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Multisport Trip for Families to Sardinia with Ciclismo Classico

This is the time of year when I receive a flurry of catalogs and press releases from outfitters updating me on their favorite trips for 2012. So this week, I want to describe a handful of those trips that excite me. Ciclismo Classico has branched off to destinations like Norway and New England, but their specialty is still the Italian countryside. Next summer, CC owner Lauren Hefferon is featuring a multisport jaunt to one of her favorite locales, Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean. Far away from the congestion on the European continent, you’ll bike along the pristine coastline, stopping at underused beaches for a dip. Other highlights include a hike up Capo Spartivento, rewarding young climbers with vistas of the shoreline, a day long boat ride in and out of coves, soccer on the beach, strolling to the markets in small villages, and a grand finale feast at the home of your Sardinian guide, with his mother and brothers grilling sausage. After all, what child doesn’t like Italian food? 

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Stay and Ski Deals in the Berkshires

Three of the Berkshires’ top hotels have teamed up with local ski areas to offer ski packages as low as $205 per room, including lodging, two lift tickets, and complimentary breakfast. Stockbridge’s historic Red Lion Inn has teamed up with Butternut Ski Resort, while the new Hotel on the North in Pittsfield and the Porches Inn in North Adams have partnered with Jiminy Peak Ski Resort. Porches is across the street from Mass MoCA, which is staging a yearlong exhibition on artist Nick Cave. The massive installation consists of thousands of found objects and millions of beads, definitely worth checking out on your day off from skiing. 

 
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Maker’s Mark Turns 60

Later this this month, an installation by iconic glass artist Dale Chihuly will be seen on display at the Maker’s Mark distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of producing their bourbon. If you’ve never been to Loretto to tour the distillery and drive the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, now would be the time. All of the 1880s buildings on the 650-acre Maker’s Mark property have been restored. The company has also worked with others in the industry to establish a 130-mile driving trail of “bourbon landmarks” through central Kentucky, a mere 45 minute drive from Louisville, to showcase where the drink was developed. The trail takes visitors to Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam, and seven other distilleries, as well as the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History. To sample a variety of the latest stock, head to a local favorite, the bar at the the Kentucky Bourbon Marketplace in Bardstown.

 
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Backroads Announces New Slate of Trips in 2018

This is the time of year that I usually receive press releases from tour operators announcing new trips in 2018. Since I just returned from an outstanding Backroads trip to Switzerland, that one caught my eye. They are introducing 38 new trips in 2018, expanding greatly into South America and introducing more ocean cruise trips after the great success they had with Iceland this summer. The multi-adventure family trip to Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park sounds intriguing to me. My good friend, Eric Lucas, who writes regularly about Alaskan travel, has told me this is one of his favorite parts of the state—spectacularly beautiful with far less people than Denali. Biking around Cuba sounds like a great way to see the island. There’s also a new trip to northern Iceland that focuses on the Northern Lights. If interested in any of these trips, let ActiveTravels know and we’ll look into availability. 
 
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Ski Revelstoke

Those same summer guides that took my family rock climbing and white water rafting in the Canadian Rockies this summer are hardcore skiers once the first snow falls. And which ski area were those guides raving about? Revelstoke. Located about two hours northeast of the Kelowna Airport in eastern BC, Revelstoke has the most vertical in North America, attracting the expert skier who wants a taste of the Selkirk powder, via traditional ski trails, heli-skiing, or cat skiing. The only knock against the ski area was its lack of terrain and infrastructure for young families. That’s all about to change. New for the 2011/2012 ski season is a new beginner’s slope with snowmaking, a tubing park, a kid’s outdoor center, and new child care facilities. Watch out Whistler, because Revelstoke is starting to make a big push for international clientele.
 

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Berlin Unveils New Airport and New Airport Park

The big news out of Berlin this year is the opening of the $3.4 billion Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport, set to make its debut on June 3rd. However, I’m more excited at what Berlin did with its former airport, Tempelhof, which is now the vast Tempelhofer Freiheit public park. Families come to bike and roller blade on the old runways and picnic on the grounds. Germany has always been at the forefront of reclaiming former industrial spaces and transforming them into parks. Landschaftspark in Duisburg-Nord is a former coal and steel plant that now features a high ropes course. It’s wonderful to see urban designers blurring the line between civilization and nature to create parks from former contaminated sites, landfills, abandoned manufacturing plants, and older airports.
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Sail Maine and Stay at the 102 Year-Old Linekin Bay Resort

Maine’s 2,500-mile stretch of granite coast is custom-made for sailing. No other sport gives you the freedom to anchor in a pristine cove, hike on an anonymous island, and sleep with seals by your window. Some 2,000-plus pine-studded islands, more than in the Caribbean or Polynesian archipelago, welcome sailors from around the globe. If you’re feeling a wee bit intimidated to tackle the sport in these salty waters, take a refresher course at Boothbay Harbor’s Linekin Bay Resort. The 20-acre oceanfront property has been a family retreat for over a century. Known for their all-inclusive rates in the summer months, Linekin Bay also features a full fleet of Rhodes 19 sailboats and a staff of sailing instructors. Other activities include tennis, walking trails, Kids Camp programs, and swimming in a heated saltwater pool.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend! I’ll be back on Tuesday.
 

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