeth, Hotel Terminus
31 Avenue Theophile Delcasse
09110 Ax-Les-Thermes
Tel: 0033 (0)5 61 64 20 55.
For point to point trips, the start and end hotel details can be found on the Travel page of each holiday section on the website, along with location maps.