As professional travel agents, it’s our job to stay up to date and keep you informed about the ever-changing world of travel. Below you will find our latest batch of travel tips to help you travel better. Please read on, and, if you have any additional questions regarding these topics or others, we’re only a phone call, email or text away.
Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf Service Host
Why You Should Consider Luxury Train Journeys
Traveling by train has always been popular in Europe, Africa and Asia, and it is starting to gain popularity in the Americas too. The benefits are numerous: You trade in cramped airline seats for a spacious train seat or private cabin, where you relax and watch the lush countryside roll by until you arrive safely at your destination. Along the way, you’ll typically enjoy Wi-Fi and the convenience of a café car, and you can often hop on and off the train to explore stops along the way (if you purchase a ticket that allows that).
As wonderful as that sounds, luxury trains take it up a notch. Similar to an upscale cruise experience, a luxury train — often using converted Pullman carriages from the early 20th century or sleek new models featuring massive windows and viewing platforms — glides along routes that highlight a region’s best, employing historians and storytellers to provide a narrative for the places you pass while you may enjoy gourmet-quality meals in luxe accommodations.
Rockey Mountaineer in Red Canyon
Of course, these are merely a handful of the train journeys awaiting you, from luxurious week-long crossings to short trips up a scenic mountain. Our agency can enhance any vacation with a rail journey to make it extra memorable — just let us know.
Fall colors in Kyoto, Japan
Escape the Crowds at These Detour Destinations
Popular places are popular for a reason. Paris, Barcelona, Rome, New York, Tokyo, London and other star destinations have been well-traveled for centuries, sometimes even millennia, because the whole world knows all about the exciting things you can do, see and eat there. You can certainly enjoy a vacation to those cities, but depending on the time of year, you may be elbow to elbow with other visitors trying to grab that last croissant from the café or vying for a prime position to snap a pic of the Sistine Chapel.
Which leads us to detour destinations — places near the main event where you can still absorb and enjoy the same culture. Here are a few to consider for your next vacation.
Taking in the views in Verona
Instead of Rome or Venice, visit Verona
Located about an hour west of Venice, Verona is well-known as the setting for Romeo and Juliet. Today, the entire town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that attracts visitors from around the world for its stunning medieval and Renaissance architecture. Built in the first century, Verona’s open-air amphitheater, the Arena di Verona, is one of the town’s largest draws, especially during the summer when the Arena Opera Festival wows crowds of opera lovers with world-class productions. It’s the perfect place to take an evening stroll, known locally as “la passeggiata,” down cobblestone streets framed by pink-hued medieval buildings, breathing in the culture and history of Italy with each step.
Instead of Cancun, visit Playa del Carmen
While Cancun’s reputation for relaxing days at all-inclusive resorts and electric nights at downtown clubs is well deserved, it’s easy to slip farther down south on the Riviera Maya and experience Mexican culture in its purest form. The friendly people of Playa, as Playa del Carmen is locally known, think their sun-drenched coastal city is more sophisticated than Cancun due to its chic style and European ambiance. And while you’re snorkeling over massive coral reefs mere steps away from the beach, being amazed and inspired at the Frida Kahlo Museum, enjoying one of the 50 attractions at the nearby Xcaret Eco Park or strolling along the 20 blocks of shops and restaurants on pedestrian-only Quinta Avenida, you may agree.
Hawksbill Turtle in Playa del Carmen
Niomon Gate at Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto
Instead of Tokyo, visit Kyoto
Even without tourists, Tokyo — with its neon signs and ever-punctual trains — is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. That’s why Kyoto, just a few hours away by shinkansen bullet train, is a worthwhile alternative. Much like gazing at Mt. Fuji, modern Kyoto creates the impression of a centuries-old painting come to life. More than 2,000 temples and shrines can be found within its borders, along with transcendent gardens and ancient districts where geishas still walk on thick wooden sandals. Every moment here can be filled with wonder, from standing in awe at the ancient Silver Pavilion or the gold-leaf covered Golden Pavilion to appreciating the famed Zen rock garden at the temple of Ryoan-ji or the towering Bamboo Forest of Arashiyama.
Coming home from vacation
How to Get Over a Post-Vacation Funk
We’ve all experienced it: that emotional letdown when you arrive home from a fabulous vacation. After spending a week away island-hopping on a Caribbean cruise or sightseeing in Sydney, it can be difficult to re-adjust to normal life, where you have to make your own meals and your own bed. This descent to normality is known as a post-vacation funk, and it affects more people than you think. Here are three ways to combat these feelings and keep your post-vacation glow longer.
Returning to routine
Get Back on Schedule
Vacations often take us to far-flung corners of the world, where night is day and summer is winter. Or they occur in our own time zone but include late nights on the dance floor and mornings when you linger a little longer in bed. So, it’s key to get back into your usual sleep schedule as soon as possible when you return. The post-vacation funk will only worsen if you’re tired and unable to fight it.Stay Active
Vacations are often filled with fun activities and time spent with loved ones — why not try this at home? Have a few planned activities ready for the first two weeks back, from a long hike with friends to dinner at a new restaurant with your family. Keeping the vacation vibe going is always a good way to stay positive.
Date night
Vacation planning
Plan Your Next Vacay
Vacations are more than just the week or two you’re away; they also encompass all the planning and dreaming you did prior to leaving. To kick the post-vacation funk away, rev up the next vacation cycle. Start hopscotching around the internet looking for destination inspiration or contact our travel agency to get the travel ball in motion. When you have another cruise or resort booked, it’s easier to stay upbeat about the good times you’ll soon be having.
Peace of mind while travelling
Why Travel Insurance Rocks
Travel is more than just a simple diversion — it’s an investment that enriches your life. And like any other investment, such as a house or car, you should have your travel plans insured. Not all your travel plans, though. A weekend at the beach or a three-day cruise are most likely not worth insuring.
But the trips you typically book through our travel agency — the longer, intricate, life-changing journeys that transport you around the world — should be covered. Why? Because if a natural disaster or sudden illness ruined your travel plans, you could possibly lose a great deal of money.
While all plans differ, in general, travel insurance protects you and your family in case you get sick or injured right before your trip. It can also cover medical and hospital expenses, which can add up quickly in foreign destinations, and emergency evacuation to a preferred hospital.
A good travel insurance policy doesn’t stop there. It can also assist you if you have to cancel a flight due to a personal emergency or it can cover your expenses if your train is delayed due to severe weather. It even lends a hand if your luggage is lost or stolen or if your pocket is picked.
Most of the insurance plans we offer include free worldwide assistance, available 24/7, just in case an emergency arises. We’ll gladly go over all the options with you the next time you book your trip of a lifetime!
