Trip Review: Israel Bus Tour

The Travisano Family (2 adults and their daughter, age 22) traveled to Israel in late June through early July to visit their son who was taking part in an Onward program in Tel Aviv.  Their trip began with an expedited VIP arrival service at the airport.  Their first three independent nights in Tel Aviv were spent at the Metropolitan Hotel, just two blocks from the beach.  The hotel upgraded them to a 1-Bedroom Suite….they were thrilled!  While in Tel Aviv they went to the beach, relaxed at the hotel pool, did an amazing graffiti tour, went to the street market, and more. Then they began a 7-night group bus tour organized through Gray Line.  This Israel highlight tour was geared toward all religions and the family thought that the tour was fantastic.  There were people of all ages and they met lots of nice families.  The tour started with 29 and ended with 13 people (as this tour can begin in different cities).  They also said that their tour guides were excellent, stuck to the schedule, and were so knowledgeable.  They had a great bus driver as well.  The first tour stop took them south to the Negev Desert including Masada where they took the cable car to the top and then for a float in the Dead Sea.  Onward to Jerusalem for a 3-night stay at the Grand Court Hotel.  They enjoyed the location and expansive breakfast buffet.  In The Holy City, they visited the Israel Museum, Ein Karem, Yad Vashem, and Bethelem one day and the Old City, Mount Zion, Mount of Olives, and the Mahane Yehuda Market the next. Upon leaving Jerusalem, they drove east to Jericho before heading north to Galilee to Beit Shean, Nazareth, and Safed.  They spent the next two nights at a Hagroshim, a kibbutz guesthouse.  They found the hotel to be very nice and modern with great food.  The next day was spent exploring the Golan Heights, a winery, and the Sea of Galilee highlights including Capernaum, Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, and Tiberias.  On the way back to Tel Aviv they drove down the Mediterranean coast and saw Acre, Haifa, and Caesarea. The tour ended with a short city tour of Tel Aviv and Jaffa.  Overnight in Tel Aviv completed this tour experience.  They gave a special shoutout to the tour company for handling their food allergies but found that lunch was very similar day to day (which is fairly normal for a bus tour trying to feed large numbers efficiently and meet everyone’s dietary needs).  Overall this was a cost-efficient and effective way to experience the best of the Holyland.

Travel Tip: TSA Update

The US Department of Homeland Security is urging those who mostly fly domestically to apply for TSA PreCheck instead of Global Entry, despite shared benefits. Applications for Global Entry have been experiencing processing times of up to 18 months as a result of a surge in demand for memberships while US Customs and Border Control continues to clear the backlog from the pandemic lockdowns of 2020. By contrast, most TSA PreCheck applicants can schedule an appointment in less than two weeks and can receive approval in three to five days. The Mobile Passport app can help expedite you through passport control when traveling internationally.

Travel Tip: Electronic Bag Trackers

Understaffed airports have increased the incidents of lost bags, but if you can’t travel with just carry-ons, at least you can know where your bags are located! Apple Air Tags are both affordable and reliable. These devices are very compact and can fit and hide almost anywhere. They are always “on” once you activate them and the battery lasts a very long time with standard replacement batteries readily available. The tags work by “pinging” any Apple device they see via Bluetooth. This includes airline workers and other travelers. It will register your bag’s location anonymously. There can be some issues with accuracy until someone with a modern iPhone goes and looks for your bag. But there is no subscription required like some of the more expensive trackers that use both GPS, Bluetooth, and cellphone towers. They also come with some other useful features like alerting you when you leave something behind – which is not what you want with luggage, but might work with your carry-on!

Trip Review: Iceland Adventure

The Negrin Family of New York took a last-minute father/daughter getaway to Iceland earlier this month. They started their six-night trip with a stay at the lovely Edition hotel in Reykjavik and spent their first day in Iceland relaxing at the Sky Lagoon, a newish thermal bath just outside the city. They said the experience was awesome and a relaxing way to start their adventure.  They appreciated the well-organized operation, in-lagoon bar, and wonderful ocean views. For the next few days, they took several day tours and one overnight tour with Arctic Adventures to see the South Coast, then to the northwest and around the Golden Circle. They found the tours to be well organized with knowledgeable drivers and guides but didn’t love all the long drives involved. Their tour hotel for several nights, Reykjavik Lights, was pretty basic with small rooms to match this last-minute, budget-priced package. They were able to visit a variety of natural landscapes such as waterfalls, geysers, black beaches, natural thermal baths, lava fields, and more, and also explored the unique nature with an amphibian lagoon tour and ice cave experience. Stops included Jokulsarlon, Gullfoss, Thingvellir National Park, Vatnajokull National Park, Snaefellsnes, and Kirkjufell. A trip highlight was a 10-mile hike around the newly activated Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula, not far from the airport. The volcano erupted the day they arrived (and has actually just gone dormant!). Their self-guided hike took a total of 5 1/2 hours with rocky terrain and steep slopes but was such a unique and worthwhile experience. Their favorite Reykjavik dining experiences were at ROK Restaurant, Sushi Social and morning runs to Kaffibrennslan. Overall a fun and memorable visit. You can see more amazing Iceland photos at http://izzinegrin.com/iceland.

Travel Tip: It’s Greek to Me

One of our favorite travel apps is Google Translate. Don’t forget to download it before you travel and play around with its functions. Google Translate not only allows you to type, handwrite or speak something and have it translated to another language of your choosing, but you can also use its camera feature to translate restaurant menus and other foreign language signs! You can also store common phrases you might need while traveling as well as translate text that may come across your phone. We suggest you download the languages you will need in advance for offline translations as well (not all languages are available for this feature).

Trip Review: Montauk Renewed

Lauren and her husband traveled this month to Montauk, New York for special birthday celebrations!  Located at the tip of Long Island, this upscale, but laid-back town began welcoming tourists in the 1920s.  It’s known for beautiful beaches, state parks, restaurants, a lighthouse, and great surfing. Many of its oceanfront hotels have been going through recent transformations including where we stayed at Marram. The family-friendly hotel, which sits above the beach with expansive ocean views, opened in 2019 with a new youthful, and zen vibe. Soothing rooms are decorated in only cream, brown, and beige with a king bed plus a day bed that sleeps up to three people or two queen beds for up to four. Suites are also available and have a separate living area with a day bed, breakfast nook, and a wet bar and sleep up to four. There are no TVs (or phones) in the rooms, but streaming movies at night on the laptop was just as nice. The hotel offers a free and unlimited minibar with water, drinks, and snacks that we also stocked with other food and leftovers. There are also daily activities such as yoga, wellness, and meditation classes; daily evening s’mores at their multiple firepits; free bike rentals; beach chair staff; pool, and surfing lessons as well as a top-quality restaurant and bar. Plenty of areas to lounge around the property both indoors and out including areas stocked with family games and books. The resort is walkable to the main part of town with tons of shops, restaurants, and more. One hotel parking spot is included. We really loved our stay (especially for Lauren’s husband who used to stay at the resort’s previous version for many surf getaways).  Overall a welcoming and relaxing spot to enjoy with the entire family or as a couples getaway.

Trip Review: A California Adventure

The Family Traveler’s Jen, her husband, and their 16-year-old twins (girl and boy) from Philadelphia went to California over spring break for 10 days and the trip did not disappoint!  They were looking to do something different than a typical beach holiday and wanted to explore and add some sense of history, culture, and geography to their trip, but still have some time in the sun and hit the hot spots.  They flew non-stop to San Francisco, stayed with family and picked up a rental car in town. Three busy days were spent in and around San Francisco visiting all the top tourist spots and some of the more obscure ones.  In particular, they loved Muir Wood, riding the cable car, exploring Pier 39 and watching the sea lions, and running the Golden Gate Bridge.  Their tour of Alcatraz was also really interesting.  In addition, they had wonderful meals, including authentic dim sum, deliciously fresh seafood, and sushi.  They explored many different neighborhoods going up, down, and around the steep and windy streets that bisect the city.  San Francisco is a fun place to drive through not so fun to find a parking spot! They left the Bay Area and drove south to Monterey. The drive is spectacular and they were charmed by Carmel-by-the-Sea.  From there they hopped on the Pacific Coast Highway.  Initially, they were not sure that spending over a day in the car driving the PCH was a good use of their precious vacation time and they wondered if their teens would be bored.  It turned out to be a highlight of the trip.  No wi-fi, no radio stations, just the most amazing views over cliffs at every turn and places to stop for photos and to see animals frolicking by the coast.  It is not a drive for the faint of heart and the children loved it.  Overnight in San Luis Obispo was at a La Quinta and then onward to Los Angeles. Their stay in Santa Monica at Le Merigot – a JW Marriott Hotel was chosen due to its relatively central location and proximity to the beach.  They took two rooms and especially enjoyed the hotel’s amazing valet service, pool, and vibrant lobby bar. Determined to see everything they could in LA, they almost succeeded.  They spent a day in Anaheim at Disneyland, toured UCLA, drove out to Malibu and lunched at Malibu Farms, and took the tour at Warner Brothers Studios.  They weren’t sure they wanted to take one of those “cheesy” Hollywood bus tours, but they succumbed and it was great.  The allure is in the stories the tour guide tells. The commentary was polished and hilarious, providing the family with a lifetime of family jokes.  Splurging on some over-the-top LA restaurants including Katsuya and Ivy proved definitely worthwhile, but they also ate at a few fast food options not available on the east coast.  They also walked Venice Beach and watched the skateboarders and weightlifters, did some mother/daughter shopping, and went south to Redondo Beach and swam in the Pacific Ocean.  Overall a wonderful California vacation with two teens who were happy to be traveling and were up for anything!

Travel Tip: Airline Apps

Traveling this summer will have its challenges thanks to the airlines and their challenge to hire enough crew for the flights.  One of the best ways to keep track of your flights is with your airline’s app.  Make sure to download it on your phone and become familiar with its uses before you travel.  We find that sometimes alerts of delays and cancellations are put on the app first…even before we or our travel suppliers get notified.  We also recommend that you start checking your upcoming flight schedules daily, at least one week prior to travel, if not sooner to keep an eye out for any cancellations or schedule changes. If you aren’t mobile-savvy, check your flights on your computers daily, at least a week prior to travel.  Most apps also have a messaging feature that allows you and us to contact an airline in less time than calling on the phone.  Some airlines respond to Facebook messaging (and other social media messaging) as well.  At least we are finding that adjusting flights on the airline websites and apps sometimes make changes a little easier and allow us to bypass hours of hold times.  Safe travels!

Trip Review: Punta Cana Experience

Lauren and her husband Evan traveled to Punta Cana earlier this month and stayed at both the Hyatt Ziva/Zilara and the new Finest Punta Cana. The Hyatt is one of The Family Traveler’s most popular Dominican Republic resort. This modern and upscale all-inclusive opened in late 2019 and is in the Cap Cana development just 15 minutes from the airport. The resort features two sections: the family-friendly Ziva and the adult-only Zilara. Adults have full access to both sides of the resort. Each side has its own lobby, large pools, and club lounges. The club level also has its own pool on each side of the resort which is a nice perk during peak occupancy. The center of the property features a shared theater for evening shows, a large sports bar, and a huge fitness facility. The gym has a variety of daily classes and separate rooms for cardio, fitness classes, spinning room, functional fitness, and weight training along with areas for stretching, boxing, and more! Behind the Ziva is a spacious and enclosed water slide and water play area staffed by several lifeguards along with food trucks for drinks and snacks and plenty of lounge chairs and shade. Nearby are the kids and teen clubs with supervised programming throughout the day and evening. There is also a rooftop sports court for basketball, pickleball, and tennis. The resort’s food is excellent with a large buffet and several specialty restaurants on each side of the resort. Adults have full access to all restaurants (depending on occupancy levels). The resort’s beach is long and wide with plenty of chairs, shade, and watersports. Lauren stayed in a club-level oceanfront junior suite on the Zilara side that includes a private butler service (that was not really used). Other than the tricky lighting system, the room and bathroom were large and comfortable with awesome water views. Overall Lauren appreciated the high quality of service and how appreciative the staff was to have return guests. 

Finest Punta Cana also proved to be a quality vacation experience.  The fresh and modern family resort opened just last year. This property is located 45 minutes north of the airport in Uvero Alto. It features several pools with fun water play areas, a playground, tennis court, sports court, and pickleball along with a large, supervised kids club compound with additional water play areas and waterslides. The beach is nice and wide, but the water here can be a little rough. Water sports equipment is still available when the sea cooperates. There was also nightly entertainment in the covered theater and open plaza areas. The resort also showcases a family club-level section along with an adult-only club section located in their own buildings. We highly recommend the club level as this affords access to restaurants with higher quality food overall, a club lounge, and special areas at the beach with higher quality loungers. Lauren got an extra-long stay at Finest after testing positive for covid. The resort comped five extra nights in a quarantine room with all the room service she wanted!

This trip also included site visits to several other family-friendly properties: the brand-new Dreams Macao, Dreams Onyx, Dreams Royal Beach, and the new Margaritaville along with several adult-only resorts: Excellence Punta Cana, Excellence El Carmen, Secrets Cap Cana, and Secrets Royal Beach. The trip was a wonderful opportunity to check out new properties, see renovations and upgrades at existing resorts and establish relationships with resort staff.

Travel Tip: Updated Cruise Credit Rules

Are you holding “Future Cruise Credits” due to covid-related cancellations? We know we are working with many families to use up these credits. You will be interested to know that the Federal Maritime Commission, the agency that regulates passenger sea travel, has issued new consumer protection rules that went into effect in April for any cruise booking in the future. Any cruise line canceling or delaying a trip by three or more days is placed in the “non-performance” category. You are then entitled to a full refund of all money, including any ancillary fees including port fees and taxes paid, but excluding such items as airfare, hotel accommodations, and tour excursions. In addition, cruise lines are required to make refund policies prominent and clearly displayed on their websites. The deadline permitted for requesting a refund may not be less than six months after the scheduled voyage was to occur.