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ActiveTravels January Newsletter, Best of The New Travel in 2019

We look forward to bringing you the ActiveTravels January Newsletter each year because it gives us a chance to discover what’s new in the world of travel. If it wows us, then it passes the test and we’re excited to share it with you. Please have a look to see our roundup of the latest and greatest hotels, resorts, cruises, adventures and restaurants to debut in 2019. 

We’re off to Hong Kong and Bangkok tonight for the next two weeks. We had to leave two days early to avoid the winter storm and snow headed to Boston. We’ll be back on February 4th with the highlights from Amy’s recent trip to Thailand and Laos. Thanks, as always, for checking in! 
 

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Older Women Who Lift Weights See Cognitive Benefits

There’s an interesting story in the latest Archives of Internal Medicine, which I read religiously (just kidding), that talks about a recent Canadian study involving older women. Over the course of a year, The University of British Colombia divided 155 women in the 65 to 75-year old range into three groups—resistance training (lifting weights, using weight machines, or doing squats and lunges) once a week, resistance training twice a week, and a Tai-Chi based balance and tone training twice a week. The results: cognitive scores for the women who went to resistance training twice weekly were up 12.6 percent, once weekly up 10.9 percent, while those who only did Tai Chi fell 0.5 percent. So start pumping the iron!
 

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$10 a Night Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne

Drive across the Rickenbacker Causeway from Miami above the waters of Biscayne Bay and you’re suddenly transported back to the Florida of yesteryear, where swaying palms and thick tropical foliage line the roadway. Welcome to Key Biscayne, a 7-mile long barrier island that feels like a Caribbean getaway, especially when compared to the glitz, glamour, and congestion on South Beach, its neighbor to the north. This is the quiet side of Miami, the place to reconnect with loved ones on a beach vacation. If you want to spend the night on this island paradise, you’ll have to book a room at the only resort on Key Biscayne, the Ritz-Carlton. With its cheery yellow facade, the 13-story building reigns supreme on the island like a queen at her court.

The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne will be celebrating their 10th anniversary in July. Unlike most resorts that would simply charge $10 a drink to commemorate the occasion, they’re offering some serious discounts. Call 305-365-4582 at 10 am EST on June 10th and you’ll have the chance to book a guestroom in July for only ten bucks a night! If you can’t snag one of the rooms, book a Key Lime Treatment (50 minutes) in the spa for a mere $10 (call 305-365-4286) on Wednesdays in July. Or a $10 three-course menu at their signature restaurant, the Tuscan-themed Cioppino (also call 305-365-4286).
 

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ActiveTravels, Home to the New England Dream Day Itinerary

Travel and Leisure just came out with their 50 Best Places to Travel in 2020, and much to our delight, Boston popped up at Number 10 and Maine at Number 29. If you’re thinking of a Boston and New England trip in 2020, we’ll happily design a route and point you in the right direction. Since ActiveTravels made its debut in 2012, we have designed more than 100 itineraries for clients headed to New England from all over America and the world (including New Zealand, the UK, Switzerland, and Israel). We send clients all over the globe, but New England is our area of expertise. I wrote more than 400 travel stories on New England for The Boston Globe and Yankee Magazine, and authored Outside Magazine’s Adventure Guide to New England. Depending on your passions, we can customize our Dream Day Itineraries for wildlife lovers (moose, whales, seals, beavers, and loons), active travelers (biking past 5 lighthouses in Portland, hiking to waterfalls in the White Mountains, paddling the Allagash River), foodies (James Beard award winning restaurants and favorite lobster-in-the-rough joints in Boston, Portsmouth, Portland, and the Maine coast), or art lovers (MFA, the Clark, Mass MoCA, the Farnsworth). We’ll divulge all of our secrets, especially the most scenic off-the-beaten-path driving routes. 

 
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September 2015 Newsletter: Cuba, Puerto Rico and Southern US

In this month’s newsletter at ActiveTravels, we talk about Puerto Rico, easy to access on direct flights and no passports required for Americans. It’s also a great month to head down South, so we divulge four hotels we like in Charleston, New Orleans, Tennessee, and Natchez, Mississippi. For our Quick Escape, I recently returned from a spectacular week of adventure in Acadia National Park. We also talk about an outfitter who specializes in custom-made trips to Cuba and introduce our Journey to Global Citizenship Travel Plan. 

 
The last item, a lengthy travel plan, is something we always try to emphasize. By creating a list of destinations you want to definitely visit in the next 3 years, you’ll be assured of finally going to those countries and cities on your wish list. Put them on a calendar and no longer will they be dreams, but a reality. Perhaps even more important, by being organized about where and when you want to go, we can book flights and hotels months in advance, saving you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Yes, it’s exhilarating to be spontaneous when it comes to travel, but realize that you pay a hefty price. 
 
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Yoga and Whales in Baja this November

Sea Kayak Adventures, who’ve I’ve recommended in the past as one of the most renowned sea kayaking outfitters in Baja, has just announced two adventures geared to yoga lovers. The all-women November 4-9 trip and co-ed November 9-14 jaunt will feature daily yoga sessions led by certified instructor, Julie Zimmerman. Start your day with yoga on a deserted beach and then go kayaking with dolphins, sea lions, fin whales, and all the other marine life that call the Sea of Cortez home. Each evening begins with a restorative yoga session while guides prepare dinner. No prior kayaking experience is necessary and the $1095 cost includes two nights in a Loreto hotel, three nights camping, four days of guided paddling, all meals while camping, and daily yoga sessions.
 

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Run the Alps All of August

With a fantastic network of trail and huts, and a long history and appreciation of running, Switzerland is a trail runner’s dream. Mountain runners have been weaving their way along alp paths for decades, and are practically exalted here. Few people know these trails better than Doug Mayer, founder of Run the Alps. Mayer wrote me last week, claiming he has designed his most epic trip yet, a month-long adventure in the Alps. The includes a guided run along Switzerland’s remarkable Hardergrat, a trail run along the route of the Tour du Mont-Blanc, and through the Swiss Berner Oberland. You’ll also go behind the scenes at two of the greatest trail races in the world, Sierre-Zinal and the UTMB, and, of course, spend necessary R&R time at classic mountain spas. No wonder Mayer is calling this the greatest trail running vacation ever. 

 

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