Our Challenge Levels are designed to help you choose a holiday that matches both your fitness and your previous experience. The same activity can feel very different depending on your background. For example, a via ferrata may feel relatively straightforward for an experienced mountaineer but much more challenging for someone trying mountain activities for the first time.

When choosing your trip, consider your current fitness, how regularly you exercise, your experience of the activity or similar activities, and how comfortable you are spending several hours active in mountain terrain. Each holiday shows its Challenge Level and explains what you can expect. If you are between levels or unsure which trip would suit you best, contact us and we can help you choose.

Yes. All of our fixed-date guided holidays are designed for individuals, couples and small groups who would like to join other like-minded travellers. They are a good option if you are travelling solo but would still like the sociable atmosphere and reassurance of a small guided group.

Yes. Almost any of our fixed-date holidays can also be organised as a private trip. Just tell us your preferred dates and how many people are travelling, and we can prepare a quote for you.

If you would like more flexibility, our tailor-made formulas let you build your own holiday online by combining accommodation, activities and logistics.

And if you want something completely bespoke, send us your ideas or wish list and we can create a trip from scratch around what you would really love to do.

That depends very much on the holiday. Some trips require only a reasonable general level of fitness, while others involve several hours of activity each day in mountain terrain and are considerably more demanding.

Each holiday has a Challenge Level to help you understand how demanding it is, together with a Who will love this trip? section explaining the type of fitness, experience and mindset it is best suited to.

We recommend choosing a trip based on what you are comfortably able to do now, rather than on the activity name alone. If you are unsure, just ask us and we can help you choose the right level.

Safety is built into the way we plan and operate our trips. Activities are led by guides and instructors who hold the qualifications required in France and relevant European standards for their activity. We vet the professionals we work with and check their qualifications and professional insurances each year to make sure everything remains valid and up to date.

We also carry out risk assessments for our holidays and work with our guides and suppliers to identify and manage foreseeable risks. Because mountain weather, snow, water levels and terrain can change quickly, conditions are also assessed on the day and routes, timings or activities may be adapted when necessary.

You need travel insurance that covers the activities included in your holiday, together with emergency evacuation, medical expenses and repatriation.

We also strongly recommend choosing a policy that includes cancellation, curtailment and travel disruption. This can be particularly important if, for example, a flight or other journey that you booked independently is cancelled or delayed and you miss part of your holiday as a result.

Because some standard travel insurance policies exclude certain mountain or adventure activities, always check that the specific activities in your trip are covered.

No. If you are eligible for an EHIC or GHIC, it can give you access to medically necessary state healthcare in France, but it does not replace travel insurance.

An EHIC or GHIC does not cover everything you may need on an activity holiday, such as repatriation, travel disruption or cancellation, and you should not rely on it for emergency evacuation or rescue costs.

You still need travel insurance that specifically covers the activities included in your holiday, emergency evacuation, medical expenses and repatriation.

Weather and mountain conditions can change, so our guides and activity providers assess the conditions and adapt the programme when necessary.

If the planned activity or route cannot be carried out safely, we will look for the best alternative available. This might mean changing the route, timings or location, or replacing an activity where appropriate.

Our priority is to keep your holiday running wherever reasonably possible while making decisions based on the actual conditions and the professional judgement of the guides on the ground.

If you are injured during an activity, the guide or activity provider will assess the situation and organise the appropriate response, including contacting the emergency services where necessary.

Depending on the circumstances, this could involve local treatment, evacuation from the activity area or transfer to a medical facility.

This is why your travel insurance must cover the activities you are taking part in, as well as emergency evacuation, medical expenses and repatriation. Any additional arrangements or costs resulting from an injury will normally be dealt with through your insurer.

For our fixed-date holidays, you can book directly online by choosing your departure date and following the booking steps.

For our tailor-made formulas, you can build your holiday and get a personalised quote online, then book directly once you are happy with your choices.

If we are adapting one of our existing holidays for you or creating a completely bespoke trip from scratch, we will send you a personalised quote. You can review the full details and then confirm and book your trip online.

For standard bookings, a 25% deposit is required to secure your holiday. The remaining balance is due 6 weeks before departure. If you book less than 6 weeks before your departure date, the full holiday price is payable when you book.

If you cancel your holiday, cancellation charges apply in accordance with our Booking Terms & Conditions and may include the deposit paid.

Different payment conditions apply to larger group bookings, and these will be clearly explained in your quote and booking confirmation.

If you need to cancel, please let us know as soon as possible. Cancellation charges depend on how close to departure you cancel and are set out in our Booking Terms & Conditions.

These charges help cover the work already carried out to organise your holiday, much of which takes place well before you travel, as well as deposits and payments we may already have made to accommodation providers, guides and other suppliers on your behalf.

As departure gets closer, cancellation charges may increase. We therefore strongly recommend taking out travel insurance that includes suitable cancellation cover.

Yes. Undiscovered Mountains is registered with Atout France, the French public body responsible for the official register of travel and holiday operators.

To be registered, a travel operator must meet the legal requirements set out in the French Tourism Code, including having appropriate financial protection and professional liability insurance.

Our financial guarantee is provided through a specialist policy with Groupama and is designed to protect customer payments if we were unable to fulfil our obligations because of financial failure.

This gives you an important additional level of protection when booking with a registered French travel operator.