Active Therapy
Active Therapy
5
About
Active Therapy provides active holidays in Zakopane area for people with passion for outdoor sports. Our activities are suitable for children and adults, individuals and groups, able and disabled. Active Therapy Ski School runs one of the best adaptive skiing programme in Europe. We use wide range of the newest adaptive ski equipment. We have professional ski instructors who are fun, friendly and experienced in teaching skiing people with all disabilities and all ages. We do ski lessons in Zakopane, Białka Tatrzańska, Karpacz and in Alps - Austria, Switzerland, France) Our summer programme includes: cycling with adaptive programme for disabled riders (hand bike), hiking and sightseeing, massage and physiotherapy. We provide suitable adaptive equipment for disabled people (mono-ski, dualski, outriggers, handcycle, outdoor sports wcheelchairs).
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
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5.0
19 reviews
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19
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Gabriellanms
Baile Tusnad, Romania1 contribution
Jan 2013 • Family
We traveled 850 km to Poland to give opportunity for a blind child to learn skiing and I can say that it was the best choice. I think the first impression and experience is very important in everything, because those affect our further motivations and attitudes. Within the Active Therapy, this child had professional skiing lessons and got everything he needed, all the necessary assistance, patience, attention. He also had a specialist who knew how to work with children with special needs, which is an essential condition to do successfully work with them. The child started on the first day with rejecting the equipment and the skiing, but after five days he left smiling and did the half a day way home in ski boots and helmet, which we consider a visible result.
Thank you Dominik :)
Provitalis Association, Romania
Thank you Dominik :)
Provitalis Association, Romania
Written January 28, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bibiski
Holmfirth, UK1 contribution
Jan 2013 • Couples
I started to ski 25 years ago when I realised that if I didn't learn I would watch my husband and 2 sons and feel left out. The first few years were challenging but I began to love the freedom and even a little speed. We skied in France, Austria, Italy and Canada and the hobby became a career for one of our sons who is now married and working in the Alps. We also own a chalet and enjoy a resort which is as busy with mountain activities in Summer as it is in Winter.
There is however a problem as in the last 10 years my ability to ski has almost gone. I have come very close to throwing away my helmet, skis and goggles but decided to give it one last chance,
My problems are caused by Parkinson's disease and I have spent hours trawling the internet and asking about assistance for a former keen intermediate skier. I met the amazing Catherine Cosby of Ski 2 freedom foundation and she both encouraged me and introduced me to Dominik at Active therapy who was positive about my plan to relearn how to ski. We had hoped to find an instructor in France and didn't intend to travel to Poland but i am so glad we did. The Hotel Banya was excellent and we will go back.. It is comfortable friendly and welcoming and also considerably less expensive than it would be in France let alone Switzerland. Dom is a simply fantastic. He worked hard and expected me to do the same but was also sensitive to the symptoms and impact of for me of a progressive condition which has, for roughly 10 years tried to take away from me my balance energy, coordination, flexibility and confidence. I have much more to do but Dom at Active therapy has given me hope and I am already planning my next visit. He is simply the best and I know that , with his teaching there will be more progress. I can't wait! The actual ski area is wonderful too as this is a new resort and the design is tailored to provide graduated slopes wide and perfectly groomed. Unfortunately we had booked in a busy week so the slopes were a bit crowded and queues grew longer as the day moved on. But we will choose our dates more carefully next time. I also hope I will be well enough to try the floodlit evening skiing.
It's all there to try for and I just need the courage to keep on trying so that Dominick wil do the rest.
There is however a problem as in the last 10 years my ability to ski has almost gone. I have come very close to throwing away my helmet, skis and goggles but decided to give it one last chance,
My problems are caused by Parkinson's disease and I have spent hours trawling the internet and asking about assistance for a former keen intermediate skier. I met the amazing Catherine Cosby of Ski 2 freedom foundation and she both encouraged me and introduced me to Dominik at Active therapy who was positive about my plan to relearn how to ski. We had hoped to find an instructor in France and didn't intend to travel to Poland but i am so glad we did. The Hotel Banya was excellent and we will go back.. It is comfortable friendly and welcoming and also considerably less expensive than it would be in France let alone Switzerland. Dom is a simply fantastic. He worked hard and expected me to do the same but was also sensitive to the symptoms and impact of for me of a progressive condition which has, for roughly 10 years tried to take away from me my balance energy, coordination, flexibility and confidence. I have much more to do but Dom at Active therapy has given me hope and I am already planning my next visit. He is simply the best and I know that , with his teaching there will be more progress. I can't wait! The actual ski area is wonderful too as this is a new resort and the design is tailored to provide graduated slopes wide and perfectly groomed. Unfortunately we had booked in a busy week so the slopes were a bit crowded and queues grew longer as the day moved on. But we will choose our dates more carefully next time. I also hope I will be well enough to try the floodlit evening skiing.
It's all there to try for and I just need the courage to keep on trying so that Dominick wil do the rest.
Written February 10, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
allan J
Rochdale, UK1 contribution
Feb 2013 • Friends
We have just returned from Bialka Tatranska staying at the Hotel Bania Our paty included my son Carl who uses a wheelchair since his road accident The attention and skill shown to Carl whilst both skiing with the sit ski and throughout our stay by Dom Jonas can not be praised too highly The equipment used by Active Therapy was of the highest quality The Hotel was suggested by Dom and was very wheelchair friendly The resort was very suitable for us with everything being within wheelchair pushing distance The ski slopes offered more than enough variety for our needs We just wait to be able to return Thanks Dom
Written February 5, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JAH152
Chester, UK14 contributions
Jan 2013 • Friends
As someone who learnt to ski late in life I have always been a nervous skier but thanks to Dominik's endless patience I am still able to enjoy time on the slopes each year. I have skied with Dominik for the past four years and I have never had a better instructor and can highly recommend him. I have skied with him in France, Austria and Switzerland as well as Poland. Skiing in Poland was a new experience for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it finding some of the slopes somehwat gentler and more suited to my ability.
Dominik has also taught a group of School Children for me with members of the group as young as 3 years old, which is normally unheard of for a school group to include such young children, but his patience and understanding with them was amazing. Within three lessons he had them all skiing down the slopes and confident, even the three year old! They are all still talking about how much they loved Dom! His skill in teaching both adults, able bodied children and children with learning difficulties is excellent.
I cannot recommend Dominik highly enough so book him early if you do not want to miss out.
Dominik has also taught a group of School Children for me with members of the group as young as 3 years old, which is normally unheard of for a school group to include such young children, but his patience and understanding with them was amazing. Within three lessons he had them all skiing down the slopes and confident, even the three year old! They are all still talking about how much they loved Dom! His skill in teaching both adults, able bodied children and children with learning difficulties is excellent.
I cannot recommend Dominik highly enough so book him early if you do not want to miss out.
Written February 1, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maureen-Daniel
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK21 contributions
Jan 2013 • Family
We had a fabulous week's ski-ing holiday at Bialka Tatranska,and much of that was due to Dom Jonas of Active Therapy. We contacted Dom in the Autumn as he had been an excellent instructor for our 11 year son Daniel last year in Gstaad. Daniel has Down's Syndrome, a severe learning disability and Autism. He cannot speak, sign or copy, but loves motion, both on skis and being zoomed down a mountain in a sitski.
Dom asked if we would consider Poland. We said yes, and that we'd be looking for a reasonable priced hotel right beside the slopes. Dom gave us various options and prices. We opted for the Bania Guesthouse, joined to the brand new Bania Hotel which opened in December.
We arranged our Jet2 flights to Krakow. Dom met us at the airport and drove us to the Hotel. It met our needs well, cosy rooms with lots of wood and character and excellent buffet breakfasts and evening meals. The evening meals were a bit early for us - you had to be in the restaurant before 6pm, but there was an inexpensive a la carte option in a a traditional Polish restaurant in the Guesthouse.
What made the Hotel great for us was the proximity to the slopes. Skihire was at the back. Fifty metres away was the ticket office for lift passes (less than half the cost of most Alpine resorts), then it was straight onto the slopes, 2 Nursery and 2 with chair lifts, leading to a wider ski area.
Daniel has good balance and can do a pretty good parallel. Unfortunately, he can't stop, so Dom, a qualified physiotherapist, worked on muscle memory. A wedgie kept ski tips close, space bar heels apart and he steered Daniel with reins attached to his boots.
There was a lovely long blue run after a couple of chair lifts. 1064m in length, it was perfect for Daniel getting into the motion of ski-ing. By the end of the week, he came down it 6 times with Dom steering. It meant we could ski together as a family, doing some extra runs in the afternoons with Daniel in the sitski.
If you want challenging reds & blacks, this is not the place for you. If you want virtually guaranteed snow at a low altitude, it's a good place as snow cannons are at work all over the resort providing it is cold enough. Another bonus is the floodlighting, making it possible to ski from 9am until 10pm. For evening relaxation, there is a huge thermal spa complex at the back of the hotel.
I would have no hesitation recommending both the resort and Dom of Active Therapy. My only reservation is that he is so good, we still want to have him as our instructor in school holidays next year, and hope that this review doesn't mean others get in first!
Dom asked if we would consider Poland. We said yes, and that we'd be looking for a reasonable priced hotel right beside the slopes. Dom gave us various options and prices. We opted for the Bania Guesthouse, joined to the brand new Bania Hotel which opened in December.
We arranged our Jet2 flights to Krakow. Dom met us at the airport and drove us to the Hotel. It met our needs well, cosy rooms with lots of wood and character and excellent buffet breakfasts and evening meals. The evening meals were a bit early for us - you had to be in the restaurant before 6pm, but there was an inexpensive a la carte option in a a traditional Polish restaurant in the Guesthouse.
What made the Hotel great for us was the proximity to the slopes. Skihire was at the back. Fifty metres away was the ticket office for lift passes (less than half the cost of most Alpine resorts), then it was straight onto the slopes, 2 Nursery and 2 with chair lifts, leading to a wider ski area.
Daniel has good balance and can do a pretty good parallel. Unfortunately, he can't stop, so Dom, a qualified physiotherapist, worked on muscle memory. A wedgie kept ski tips close, space bar heels apart and he steered Daniel with reins attached to his boots.
There was a lovely long blue run after a couple of chair lifts. 1064m in length, it was perfect for Daniel getting into the motion of ski-ing. By the end of the week, he came down it 6 times with Dom steering. It meant we could ski together as a family, doing some extra runs in the afternoons with Daniel in the sitski.
If you want challenging reds & blacks, this is not the place for you. If you want virtually guaranteed snow at a low altitude, it's a good place as snow cannons are at work all over the resort providing it is cold enough. Another bonus is the floodlighting, making it possible to ski from 9am until 10pm. For evening relaxation, there is a huge thermal spa complex at the back of the hotel.
I would have no hesitation recommending both the resort and Dom of Active Therapy. My only reservation is that he is so good, we still want to have him as our instructor in school holidays next year, and hope that this review doesn't mean others get in first!
Written January 23, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
K B
Gliwice, Poland2 contributions
Mar 2014 • Friends
This year I was able to use the winter for the first time. I used to hate it because the snow gets stuck in my wheelchair tires. Nevertheless, this year I felt the real winter-fun. I spend a week-end in Białka with my friend using dual-ski. Everything is perfectly prepared, we met great people and the ambiance was really great. I recommend it everyone, to use every season to do any sport because ActiveTherapy makes it real for literally everyone ;)
Thank you Dominik for everything
Thank you Dominik for everything
Written March 10, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jenny W
Buckingham, UK2 contributions
Mar 2013 • Family
The week before Easter 2013 our extended family of 21 adults, with 5 toddlers & babies, rented a whole catered chalet in St Anton, Austria. Most of us are very experienced skiers.
I have Motor Neurone disease diagnosed 7 months ago. My walking, speech and swallowing are now bad, and normal skiing this year was out of the question. What my kind son and daughter did was buy me sit-ski lessons in the Snowdome in Milton Keynes and Hemel Hempstead. Then they booked me an instructor, Dominik Jonas, of Active Therapy, with a wonderful sit-ski for 4 x 3-hour sessions in St Anton.
Dominik knows St Anton very well and took us to all the best pistes, and St Chrisoph and Stuben. My family enjoyed skiing with us because he took us to the best places skiing. He knew his way around, and where the snow would be best.
I was strapped in a very sophisticated chair with 2 short radius skis under it that turned very quickly. I held outriggers on my hands, poles with mini skis on the bottom, that I used for turning. I had a cover on my feet and legs to keep them dry and warm. I feel the cold in feet and hands, especially so close to the snow. I used hand and feet warmers too.
Dominic skied and held the chair from behind. The most difficult thing was getting in and out of the chair. It took 2 people to lift me. A sit-ski uses chair lifts, and St Anton had plenty of fast long ones. Getting on and off the lifts was very exciting, but there was no inconvenience to others, because the lift didn’t need to stop. Dominik simply raised the seat part of the sit ski, the chair lift slipped underneath, and we were off!
We went to the top of all the best mountains with lovely views down the valleys, and lots of snow. Dominik called to me “and right” when I looked round to the right and pushed my right outrigger right out in front, then he would call “and left” when I would look left and push my left outrigger out on front. It is very good for strengthening your back and arms, and core strength.
It was intoxicating to be amongst the skiers again and racing down the piste with them despite my illness. Being so low down, I heard the snow crunching, and wore goggles to keep it off my face. There was lots soft powder snow. The fresh Alpine air, being in a different environment, enjoying the adrenalin and watching all the Europeans ski was wonderful. It was also good to have to really concentrate on my skiing and Dominic’s instructions, it really helped mentally. We skied wide red and blue runs mostly, and did a tiny bit of ‘off piste’ on powder!
I had to, and did really trust Dom not to collide with others or fall off the edge of a steep piste. I think some people would find it frightening, but if you concentrate and go for it the fear goes. I kept guessing which bit of snow we were going to turn on weather an icy bit or a mogul. There were lots of moguls because of the amount of fresh snow. The only problem I had was crossing moguls, which did give me some whiplash, and the snow was smoothest in the mornings when it had been freshly pisted.
I have Motor Neurone disease diagnosed 7 months ago. My walking, speech and swallowing are now bad, and normal skiing this year was out of the question. What my kind son and daughter did was buy me sit-ski lessons in the Snowdome in Milton Keynes and Hemel Hempstead. Then they booked me an instructor, Dominik Jonas, of Active Therapy, with a wonderful sit-ski for 4 x 3-hour sessions in St Anton.
Dominik knows St Anton very well and took us to all the best pistes, and St Chrisoph and Stuben. My family enjoyed skiing with us because he took us to the best places skiing. He knew his way around, and where the snow would be best.
I was strapped in a very sophisticated chair with 2 short radius skis under it that turned very quickly. I held outriggers on my hands, poles with mini skis on the bottom, that I used for turning. I had a cover on my feet and legs to keep them dry and warm. I feel the cold in feet and hands, especially so close to the snow. I used hand and feet warmers too.
Dominic skied and held the chair from behind. The most difficult thing was getting in and out of the chair. It took 2 people to lift me. A sit-ski uses chair lifts, and St Anton had plenty of fast long ones. Getting on and off the lifts was very exciting, but there was no inconvenience to others, because the lift didn’t need to stop. Dominik simply raised the seat part of the sit ski, the chair lift slipped underneath, and we were off!
We went to the top of all the best mountains with lovely views down the valleys, and lots of snow. Dominik called to me “and right” when I looked round to the right and pushed my right outrigger right out in front, then he would call “and left” when I would look left and push my left outrigger out on front. It is very good for strengthening your back and arms, and core strength.
It was intoxicating to be amongst the skiers again and racing down the piste with them despite my illness. Being so low down, I heard the snow crunching, and wore goggles to keep it off my face. There was lots soft powder snow. The fresh Alpine air, being in a different environment, enjoying the adrenalin and watching all the Europeans ski was wonderful. It was also good to have to really concentrate on my skiing and Dominic’s instructions, it really helped mentally. We skied wide red and blue runs mostly, and did a tiny bit of ‘off piste’ on powder!
I had to, and did really trust Dom not to collide with others or fall off the edge of a steep piste. I think some people would find it frightening, but if you concentrate and go for it the fear goes. I kept guessing which bit of snow we were going to turn on weather an icy bit or a mogul. There were lots of moguls because of the amount of fresh snow. The only problem I had was crossing moguls, which did give me some whiplash, and the snow was smoothest in the mornings when it had been freshly pisted.
Written April 28, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LIBBYSBerkshire
BERKSHIRE18 contributions
Apr 2013 • Family
We approached our family ski holiday this year with my paraplegic daughter being further back than at beginner stage. Her previous experiences on the slopes had made her fear the sport and dislike it intensely. Unfortunately on two previous sit-ski attempts tutors and equipment were not up to scratch.
However it is 7 years since her last attempt and she was willing to give it another go if only to keep me happy/quiet!
Dominik Jonas and Active Therapy were recommended to me by ski2freedom in the UK. Dom gave me loads of advice by email prior to booking and this made me feel confident that he understood what my daughter needed in terms of level of care, safety, encouragement and equipment.
He duly turned up with a car full of equipment to cover all eventualities though he had already built a sit-ski according to the measurements I had provided earlier.
His fun approach quickly broke the ice (not literally) and his rapport with my daughter was instantaneous! He gently guided her though every step of the sit-ski process and by lunch time she was skiing unaided and safely (with the biggest smile on her face).
After lunch she skied most of a fairly long blue run unaided, something I never thought I would see.
Its not only the amount of care Dom took with my daughter its the fact that he actually does care and goes that extra mile to make it work. From the start I realised that booking Dom for the day was the best decision I've made in a long time.
I have such confidence in Dom's professionalism and experienced that he is probably the only person I would ever have on the slopes to guide and teach my daughter.
We had such a lot of fun with Dom and my daughter made amazing progress through his artful teaching. Im very proud and she's telling everyone about her day with her brilliant teacher Dom Jonas. Needless to say he comes highly recommended.
However it is 7 years since her last attempt and she was willing to give it another go if only to keep me happy/quiet!
Dominik Jonas and Active Therapy were recommended to me by ski2freedom in the UK. Dom gave me loads of advice by email prior to booking and this made me feel confident that he understood what my daughter needed in terms of level of care, safety, encouragement and equipment.
He duly turned up with a car full of equipment to cover all eventualities though he had already built a sit-ski according to the measurements I had provided earlier.
His fun approach quickly broke the ice (not literally) and his rapport with my daughter was instantaneous! He gently guided her though every step of the sit-ski process and by lunch time she was skiing unaided and safely (with the biggest smile on her face).
After lunch she skied most of a fairly long blue run unaided, something I never thought I would see.
Its not only the amount of care Dom took with my daughter its the fact that he actually does care and goes that extra mile to make it work. From the start I realised that booking Dom for the day was the best decision I've made in a long time.
I have such confidence in Dom's professionalism and experienced that he is probably the only person I would ever have on the slopes to guide and teach my daughter.
We had such a lot of fun with Dom and my daughter made amazing progress through his artful teaching. Im very proud and she's telling everyone about her day with her brilliant teacher Dom Jonas. Needless to say he comes highly recommended.
Written April 18, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
getnataliep
London, UK2 contributions
Mar 2017 • Family
I have just returned home from a wonderful week in Poland. My son has high functioning ASD and Dyspraxia. He skies indoors but has never been to the mountains. It was my sons dream for the past year to ski on a mountain. Not been a skier myself I needed to go somewhere safe and with someone that would understand my son. Dominik Jonas is amazing his teaching skills and communication with my son were second to none.
Dominik arranged everything for us as made sure our stay was as pleasant as could be.
After having had in the past back surgery myself I never thought that I would try to ski. Ive always been far to scared to try. I ended up having two great lessons with Dominik he helped me to combat my fear and got me to try to ski. I thoroughly enjoyed my lessons and cant wait to have some more one day in the future.
I highly recommend Dominik Jonas from Active Therapy to anyone who wishes to learn to ski or that has any form of disability.
Dominik arranged everything for us as made sure our stay was as pleasant as could be.
After having had in the past back surgery myself I never thought that I would try to ski. Ive always been far to scared to try. I ended up having two great lessons with Dominik he helped me to combat my fear and got me to try to ski. I thoroughly enjoyed my lessons and cant wait to have some more one day in the future.
I highly recommend Dominik Jonas from Active Therapy to anyone who wishes to learn to ski or that has any form of disability.
Written March 14, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
matza94
Bielsko-Biala, Poland3 contributions
Feb 2014 • Friends
For many years I thought that winter is not for me, because snow, ice and wheelchair is not a good combination. All of the winter activities were not for me too, but finally I changed my mind! I have found Active Therapy and since than I'm in love with dualski. Big thanks to Dominik - he's professional, friendly and doing great job for every disabled person, who CAN be active in the winter. Dualski and me in every winter for sure! :)
Written July 20, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Jenny. I went skiing in Livigno and broke my femur. Our family are planning a holiday in March in St Anton. I have no problem walking but do not want to take the risk skiing again. Is sit skiing safe and who do I contact in st Anton.
Written August 23, 2023
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