Flights to Hawaii Now Offer Rapid Testing

Bike Maui at Sunrise In a move that will hopefully catch on with other airlines and destinations, United Airlines announced that they will offer rapid testing on flights from San Francisco to Hawaii. If the COVID test comes back negative, you are free to travel around Hawaii without a 14-day self-quarantine. Hawaiian Airlines quickly followed suit and is now offering the same rapid tests at San Francisco and Los Angeles airports. It would be wonderful if JetBlue and American start doing this for flights headed to the Caribbean and Central America, especially as we head into winter and demand for warm-weather destinations starts to increase. Bermuda, Turks & Caicos, and Belize are just a few of the destinations that requite a negative COVID test within 72 hours of arrival.

If interested in visiting Hawaii this winter and would like resorts and route recommendations, please let ActiveTravels know and we’ll give you the scoop.

Backroads Launches New Dolce Tempo Journeys

Backroads 2021Backroads just announced the launch of its new Dolce Tempo segment, offering 29 easygoing itineraries, easier than Backroads other trips, but still wonderfully active and perfect for first-timers. These active adventures were created to provide options for guests who may be new to active travel and looking for an alternative to large resort hotels, all-inclusive resorts and even cruises. Dolce Tempo journeys are for travelers who want to escape the crowds and have an authentic one-of-a-kind vacation, immersed in a place and culture, and fully supported by experienced leaders.

Additionally, Backroads is also further expanding its popular Active Weekend Getaways for guests looking for a shorter getaway. They include trips in Saguaro National Park & Tucson, Arizona; California’s Sonoma Wine Country; Bend, Oregon; Charleston, South Carolina; Northern Vermont; Whistler, British Columbia; and Texas Hill Country.

Backroads also just announced its new 2021 trips, including new adventures in Europe, North America and the Southern Hemisphere. The company has also greatly expanded its 20s & Beyond segment – trips for families with young adults in their 20s and early 30s – with more tours to accommodate guest demand. This fast-growing segment is expected to take more than 1,000 guests on departures next year.

A Sampling of Backroads New 2021 Itineraries Include:
• Berlin to Prague Bike Tour
• Chile Patagonia & Fjords Cruise Walking & Hiking Tour
• Italy’s Gran Paradiso to Matterhorn Walking & Hiking Tour
• Israel & Jordan Walking & Hiking Tour
• Netherlands & Belgium Walking & Hiking Tour
• New Zealand South Island Multi-Adventure Tour
• Northern Portugal & Douro Valley Bike Tour
• Scotland Bike Tour
• Sicily Multi-Adventure Tour
• Quebec Walking & Hiking Tour
• Umbria to the Adriatic Bike Tour
• Vancouver & Gulf Islands Bike Tour

Dolce Tempo, Active Weekend Getaways, and all new 2021 trips are available for booking now. Please let ActiveTravels know your dates and we’ll check pricing and availability.

Bike Southern New Hampshire with Ciclismo Classico

Bike New HampshireIt’s not too late to plan a long weekend getaway to Southern New Hampshire with biking outfitter, Ciclismo Classico. Hop on your car on a Thursday morning and in a few hours you’ll arrive in Keene. Their team has taken many precautions to keep you safe while on tour, and carefully planned many iconic and beautiful cycling loops from Keene that include historic architecture, art galleries, covered bridges, abundant lakes, cool forests, zigzagging rivers, farmland and fall foliage galore and daily views of the region’s crowned granite jewel, Mt Monadnock, the second most climbed mountain in the world. Read all about the top cycling loops on their blog, “The Best Bike Rides in Southern New Hampshire.” Tour Dates are October 1-5 and October 8-12 (Women’s Only). If you can’t make those dates, private tours are available through November.

Ciclismo Classico is also still offering their one-day private Story Rides across Massachusetts, with your choice of a guided ride in Boston, Newburyport, or Lexington. Please let ActiveTravels know your date and number of people and we’ll help arrange.

Please Help Support South Africa

Cycle the CapeFour years ago, Lisa and I had the unique opportunity to bike South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope with Mark Lawson, owner of Cycle the Cape. We biked past zebra, ostriches, and large antelopes called elands. We would pedal along the pounding waves of the Atlantic to take the requisite photo at the Cape of Good Hope sign. Then we proceeded uphill to the Cape Point Lighthouse, where the magnificent vista of high peaks and sandy beaches reached all the way to Cape Town’s Table Mountain.

Today, Mark Lawson is on an epic ride to raise much needed funds for COVID-19 Relief Programs provided by the Grootbos Foundation NPO. Called The Whole Way Round, he and other riders are crossing the Western Cape in 30 days of riding. Covering nearly 3700 miles, a distance greater than the continental US, it involves more climbing than going up Mount Everest 7 times. They need your help! Mark hopes to achieve his goal of raising R100,000 or $6,000 USD for the people of the Western Cape who have been devastated by COVID-19. Since the start of the pandemic, the Grootbos Foundation has provided over 178,000 free daily meals, 11,700 free washable cloth masks, 4,890 free PPE packs for local schools and much more in order to help vulnerable communities rebuild. As little as $1 USD can provide a meal, PPE, digital access to learning or essential support to micro-entrepreneurs to help families rebuild. $15 USD feeds a family of four for a week! Please donate whatever you can during these hard times. Thank you!

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Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights, Anantara’s Elephant Camp

Jungle Bubble, ThailandWe were fortunate to spend time at the two Anantara properties in Bangkok, Anantara Siam and Anantara Riverside, when we visited Thailand early 2019. But when we heard about their new Jungle Bubbles at their resort in Thailand’s Golden Triangle, Elephant Camp, I have a feeling we’ll be back to the country as soon as we feel comfortable. These glass-enclosed pods, not unlike the ones you find in Finland for vistas of the Northern Lights, are perched on the wooden decks in the forest overlooking the elephants. Just thinking about these pods will help get me through this year!

If any of the travel ideas from this week’s content looks intriguing, please contact ActiveTravels and we’re happy to discuss further.

Shanah Tovah! Wishing you peace and happiness at Rosh Hashanah and always. Be safe, stay healthy!

Steve and Lisa

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Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights, Yucatan’s Chable Resorts

Chable YucatanOn one of the most glorious stretches of beach in the Yucatan sits the relatively new Chable Maroma and its 70 standalone villas. All villas have private entrance, plunge pools, outdoor showers, within easy walking distance to the beach and restaurants. As much as we love Chable Maroma, its sister property outside Merida, Chable Yucatan, is a very special wellness retreat, featuring one of the best spas in the region. Chable is now offering a special deal when you combine the two properties. Visit for 6 nights and they’ll give you two nights free. They’ll even provide transportation with a stop at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza.

Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights, Context Tours Seminars

We’re big fans of Context Tours, having taken excursions with them in Rome, Barcelona, and Madrid. Not only were the guides exceptionally knowledgeable, most trained as art and architectural historians, but several have been doing their exact same tour for over 20 years like Celia at the Vatican. Now that we can’t get to Europe, these guides are providing 90-minute seminars on their subjects for a cost of $36. It’s a wonderful way to help out these fantastic guides whose livelihood is greatly affected by the loss of American travel. Once travel opens up again, be on the lookout for new Context Tours in Belgium, Japan, Israel, and American cities like Charleston, Savannah, and Nashville.

Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights, Sail the Grenadines

Sailing GrenadinesThere has been 60 total cases of Coronavirus in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and zero deaths. No wonder music tycoon David Geffen got out of Dodge earlier this year and headed to the Grenadines on his mega-yacht. But you don’t have to be rich to savor these Caribbean islands of yesteryear. Just follow in Lisa and my wake and sail these blissful cobalt waters like we did this past February. Hire a Captain, possibly a chef, choose another couple or go with the extended family on a private catamaran and monohull. It’s no surprise that Forbes chose our trip as one of the best Bucket List trips in the world. With a pandemic at our doorstep, there’s no better time to get on your own private sailboat. ActiveTravels can set you up with Moorings or Horizon Yacht Charters, who we used in both the British Virgin Islands and the Grenadines. We’ll help with all the logistics, including flights, recommended Captains, provisions, and sailing itinerary.

Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights, The Debut of Miraval Berkshires

Miraval BerkshiresEvery other year, Lisa travels to Las Vegas in the heat of August to meet with hundreds of travel suppliers, hotel GMs, cruise companies, and many other faces in the travel industry for Virtuoso Travel Week. This year, we had those meetings for 4 very full days from the comfort of our office thanks to Google Meet. I have no idea how they can organize hundreds, if not thousands of meetings, at the same time without crashing. But, lo and behold, every 10 minutes we clicked on another link and had our private sessions with the people we most wanted to speak with. This week, I will present the highlights from those meetings:

The big news out of New England is the opening of the new Miraval property in Lenox. After $132 million investment, the Miraval Berkshires wellness resort and its close cousin, the Wyndhurst Manor & Club, opened in late July on the former Cranwell hilltop property overlooking October Mountain. Miraval offers 100 guest rooms and suites, while Wyndhurst has 11 rooms in the historic mansion and 35 additional rooms in nearby cottages. Now, with social distancing in place, the resort can accommodate 40 percent of total occupancy. Miraval’s “digital detox” wellness approach emphasizes outdoor programming, including guided hikes and equine activities, as well as smaller group settings to encourage social distancing for indoor programs such as yoga, fitness, culinary and meditation classes, though many of those classes will be moved outside this fall. Guests also have access to the resort’s private beach on nearby Laurel Lake, where programs include stand-up paddle, paddle yoga and kayaking, as well as meditation. Other activities include sustainable living classes, like beekeeping and raising chickens, and the much-needed spa for healing and nurturing.

If interested in a visit to Miraval this year or next, please let ActiveTravels know and we’ll check availability and pricing. As a member of Virtuoso, we can also get you a free upgrade upon arrival, complimentary breakfast, and $100 resort credit, per person.

Fall Foliage Driving Trips

Glamping, IthacaA fall foliage road trip is more than a mere drive. It also includes apple picking, tasting cider and hot doughnuts, and perhaps most importantly, leaving your vehicle behind to take a much-needed scenic walk to a lonely waterfall, where autumn’s colors reflect off the water. Despite big marketing campaigns from states like Vermont, fall foliage is not restricted to the borders of New England. At Shenandoah National Park, orange beech trees and scarlet dogwoods provide the majestic color. Add fall harvest at vineyards and the annual fall round-up of bison at Custer State Park in South Dakota and you have more than enough reasons to hit the road.

This week, we’re discussing our favorite picks for September/October driving trips. If interested in any of these routes, please let ActiveTravels know and we’ll design an itinerary that takes into account the latest travel restrictions and lodging where you feel comfortable:

Fall Biking, Leelanau Peninsula, MichiganRoute 54A, Keuka Lake, New York

Autumn in the Finger Lakes of western New York State is the time of year when leaves on the maples turn a tad crimson and the grapes on the vines are ready to be harvested for their award-winning Rieslings. Start on the northern tip of Keuka Lake in the town of Penn Yan. Head south on Route 54A and just outside of town, you’ll see signs for Apple Barrel Orchards, a third-generation U-pick apple orchard that makes homemade cider on the premises. Continue south along the shores of the 20-mile long lake to reach Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery. Founded in 1962 and now run by Dr. Frank’s grandson, Fred, Dr. Frank put the Finger Lakes on the wine lovers’ map with his award-winning dry and semi-dry Rieslings. Nearby in Ithaca, Firelight Camps, offers the ideal glamping opportunity.

 

Sleeping Bear Dunes. MichiganLeelanau Peninsula, Michigan

One of the prettiest fall drives in Michigan travels north of Traverse City on M 22 to the northern tip of Leelanau Peninsula. Slow down and explore the region on this 75-mile loop and you’ll find diverse terrain, from the rolling countryside to historic lighthouses on Lake Michigan to the steep dunes of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The quaint village of Sutton’s Bay is home to Bahle’s, a department store from 1876, and a slew of galleries specializing in local artists and local scenes. Then it’s on to the circa-1858 Grand Traverse Lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula, a white brick lighthouse that looks absurdly small compared to the great expanse of water that surrounds it. Stay at one of the 11 house rentals or more than 80 condos at the lakefront Homestead Resort.

 

bison round-up, Custer State Park, South DakotaHighway 385, Rapid City, South Dakota

The fall foliage road trip was designed with places like South Dakota in mind. Venture to Rapid City and you’ll have the chance to cruise with relatively little traffic up and down the pine forests and granite passes of the Black Hills. Highway 385 will lead you to Vanocker Canyon and Spearfish Canyon National Scenic Byway, home to waterfalls and golden aspens. Also in the Black Hills is the 68-mile Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway (a 4-hour drive) that travels through six rock tunnels, past towering pinnacles and over pine-clad peaks, only to arrive at the most famous sculpture in the country, Mount Rushmore. As if that wasn’t enough incentive, the 55th annual fall round-up of bison takes place September 25th at nearby Custer State Park. Watch the cowboys and cowgirls drive the herd of some 1,300 buffalo, some of whom will be sold at auction in November. For lodging, it’s hard to top the convenience of the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone, located next to Mount Rushmore.

 

Fruit Loop, OregonFruit Loop, Hood River, Oregon

Autumn colors are not usually associated with the Northwest, the land of conifers. Yet, outside of Hood River, the 35-mile Fruit Loop feels like a quintessential fall drive back east. That is, until you look up and see the lofty snowcapped peak of Mount Hood towering above 11,000 feet. The route is lined with pear orchards, fields of lavender, alpaca farms, farm stands, wineries, and an emerging hard cider scene. Sample the wares at Fox-Tail Cider or Hood Valley Hard Cider, and you’ll be surprised to find that the drink is crisp, refreshing, and can easily be paired with the Chinook salmon and steelhead trout the region is known for. Quaff down a cider at the picnic tables behind Solera Brewery in Parkdale and you’ll be mesmerized by the spectacular view of Mount Hood. Make the wise choice of spending the evening at the Columbia Cliff Villas in Hood River and you’ll wake up to a sunrise over the Columbia River Gorge.