Travel Now and Learn for a Lifetime

Asia Transpacific Journeys Launches Lifelong Learning Journeys

Luxury Travel to Asia Enhanced by Hands-on Immersion, Educational Focus

Asia Transpacific Journeys announces a new Lifelong Learning Journeys series in which trips feature hands-on immersion in a specific theme through classes, discussion and participation with a guest tour leader who is an expert in the field.

For example, their new 17-day Cultures of Buddhist Asia is a sweeping examination of the three major schools of Buddhism practiced in Japan, Laos and Bhutan respectively. The journey will be led by a Buddhism expert from Naropa University, the premier Buddhist studies university in America. Meetings with monks, scholars and optional guidance in meditation will be featured.

“These journeys delve deep into a specific theme, with the world as your classroom,” says Marilyn Downing Staff, President and founder of Asia Transpacific Journeys, an Asia travel company specializing in the region for 21 years. “They are crafted in the spirit of discovery and appreciation, for the lifelong learner who delights in knowledge, not just for those with a background in the subject.”

Lifelong Learning Journeys feature:

• • A unique theme that acts as a focus for each trip
• • A guest tour leader who is an expert in that field
• • Hands-on immersion through classes, demonstrations, discussion, participation
• • Fellow travelers with a similar passion for subject
• • No need to have a background in the subject to join

The Cultures of Buddhist Asia is a Small Group Trip departing November 15, 2008. The per person, double, rate is $10,395 for land costs that includes upscale accommodations, nearly all meals, transfers, visa fees, tips, entrance fees, emergency and medical evacuation insurance, and a comprehensive pre-departure packet.

About Asia Transpacific Journeys
Asia Transpacific Journeys is an award-winning, Boulder, Colorado-based Asia travel company and Asia tour operator specializing in Custom Journeys and Small Group Trips for Asia vacation travel since 1987. Outstanding service, long-standing connections in Asia and deeply insightful cultural interpretation make them the operator of choice for discerning individuals, their families and friends. Asia Transpacific Journeys is the recipient of three “Top Travel Specialists” awards for 2007 from Condé Nast Traveler magazine.  In November 2007 Asia Transpacific Journeys was also honored as a “World’s Best Tour Operator” by National Geographic Adventure.  For more information, visit http://www.asiatranspacific.com or call 800 642 2742.

 

The Ultimate Mother's Day Gift: Pamper Mom with a Girls' Getaway to Ocean Club Resorts in Turks & Caicos

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. 

 

WANTED KEEN CYCLISTS for freewheeling in Peru

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 

A Festive Easter at the Merrion in Dublin

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

Just in Time for Valentine's Day: A Jet-Setter's Guide to Romantic Getaways

Looking for The Ultimate Romance Getaway This Valentine’s Day?

 

From extravagant “Will You Marry?” packages to one of the greatest natural wonders of the world, here are a few romance hot-spots sure to please.

• The Merrion, Dublin, Ireland (www.merrionhotel.com)

Arguably Dublin’s most romantic hotel, The Merrion offers a Will You Marry Me? package designed to make a proposal as memorable as it should be.  And one of the ingredients, a beautiful Jaeger LeCoultre watch, literally pays for the hotel stay. Will You Marry Me? costs 4,750 Euros (approximately $7,000) per couple and includes a deluxe room for one night in the historic Georgian main house; a bottle of champagne; full Irish breakfast for two; rose petal turndown service plus the pièce de résistance: a Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso watch engraved “Will You Marry Me?”  The watch alone retails for appoximately $7,000…which means the rest of the package is on the house.

 

•  Fouquets-Barriere, Paris (www.fouquets-barriere.com)

Inspired by Robert Doisneau’s Le Basier (The Kiss), photographed in Paris in 1950, Hotel Fouquet’s Barriere, a palace hotel on the Champs Elysées, has created an unprecedented opportunity for guests to recreate this special moment.  The new Paris C’est L’Amour package includes a one-hour photo shoot with a professional black-and-white photographer on the streets of Paris and even includes a make-up session. To top it off, couples enjoy a “Paris-by-Night” tour in either a chauffeur-driven 2CV convertible or a Peugeot C6.  The package also includes caviar and champagne, breakfast each morning, a champagne dinner at the hotel’s Le Diane restaurant and transportation to and from the airport.  The cost is 1,599 Euros (approximately $2,400) per night based on double occupancy for a minimum of two nights.

• Hassler Roma (www.hotelhassler.com)

The Hassler Roma’s famous view from atop the Spanish Steps is as good as it gets on the ground but now the hotel takes views to an even higher level with the Roman Skyline Package.  The package includes three nights in a Classic Suite, a 30-minute helicopter ride over the rooftops of Rome, private limousine service to and from the heliport, daily buffet breakfast, an exclusive tasting dinner at Imago, a bottle of Prosecco, a signature body-care gift, daily fruit, flowers and transfers to an from the international airport for 6,570 Euros (approximately $9,500).  Valid until February 28, 2008. 

• Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (www.orient-express.com)

The legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is a luxurious setting for the World’s Most Romantic Celebration, a journey from Venice to Paris showcasing the glamour of train travel.   After three nights in a deluxe suite at the Cipriani Hotel in Venice, guests dine in style and enjoy a cabin suite while the legendary VSOE train travels through the Italian, Swiss and French countryside to Paris where a one-bedroom suite at Le Meurice is waiting. From there, guests take a sidetrio by private Mercedes to Reims in the Champagne region for tastings and lunch at the two-star Michelin Chateau Les Crayeres. Shopping, touring and a candlelight dinner cruise along the Seine round out the experience which runs $24,750 per person for seven nights.

• Panoramic Hotel, Iguazu, Argentina ( www.panoramic-hoteliguazu.com)

With a location only fifteen minutes from Iguazu Falls in Argentina, one of the greatest natural wonders of the world, the new Panoramic Hotel Iguazu is the place to keep “falling” for your chosen one.Set magnificently on a hill where the Parana and Iguazu rivers meet, the hotel has panoramic views of the rivers and the triple border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.  And just in time for Valentine’s Day, the hotel is offering a special honeymoon package that includes two nights in a Standard Garden View room with upgrade to river-view room or suite, depending on availability; a bottle of champagne and fresh fruit platter on arrival; complimentary breakfast in bed the first morning and dinner for two one night at the lauded Patio Restaurant. US $533 plus VAT.

•  St. Regis, Washington, D.C. (www.stregis.com)

Reopening this month (January 2008) after a 16-month restoration program orchestrated by the noted design team of Sills Huniford, the historic St. Regis, Washington, D.C. is once again the top address in the nation’s capital.   To celebrate, the hotel’s Affair to Remember package includes accommodations in a premier suite, a bottle of Krug Grand Cuvee Champagne, a hand-crafted welcome creation from the pastry chef, breakfast in bed for two each morning and a limited edition St. Regis gift not to mention the pampering attention of one of the butlers for which St. Regis is so well known.  Rates start at $675 per night (depending on the date and suite) for a minimum of two nights.   The memories are simply priceless.

• CC Africa Safaris (www.ccafrica.com)

Out of Africa forever romanticized the African Bush, and CC Africa’s 10-day East African adventure offers guests a chance to experience their very own African love affair.  Days are spent viewing exceptional game in the Serengeti National Park while nights are spent in Ngorongoro Crater Lodge’s private suites featuring awe-inspiring views of the Crater below. In perfect contrast, the last few nights are spent off the coast of Tanzania at Mnemba Island Lodge, renowned as the world’s most romantic private island, where guests enjoy candlelit dinners on the white sand beach, delicious fresh seafood, scuba diving, snorkeling and kayaking.  Rates start at USD $ 7,404 per person in double accommodations and range up to USD $ 10,259 per person in double accommodations.

Also on the Romance Radar:

•  Amanresorts specialize in romance 365 days of the year with exquisite facilities and pampering service at exotic locations around the world from Bali to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.   Visit www.amanresorts.com for more inspiration and give the gift of an unforgettable experience.

• Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa has opened Pezula Castle on Poetize Beach. Situated on one of the most secluded beaches in South Africa, the castle offers breathtaking panoramic views of the beach and Indian Ocean.  A resident chef, housekeeper and butler add to the romance. Visit www.pezula.com

• The Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, Switzerland (www.brp.ch), Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Ireland (www.ashford.ie) and The Virginia hotel in Cape May, New Jersey (www.virginiahotel.com) all have Valentine’s Day packages filled with ingredients to enhance romance in extraordinary surroundings.

SOURCE: Geoffrey Weill Associates 

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