SNOW SAFARI Ltd - Tour operator and Chamonix experts sinsce 1989.
SNOW SAFARI Ltd have grouped their Alpine and Coastal programmes together and call this exiting holiday collection "SEA AND MOUNTAINS" In Chamonix in the Alps they base their holidays at the Chalet Savoy and on the Spanish coast on the Costa Brava their holidays are based at the Villa Catalan.
TOP Exodus Travel operator IN 2008 AND 2009 FROM CUSTOMER EVALUATION FORMS + during the summer of 2012 our Mont Blanc Highlights programme received no less than 32 five star reviews on the Exodus Travels' website! This must be a record!
Over the years we have masterminded some impressive Chamonix / Mont Blanc region trips including the Mont Blanc Highlights, Snowshoe programmes, winter Multi Activity and last winter Cross-Country skiing. As of autumn 2012 we will be marketing our programmes ourselves directly. We have decided to halve the group sizes in order to double your pleasure and your comfort and safety and to provide you with a really authentic mountain experience. We also be offering downhill ski chalet holidays which we specialised in when we first started our operation.
Oliver and Elaine Ensor have worked for Snow Safari since the founding of the company in 1989. They based themselves in Chamonix- Les Houches in order to take advantage of the great hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and and also the 20 or so fabulous ski areas all within an hour of Chamonix. In 1992 theystarted to run the Chalet Savoy for Snow Safari just six minutes walk from the Chamonix / Les Houches ski slopes. Not only is Les Houches ideal for wintersports but it is right at the start of the world's most famous walking trail, "the Tour of Mont Blanc".
Oliver passe
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instructor exam available to foreigners in Austria while he was working there in the 70's. He is also British qualified and holds the top American ski instructor's qualification. Oliver is also a British qualified Nordic Ski instructor (cross-country and telemark). He has passed the Austrian Mountain Leader exams and has also obtained the "International Mountain Leader." qualification. Following the newest walking trend Oliver has recently passed the French "Nordic Walking" diploma. Before founding Snow Safari, Oliver worked as a travel guide in Europe and Asia and he is certified as a Tour Manager. He speaks French, Italian, Spanish and German.
Elaine, like Oliver, also worked as a Tour Guide looking after Spanish, 
English speaking and Brazilian guests throughout Europe before they founded Snow Safari together and opened the Chalet Savoy. Elaine has qualified as a reflexologist and her international cooking skills are much appreciated by chalet guests. Elaine has also worked as a bilingual secretary and speaks French, Spanish, Portuguese and is currently learning German and Catalan.
Both Oliver and Elaine hold Tour Manager Certificates issued by Breda University in Holland.
PRESS REVIEWS:
Peter Tromans, Prestige Magazine
February 2000
Chamonix, a great high resort (meaning good snow all season)
with access to some of the best runs in the Alps. My particular favourite
Les Houches the regular venue for Chamonix's world cup downhill and
slalom races. At Les Houches there are 70 kilometres of runs of all
standards with Mont Blanc in the background. I've skied it with other
experienced skiers and with absolute beginners and there really is something
for everyone and an added bonus is you can usually ski right back to
the chalet. Staying at Chalet Savoy is 'as good as having Mont Blanc
in your back garden' they boast and, having stayed there I have to agree.
Great views, great cooking, great company with the opportunity of visiting
a different ski area every day.
There are mountain views from all the nine comfortable bedrooms, wood paneled lounge opening onto balconies and all the comforts of home including satellite TV for those who can't miss the English 'soaps' or the footie. But Oliver and Elaine are not just tour operators and chalet maids, both are avid skiers which is why they set up the operation - Oliver holds Austrian, British and US ski instructors qualifications. There are numerous bars and good restaurants within a short distance of Chalet Savoy including one at the entrance to the nearest ski lift.
Sarah Whitfield King, Sunday Mirror
November 13th 1998
"Our most enjoyable stay was at picturesque Chalet Savoy, run by
colourful Englishman, Oliver Ensor and his wife Elaine. It boasts spectacular
views." To take advantage of the best snow, they will even drive
you to other ski areas including Les Contamines, Megeve and through the
Mont Blanc tunnel to pretty Courmayeur in Italy." "But the slopes
of Les Houches were perfect."
David Allsop, The Times
November 28th 1992
"This charming old village is at one end of the Chamonix valley which
offers some of the most reliable snow conditions in the Alps. Oliver Ensor
is also a qualified instructor and his wife is a former ski guide with
Thomsons."
Mathew Peters, The Sunday Observer
November 1991
"By the end of the week, we had skied in six different areas spread
over three countries." "We negotiated the Vallee Blanche, the
longest most spectacular ski run in the world and had even managed to
do something to correct the faults that many weeks of instructor less
piste-bashing had allowed to develop." "Having our own minibus
meant that if we encountered poor conditions at one resort, we could go
somewhere else with better prospects. Besides deciding each day's destination
and programme, Oliver skied with a camcorder so he could video us."
The Ski Survey
September 1995
Snow Safari is a single chalet operation based in Les Houches.
The accent is on service with good food, transport in a minibus to
different ski areas and comfortable accommodation.
Jane Slade, The Sunday Express
7th December 1996
"Snow Safari, based in the village of Les Houches in the Chamonix
Valley, is a one-chalet company run by a friendly British couple, Oliver
and Elaine. Because the Chalet Savoy is their home as well as their business,
they offer a unique brand of hospitality and boast 70 per cent repeat
bookings."
David Allsop, The Express
January 11th 1997
"Of the many single-chalet operators, some offer a more original
brand of hospitality. A good example is the 22-bed Chalet Savoy run by
ski instructor Oliver Ensor and his wife Elaine. Not remotely offended
to hear his establishment occasionally described as the Faulty Towers
of the Alps, Oliver shrewdly manages to combine a sound grasp of British
eccentricity with a careful eye for personal service."
Tracey Savage, The Metropolitan
22nd May 1995
Chalet Savoy was to be found nestling amongst pine trees in
the heart of the Chamonix Valley. The tranquillity of this rustic and
most welcoming chalet with its open fires and beautiful views. Though
an excellent instructor, Oliver really should have been a comedian,
he made us laugh so much."
Bill Martin,
American Best Selling Novelist
August 26th 1997
The best host and hostess in the Alps. Be it winter or summer,
this is a marvellous place! Best hiking and biking I've ever had. You
run a wonderfull guest house.
Patricia Hitchcock, BBC Radio Scotland
March 4th 2000
Another impressive bargain is a week in the Chamonix region
offered by Chalet Savoy.
This is a 7 night stay in a luxury alpine chalet in Chamonix,
mountain views guaranteed. You get a buffet breakfast every morning
and dinner on six nights. Also thrown in is the use of the sauna so
you can banish those golfing aches and pains. There are 13 golf courses
within an easy drive of the chalet. The region is totally gorgeous and
the good thing about this holiday is that the sample itinerary caters
for the golfers and non golfers among us so there need be no golfing
widows left twiddling their thumbs. For example on day one while the
golfers try out the championship course at Chamonix, the non golfers
can experience a ride on the world's highest cable car. I think that
would be enough to make me take up golf anyway.
Arthur Sandles, Financial Times
1st March 1980
"A rosy faced joker called Oliver was one of the pleasantest ski
companions south of the Artic."
