Contact & FAQ
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why this “introductory call” as the first step?
A personal meeting – as a phone call or better yet, as a video call – is the easiest way for me to better understand you and your wishes and ideas. And, based on that, to design an individual tailor-made offer for your vacation in the European Alps.
We both invest time to assess something very important: Is the chemistry right?
Because it is important to me that you feel comfortable on the mountain or bike tour on which I will accompany you.
What happens in the 2nd phone call / video call? When does it take place?
The Slow Alps promise is: “Fix your Alps vacation and itinerary in just two calls”. The first call is our introductory meeting. Based on this information you will receive a complete tour or vacation offer from me with all the key data that determine the price. After receiving your deposit, I can start with the concrete organization, i.e. booking of hotels, mountain huts or sightseeing.
Before completing this detailed planning, I will invite you to a 2nd phone call where you can make further changes. If your time allows, we can of course communicate more frequently in between.
What is a "private" or "closed" group?
Let’s take a look at the opposite. Most outdoor tour operators work with open, non-private groups – which looks like this: You are offered numerous prepackaged vacation and tour programs at fixed dates, which you can book directly on the Internet.
However, these openly offered tours always have a minimum and a maximum number of participants specified. So, if you do not exactly reach this maximum number of participants with your own friends, colleagues or family members, you will spend this vacation program together with other guests you do not know yet.
In addition, you run the risk that your booked tour will be canceled by the operator if the minimum number of participants is not reached. This can often take place on very short notice – like just 7 days before the start of the trip, depending on the tour operator’s terms and conditions. Then they usually offer you an alternative tour from their program on which enough other participants are already booked. So you will find yourself in a larger, possibly even overbooked group.
My Slow Alps offer, on the other hand, is aimed exclusively at private closed groups. This means, you as my customer determine who should be there. And no other additional participant, unknown to you, will be added from my side. You are only on tour with the people you want to spend your most precious days of the year with. There are no minimum or maximum participant limits. And you also set the travel date that suits you.
“Private” does not mean that it only has to be family or friends. Even as a company, you can make inquiries for a defined group of colleagues or departments. The principle of a closed group with a program designed only for you and your group remains.
Is there a maximum number of participants for tours with Slow Alps?
No, there is neither a minimum nor a maximum number of participants.
If the group size, related to the requirements of the tour to be led, requires more than one guide, I will bring in from my network a mountain hiking guide or mountain biking guide making sure he or she suits us well.
Is Lutz as host and tour guide actually constantly "there" on all vacation days?
No, don’t worry. You determine the scope and extent of my presence at any time. This depends above all on the character of your mountain holiday. If you would like to go on tours from a fixed valley hotel, I will pick you up at the reception in the morning and bring you back to the hotel after the tour.
If you would like to take a “rest day”, you can do this all by yourself.
If you want to do a hut trekking of several days, maybe even a crossing of the Alps, I will of course be your constant companion as a mountain hiking guide. But also in the evening at the mountain hut I will of course leave you your privacy, if you wish.
How exactly does the luggage transport work?
Especially as a beginner hiker, a tour with luggage transport could be attractive. Because only after the first three or four tours do you realize – and then believe it – how little luggage you can get by with. Equipped with the right functional clothing for each “layer”, you don’t need more in your backpack for a 5-day hut trek than for a single overnight stay in a hut on a weekend tour.
On your first hiking tours, we will gently approach this experience and provide luggage transport to each of the next overnight quarters. These accommodations must be accessible with technical aids. Only mountain huts that can be supplied either by off-road vehicle or by material cableway are eligible.
On tours with luggage transport, we won’t get to the remotest corners of the Alps. But we don’t have to in order to experience magnificent alpine sceneries with crystal-clear mountain lakes and craggy rock peaks and to enjoy breathtaking wide views.
You need a 20-25 liter daypack for the necessary equipment of the respective day’s stage and a sturdy travel or sports bag (no shell suitcases!) for your change of clothes and sleeping utensils, being transported to the next accommodation for you after your departure – and already waiting for you when we get there.
How much lead time does Lutz need for the complete planning and organization?
That depends on my workload. If I have no other commitments, you will receive an offer from me within a few days and the trip can start within 2 weeks.
Usually, however, a lead time of 3-4 months is common. The more lead time (> 6 months), the more attractive accommodation options I can secure for you.
What does "Two-fold Bad Weather Response" mean? And how does it work?
It is about offering you the best possible weather on your travel date (“Response No. 1”) or offering you an alternative sightseeing program in case of inescapable bad weather (“Response No. 2”).
My area and planning experience in the Alps allows me in case of foreseeable bad weather at your planned vacation destination to switch regions at least 4 days before your arrival and plan comparable tours in terms of character, terrain and accommodation in a sunnier part of the Alps.
In doing so, we take advantage of the weather divide function of the Alps. We usually switch from the Northern Alps to the Southern Alps or vice versa. I call this rather complex service the “Bad Weather Response No. 1”.
The “Bad Weather Response No. 2” assures you that even in the rare event of bad weather conditions across all of the Alps, that do not allow the planned tours anywhere, you don’t just have bad luck. You will get value for your money by enjoying an alternative sightseeing program.
You can also just choose the “Response No. 2” – regardless and independently of No. 1 – which has a more favorable effect on the travel price.
What if something happens to Lutz and he is unable to attend our scheduled Alps vacation?
In the unlikely event that I am unable to tour with you due to short-term illness or injury, I will draw on my numerous good personal contacts in several mountain guide associations. I will select a colleague who suits you. And to whom I can entrust you with a clear conscience.
With many of them I have spent several weeks of training courses together on the mountain and thus got to know them very well, even in stressful situations. By the way, our introductory meeting call is also an important basis for this selection.
How much does a vacation with Slow Alps cost?
My service as a vacation designer and personal tour guide in a tailor-made all-round carefree mountain vacation is certainly not for bargain hunters.
For the basic services as for all additionally selectable options, the same pricing principle always applies: An increasing number of travel days and an increasing number of people reduce the price per head/per day.
A significant cost factor is the level of your desired accommodation, which you can determine yourself.
One further possibility of our cooperation is that you tell me your maximum vacation budget that you would like to invest for your Alps vacation right at the beginning. I will make the best of it – I promise!
You find typical price ranges per person and day on the Travel Services page.
What happens if I have to cancel my prepaid / fully paid vacation?
I do not offer my Slow Alps service in order to generate maximum profit for myself. It is important to me today to spend my lifetime in a pleasant way with other people whom I want to make happy and inspire for the world of mountains. You can read more about my life at About Slow Alps.
Therefore, in addition to the cancellation regulations prescribed by EU travel law, which you can find in my GTC § 4, I offer you an alternative on a voluntary basis: You can cancel free of charge up to 10 days before the start of your trip and won’t not lose anything of your payments you have made so far.
I will credit them in full to your next booking with Slow Alps, minus any cancellation costs already incurred by the booked accommodations and other booked service providers, which I will prove to you individually.
Whether you make use of this option, you decide only in the actual cancellation case.
What COVID terms of participation apply to Slow Alps tours?
On all Slow Alps tours from January 1st, 2022, it is mandatory for our guests and the tour guides deployed to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or recovered from Covid-19 for the duration of the tour. Participation is only possible with a valid vaccination certificate for a corona vaccination or a proof of recovery.
This applies until further notice!
