This Mother’s Day, those looking for an extra-special way to pamper mom can treat her to the ultimate escape at Ocean Club Resorts, situated on the stunning Grace Bay Beach in Turks & Caicos.
Ocean Club guests can earn brownie points this year by hosting a four night sleep over for the most important lady in their life or for a couple of their closest girlfriends.
Package includes:
- Four nights – including taxes/service fees
- Three breakfast, three lunch, three dinner vouchers per person
- A $25 On Site Merchant Gift Certificate
- Rate starts at $699.00 per person (based on double occupancy)
Guests can indulge in spa treatments, sailing on a catamaran, horseback riding on the beach, snorkeling, diving, parasailing or hitting the golf links. Or of course, there is always the option of just relaxing under a pink beach umbrella with a good book. Either way, Mom will truly feel appreciated. To book this package, contact Ocean Club Resorts at 1.800.457.8787, visit www.oceanclubresorts.com or contact a travel professional.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Join World Expeditions in Peru this June for a specially devised cycling itinerary to appreciate the best of Andean culture at handlebar level. This Cycle the Andes tour comes complete with backup vehicle, full support staff, comfortable hotels but unfortunately there are no yellow jerseys awarded at the end of the day.
After testing your cycling legs in Cusco, the tour heads to the Chinchero Plateau (gaining spectacular views of the Andes) before freewheeling over 1000m downhill to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Then, swap your bikes for boots and complete a one-day trek on the last stage of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Back in the saddle, the tour then travels to the shores of Lake Titicaca and cycle around the shoreline before moving onto the spectacular Colca Canyon.
CLICK HERE to view more details online.
SOURCE: World Expeditions
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
There Is Still Time to Plan an Irish Holiday Escape
With three festive packages and a colorful Easter Egg Hunt in the hotel gardens, The Merrion in Dublin is the perfect escape for all or part of the long holiday weekend with the family.
The Easter Weekend Family Package includes three nights for two adults and two children in interconnecting Garden Wing rooms (one double and one twin), breakfast each morning, a family brunch in The Cellar Restaurant on Easter Sunday and The Merrion’s festive Easter Egg Hunt in the gardens where resident ducks swim in the pond. The three-night package is valid from March 21 to March 24, 2008 and costs €1,725 (approximately $2,588) per family for three nights.
The Easter Family Fun Offer includes two nights for two adults and two children in interconnecting rooms in the Garden Wing (one double and one twin) with breakfast for the entire family each morning. The package also includes a Dublin Pass for free entrance to the best attractions, such as Dublin Castle and the Dublin Zoo, a one-way journey for each on the Aircoach from Dublin Airport and substantial discounts in shops and restaurants all over the city. The package is valid for any two nights from March 21 to March 24, 2008 and costs €1,190 (approximately $1,785) per family for two nights.
An Off to the Races Package is also available for Easter Monday fun on March 24, 2008. The package includes accommodations for one night in a deluxe double or twin room in the Garden Wing with two tickets to the Irish Grand National at FairyhouseRacecourse on Monday and full Irish breakfast on Tuesday morning. The one-night package costs €160 (approximately $240) per person based on double occupancy.
The Merrion is a union of four landmark Georgian townhouses, one of which was the birthplace of the Duke of Wellington, combined with a specially commissioned contemporary wing that wraps around beautiful private gardens. With its extensive art collection, intimate drawing rooms and working fireplaces, the hotel is an ideal home base for enjoying the festivities and exploring the riches of Dublin.
For reservations, please contact The Merrion directly on 353 1 603 0600, The Leading Hotels of the World on 1-800-223-6800 or send an e-mail to reservations@merrionhotel.com. To know more, visit www.merrionhotel.com.
Source: Geoffrey Weill Associates
travel vacation ideas
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Meet The Women & Children of South Africa With This Unique Mother’s Day Tour
The Cultural Explorer, a US-based tour operator specialising in cultural and philanthropic travel in South Africa, has announced an exclusive tour “designed to introduce adventurous North American mothers and daughters to the resilient women and children of South Africa.”
The trip, billed as a “celebration of women”, offers an ideal opportunity for mothers and daughters “to spend quality time together while improving the lives of others, seeing spectacular sights, even going out on safari.”
According to Cultural Explorer, travellers will visit innovative organizations that work to improve the education and work skills of disadvantaged women in South Africa, meeting several women along the way who have “made a real difference in their communities”.
Guests will experience gourmet and traditional foods and stay in charming locally owned hotels and B&Bs. They will also visit an exclusive game reserve dedicated to the conservation and preservation of the wildlife and communities around it.
The trip, running from 3 to 17 May (taking in Mother’s Day on 11 May) and from 7 to 21 June, “will change perspectives and lives”.
Tour itinerary
Cultural Explorer travellers will start in Johannesburg, staying at a chic, woman-friendly boutique hotel with an organic cafe and a huge fitness centre right next door.While in Johannesburg, the group will visit the vibrant townships of Soweto and Alexandra, meeting and sharing experiences with some special township women, and shopping at stores that promote the arts and crafts of disadvantaged women. The city tour will take in the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill and downtown Joburg.
Then it is off to the majestic Drakensberg Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, where travellers will stay at a charming resort hotel with magnificant mountain views, a swimming pool and easy access to a variety of walking trails.
While in the Drakensberg, travellers will visit Didima Valley to learn about the San, or Bushmen - the first inhabitants of the area - and view some of their ancient cave and rock paintings.
The highlight, however, will be a get-together with Miss Lillian and her family in a small Zulu village where they survive and thrive with no electricity.
Next up is a quick stop in the coastal city of Durban, staying at an elegant hotel off bustling Florida Street. Then it is off on safari - with a leisurely drive north to a luxury, eco-friendly game reserve where the group will spend two full days observing African wildlife.
During the day travellers will search for cheetahs, lions, elephants, rhinos and giraffes, while at night safari they can enjoy a massage on their private deck listening to the sounds of Africa, or a sundowner with the other guests.
Next is South Africa’s up-market Garden Route, where travellers will stay in the local’s favourite resort town of Knysna, while checking out small coastal towns such as Wilderness and Plettenberg Bay.
Guests will meet Selina, an inspiring Sangoma (traditional healer) who lives in a township above Knysna where she “proves that one woman really can make a difference.”
From there the group will take the picturesque drive to Cape Town, stopping in one of the oldest towns in South Africa, Swellendam, for lunch. In Cape Town they will stay at a traditional hotel along the Atlantic seaboard. Here the guests will meet women from the townships, an Afrikaans mother and daughter, and women entrepreneurs.
They will take excursions to Cape Point and Simon’s Town - to see the jackass penguins - and of course, Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for more than 20 years.
“All long the way, Cultural Explorer travellers will have plenty of time to get massages, take walks or workout, relax on the beach, tour interesting galleries and shops, and discover unique gifts to take home.”
Costs and contacts
This trip is for women only, and for ages 15 and above, as travellers will witness and discuss the impact of Aids on families and communities.The trip costs $4 599 per person, including: all hotels, all group ground transportation including airport transfers, all entrance fees, all safari costs, all meals as indicated, and driver/guide expenses (except tips).
Not included in this cost are: international or domestic air travel, the domestic flight from Durban to George, alcoholic beverages except where included in dinners, personal expenses (laundry, cleaning, room service, massages, tips), and personal transportation expenses apart from group activities.
For more information, contact Pat Walker at +1-415-387-7593 or visit www.theculturalexplorer.com.
SOURCE: eTN
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Even in the dead of winter, cultural life goes on. That's a good thing for holiday travelers.
How best to plug into cultural offerings as you head out for a cool-weather retreat? Keep reading:
· Newport, Rhode Island (Home of The Chanler): Three of Newport's most prominent Gilded Age mansions - The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House - will be decorated for the holiday season from November 17, 2007 to January 1, 2008. Come and enjoy the spirit of Christmas as these opulent summer cottages are transformed into Winter Wonderlands. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.(The Chanler hotel is located at the start of Cliff Walk on Memorial Boulevard offering easy access to all that Newport has to offer. For info and reservations call 401-372-2578 or visit www.thechanler.com)
· Kennebunkport, Maine (Home of the White Barn Inn): In 1982, the village of Kennebunkport, Maine threw its first Christmas Prelude celebration, featuring a tree-lighting ceremony, River Arts concert, chowder luncheon, candlelight caroling, and Santa's arrival by lobster boat. These days, the Christmas Prelude consists of three tree-lighting ceremonies, Arts & Crafts Fairs, programs from the local Historical Society, a dozen dining venues serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner, and 12 programs of music celebrating the season. Santa still arrives by lobster boat, escorted by two very special "lobster elves." The Christmas Prelude runs December 10 -December 30, 2007. (The White Barn Inn & Spa is one of the leading Kennebunkport hotels and inns. Make an online hotel reservation enquire online at www.whitebarninn.com or call 207.967.2321)
· Taos, New Mexico (Home of El Monte Sagrado Living Resort & Spa): If you happen to be enjoying a relaxing holiday getaway at El Monte Sagrado Living Resort & Spa, head to the base of Taos Ski Valley at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve to watch resort employees holding flares as they glide down Snakedance trail. The undulating ribbon of red is a must see. (El Monte Sagrado, well-known as a leader in alternative energy, blends its commitment to sustainability with a setting of indulgent luxury. For info and reservations: 800.828.8267; www.elmontesagrado.com.)
· Beverly Hills, Los Angeles (Home of Maison 140): The streets of Beverly Hills look better at night than during the day. This is especially true at Christmas time, when the Yuletide displays in the shop windows take on a particularly lovely glow and twinkle-lights adorn the many trees. During the holiday season, Rodeo Drive's center divider is planted with banks of bright red poinsettia flowers, and the trees are tied with matching red ribbons. Some of the stores, such as Louis Vuitton, really outdo themselves with delightful Christmas décor. (Maison 140 is an intimate, 43-room luxury boutique hotel in the heart of Beverly Hills. For telephone reservations call
800 670 6182 (From US and Canada); online visit www.maison140beverlyhills.com)
Source: Hawkins International
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Tour Scotland in a Vintage Campervan
Scooby Campers of Edinburgh offer a unique way to explore Scotland 1960s-style. Their fleet of vintage right-hand-drive Volkswagen campervans has been lovingly restored by a team of VW mechanics who have installed brand new engines, satellite navigation, state-of-the art sound systems and DVD players. And, like every proper campervan, each one is fitted with bunks, gas cooker, fridge and sink – the ultimate mobile home for a flexible touring vacation.
Scooby campervans can be hired for any length of time from one day upwards. Hire includes bedding, guide books and suggested itineraries. The base in Edinburgh is ideal for touring the West Coast and the Scottish Borders.
Scooby Campers operates all year round, with prices starting at £275 (around $550) for a long weekend, Friday to Monday.
Website: www.scoobycampers.com.
SOURCE: British Tourism www.visitbritain.org
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".