Savor the Swiss Countryside

Travel to the Swiss Countryside Like many of you who have delayed plans to Europe this past year, we’re excited to hear that the EU is opening to vaccinated travelers this summer. But we’re still not sure about rushing back to cities like Rome, Paris, and Barcelona, unless we know that there will be some sense of normalcy visiting all major sites and dining out. Our focus so far has been to design trips to the European countryside. There’s no better time to visit the Swiss Alps, Icelandic glaciers, Norwegian fjords, Scottish Highlands, and off-the-beaten-track Greek isles. Whether you prefer to travel independently or a group, ActiveTravels know the best way to get you deep into the scenic European countryside. Let’s start with Switzerland.

The Swiss Alps is blessed with an intricate network of trains and gondolas that can connect with endless opportunities for high adventure right outside your hotel doorstep. You never have to travel far, thus spending far less time in shuttles or transfers to the next destination. Swiss chocolate and fondue might be the main draw to the country, but one look at lofty Eiger Peak, standing 13,020 feet, as you take a gondola high above the mountain village of Grindelwald, and you can’t help but be mesmerized by the mix of snowcapped peaks, green valleys, glacier-fed waterfalls, and large lakes. Add Bern to your itinerary and you’ll have the unique opportunity to tube done the Aare River and take an E-bike ride in scenic Emmental Valley. We were fortunate to travel to Switzerland with Backroads on a family trip designed for older children. It still ranks as one of the top five trips we took as a family.

Contact ActiveTravels and we’ll get started on your Swiss Adventure!

Get A Hefty Dose of Holiday Cheer at Winterlights

Winterlights at the Bradley Estate

The Trustees of Reservtions just announced that a limited number of tickets have been released for Winterlights. Do yourself a favor and grab them now! We went last night and were overjoyed to be out of the house in a safe environment enjoying some semblance of Holiday festivities during this dismal year. Winterlights is located at the circa-1902 Bradley Estate, just off Route 128 in Canton. The 90-acre country estate and Italianate gardens are the perfect backdrop for the more than 150,000 LED lights found on the half-mile one-way route. First stop is the snack shack to grab a hot chocolate or hot cider, and gingerbread cookies from Ginger Betty’s in Quincy, donuts from Phillipston’s Red Apple Farm, and chocolate-covered pretzels from Pinches & Pound in Whitman. Then bundle up and stroll the illuminated grounds of the estate as piped-in Holiday tunes serenade you. This is the second year the Trustees have held Winterlights at the Bradley Estate. The event runs Tuesdays through Sundays 4:30 to 8:30 pm until January 2nd. Some 200 to 240 people are allowed to enter each night, down from the usual 600 to 1,000 people. So snag one of those coveted remaining tickets and you’ll feel like you have the place to yourselves!

(Photos by Lisa Leavitt)

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6 Favorite Lodgings for Family Get-Togethers, Including Basin Harbor, Vergennes, Vermont

Basin Harbor Resort in VermontThe kids are stand-up paddleboarding near the middle of the lake. My wife is sea kayaking with her siblings and their spouses closer to the shoreline. Steady wind blowing through my hair, I’m at the tiller of an 18-foot sailboat accompanied by Granny Franny and her longtime beau, Saul. To celebrate a special birthday for Fran, my wife’s extended family decided to book a week at the classic family retreat on the shores of Lake Champlain, Basin Harbor. One glance at the lake from the Adirondack chairs perched on a bluff just outside the main dining room and you understand the allure. On the opposite shores are the steep rock cliffs called the Palisades and beyond that, the spine of New York’s Adirondack Mountains. The Vermont side is not too shabby either, a bucolic blend of dairy farms, horse pastures, and their own requisite peaks, the Green Mountains. Come summer, this region is a warm embrace of emerald green fields and blue waters.

The beauty of this type of resort is that everyone, including the kids, has their independence. If Fran and my son Jake want to play a game of tennis, off they go. If Lisa’s brother, Jeff, wants to throw a Frisbee with his son, Micah, after a competitive game of shuffleboard, go for it. We see each other at breakfast, sporadically throughout the day and then meet up for dinner. Yet, most afternoons, we find each other at the small beach, swimming over to the dock, and lounging on chaise lounge chairs with a pint of Vermont’s Switchback Ale in one hand, book in the other. I can’t resist the chance to bike every day. Any avid road biker will tell you that Addison Valley, Vermont, where Basin Harbor Club is located, is easily one of the top five biking destinations in North America. The backcountry roads have very little car traffic, great uphill climbs and downhill runs, and around every bend is another dairy farm, massive red barn, white church steeple, and glorious vistas of mountains and lake.

This entry is excerpted from my latest book, New England in a Nutshell. The book/ebook is slated to published on July 2nd and you can pre-order now at Amazon or at the independent bookstore, Northshire, located in Manchester Center, Vermont and Saratoga, New York. The ebook includes all hyperlinks to listings. The paperback includes front and back cover illustrations from Manhattan-based artist, Sarah Schechter, and a small sampling of photos from Lisa, who accompanied me on many of my assignments, resulting in published work for the Boston Globe.

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Backroads Announces June/July Schedule in America

Family Adventure in Bryce National ParkBackroads announced yesterday that they will begin running trips in the US the third week of June. Below is what is slated to run. For these departures, they are intentionally running small trips with guests who have been carefully vetted for their interest in getting back to travel. For more information about Backroads’ updated travel policies and safety measures being enacted because of Covid-19, please look here:

Yellowstone & Grand Tetons Multi-Adventure Tour
June 21-26
July 26-31

North Carolina’s Blue Ridge & Tennessee’s Smokies Walking & Hiking Tour
June 22-26

Bryce & Zion Bike Tour
June 28-July 3
July 12-17

Utah & Arizona’s National Parks Family Multi-Adventure Tour
June 30-July 5
July 14-19, 21-26, 28-8/2

If interested in any Backroads trips for 2020 or 2021, please contact ActiveTravels and we’ll help arrange with flights and pre and post hotel stays.

Social Distancing is the Name of the Game for Austin Adventures

horseback riding in MontanaThis week, we’re reaching out to some of our favorite outfitters to see what they’re promoting this summer and fall. Having taken the family on an Austin Adventures trip to the Canadian Rockies, we know firsthand that Dan Austin is the King of Social Distancing. He’s been creating adventures in the outdoors away from the masses for decades. Dan tells us that 60 percent of his bookings are still moving forward this summer. Popular in both 2020 and 2021 are what he calls “single stays,” trips out West with just one base camp hotel. Examples include the private suites and cabins at the Rustic Inn in Jackson Hole and Chilko Lake Lodge in British Columbia.

Due to the popularity of private family trips, Austin Adventures has just partnered with the Lodges at Eagles Nest, an executive mountain community in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Together, they’ve launched Eagle’s Nest Home Stays, a first-class base camp that includes guided group tours and outdoor recreational programming. Perched at 5,000 feet with 360-degree views, the Eagles Nest community is five miles from Banner Elk, in the heart of the adventure capital of North Carolina. Activities within the secluded community include hiking, cycling, horseback riding, disc golf, a ropes course, ATV and motorcycle trails, private fishing, a wine and cigar bar, and more. Off-site, travelers can raft Tennessee’s famous Watuga River, or explore nearby Banner Elk.

Guests interested in booking a stay at the Lodges at Eagles Nest through Austin Adventures have a variety of options, ranging from renting an executive mountain retreat with no additional services to experiencing a customized, all-inclusive stay with activity and service add-ons. “We can get you a full-time adventure guide, a personal chef, a private driver, you name it,” Austin said.

Lastly, Austin Adventures has also partnered with Collective Retreats to offer all-inclusive Glamping Based Adventures. For late summer and fall of 2020 Austin is working with properties in Colorado, Texas, and the Governors Island property just outside of New York City. In 2021, Collective Retreats will be adding Montana (just outside Yellowstone) and Napa Valley, CA.

ActiveTravels is here to help you travel during these difficult times. Whether it’s regional, domestic, or international travel you crave, we’ll get you there the safest possible way.

 

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Maine Winter Carnival Debuts in January

Based on the highly successful Carnaval de Quebec in Quebec City, Portland, Maine will be unveiling Carnaval Maine January 30-February 1. Most of the events will be taking place on the Eastern Promenade, including the requisite ice sculptures, light shows, and bonfires. There will also be a rail jam created by Sunday River resort. This being Portland, expect a fantastic selection of local food and brew, including beer by Bissell Brothers, Maine Beer Co., Rising Tide, and Allagash, and dining provided by Central Provisions and Scales, among others. ActiveTravels clients have been praising the Francis Hotel and Press Hotel in Portland. We’re happy to check availability and pricing. 

 
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Ogunquit Still My No. 1 Beach Town in New England

To celebrate a big birthday for my mother-in-law, 14 members of the family made their way to Ogunquit, Maine in mid-July for 3 nights. I haven’t been back to Ogunquit since I wrote my cover story for Yankee Magazine on the Top 25 Beach Towns in New England, naming Ogunquit over Provincetown as the best beach town in New England. I was happy to see the article from the July/August 2012 issue framed on the wall of The Beachmere Inn, where we stayed. After a memorable weekend, I can honestly say that I made the right choice naming Ogunquit my number one beach town. I ditched the car in the parking lot and didn’t see it again until I left. The view of the Atlantic and the 3 ½-mile stretch of beachfront from the Beachmere was just as glorious as I remembered. We would stroll down the sloping lawn to the Marginal Way, and either take a left to hit the beach or veer right to walk along the rugged shoreline to the restaurants in Perkins Cove. The big birthday dinner was held in a private room at MC Perkins Cove, a restaurant I first discovered when it debuted, reporting for Boston Globe Magazine’s Best of the New issue. The meal and service were both exceptional. So was our first night’s dinner at Oarweed at an outdoor table overlooking the Atlantic, digging into the freshest lobster I’ve had in a long time, washed down with a Blueberry Ale. 

Yes, both P’town and Nantucket have excellent restaurants and beaches. But where Ogunquit excels is theater and other cultural offerings. Gershwins’ An American in Paris, staged at the historic Ogunquit Playhouse, was a fantastic rendition of this complex play, featuring tap dance, ballet, and songs (see it before it closes on August 4th).  We visited the Ogunquit Museum of American Art to see the Lois Dodd show, only to be serenaded by the poetry of Richard Blanco, who just happened to be there that day. Blanco is best known as being the poet who spoke at President Obama’s second inauguration and his words, which were paired with photography on exhibit, are incredibly moving. Ogunquit, I have a feeling I’ll be returning far more frequently in the future. 
 
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Happy Father’s Day from ActiveTravels

I often joke with my kids that they grew up in the pages of The Boston Globe (the photos on the left are Melanie from a story on mid-coast Maine and Jake from a story on Costa Rica). Lately, I’ve been writing about our family trips for Virtuoso Traveler, like the stellar time we had in Switzerland with Backroads last summer. This is what I live for, creating Dream Day experiences with my family. And it’s probably the number one reason we started ActiveTravels, to hopefully form lasting memories for other families. Thankfully, you don’t have to always travel the world to savor a moment with your children. On Monday, we threw the bikes on the back of the car and drove to Arlington, Massachusetts, to bike along the Minuteman Bike Trail to Davis Square and the latest trail extension into Somerville. It was a leisurely spin, stopping for cold brews, and watching a family of newborn swans, and it was glorious. On Father’s Day, we’re heading to Chinatown for dim sum and then strolling to SoWa Open Market to listen to music, see the art, and grab a beer. Have a Fantastic Father’s Day and get out there with the kids to create an unforgettable experience! 

I want to thank Amy for her wonderful job showing us around the Big Island of Hawaii and the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario. I’ll be back next with blogs on my recent trip to Medellin and Cartagena. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Swiss Bliss

Grindelwald is one of those fairy-tale Swiss mountain villages that serve as a gateway to the heart of the Alps. Wander from your hotel to the gondola, ride it to the last stop, and soon you’ll be staring at a crown of majestic 13,000-foot peaks. While it’s the Jungfrau region’s largest ski resort, in summer Grindelwald offers scenic walks, bike rides, and hikes past lakes and waterfalls and through flower-bedecked alpine meadows.
 
A fresh dusting of snow atop the jagged ridges this July morning only adds to the luster as my family and I set out on a six-mile hike along the Bachalpsee route to a remote lake deep in an emerald valley. To make our descent back to town, we hop aboard scooter-bicycle hybrids called Trottibikes. I point mine downhill on a paved path and pray. Directly across from me lies the mighty Eiger peak, its massive girth only adding to my anxiety. I decide to step off to gather my nerves and pretend to take photos.
 
That’s when my daughter, Melanie, whizzes by me at breakneck speed and screams, "Yeah, Trottibikes!" (Translation: You’re getting old, Dad).
 
To read more about my travels with the family to Switzerland last summer, please check out my latest story for Virtuoso Traveler. 
 
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World’s Best Family Travel Destinations

Yellowstone National Park, London, Paris, Switzerland, Kenya, Tanzania, and Costa Rica all receive a worthy mention in my latest story for Global Traveler on the World’s Best Family Destinations. Thanks to Austin Adventures, Abercrombie & Kent, Backroads, and FanilyVacationCritic for providing the inspiration and the quotes. 

Lisa and I are off to New Jersey tomorrow for a conference with other Virtuoso-affiliated travel agents. Then it’s on to Boca Raton to celebrate Ken Leavitt’s 85th birthday and to see family in Naples and Marco Island. We’ll be back on March 19th. In the meantime, be well and keep active!