Where to go in 2013, Part 1, Europe

Europe

Istanbul, Turkey
Don’t be surprised if more and more travel talk turns to Turkey. The country—famously at the crossroads of Europe and Asia—is having a moment. The World Travel Awards selected the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism as Europe’s Leading Tourist Board in 2012, and the ministry’s hard work appears to be paying off with an increase in preliminary bookings for 2013.
A red-hot hotel scene makes Istanbul a stand-out destination. Home to the only Edition hotel in the world, this beguiling metropolis has witnessed a parade of recent openings, including the Marti and Pera Palace, the historic landmark that once pampered Orient-Express passengers and is now managed by Jumeirah.

Europe’s High-Speed Trains
Over the past several years, high-speed trains have become a preferred mode of travel across Europe, with the ultimate result that many airlines no longer offer short-haul flights, even internationally. In the time it would take to drive out to an airport, check in, check luggage, wait for boarding, fly, disembark, collect luggage and drive into the next city, travelers can simply go directly to a city-center train station just a few minutes before the train departs, ride for a few hours, disembark and walk right out into another city center. In the long run, it’s a time-saver (and much more environmentally friendly than flying). Another benefit is that travelers can stay in one city and take day trips to others by high-speed rail. For example, Florence is just over two hours away from Milan on the Frecciarossa train, and quick trips between London and Paris are popular on Eurostar trains.
Rail Europe offers a good range of ticket options and can help plan trips throughout the continent (and the UK) as well as one-day excursions. —Jena Tesse Fox  

“This beautiful city is one of the fastest growing destinations in the world,” said Sinan Yilmaz, general manager of the Shangri-La Bosphorus, opening this spring. As the first Asian hospitality brand to arrive in Istanbul, Shangri-La is pulling out all the stops with its hotel, located on a prime piece of Bosphorus real estate between the Dolmabahce Palace and Naval Museum. More than 60 percent of the guest rooms will have waterfront views. Raffles will follow suit in the summer with a luxury hotel in the Zorlu Centre, one of the city’s largest new developments.
For 2013, Turkish Airlines has inexpensive tickets for nonstop flights between the East Coast and Istanbul (compared to other European hubs). Istanbul is an easy sell for travelers looking to explore “new” destinations in Europe, after having checked Paris, London, and Rome off the list.  —Mary Winston Nicklin
More than 60 percent of the rooms at the new Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul, will have waterfront views.

Marseille-Provence, France
Another place to be in 2013 is the south of France, not just because of the sun and sea on the fabled Riviera, but also because Marseille-Provence has been elected European Capital of Culture, and is putting on a show that’s unrivaled in the history of the designation. The social calendar is brimming with exciting events (imagine thousands of horses crossing the Provencal plains and marching into the port during “TransHumance”!). As the oldest city in France, Marseille has long embraced the Mediterranean, and the city’s melting-pot diversity, along with 300 days of sunshine per year, is one of its chief assets. Recently this maritime hub has witnessed massive urban regeneration projects by the world’s starchitects (like Norman Foster), and is now buzzing with an undeniable energy.

The Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde overlooks the harbor in Marseille, France’s oldest city. Marseille-Provence is the 2013 European Capital of Culture.

Linda Miller of Avanti Destinations notes the healthy interest in Europe for 2013. “Our advance bookings are up 25 percent over a year ago. Paris continues to be the number one booked city, but Marseille is going to pop up more on the radar. There is a lot happening in the city, like the opening of MuCem on the Old Port, the only French National Museum to be built outside of Paris. The European Capital of Culture title is the perfect opportunity to introduce more long-haul travelers to Marseille; there will be many reasons for people to spend a few days and not just pick up their rental car and go to other parts of Provence.”
Easily accessible from Paris in three hours by high-speed train, Marseille is also connected to the world via the Marseille-Provence airport. In fact, XL Airways will launch twice-weekly service between Marseille and New York JFK on May 31.  —M.W.N.

Croatia, Dubrovnik and the Balkan Peninsula
The Balkan Peninsula is emerging as one of the great hidden gems of Europe, with increased brand-hotel development in cities like Zagreb. Dubrovnik is a city of living history, thanks to a law that forbids building new hotels until the older properties damaged in the wars of independence are repaired. As such, all new hotels in the city are built in historic properties.
For 2013, tour operators are stepping up their packages to the Balkans. G Adventures will be launching tours to Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia. Cruise companies are also increasing their stopovers along the Adriatic, and new luxury villas have opened in historic Dubrovnik buildings.
There are no direct flights to Dubrovnik from the United States, but the city gets plenty of air traffic from Paris, London and Rome, so transfers are easy.
Your well-traveled clients who have already toured France, Italy and Spain and their historic cities and beaches will appreciate the culture, architecture and coastline of Dubrovnik and other cities along the Adriatic coast.  —Jena Tesse Fox

Gstaad, Switzerland 
Famous for its ultra-swank chalets and picture-perfect mountains (not to mention the celebrities who call it home), Gstaad has been a perennial favorite among luxury travelers and dedicated skiers for decades. New for 2013 is Gstaad’s first new luxury hotel in more than a century: Alpina Gstaad opened its doors in December. At the same time, the iconic Gstaad Palace is celebrating its centennial this year.
While Gstaad does not have a major airport of its own, private planes can land at Airport Gstaad-Saanen. Otherwise, it’s best to rent a car and drive in from Bern Airport. Guests who love the luxe life or enjoy top-notch skiing are prime candidates for a vacation in Gstaad.  —J.T.F.

Sandals La Source Grenada

We are pleased to announce the opening date of the newest member of the Sandals family…

Sandals La Source Grenada!

The resort will be opening for arrivals on December 12, 2013; bookings commenced on March 23, 2013.

 This will be the penultimate resort in our collection, with rooms and suites never seen before!

 A few of the highlights:

o   231 rooms and suites

o   3 villages: Pink Gin Village, Tahiti Village, and Italian Village

o   Just minutes from the airport

o   9 restaurants including a world class steakhouse restaurant – Butch’s Chophouse

o   3 pools plus 2 river pools

o   State of the art fitness center and spa

o   Meeting facilities

o   75 butler suites including millionaires suites, rondovals and skypool suites

o   Romantic soaking tubs in all rooms and suites in the Tahiti and Italian villages

Room with a "skypool" and a view!

The World's Most Unique Museums

We all love art museums when we travel, but sometimes we get a little museum-ed out. If the thought of seeing another original Picasso or staring up at Michelangelo’s David gets your yawn-maker going, consider visiting one of these museums instead:
El Museo de las Momias (Museum of the Mummies): Guanajuato, Mexico
Graveyards are fun, but all the cool dead people are buried and out of sight. That’s not the case at the Mummy Museum, where the skeletal remains of hundreds line the walls to haunt your vacation for a few hours.
Currywurst Museum: Berlin, Germany
Have you ever wanted to listen to the sounds of currywurst—a hot pork sausage smothered in a spicy curry sauce—cooking? You can in Berlin, where Germany’s national dish gets the royal treatment. Here you’ll learn about the history of currywurst and can even pretend to work behind the counter of a currywurst snack bar.
Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments: Prague, Czech Republic
If the words “Iron Maiden” make you think of the torture device instead of the English metal band, then this is the museum for you. Sixty morbidly fascinating torture devices are on display, each with a useful tutorial on how to operate them, which might come in useful to parents of teenagers.
Tap Water Museum: Beijing, China
The oddest thing about Beijing’s Tap Water Museum—built in a former pipe-house and containing 130 mouth-watering displays, such as vintage water coupons—is that you shouldn’t drink the water here.
British Lawnmower Museum: Southport, England
Did you know that Princess Diana owned a lawnmower? You would if you visited the British Lawnmower Museum, which showcases the past, present and future of lawnmowers.
Hair Museum: Avanos, Turkey
Some Turkish potters work from shacks, but one potter works in a cave covered by the hair of 16,000 women. Believe it or not, this is the world’s largest collection of hair.
Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame: Los Angeles, United States
The five people in the world who have not seen Cher’s bra should go here, where unmentionables are clearly mentioned. Also on display are Forrest Gump’s boxer shorts and Milton Berle’s feminine undies.
Cigarette Lighter Museum: Tokyo, Japan
Every “world’s most unique” list has an entry from Japan. In Tokyo alone there are museums for kites, baseball equipment, John Lennon memorabilia and cigarette lighters.

Key Items to Pack to Save You Money

There are travel expenses you expect, such as dinners, attraction tickets and cab fares. But then there are those you don’t expect, and you find yourself looking for the nearest pharmacy or grocery store to buy them. These unexpected expenses tend to inflate our travel budgets, so it’s wise to pack the following items that will surely save you money. 

Reusable Carry-On Bottles – While travel-size products seem relatively cheap, they’re not when you compare the price per ounce to their regular-sized counterparts. The money-saving alternative is to purchase 3-ounce reusable travel bottles and fill them with whichever products you need.

Travel Laundry Detergent – One of the most important items to pack in your reusable travel bottles is laundry detergent. Doing laundry at a resort or on a cruise ship can be expensive, so pack some detergent, a stain stick or both to handle those dirty clothes on the go.

Luggage Scale – We add pounds when we travel…pounds to our suitcases, that is. No matter where we go, we always come back with more gifts and more clothes. If these additional items push your suitcase over the weight limit on your return flight, the result is more money you have to shell out, sometimes as much as $200. A simple luggage scale is easy to pack and use to determine if there’s space in your luggage for even more.

Duct Tape – You can’t take a Swiss army knife on a plane, but you can take its just-as-useful cousin, duct tape. This handy adhesive can help you temporarily fix luggage damaged during the flight, so that you don’t have to purchase another bag. It’s also good as a make-shift lint roller, to tape curtains together to keep sun out of your hotel room, to seal over the drain in a hotel sink so that you can wash laundry, and, with a little tissue paper or cotton, even make a makeshift Band-Aid.

Moorea and Bora Bora Review

On behalf of a recently returned happy traveler...

Hi Debby!

We are back safe and sound!  The trip was AMAZING!!  I feel like we couldn't have done it without you and we wanted to thank you so much!  We have both already recommended you to several of our friends and our next trip we will definitely give you a call. 

Sorry this might be a bit much, but I just wrote everything I could remember!:    :-)

Now, for the trip itself, we actually got to the airport in LA early so we were able to upgrade to Business Class for an extra 900 bucks, which was well worth it!  Once we got to Tahiti we went to the Intercontinental, which had an AMAZING pool, but the rooms were just OK (which was fine because all we did was sleep since we got there so late). 

The next morning we hopped on a ferry which was only about 30 minutes and got to Moorea, we dropped off others at the other big resorts (Sofitel, Intercontinental, Pearl) and it was clear that we were at the nicest of the main hotels.  The Hilton in Moorea is small, we always felt like there were only 20 people there (which is nice!) and the bungalos were great.  The food was good, but not great as there was not much selection. 

If any other couples are interested in going, you should tell them to rent a car and explore for the day, the island itself is gorgeous!  A car rental from Alberts Tours was super easy (they picked us up from our hotel and it was only about 50 bucks for 4 hours) and it is so easy to drive around the island because there is really only one road that goes in a giant circle so it's difficult to get lost.  We also highly recommend a place called Eva Pearls if anyone asks about buying reputable black pearls.  The owner (Eva) is French and we read about her shop before going and we were not disappointed.  She really knows her stuff.  After that we went to a little place called Snack Mahana for lunch which is literally in a lady's backyard that looks out on the water and the food was fantastic.  It was a nice change from the hotel's food. 

Our tours that we went on: 
- Deep Sea Fishing:  We didn't catch anything, so it kind of felt like a long boat ride, but we met another couple on it that we are actually going to vacation again with so I suppose it was worth it.  The guide was American (he mentioned he was the only fishing guide on the island) and he wasn't mean or anything, he just wasn't the friendliest. 

- Safari 4x4 Tour:  On Moorea, I feel like this is a must.  Basically you sit in the back of a truck and they take you to the top peaks of the island (Magic Mountain and Mount Belvidere) it also takes you to a couple of other cool places around the island.  There is also the ATV version, but I think the 4x4 is better because there was lots of mud and dirt flying in the people's face that did the ATV version.  Plus some of the drives were kind of treacherous (45 degree inclines) to get to some of the lookouts. 

The guide was really, really nice and was very knowledgeable. 

-  Tiki Village:  I kind of got the impression this was a bit of a "tourist trap", it was nice, the food and the dancing were great, but before all of that they took your through a "tour" of all of the things that were for sale there.  Both the hotels in Bora Bora and Moorea had a similar show one night a week that I think would have been just as good. 

- Jetskiis (Bora Bora):  This was Andy's favorite part and I also really enjoyed it.  We were able to drive the entire way around the island and see all of it.  I'd highly recommend this one. 

After Moorea, we took a short flight to Bora Bora, once at the Bora Bora airport there was a Four Seasons boat to pick us up and boat us to the resort.  Bottom line, you can't beat the Four Seasons.  Hands down the favorite part of my trip.  I remember we were torn between the St. Regis and the Four Seasons, but we went to dinner at the St. Regis (which charged us an $80 transfer fee for a 3 minute boat ride) and it was clear in my opinion that the Four Seasons was on a whole other level of quality, so I think we made the right choice. 

A couple of nights we took the boat shuttle in to town to eat at both Bloody Mary's and La Villa Mahana.  First, La Villa Mahana was the best meal I have ever had in my entire life.  It ended up costing us about $600, but it was totally worth it in my opinion.  There are only 7 tables and it was a perfect setting.  Bloody Mary's was also really, really good, so much so that we considered going back on our last night.  Just a casual beach bar, that you walk in and select what you want to eat from the plates of fresh fish they caught that day.  It was delicious. 

Overall, it was a long travel, but I felt like the amount of time we went was perfect.  Moorea is the better island (as far as beauty), but Bora Bora's lagoon is second to none.  One day, we would love to go back, but I think we would go straight to Bora Bora just to cut on costs. 

Once again, thank you SO much for everything!  Please let either of us know if you have any other questions and I apologize for the essay!!  :-)

Jennifer