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Heceta Head Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast, Yachats, Oregon

If you’ve managed to book one of the six rooms at the Heceta Head Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast in Yachats, Oregon, you’re in for a visual and culinary treat. Just south of Cape Perpetua, where the 900-foot- high cliffs overlook the Pacific, this is arguably the most stunning locale on the entire Oregon coast. You’ll spend the night in a former assistant lightkeeper’s quarters, set on a grassy patch below the Heceta Head Lighthouse, a tall white edifice that stands atop a small spit of land. Below, breakers explode against the burgundy red cliffs that hem in a narrow beach filled with driftwood.  In the darkness, grab a flashlight from the inn and hike up to the lighthouse to watch it flash beacon after beacon across the rugged shoreline and then out to sea. Come morning, dine on a seven-course breakfast with the other guests. Afterwards, a stretch on the wraparound verandah is in order, where you might spot crab boats coming into the harbor from their night catch.
 

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New Direct Flight Routes Across America

I wrote earlier this year about the exciting new direct flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Nairobi, Kenya on Kenya Airways, opening up East Africa to safari lovers. As of Monday, you can now fly LAX direct to the African continent and the country of Togo on Ethiopian Airlines. Southwest will soon launch direct flights from the West Coast cities of San Diego, San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento to Hawaii. Boston’s new direct flight to Hawaii on Hawaiian Air will debut April 4, 2019. Boston will also be debuting direct flights to Lisbon and Edinburgh on Delta next May, along with a new Norwegian Air flight to Madrid and direct flight to Seoul on Korean Air. If you’re flying out of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, expect new service to Athens, Lisbon, and Quebec City next summer. Out of JFK starting July 27, 2019, the low-cost carrier, LEVEL, will be flying direct to Barcelona. Newark already has a new direct flight to Singapore on Singapore Airlines and will be unveiling flights to Naples and Prague on United, and Nice on La Compagnie next May and June. Wherever you want to fly in 2019, ActiveTravels will find the easiest route possible. 

 
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Travel to the Serengeti with Chef Jody Adams

You don’t typically go to Tanzania for the food. Unless you’re traveling with the James Beard-award winning chef Jody Adams, best know for her long stint at Rialto in Cambridge, Mass. Thomson Safaris, experts on safari travel to Tanzania for more than two decades, will travel with Chef Adams from October 4-16, 2018. You’ll see lions, giraffes, elephant and zebras in the wild, interact with Tanzanians in both traditional and modern contexts, all while savoring Tanzanian cuisine in luxury camps in the Serengeti. The culinary finale will be a hands-on cooking class in the lavish accommodations of Gibbs Farm, a working coffee plantation and pioneer in organic farming. 

 
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National Park Service Unveils New Summer Adventure Website

Last year, 285 million people visited a National Park in America. So there’s a very good chance you’ll be headed to one in 2010. Before you go, check out the new website the National Park Service just created to help visitors plan their trip. There are easy links to park highlights, lodging, ranger-led outdoor activities, and events scheduled during the dates you’ll be there. That way, you chart your course before you arrive and won’t be overwhelmed by the crowds and information. 

 

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Top 5 Wine Regions for Bicyclists, Niagara-on-the-Lake

There’s nothing quite like the combination of biking through wine country. It’s not merely the lonely backcountry roads that lead to the wineries, but the chance to dine on a sublime meal at a winery after a day of biking. This week I plan to focus on some of my favorite regions to bike and visit wineries. Yes, I’ll include the obvious choices like Napa and Sonoma, along with the Stellenbosch region in South Africa, the Bordeaux Valley of France, and the exceptional pinot noirs of Oregon wine country, But I’ll start with a destination that may come as a bit of a surprise, Canada. 

 
Only a half-hour drive from the thunderous roar of Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake is the antithesis of its commercialized neighbor. This charming Victorian town rests in the heart of Ontario wine country, where close to 100 vineyards produce the sweet icewine, Riesling, and Pinot Noir. At night, rest your weary legs while watching a play at the renowned Shaw Festival, specializing in the works of Bernard Shaw. I was fortunate to tour the region with the highly reputable outfitter, Butterfield and Robinson, and it resulted in this story for The Boston Globe. 
 
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Lovely Linekin Bay

I’ve been writing about New England since 1994, even authoring a book titled New England Seacoast Adventures, so it’s rare when I find out about a classic resort on the New England coast I’ve never visited. But that was exactly the case this past weekend when I brought my family to Linekin Bay Resort on the Maine coast. Linekin Bay might be a five-minute drive from the tourist hub of Boothbay Harbor, but once you arrive, it feels a world away. A former girls camp when it opened over a century ago, you spend the night in lodges with grand stone chimneys and cabins perched on a bluff overlooking the ocean water. In the morning, you wake up to lobster boats pulling up their traps and then wander over to the main lodge for a breakfast of wild blueberry crepes, French toast topped with strawberries, eggs benedict, and hot-out-of-the-oven scones. All meals are included in the price, including the Tuesday lobster bake that’s held on the outdoor deck with live music. Other nights, the food is surprisingly good and includes swordfish, hangar steak, and roasted chicken. 

 
The main draw of Linekin Bay is its fleet of Rhodes 19 sailboats. With a southerly wind averaging ten knots, this bay was meant for sailing. I went out with one of the instructors and cruised around Cabbage Island, peering at seals lounging on rocks and osprey flying overhead. As we tacked towards the mouth of the bay, you could see the Burnt Island lighthouse and a three-masted schooner sailing along the horizon. Another morning, I went sea kayaking with the family and did the loop around the island. The resort will also offer stand-up paddleboarding this summer. And don’t miss the opportunity to walk with Rupert, a man who’s dedicated most of his life to land conservation in the region and is more than happy to show you his favorite routes. If you want to drop out of the rat race and spend much-needed quality time with loved ones, this is the place. The reason why families return summer after summer. 
 
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Not Your Father’s Holiday Inn

I visited two Holiday Inns in the Cartagena area and was impressed with both properties. At the Holiday Inn Express Cartagena Bocagrande, I met the representative from Colombia Tourism, who noted that the country has had a remarkable surge of travelers, a 28% increase between 2016 and 2017. It’s not surprising when you consider that a room at this new hotel (not like any Holiday Inn I’ve seen in the US) is less than 100 dollars a night including a buffet breakfast, with rooftop pool, and only a 5-minute walk to the beach. Even more impressive was the Holiday Inn Cartagena Morros property just north of the airport. This is a contemporary resort on the beach with outdoor pool, large fitness center, and breakfast buffet. I just looked at the cost for tonight and it’s only $103 US. A 15-minute drive from Old Town on a wide stretch of beach, this is an affordable find. 

 

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