Trip Review: Aruba Getaway
The Parasuramans from the Philadelphia area (2 adults) traveled to Aruba this month to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Note that Aruba currently requires a valid COVID test (different rules apply depending on where you reside), a health form in advance, and the purchase of COVID travel insurance on arrival for a reasonable price based on your age and length of stay.
The couple stayed at the lovely Ritz Carlton Aruba. Located on a private section of Palm Beach, the 320-room resort showcases several pools, a watersports provider, spa, gym, 6 restaurants, casino, and a supervised children’s program. The Parasuramans ventured off the resort for many of their meals. They ate at Atardi at the Marriott next door and said the ambiance, service, and fresh seafood were excellent. This pop-up fine dining experience is set up right on the beach for a romantic evening and sunset. They also enjoyed Faro Blanco for Italian food and Wilhelmina in downtown Oranjestad. Sunday brunch was a delight at Windows on Aruba on Eagle Beach.
To explore this flat and deserty island, the couple rented a car for two days and went to Baby Beach, the Ayo Rock Formations, Natural Bridge, the California Lighthouse, and more. They look forward to returning to Aruba and renting a four-wheel drive to experience Arikok National Park which comprises almost 20% of the island. Overall, they let us know that they had a nice and relaxing trip, and thought Aruba was both beautiful and safe.
Travel Tip: City Guesser
Looking for a fun and free way to test your family’s geography knowledge? Check out City Guesser. Created by teen web developer Paul McBurney Jr., the website shows screen clips of strolls in world cities, but without identifying them. The object of the game is to use clues seen in the videos to guess which cities they were filmed in. If you think you know you can “Start Guessing” and pin your guess on a world map. The map is rather vague though. If your guess comes within one mile of the actual site, virtual confetti drops. If the guess is off by more than that, the game reveals how much. The game has a library of some 600 clips (the 2nd one we tried was easy…the Penn campus in Philadelphia!), and you can choose to watch videos from walks around the world (most challenging) to videos that only show monuments, or you can narrow down to distinct regions or countries.
Travel Tip: Circle Round
Folktales are an entertaining way to learn about world culture! Check out the Circle Round podcast from WBUR. Their stories were created and produced by parents of young children who have adapted folktales from around the world into sound- and music-rich radio plays for kids ages 2 to 102. Each episode explores important issues like kindness, persistence, and generosity, and ends with an activity that inspires a deeper conversation between children and grown-ups. Check them out at https://www.wbur.org/circleround.
Trip Review: Vail Summer Getaway
The Delatorre Family from Greek Oaks, IL (2 adults and 2 boys ages 16 and 17) traveled to Vail for a relaxing summer getaway. They stayed at The Sebastian Vail and let us know it was gorgeous! This upscale property offers hotel rooms, suites, and residences and is located in the heart of Vail Village. The family enjoyed their spacious Residential Suite and chose the property in part for the expansive heated pool that features underwater benches and a waterfall. It also has a spa, gym, playroom for young children, restaurant, and a unique art collection that was appreciated by this art-loving family. In winter, the hotel also offers slope-side ski valet services. In the summer, outdoor activities abound in Vail. The family sailed over the forest at the Top of the Rockies zip line in Leadville, went white-water rafting on the Colorado River tackling class IV rapids with Sage Outdoor Adventures and the boys biked down the Vail Pass, the only Colorado mountain pass with a bike path the entire distance on both sides. This foodie family also appreciated all the fine dining options available and the hotel breakfast by the pool. Their favorite dining experience was at the Alpenrose Vail with its Alpine chalet vibe complete with waitstaff attired in the old style of a famous South Tyrolean mountaineer. They loved the selection of European beers, fondue, and dishes like beet spaghetti! Overall a much-needed and relaxing getaway.
Travel Tip: Packing Cubes
Recently travel agents were surveyed for their top travel tip. The surprising winner was the use of packing cubes! These cubes make packing easy and well organized. They come in different sizes and fabric choices and also in a compression version that frees up space in your bag if you have collected a few extra souvenirs along the way. The cubes also come in a variety of price ranges depending on overall quality. A solid option is Eagle Creek which also has a lifetime warranty. Check out https://www.eaglecreek.com/shop/packing-cubes.
Trip Review: NC Mountain Escape
Lauren and her family traveled to Blowing Rock and Asheville, NC last week to escape the Florida heat and relish in the boundless nature and beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We have done multiple driving trips this summer with our safety and health at the utmost importance. For the ride, we packed plenty of drinks, food, table covers, hand sanitizer, wipes, and masks and enjoyed picnic lunches at the rest stops. We stayed our first four nights at the family-friendly Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock in a spacious condo. The resort offers 1- to 3-bedroom units along with a lodge and inn. Each day we hiked different trails of varying lengths and abilities and witnessed gorgeous waterfalls and vistas, historic homes, and saw lots of families of all ages enjoying the great outdoors. Other resort activities include a stocked lake for fishing, tennis, pickleball, disc golf, children’s summer camp, and spa. The pool and gym were closed. Outdoor adventures abound in the area including a zip line, white water rafting, rock climbing, rappelling, kayaking, and more. The resort’s delicious on-site restaurant has plenty of outdoor dining and tables inside that were spaced out appropriately. In the charming town of Blowing Rock, there were plenty of dining options with outdoor seating and the shops were open.
To get to Asheville, we drove the Pisgah District section of the famous Blue Ridge Parkway for about 90 miles. The parkway actually runs a total of 496 miles: from the Shenandoah Mountains National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The views along the way were breathtaking and the ride slow and steady on the winding mountain road. Highlights included amazing biodiversity, plenty of hiking trails, the Linville Gorge (the deepest gorge east of the Grand Canyon), and Mount Mitchell (the highest mountain peak in the eastern U.S.). A travel planning app can assist you along the way. In Asheville, we stayed in the historic residential neighborhood of Chestnut Hill just outside of the downtown area. The Princess Anne Hotel was our home for the next two nights. This deluxe inn with 16 suites was built in 1924. It was a great value with hot breakfast and free baked goods included throughout the day. The hotel had paused their afternoon wine & hors d’oeuvres hour for safety reasons and instead threw in a nice bottle of wine. Our spacious one-bedroom suite had a fully stocked kitchenette. It was fun to explore the fiercely independent and funky downtown area on foot. We also spent a full day at the expansive Biltmore Estate touring the 250-room mansion, meandering through the myriad of gardens, and taking in the new Downton Abbey exhibit. The Biltmore House is the largest private residence in America. Adult and children’s audio guides usher you through the house or choose a variety of private tours for more behind-the-scenes action. You can also experience the entire 8,000-acre property with bike rentals, horseback riding, carriage rides, hiking trails, or off-road in a Land Rover. There is also a lake for watersports and fishing, clay pigeon shooting, falconry, a winery, shops, restaurants, and more. Plan to spend the day or stay a few nights in their various accommodation options. Overall this road trip was a great success and we look forward to planning another one soon!
Trip Review: Winter in Spain
The Shumskas Family from Piperville, PA traveled to Spain for an 8-night getaway just after Christmas. December is a lovely time to experience Southern Europe with comfortable temperatures and lots of holiday festivities. The family of 5 (2 adults and 3 children ages 20, 16 and 11) began their trip in Barcelona. They stayed in a spacious and modern 3-bedroom apartment for four nights. Sensation Sagrada Familia is an apartment hotel with front desk services located in the upscale Eixample neighborhood and near the famous basilica. The family enjoyed several privately guided tours to help keep them all engaged due to the range of ages. They started off with a Gaudi themed tour that included Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and La Pedrera apartments. Another tour followed the footsteps of Picasso through his favorite places in the Gothic Quarter and a tour of the Picasso Museum. Their food tour of the Barcelona markets was also a highlight and conducted by a local chef. A 3-hour train ride took them from Barcelona to Madrid where they again opted for another spacious 3-bedroom apartment at the Erik Vokel Madrid Suites. This apartment hotel was their home for another four nights and ideally located in the heart of the Malasana district, next to the Gran Via. In Spain’s capital city, the family had a privately guided tour of the Royal Palace and surrounding neighborhood. They also took a quick, 30-minute train ride to Toledo for a privately guided tour. The city is well known for its mixture of Christian, Arab and Jewish monuments, located within the fascinating walled historic center. They found the cathedral in Toledo to be a highlight of their trip and a sharp contrast to the more modern Sagrada Familia. Their New Year’s celebration included a home cooked meal in their apartment and a walk around Madrid to see all the holiday festivities. They explained that it was very easy to navigate each city by taxi or uber; even for their family of 5. Overall a great way to end their holiday break and enjoy special family time.
Travel Trip: Where Can You Go?
Want to see which countries are accepting travelers from the US? These rules will continue to fluctuate; so please let us know if you are considering travel and we can provide updates: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/us-international-travel-covid-19/index.html.
Travel Tip: Covid by Country
It’s a very fluid world we currently live in. To help us sort out what is happening in the world, the International Air Transport Association has developed an interactive world map detailing Covid-19 entry regulations by country. The map pulls data from IATA’s Travel Information Manual Automatic database, which updates on restrictions and required documentation for international travel more than 200 times daily. Countries on the map are color-coded by the level of restrictions, and specific information on restrictions are viewable when clicking on a country. Check out https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm.
Trip Review: New Hyatt Ziva
The Grossman Family from Philadelphia (parents, teen and young adults) traveled to the brand-new Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana this past December. They loved their free upgrade to the club level thanks to our tour operator’s added benefits package. They had two comfortable and spacious connecting rooms, received VIP check-in and check-out and had access to the club lounge. There was plenty of bedding for this family of 5 with a king or two queen beds plus a queen size sofabed in each room! They also let us know that they appreciated the short ride from the airport to the hotel, a really large gym that was also used by the adult-only Hyatt Zilara side, lovely grounds and views, waterpark, watersports (based on weather and ocean conditions), poolside games and good security throughout the resort. Overall they commented that the resort size was very manageable. For dining, they were quite happy with the staff’s assistance with special food requests. They said that the restaurants options were plentiful. Like at the Hyatt’s other properties, guests on the Zilara side can dine at all restaurants, but families can only dine on the Ziva side. Fortunately their 16 year-old looked old enough that they weren’t questioned when dining on the Zilara side as the resort is bracelet free! They also liked that there were two shows each night with an earlier one geared for families with young children and the later one for older children and adults as the theater is also shared by both sides of the resort. They showed their gratitude to the staff with added tipping. Not required, but greatly appreciated. The family found plenty of activity and relaxation at the resort that they did not venture off property during their week’s stay. A pleasant week of special family time.
