Written On: February 05, 2012
If you lived in India between the two World Wars and you were a British colonial administrator or from the upper strata of Indian society you would wait with eager anticipation for an invitation to attend a shooting party as guests of the Thakur of Nimaj. You would know that you would be spending time in a man-made oasis in the Rajasthani Desert; the men would spend the day in shooting parties taking time to join the ladies for afternoon tea followed by a nap and then exquisite dinners served under a starlit sky.
Written On: February 01, 2012
At the height of the California Gold Rush, both miners and supplies needed to get from the Eastern United States to the West and there was, at that time, no transcontinental railroad or a Panama Canal. The option was to “Sail ‘round the Horn” rounding the tip of South America at the Straights of Magellan and heading up the Pacific Coast
Written On: January 26, 2012
On January 4th, 1917 in the area of BehoBeho, German East Africa, a German sniper took the life of one of the great hunters and conservationists, a friend of Cecil Rhodes and Teddy Roosevelt and the inspiration for Allan Quatarmain of King Solomon’s Mines fame. He was buried close to where he fell and his grave is still there in what is now the country of Tanzania and the great national park that bears his name
Written On: January 20, 2012
Inevitably when you think of Venice you think of canals and when you think of canals you think of gondolas, the iconic symbol of the romance of Venice. They are indeed romantic and well suited to the environment but a few words to the neophyte Venetian traveler might be in order.
Written On: January 14, 2012
While you might immediately think of Paris, Rome or Hong Kong as culinary capitals (and they are) do not let the unsurpassed beauty of the people and the beaches of Bali blind you to the taste treats also awaiting you. If you are lucky enough ( or smart enough) to take an Ultitude experience, fine dining will already be built in but, if for some reason, you choose to visit on your own we are happy to suggest some places you may wish to consider.
Written On: January 08, 2012
The Misiones district of Argentina lies in the far north of the country and looks on a map like a wedge inserted to separate Paraguay and Brazil. It is the land of Iguazu Falls and the Parana River and was the focus and location of the movie “The Mission “with Jeremy Irons and Robert DeNiro.
Written On: January 02, 2012
As you have for the past two days you have risen early, enjoyed your morning coffee and headed out on to the Maasai Mara in search of the local game. If lucky you will have seen the lioness and her cubs from the Marsh pride before returning to camp to pack your duffel bag and head to the airstrip to board your waiting aircraft.
Written On: December 27, 2011
In 1969, a movie called “If it’s Tuesday, then it must be Belgium” parodied the multi-country bus tour that took first-time American tourists on a whirlwind tour from London to Rome visiting nine countries in eighteen days. While inaccurate in several ways there is no denying the reality that those programs existed and indeed some still do today.
Written On: December 20, 2011
Too many travel companies, particularly those that offer packages online think that an airline ticket, a transfer to the city and a half day city sightseeing equates to a trip to Paris. The rest of the time you are there you are left to your own devices either missing the places you should have seen or seeing the “must-see” sights from a bus listening to taped narration through earphones explaining the sights in multiple languages.
Written On: December 13, 2011
Men certainly have their uses; as the women of ABBA sang “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme a man after midnight “but that was before they ditched their singing partners. Sometimes however it is just nice to get away and do the things that you want to do especially with a compatible group of fellow women travelers.
Written On: December 06, 2011
In the broadest sense if you care very much for your traveling partner, the place you travel to is somewhat irrelevant. Merely providing the location can allow the experience to be special. On the other hand, if the relationship is not the best then no matter where you go or how much money you spend it will not be an optimal experience. Perfection is a unique and special person combined with a unique and special experience. We can’t do much about the former but we can certainly help with the latter.
Written On: November 29, 2011
The arts play a role in all of our lives whether we recognize it or not. Art, Music, Theatre and Dance all play a part in enhancing the essence of living. A haunting piece of music can evoke the memory of a special time, person or place.A work of art first viewed as a page in a book or as a slide in a lecture takes on new meaning when seen for the first time in person when you come to realize how large Michelangelo’s David is or how small Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Literature passes the time or expands the mind, sometimes doing both and the theatre can make you laugh out loud or reflect in silence.
Written On: November 22, 2011
When you have risen early in Rwanda to greet the misty dawn and then traveled up the mountainside to trek through forest with an expert guide to spend time with a family of Mountain Gorillas, there is a sense of awe and accomplishment as you return to your luxury lodge with its burning fireplaces and exquisite rooms. A reviving bath prepares you for cocktails as you watch the daylight fade over the mountain peaks you have recently visited.
Written On: November 08, 2011
If you are a committed traveler, you want to learn as much as possible about the culture and the customs of the people whose country you are visiting. If not, then you are a tourist sitting on a bus and viewing another part of the world through a window with one way glass. That is not our type of client and we believe that the best way to get to know a culture is through its cuisine and, in many parts of the world, the wines that enhance it.
Written On: October 25, 2011
A vacation in Madrid allows you tom enjoy all that is Spanish. Madrid is the epitome of art, culture and fine cuisine, but all too often, it can be impossible to fully appreciate what this magnificent city has to offer. Indeed, a visit to Madrid can often feel but a scratch on the surface, and for this reason, more and more people are dedicating an entire vacation to this city in order to appreciate fully everything that it has to offer.
Written On: October 15, 2011
A Kent vacation in England offers you more than just Dover, Dickens, Chaucer, cathedrals, spires and castles – England, and in particular, Kent, represent the very epitome of all things English, and as Kent is referred to as the Garden of England, there is no better place to immerse yourself in the delights, beauty and history of this world class island and its people.
Written On: October 05, 2011
A vacation in Peru is the definitive South American holiday of mystery. For Peru is a mystery; a holiday here will bring history alive, but the more you discover, the more mysterious it becomes. Perhaps this is because of the sheer scales involved.
Written On: September 25, 2011
Portugal vacations come in many forms, but if you are flying to Portugal with most of your travel then being by road and rail, you will want to travel as comfortably as possible. That involves business class flights, first class train tickets and your own private limousine with chauffeur. Whether you can find that or not is immaterial - it is what you will want, and there are travel companies that can provide you with level of comfort in addition to top class hotels and fine cuisine.
Written On: September 15, 2011
There are two words which come to mind when considering a vacation in Japan: culture and contrasts. The richness and diversity of life in Japan is matched only by its enthusiasm for its own cultural heritage, and whether you stay a week, two weeks or many months, you will always find it astonishingly easy to feel at one and the same time, both very much at home, yet transported to a world that seems uniquely set apart from anywhere else.
Written On: August 10, 2011
A vacation in England is an opportunity to experience history, culture, fashion and quintessentially English customs and traditions. From the moment you step off your plane, or disembark from your ship, you cannot help but be captivated by the charm and quirks of this island nation who have been so massively influential globally. Perhaps one of the first places you’ll think of visiting is London itself – the capital city of both England, and of course the entire United Kingdom.
Written On: July 05, 2011
A Nile cruise is an essential part of any Egypt vacations, and so important, in fact, that the cruise should comprise the entire vacation. Egypt is nothing without the Nile, and the ancient Egyptians even had a god devoted only to the Nile: Hapi.
Written On: June 30, 2011
It is very easy to enjoy a Bangkok vacation because the city seems almost to have been designed for tourists. To the Asians it is Krungthep Mahanakhon (Great City of Angels): they do not like the name 'Bangkok' so try to refer to as the locals do when you visit. The official name of this city contains 21 words and 167 characters, and is named by the Guinness Book of records as the world's longest place name. It shall not be repeated here!
Written On: May 30, 2011
Venice vacations make you think of canals, art galleries and palaces, and that is exactly what you get. However, you can also have entertainment and fun, and don't forget the delicious Italian cuisine, including their famous wines. Many people vacation in Venice for while, and then move base to visit other parts of Northern Italy that we shall come to shortly.
Written On: April 21, 2011
When you visit Buenos Aires as part of your Argentina vacation, you want to live as the rich do, and you should make sure that you will be pampered on this holiday of a lifetime. Your travel should be first class, with at least business class air travel, and your hotels should be the very best. Why settle for less in this fabulous city?
Written On: March 16, 2011
"You tak' the high Road an' I'll tak' the low road" and we will enjoy a Scottish vacation together, in the Scottish highlands and in the lowlands of Bonnie Scotland. Most people visit Edinburgh and then claim they have "done Scotland". Others head straight for the Isle of Skye or for Gleneagles Hotel or St. Andrews for a round of golf and then claim the same thing.
Written On: February 11, 2011
When most people think of Santiago vacations they don't think of combining it with other attractions in that part of the world. In fact, Santiago is just a short flight away from the magnificent Rapa Nui, known to most of us as Easter Island, with its dark brooding statuesque heads staring out to sea.
Written On: January 06, 2011
China vacations involve more than just travel to Beijing - the country has opened up over the past few years, and many of China's secrets are now open to the west, even those on a Chinese vacation.
Vacations to China are becoming increasingly popular and an a growing number of travel operators are offering China vacations at cut prices to those wanting to find out the secrets of the Orient that have been hidden from western eyes for so long. However, cheap vacations come at a price, if not in hard cash.
Written On: December 30, 2010
If you want to enjoy a Costa Rica vacation with sheer unadulterated luxury, then you have to know what the country has to offer. As with most vacation destinations, Costa Rica has a lot, since although the country is not the richest, it knows how to treat tourists from which much of its wealth is obtained.
Written On: November 24, 2010
There are plenty travel tours for Singapore available online, but if you are looking for something different, with that extra special touch of luxury, you should be looking for something that offers first class accommodation and cuisine, and that all-important personal touch that only a limited travel group can provide.
Written On: October 20, 2010
Most luxury vacations to London England will offer you everything that the tourists do, such as visiting the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and the like. While this is fine, it can be a bit 'samey' if you have visited London before, and if you like the city but want to experience something a bit different to the usual tourist route. Well, that can be arranged, because there is a lot more to London than the picture postcard attractions.
Written On: September 15, 2010
If you are seeking luxury travel packages for Gleneagles, one thing to keep in mind is that if you are traveling to Scotland, you should also take in some of the other delights that this magnificent country has to offer. It would be shame if you restricted yourself to just the one area, and missed all of the wonderful scenery and the ancient and sometimes bloody history that Scotland is steeped in.
Written On: August 10, 2010
If you are looking for the best luxury tours to Paris and the Riviera, it is important that know what to look for, and to be certain that you will be visiting the right places. Everybody knows about the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysées, even if they can’t pronounce it, but how about Saint Chapelle, which Louis IX had built to hold a piece of the true cross and Jesus’ crown of thorns? Or the busy open street market on the Rue Mouffetard, known locally as La Mouffe, where just about every house and shop number on the street has a story to tell?
Written On: July 05, 2010
Nothing sounds more exotic or exciting than luxury adventure travel to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. Let's take these one at a time and see what you would be getting if you indulged yourself with luxury adventure travel of this kind.
First the Galapagos Islands. Luxury adventure travel to the Galapagos Islands is following the footsteps of Charles Darwin and the Beagle, as he formulated his theory of evolution by studying the life forms on these islands, untainted by human hand for thousands of years. You can try to spot the blue-footed boobies waddling among the hundred year old 600 pound tortoises, or seek out the Amblyrhynchus, a three-foot long, iguana resembling a dinosaur that lives only on these islands.
Written On: June 29, 2010
If you are considering exotic international travel to Hong Kong, be sure also to take in the environs of Hong Kong, such as Zhongshan, Macao and Tai Mo Shan. Although Hong Kong itself is a wonderful place to visit, these other attractions offer you an alternative view of China that is less frenetic, and more akin to the China most people have in their minds.
Written On: May 24, 2010
In order to enjoy European luxury travel to London and Edinburgh, there are certain aspects of your travel arrangements that must be right. These are detailed below, and if even one of these is not as it should be, then you should continue your search for a travel company that provides you with what you want: true luxury without nasty surprises.
Written On: April 19, 2010
It is easy to enjoy luxury travel to Dubai, but first you have to find it. Many tour companies are offering trips to Dubai, but in order to cut costs you will have very little leg room on the plane, and are packed into planes, buses and hotels with dozens of other travelers. It’s not so much fun as an ordeal sometimes. However, there are some good operators around, with professional planners that can give you everything you want, so more on these later.
Written On: March 14, 2010
When you think of all-inclusive travel to Rome, what do you think of? Do you think of the history, the Forum, the Coliseum and the great Gods of Rome? Do you think of the religion, the Christians that were once sacrificed to the lions, but who now lead the world from The Vatican City: the smallest independent country in the world? Do you think of the Eternal City, the city to which all roads are said to lead, a term that harks back to the Roman Empire when that was a fact?
Written On: February 09, 2010
How would like adventure travel to Kenya, to learn some of Kenya's best kept secrets? How about checking into Hemingway's, a luxury hotel on the Indian Ocean, or spending some time in the same area that Elsa was released into the wild by Joy Adamson? You can enjoy these, and more, with luxury adventure travel to Kenya, land of the Luo, Kalenjin, Turkana and the famous Maasai warrior race, as the name is correctly spelled although we shall use the more popular western spelling of Masai.
Written On: January 04, 2010
From childhood tales of Arabia, a vacation in Oman is all you could ever have dreamed of, but a very great deal more besides. When you think of visiting the Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates, do you think of wild, sandy wilderness, camels and rich, luxurious mysteries round each corner? Perhaps, but have you also considered the 1,300 kilometres of outstanding coastline offered by Oman? Here the sand is dazzling white, reflecting the sunlight which penetrates far below the cool ocean waves to the magnificent aquamarine waters, home to some of the most varied, colourful and memorable sea life and corals anywhere in the world.
Written On: December 22, 2009
Imagine a luxury vacation in Egypt, from the Nile to the Pyramids, from Cairo to the Valley of the Kings; there can be few places on earth with a history and culture as rich, as diverse, as fascinating and as utterly mysterious as that of ancient Egypt. The fact that so much of Egypt’s long and richly patterned past is still very much in evidence today is testament to the extraordinary ingenuity, determination and passion of the peoples in whose dusty footsteps we can still walk today.
Written On: November 17, 2009
A safari vacation in Kenya is undoubtedly an African holiday never to forget. A vacation or safari in Africa, particularly in Kenya, remains one of the most popular and memorable experiences one can ever possibly undertake. It is more than simply a vacation – it is an exploration of the origins of Man, and an appreciation of some of the glorious and iconic animals in the world, within their true habitat. From lions and leopards to elephants and wildebeest, a Kenyan safari is the ultimate in exotic experiences, and will create tales and memories to share and enjoy for the rest of your life.
Written On: October 12, 2009
A vacation in Rome and the Vatican City is far more than a holiday – the history and culture will take you on a journey that will provide you with experiences that will stay with you forever. One cannot be untouched by a city that dominated almost the entire globe for so long, which still holds much of our history in its hands, and whose influence has affected all of us all our lives.
Written On: September 05, 2009
It's true: a luxury Fiji vacation is not a fantasy. Rarely does fantasy meet reality, but in Fiji, a holiday becomes a trip to paradise. There is a very good reason why almost any holiday brochure, poster or other advert tries to portray everyone’s dream idea of paradise: we’d all like to go there one day.