|
|
| HOME PAGE ABOUT US BLOGS MESSAGES E-MAIL OTHERS ABOUT OUR SITE |
| ||
|
Sololady.com Tours/Trips/Getaways Archives (For current entries, please click here for Tours/Trips/Getaways.)
Getaways, trips, tours, and travel ideas from previous entries, with links to intrigue, inspire, and propel you. Culled from world-wide travel media .... by Janet K. Rodgers
Although many of the following items now have different dates, may be priced differently, or are no longer available, they give you useful details and links, an idea of what's out there, and what can be fun for you. Enjoy!
Montana’s arid countryside was once home to lush, 80-million year old ferns and pines. How do we know? Because clues have been found in the stomach of Leonardo, the 6.5 ton mummified 77 million-year-old adult duckbilled dinosaur, discovered with almost all of his skin and many internal organs still intact. This fossil is setting the scientific world ablaze with extensive, never-before-seen detail about the diet of plant-eating dinosaurs—details that could only be hypothesized before this incredible find. Take a wild chance and join the Houston Museum of Natural Science Paleontology Team and Dr. Robert T. Bakker, renowned paleontologist and HMNS curator, in Malta, Montana, from May 22 – 25, 2008 as they dig deeper into prehistory. Visit amazing local museums and a nearby cattle ranch to see where Leonardo was discovered in the summer of 2000 and experience rare, behind-the-scenes modern cattle ranching where vast herds of cattle are moving out to summer pastures. For more information on activities, travel costs log on to www.hmns.org/generic/dinosaur_mummy_malta.asp. _____ …local nicknames for the bays, the channels and straits along a rugged stretch of Newfoundland coastline. Venerable Maxxim Vacations is offering an 8-day/7-night fully-guided walking and hiking tour (a moderate 3-6 miles a day) that features humpback and minke whale watching, birding (esp. puffins and blacklegged kittiwakes) in historic countryside. This dramatic coast is where the sun rises first on the New World, where the waves of Europe crash first onto our shores, and it is also home to “Iceberg Alley,” where an awesome procession of massive icebergs drifts southward in early summer. Two group departures: July 19 and August 2, 2008. Package prices: $3,400 to $4,100, includes knowledgeable and friendly local guides throughout, lodging, meals, and intra-Canada air -- so check with them for rates to and from U.S. Call Maxxim Vacations of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada at: 1-800-567-6666. or click on http://www.maxximvacations.com/. _____ Think Pink Paradise Found! On an eyelash of an island framed by pink sugar sand, Harbour Island off Eleuthera in the Bahamas is reachable only by water taxi. There are a couple of good hotels a couple of good restaurants, one internet café (located in the bakery), a small herd of dune buggies (no cars,) tall, clacking palm trees, a scruffy straw market, heavenly sand and sea, and possibly the cutest graveyard in the world. For solo women, Ocean View Club is the perfect place to stay. Owned and operated with fashionable élan, Pip Simmons, a graduate of the Cordon Bleu, runs her 9-room inn with awesome imagination and skill. Reigning queen of the isle for over 20 years, her place is charmingly decorated British colonial style with tons of art. Fall out of bed and onto the beach…you’re that close. Meals are taken as you like, the food is fab, the kitchen is open (for schmoozing and watching but not participating,) and recipes are all signature chefs’. Cocktails and dinner are usually served on the open, candlelit terrace, waves lapping nearby. Pip also owns the best boutique in the Caribbean, Miss Mae’s, in the center of the tiny town, an ever-evolving women’s collection of the chic and the sensational. To nab a room or two call her directly at 242-333-2276 or email: pip.oceanview@gmail.com _____ Birdland Forget the overcrowded Galapagos. Turn left from San Francisco and zoom out into the Pacific for about 3,200 miles (half way to Asia) and tie up at the appropriately named Midway Atoll, a pristine U.S. Gov-maintained territory consisting of three little islands and a deep blue lagoon. Midway Atoll has thankfully been designated as a National Wildlife Refuge and has been closed to visitors since 2002. It is now, carefully, open again. Except for a small band of government employees, the atoll is delightfully unpopulated. It is home, however, to millions of birds, especially albatross; plus monk seals, green turtles and dolphin. Thick coral reefs guarantee great snorkeling and fish-ogling. The lack of local amenities is filled in by the non-profit, eco-serious Oceanic Society’s new week-long tours geared to handle only 16 visitors each. Trips are scheduled from March 22 to December 6, 2008 at a cost of about $5000. pp. which includes air from Honolulu, about 1200 miles away. Surf to: www.oceanic-society.org for this and their other thrilling trips, or call them in San Francisco, 800-326-7491. _____
For a group-of-gals looking for a good place to hang out together, consider historic St. Augustine, Florida where horse and buggies still clop along palm-lined, brick-paved streets, and dolphins glide in Matanzas Bay. This is one of the few American cities that time almost forgot. The authentic 23-room Casablanca Inn, an antique-filled bayfront B&B, will welcome and pamper you and your friends at their Tini Martini Bar. They will arrange a chocolate tasting at Claude’s (fine, famous and French), a plush bathrobe gift, the treat of a facial, plus the fun of shopping and snooping at nearby antique shops, museums, galleries. For more details on this really well-priced “Pajama Party” package, give them a buzz at 1-800-826-2626 or surf to: www.casablancainn.com . ____ Rhodes Scholar Wannabe? “The Oxford Experience” is a residential program of one-week courses at University of Oxford, England’s oldest. For five summer weeks from June 29 to August 2, this is an unusual opportunity for solo women to study, live and all dine together in the Hall in Christ Church (Harry Potter’s own,) the most beautiful and prestigious of the Oxford colleges. Study what? How about “A History of the English Language, The Crusades, The Cotswolds, Opera, Jane Austen, The Garden in Art, or Castles in Britain” - to name a few of the many courses offered …and no exams, just fun of learning in an awesome environment with excursions to stately homes, museums, churches, riverside walks and boating on the legendary Thames. The price of a one-week course, including tuition, lodging and all on-campus meals is approximately $1,950. Registration deadline is April 1, 2008, but avoid the spring rush by registering now as courses fill up quickly. Download the brochure of this exceptional program at: http://international.conted.ox.ac.uk/oxfordexperience.php or Email ipoxexp@conted.ox.ac.uk. _____ Easter Break The mythic Easter Island, locally known as Rapa Nui, is a World Heritage Site. Isolated off the Chilean coast in the Pacific Ocean, this is a trip-of-a-lifetime destination and full bragging rights apply. Feel the power of the human-like Moai, the 900 huge (some 33 feet tall) stylized, rock-carved monoliths. These enigmatic statues emit an aura of eternity, their backs, surprisingly, facing the sea, and contribute to the mystery and allure of Easter Island along with its network of caves and ancient, unique writings. Infrequent flights and only a smattering of guest houses previously set Rapa Nui for adventure travel only. New on the rock, however, is an extraordinary, beautifully designed 30-room hotel, Posada de Mike Rapu, the latest outpost in the prestigious Explora Collection. Check it out at: http://www.explora.com/rapa-nui_thehotel.php. They offer daily guided walking explorations that vary according to difficulty and distance and limited to 8 participants. Very good food. Very great staff. Open air Jacuzzis… and, oh, thirsty? Order a “Pisco,” a killer alcoholic shot made from fermented Chilean grapes. _____
Solo-ettes! Grab your best straw bonnet and sign on for a “Journey between the Seas” -- a fascinating crossing from the Pacific into the Atlantic Ocean through the Panama Canal. Panama Marine Adventures’ new 8-day expedition cruise aboard their catamaran-style 24-passenger M/V Discovery, will explore the amazing variety of landscapes along Panama’s inter-ocean route. _____ Whiteout Winter!!
_____
The pristine powder covering the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia will belong to “Chicks in the Chopper” for five precious days this spring - March 31-April 5, 2008, thanks to renowned heli-skiing operator Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH). Their uniquely cool concept, “Chicks in the Chopper” brings together again a group of ski-loving women for awesome skiing in whiteout wilderness. A special CMH “Chicks in the Chopper” coordinator will liaise with all the women on the trip to provide handy packing tips, important travel information and the opportunity to connect with other Chopper Chicks before the trip begins. Everyone departs together from Calgary for the really remote Galena Lodge. Although no prior heli-skiing experience is necessary, this trip is geared for strong intermediate and advanced women skiers who would enjoy supportive and fun group skiing on Western Canada’s untouched mountainscapes. The five-day trip is priced at $5,651, based on twin occupancy. For more information, call 1-800-661-0252, or chicks, just click www.CanadianMountainHolidays.com. _____ Plié et Jeté!! For an insider's view of authentic, real Russian ballet consider a trip to St. Petersburg this March 19-24, 2008 for the 8th International Mariinsky Ballet Festival. Thrill to a backstage tour, before-the-crowd entry to the awesome Hermitage Museum, four fabulous ballet performances in the Mariinsky Theatre, and after their final performance, a gala private party mingling with the dazzling star dancers in the landmark Astoria Hotel. Balletomanes and Culture Vultures Alert! This one trip, an unusual insider opportunity, is offered by Exeter International, award-winning leader for East European and Russian travel. Cost: $4,900 per person on a double basis or add $725 for a room of your own. For more info on this and others of Exeter’s creative “Through Closed Doors” VIP tours …for example: a Croatian truffle hunt, or a tour of Budapest that includes a visit to the legendary 100-year old Herend Porcelain Factory in the countryside… click on: http://exeterinternational.com. _____ Happy Talk In the middle of the Ghost Market in Beijing, eyes glued on the prize 40-lb. tribal necklace, your guide off somewhere smoking – how can you make the deal? Or driving through the rain on the back roads at midnight in Cyprus and you’d like to ask the cab driver to take it a bit slower… Or try to explain to the bell hop in Ulaan Bataar that your hat box is missing … get the idea? Break the language barrier anywhere by calling a pre-programmed cell number. Then your native can speak to their native, so simple, so perfect. For the 3-step scoop on this international service, please click on www.fone-in.com _____
Copacabana, two long wild miles of white sandy beach, is party central for at least two of the nine million Brazilians, the Cariocas, who gather to celebrate the 4-day Carnaval in February (their summer.) Of the many, many tours offered, native born Professor Carlos Roquette’s idiosyncratic “Cultural Rio” itineraries sound great on www.culturalrio.com.br. Closer to home, check out the ultra-interesting itineraries offered by the Naples, FL-based company adorably called Brazil Nuts: www.brazilnuts.com. Their phone is 800-553-9959. _____
Paris News! A fun, eco and new way to cruise around the City of Light is to rent a bike in an innovative city-wide system. Just swipe your credit card into a kiosk machine, receive a card with a code, choose a one-day or one-week ticket, unlock a “velo” - that’s “bike” to you - hop on, wheel around, and drop off at a specified point. Over 1000 stations throughout Paris opened almost immediately. The first half-hour is free, then its only 1 euro (about $1.45) for the second half hour; 2 euros for the third half-hour and 4 euros for every half-hour thereafter. [A 150-euro security deposit is required.) The unisex bikes have adjustable seats and come equipped with a basket in which to place les croissants and les fleurs and other purchases. The jaunty website, www.velib.paris.fr., occasionally also offers info in English. _____ Some like it Hot Start the New Year right: Solo ladies let us polish up our pedicures and fly right to Mexico—specifically to CasaMagna, the Marriott’s Puerto Vallarta oceanfront resort and its gleaming new Ohtli Spa. In addition to serious sunshine, pristine beaches, great golfing, and crazy shopping, during the month of January, 2008, CasaMagna is offering a “No Boys Allowed” Girls Getaway: $1,495 -- no single supplement -- for 3 nights 4 days in a deluxe ocean-view room which includes four unique spa treatments, two fitness classes, and other goodies. For the full scoop: Call 1-888-PARADISE or surf to www.casamagnapuertovallarta.com and refer to special rate code FLP. _____ Shalom Star Chefs! Run around Israel with three ultra-energetic “Foodistas” and savor the heart and soul of creative, delicious new Israeli cuisine. While always “hummus heaven,” Israel today is also a world player in culinary creativity and fine wines… to say nothing of a thrilling travel destination. One great trip, “Food for Thought,” will take place February 3-12, 2008 and will feature the best of the best new restaurants in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the hinterlands. The clever itinerary is sprinkled with pit stops at boutique farms for honey, chèvre, and herbs, beautiful bakeries, and a grand monastery for wine and olive oil, plus meetings with chefs, famous food writers and even a volunteer stint in a soup kitchen. Who are the fun Foodistas? From Toronto meet Bonnie Stern, internationally celebrated cookbook author and teacher together with Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, head of the great Kolel Learning Center … and in Jerusalem, Judy Stacey Goldman, perennially popular food-lovin’ tour guide. The price of $4928 covers almost everything including a charitable donation to Kolel as well as air to and from Toronto. One can, however, take off from any gateway city. Single supplement is $844. Click on http://www.bonniestern.com/ for the big picture. Click: www.kolel.org/pages/culinarytour.html for day-to-day. For more details or to join please contact Michal Shenkar at michelle@peerlesstravel.com or phone 800-479-2933 ext 26. _____ Irish How does a seven-day easy trek along “magical … footpaths framed by rugged sea cliffs, flower-laden headlands, rolling farm meadows, and sand dunes in the Kingdom of Kerry” sound? Country Walkers’ special Women’s Adventures section is offering just such a trip in Ireland departing July 24, 2008 from Dingle in County Kerry. A rich experience is planned to include a poetry reading, Celtic music and dance, meet and greet in local villages, lake explorations (by boat), good company, good cheer and good health. Cost: $3198. In the lilt of Irish laughter, Country Walkers offers a great menu of exceptional itineraries for small groups and do their best to avoid single supplements. Click on: www.countrywalkers.com/womensAdventures.asp and/or call 800-464-9255. _____
Jump aboard the flying carpet for ten exotic days in Morocco with a small group of Gutsy Women. Their tour alights in Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Marrakech and departs the U.S. on February 1, 2008. Morocco is an exotic destination that inundates with colors, spices, costumes and casbahs all “designed” to thrill. April M. Merenda, President and Co-Founder, says that "this trip is perfect for our Gutsy Women clients ...those... looking for new experiences in exotic locales but not on their own or unescorted.” Gutsy offers camaraderie for solos, fabulous pricing and unique features: - meet local craftsmen and carpet weavers, soak in a hammam (Middle eastern-style steam bath), enjoy a cooking lesson; experience desert, mountains and seashore. To know more, surf to: www.gutsywomentravel.com or call (866) IMGUTSY or 866-464-8879. _____ The Kangerlussuaq Express Never heard of it? You will. Kangerlussuaq is the settlement where Greenland’s airport is expertly located. Air Greenland is now offering non-stop summer flights on their really red airplanes between the Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) and Greenland’s Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ). Their direct flights, Thursdays only, will begin again July 3, 2008 and end on August 14 starting at $1,100 r/t. Be the first on your block. Exotic and awesome Greenland. A quick 5-hour flight features extraordinary birds’ eye views of those majestic iceberg and glaciers that have captured global attention. Top tour stop is Ilulissat, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle and home of the world’s most breathtaking icy scenery. And what to do once there? Cruise fjords filled with icebergs, visit Sermermiut, a 4,000-year-old Inuit settlement, spot humpback whales, seals, musk ox, reindeer … and thrill to a guided tour under the midnight sun! For more information, packaged trips or flight reservations, click: www.airgreenland.com. _____ Tah-Tah The QE2, launched by Her Majesty The Queen 40 years ago in 1967, was the Cunard’s longest-serving flagship -- today with 25 world cruises, 800+ Atlantic crossings, and 2.5 million passengers to her record. This fall she is to be transformed into an extraordinary destination hotel anchored where? - in Dubai of course - and this, thus, is her last season on the move. As a final sendoff cruise, Carol Marlow, President of Cunard, has announced a new 8-day "Iberia in Bloom" voyage to depart Southampton on April 27, 2008, to call in France at La Rochelle (for Cognac), Le Verdon (for Bordeaux); in Spain at Bilbao and La Coruna (for Santiago de Compostela); and Lisbon, Portugal. For availability and rates, call 800-7-CUNARD or click on: www.cunard.com. _____
In New York City, the long-time nerve center for professional photographers is the welcoming, helpful, Photo Habitat – an island of intelligence, integrity and kindly customer care in a field notoriously populated by the opposite. Not a store front, Photo Habitat is tucked into the 7th floor of 928 Broadway at 22nd Street, this is the best camera shop in town to buy, sell or trade. So toss that Brownie Hawkeye before your next big trip! Meet the owners, Ray and Walter, who will help you select the camera that is right for you, set it up, walk you through the basics, and send you merrily on your way. Phone: (212) 473-5665 and their barebones website is: www.photohabitat.com/ _____ Sunny Expedition Explore the sunny Sea of Cortés this winter on an 8-day National Geographic expedition after a flight south from LA to La Paz on the Baja Peninsula. From La Paz, either the MV Sea Lion or MV Sea Bird will cruise along the shore, exploring the extraordinary wildlife and beauty of Islas Los Islotes, Espíritu Santo, Gorda Banks and through the Bahía Magdalena inlets - right in time to welcome the whales migrating down from Alaska. Thrill to the Zodiac maneuvers. Hike in the wild desert. Kayak among the barking, splashing sea lions. Swim, sun, snorkel, listen and learn. Naturalists and marine specialists accompany all 9 expeditions offered from January through March, 2008 - but on the first departure, January 26th, the highly esteemed marine biologist Sylvia Earle, Explorer-in-Residence of the National Geographic Society, will accompany. Traveling with her, named one of Time magazine's "Heroes for the Planet,” would be an honor … and a thrill. For prices and details, surf to: www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/521.html
Follow in the wake of notorious Anne Bonny, a rare female pirate who plied the turquoise Caribbean waters in the early 1700’s -- the remarkable, nimble, cross-dressing, Irish Anne – you gotta love her. Your own captain and your own private 65-ft schooner-rigged trimaran is an elegantly equipped 5-cabin yacht, steadied by its three hulls. Sail in and around on a fluid itinerary to such hot hidden spots as: the tiny island of Marina Cay, Virgin Gorda, Anegada famous for its reef of shipwrecks, the Baths (boulder beach) and Norman’s Island. Two 7-day sails are set in British Virgin Islands from Tortola: January 27-February 2, and Leave all details to the Adventurous Wench. Surf first to: www.adventurouswench.com _____ Weightless Zero-G, an FAA-approved “space entertainment and tourism” company, is now offering commercial and scheduled weightless flights for $3,750. These flights entail a lot less time and money ($200,000) than those to be offered by Virgin Galactic. The fare includes before-flight training, a dinner party afterward, souvenirs, photo, and a DVD of your experience captured on board. The experience: fly for 2 hours in a modified B727-200 cargo airplane which has two cabins, one for sitting and one for floating. The flight makes 15 parabolas at a 45-degree angle ranging from 24,000 feet to 32,000 feet and back –- and this delivers the 25 seconds of weightlessness you need to fly or float like superwoman. Similar to NASA astronaut training, but a lot less arduous. (No medical exam is required.) (Flight attendants will help the queasy.) Zero-G has been operating educational and charter flights out of its home base at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Florida airport, and is now offering a series of scheduled flights from four new locations through September: Las Vegas, New York City, and Long Beach, Calif., and at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. _____
Sip champagne, scarf caviar, and visit the newly restored Amber Room during the dazzlingly beautiful Czar’s Ball held on New Year’s Eve in the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg. (Ball gowns and tuxedoes are must-wear for this party.) The venerable 20-year old Seattle-based MIR Corporation has created this thrilling experience to include a troika ride in the deep Russian snow, a train trip to Moscow, and a visit to the city of Suzdal, the 12th century capital of Russia, to attend a traditional Orthodox service held in a glowing 16th century church. One trip only. Ten days – from Dec. 29-Jan. 7, 2008. Price is $5,245 for a solo and limited to 16 curious travelers, max. For full details of their Winter Wonder Land tour, click on: http://www.mircorp.com/ _____ Suzy Gershman’s “Born to Shop & Spa” Travel and shopping expert Suzy Gershman, author of the Frommer's Born to Shop series of international travel guide books will, for the 4th year, lead a merry band of shoppers deep into mountains of “merch” in Hong Kong and Bangkok. Her trips are delightful, fun-filled cultural adventures, and Suzy’s loyal followers sign up year after year. Flash! Deadline for sign up is now. This year’s six-night trip (November 27-December 3, 2007) includes a deep dip into the People’s Republic of China to the special economic zone of Shenzhen in southern China, one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Visit and see why. The glorious InterContinental Hotels will be home base for three nights in both cities and the cost of this exclusive land tour is $2751 per person double, or $3859 on a single basis. The price includes hotel, spa treatments, certain special dinners and the high-energy “Suzy breakfasts” where hungry shoppers are treated to insider info, samples, giveaways, the newest edition of her Born to Shop Hong Kong, and exclusive unpublished notes from her upcoming Born to Shop Asia to be published in 2008 -- and then plunge all together into the markets with Suzy-as-Guide. (Air is extra.) For the itinerary or reservations, quick contact Carole Klein at InterContinental Hong Kong directly by phone at 011-852-2313-2335, fax: 011-852-2724-3284, or e-mail: mailto:carole_klein@interconti.com _____ The Women’s Travel Club Of course we are partial to fabulous female solo travelers, especially those who create whole businesses catering to world-wandering us. Phyllis Stoller founded the Women’s Travel Club 16 years ago to counterbalance her husband’s intense work schedule and it has been one of the success stories of the travel industry. In three words, Phyllis created a great club. For a $35 per year fee, members get full access the wealth of all their website info (detailed trip itineraries and destination photos), the newsletter, access to travel companions - and - importantly - the benefit of member-only reduced rates. Their top upcoming trips – some for men too – are: Guatemala this October and Rome in November. Antarctica in January, 2008 (it’s “summer” down there), and China in 2008. Holy men and holy cows The Women’s Travel Club ultimate trip this fall will be exotic India – top to toe ….camels, elephants, monkeys, peacocks, billowing silks, glinting emeralds and possibly some of the Maharaja’s ghosts… In the North: Delhi - Varanasi - Agra - Jaipur - Jodhpur- Ranakpur - Udaipur, and if you opt to add on Southern India, visit Mumbai - Chennai - Covelong - Madras. For full details on this great resource, please click on: www.womenstravelclub.com/ or phone 800-480-4448. _____
If the idea of walking on air over the Grand Canyon with at least some solid glass under your feet appeals, consider the newly-opened Skywalk on Grand Canyon West’s Eagle Point. Owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe and only a two-hour drive from Las Vegas, this cantilevered projection is suspended 4,000 feet above the canyon floor and extends 70 feet out from the rim. Wew. A 6,000 square-foot visitor’s center is set on three levels and the views are way beyond stupendous. _____ Where the Boys Really Are!
Solo women! If you are looking to meet guys, I think I’ve found ‘em. In Skip Barber’s Racing School, the internationally-renowned multi-faceted driving school, 95% of those learning to race and 80% of those learning excellent driving are men – movie stars, celebs, tycoons, dads with dreams, NASCAR fantasists, control freaks, and on. So if pedal-to-the-metal type thrills and skills sound right to you, please know that more and more women are signing up every year -- so don’t lose time. Skip Barber offers basic 1-2- and 3-day schools on many prestigious tracks around the country. For complete information, programs, schedules and venues, click: http://www.skipbarber.com/. Or call 800-221-1131. _____
Suze Orman, internationally popular personal finance expert, will host her first-ever workshop cruise from December 9-16, 2007 aboard the Costa Fortuna, the mega new (2003) 17-deck, 1000-crew, 105,000-ton, 2,720-passenger cruise ship. After its inaugural voyage from Florida this November, the Costa Fortuna will sail the southeastern Caribbean - San Juan -St. Maarten- Tortola and Nassau - where Suze will offer four in-depth workshops, all essential for solo women financial fitness: "How To Make More Out Of Less," "Retirement Planning," "Investments" and "Estate Planning.” Many special events are planned, including personal/professional time with this $$ superstar. Early booking fares start at $1,014 per person. For more details, click: http://www.sailwithsuze.com/ or phone 800-852-2605. _____ Dudettes! Janet Brewster Stanton, fifth generation Owner and Operator of the Canadian Kananaskis Guest Ranch (30 minutes west of Banff), has created women’s get-togethers for business groups, clubs, families and friends. If you are at least warm to trot, consider one of her women-only western vacations, now in their fifth successful year, which offers a special reception, barbeque party, trail riding, rafting and golf nearby…and more. _____ Afghanistan Anyone? Hey, solo women, we’re not that intrepid. Instead of actually traveling there – yet – listen to this: Arzu is the name of a women’s collective created by Connie K. Duckworth recently retired from a stellar career at Goldman Sachs. She has gathered the talents of over 700 Afghani women who live in eight remote villages and weave beautiful tribal rugs the old fashioned way. And she has certainly made certain that these village women are being paid proper wages to support many needs especially local schooling and health care. The First Lady, Laura Bush, is a customer and a fan! The Arzu magic carpets are priced from $900 to about $16,000 and every lovely thread is a lifeline. For details and photos, please click on www.arzurugs.org. Or phone: (312) 321-8663. _____ Crow’s Nest not Crow’s Feet The thrill and mystery and quiet seduction of unfurled great sails opening out from tall masts is an unforgettable experience. The Star Clipper fleet of three small, swanlike sailing ships uniquely allows you to climb up the rigging “ratlines” and sit in the crow’s nest 60 feet above the deck. Wow. They do supply a safety vest, and ever-so thoughtfully attached to a safety line. Their largest, The Royal Clipper, a 5-masted ship with 42 sails, coddles just 227 guests. Try sailing with them into protected anchorages, private beaches, past and to tiny islands in the Caribbean first (December to April), and then you can branch out into French Polynesia, the Med… and on. http://www.starclippers.com/ _____
Although known to adventures as a top spot for scuba diving, river rafting, and mountain treks. Honduras is still an underrated Caribbean destination. Along the coast, Honduras offers white sand beaches, coral reefs, mangrove and cocoa forests, rocky cliffs, while inland the more adventurous are drawn to its high mountains, exotic wildlife and wild rivers. For a bit of coddling and non-stop beauty, the Lodge at Pico Bonita on the north coast of Honduras is snuggled neatly within a remote rainforest and seriously eco. It is as perfect a setting imaginable for bird-watching (over 300 species), cute spider monkey and stealthy jaguar sightings, and even a well-stocked serpentarium. The Lodge is also home to a busy butterfly breeding farm -respectful, educational and gorgeous. Standing amid these exotic, delightfully delicate wisps of color that float and swoop, never fails to amaze. Think: Mother’s Day. For rates and details, please click on www.picobonito.com, or telephone 888-428-0221. _____
Dooley Vacations, well-established 50-year old Ireland tour experts, is offering a “Sights & Cities Pub Tour” exclusively for solo travelers departing November 8, 2007. Raise a pint to toast the Emerald Isle, visit quaint seaside villages and historic towns, explore Galway and Dublin, the majestic Cliffs of Moher, visit the Burren Connemara region, and enjoy an educational (!) pit stop at the legendary Old Jameson Distillery to taste the smooth, rich Irish whiskey. The cost of this trip --a quickie: 6-days and 4-nights – starts at just $899 per person, including air, and hotels on a single occupancy basis. For more information, or a reservation, please surf to: www.DooleyVacations.com _____ Women to the Top The 20-year old Adventures Within Reach now offers six new dates for Kilimanjaro climbs in Tanzania for women only. These climbs attract women from all over the world who share the same dream of conquering Kilimanjaro, enjoying Tanzania’s extraordinary wildlife and cultural adventures en route. Amazingly, the trek up does not require Olympic skills so any moderately fit woman can make it to the top. A local guide and porters will accompany, carrying luggage, food, and equipment. “In the past couple years, we have seen a tremendous interest in women-only adventures from groups, girlfriends, and solo travelers,” said Robin Paschall, owner of Adventures Within Reach. “While every group that sets out to achieve something as challenging as climbing Kilimanjaro will bond and develop friendships, there is definitely a different dynamic at play when the group is all spirited women.” One 2007 departure date left: November 5. For more information on their socially responsible partnerships and the tours, please contact them at 877-232-5836, click Just For Women, or visit www.adventureswithinreach.com/. _____ Beauties & Beasts Under the benevolent eye (we hope) of Mother Nature, the Spring Creek Ranch, settin’ pretty out on 1,000 acres in Jackson Hole, WY, is offering a women-only wildlife adventure this fall. “Beauties & The Beasts” is a five-day excursion led by naturalist Jennifer Hammer who will drive deep into the beauty of the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks to spot bears, wolves, moose, elk, bison -- real live American animals and not in zoos. One trip only: October 4 – 8, 2007. The cost of $1,695 per person/ double occupancy, or $2,100 for a single, includes lodging, meals, awesome animal sightings, a great massage, and the use of high-powered binoculars. For full itinerary details, click to go: www.springcreekranch.com, then “wildlife/fall programs.” _____ Fore!! Need a golf match out of town? With 16,000+ registered members, GolfBuzz.com is the world's first golf/social networking site. Golfers from around the world can connect with one another, and membership is free. A goldmine of info, use GolfBuzz to:
Click on: www.GolfBuzz.com and take a shot. _____ Up Close and Personal Ewen Bell, a professional photographer and writer with 25 years of assignments all over the world has developed a rare and unique 14-day China tour – perfect for solo women who want to learn from an expert and travel in a small group of kindred spirits. Participants can really focus (sorry, couldn’t resist) on the Great Wall, photographically explore the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace in Beijing, snap away atop a skyscraper in Shanghai, and capture the drama of the fragile, dramatic karst mountains in Southwest China in the company of a great master. Upcoming tour sessions begin on March 4th, September 9th, and November 4th. _____ Smart and Healthy The lovely Old Edwards Inn and Spa in Highlands, N.C. is offering another Women's Wellness Retreat, this year from Sept. 9-13, 2007. During this seriously health-oriented program, Dr. Tanya Edwards, Medical Director for the Center for Integrative Medicine Clinical Practice, will discuss integrative therapies for such major female health issues as - menopause, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Also on the agenda: preventive nutrition, healing Reiki, laughter therapy, yoga, Pilates, and water aerobics in the new outdoor heated, mineral water lap pool. Wellness consultants will help women identify and outline goals for the week in order to maximize benefits. The five-day woman's wellness program is priced from $1,789, with a 10% discount for early registration prior to Aug. 1, 2007. To see this charming property, please click on: www.oldedwardsinn.com and for more information on the program, call 866-526-8008. _____
Before the height of summer when the heat oppresses and hearts long for chill, consider a six-day adventure-of-a-lifetime. Boat to the sub-arctic edge of Ontario.Travel, in the salty Hudson Bay waters from Timmins to Peawanuck, to visit a tiny isolated community of Cree Indian set in what is now known as Polar Bear Provincial Park. But this is not a Disney offshoot. This is one of the last chances in the world to see great polar bear during the annual migration south. In addition to awesome bear, there are beluga whales, hawks, eagles and wolves to watch – thanks to Moccasin Trail Tours, specialist in professionally guided trips to this land of the First Nations and 8,000 year old Aboriginal culture. For prices, dates and all details, please click on: www.moccasintrailtours.com. _____
If you missed the train this year, the venerable 20-year old Seattle-based Russia specialists, the MIR tour company, is offering a 12-night Trans-Siberian Rail Odyssey next July, 2008 by private train from Moscow to Vladivostok. Toot-toot to Kazan (capital of the Republic of Tatarstan on the Volga), Ekaterinburg (site of Czar’s Nicholas II’s house arrest and worse), the Siberian cities of Novosibirsk and Irkutsk, then toot to Lake Baikal (deepest and oldest lake in the world), ending up at the last stop on every Russian itinerary, the Pacific port city of Vladivostok. But if this itinerary does not sound wild enough, be sure to hop aboard next July and be front row center to experience the total solar eclipse. (and that’s daaaark). For pricing, details, itinerary, just surf to www.mircorp.com, or call 800-424-7289. _____
Sapphire-colored sea, white sandy beaches, snowy alps, and the midnight sun: cruising the legendary land of the fjords, the unspoiled 1,250-mile long western coast of Norway, is the creation of the Norwegian Coastal Voyage company, today a fleet of 13 ships. NCV uniquely combines deluxe independent travel or escorted tours with a chance to participate in authentic lifeline activities, delivering supplies and mail to remote towns and villages. This is the best way to visit such old, authentic Viking hometowns, such as the busy cities of Trondheim and Tromso, art galleries in the town of Alesund, and the faraway fishing villages on Lofoten Islands between Bergen and Kirkenes, way above the Arctic Circle on the Russian border. _____ Dig Looking to volunteer this summer, as a single woman? If you join a dig in one of the ancient sites in Israel, you will work in the very same soil where King David walked and where Jesus trod. What’s in store? Dust! Heat! Stones! History. Friends. Brains! Brawn! And sometimes even Romance! (you never know...) But do not delay. Shake out your shovel, grab a hat with a big visor and join one of the many major archaeological excavations scattered throughout Israel. In addition to the incredible excitement of finding authentic ancient treasures such as pottery, mosaics, glass, and gold that are thousands of years old, did we forget to mention volunteers also get to work, for low fees, like slaves in the hot sun? Not all of the many of digs around the country are looking for extra hands, but those now accepting volunteers are: on the Mediterranean seashore at Tel Dor and Yavney Yam, in the green Galilee at Bethsaida, Kursi, Hippos/Sussita, Hazor, in the Negev Desert at Yotvata, Har Karkom, Tel Halif, and some in and around Jerusalem at Ramat Rachel, and nearby in Gezer, to name a few. _____
Sonesta Maho Beach & Casino, beautifully set on 10 lush acres on the southwest Dutch shore of the Dutch-French Caribbean isle of St. Maarten, is a great spot for hot nightlife and cool pampering. They are offering solo women a $199 per person/per night package from April 15 - December 15, 2007. This cost covers automatic room upgrades, three meals a day, most beverages, a $20.-per-woman match/play casino voucher, a half-hour massage in their innovative Good Life Spa, and admission to the island’s hottest nightclub, their trés chic Q Club, every night. _____ Into the Thinnest Air About 700 miles of the new Qinghai-Tibet Railroad now runs the route between Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and Golmund in central China. If frozen tundra on high plateau is your dream landscape, this trip on the “roof of the world” could be the thrill of a lifetime. Completed only this past July, this, the highest road in the world, was built to the tune of $3.2 billion. Worried about the altitude? No problem: oxygen bars onboard will help riders adjust. Train rides through this vast and mysterious area of the world can ferry up to 4,000 people a day which means this remote area will be far less so. Is this good news? Not sure. It will certainly boost Tibet tourism and trade in this corner of the increasingly less-Far East. There’s more information on the China Tibet Info Center at: http://tibet.cn/en/ An excerpt: _____ A Musical Note “Music and Markets” offers meticulously crafted European travel programs built to include premiere musical events. Owner and founder, Anne Woodyard tells us, “We are extremely woman-friendly, and enjoy welcoming singles as well as small groups of women [maximum is 10] on our unique trips.” Guided, hosted, one-week tours enjoy charming upscale accommodations, exceptional regional food and wine, local markets and products. Upcoming summer samples: Music and Markets in Prague from May 26-June 1, 2007, in Amalfi July 2-8, 2007 with an optional Tuscany extension, and in Amsterdam, the Grachtenfestival from August 15-20, 2007. _____ Cycling 101 and Fun!
Phone 386-228-2121 or click: www.floridabicycle.org/ discovery _____
Mountain Sky Ranch, settin’ pretty on 6,000 unspoiled acres in Montana Paradise Valley, hosts its successful Wild West Women Adventure again this year May 5-9, 2007 – an authentic western experience for equestrian enthusiasts, and wonderful for solo travelers. What: Cattle branding, grooming and tacking lessons, riding and hiking the ranch, fly fishing in the private trout pond, and then two-steppin’ the night away with the real ranch cowboys (no guys from Central Casting here.) All of this in addition to optional daily horseback rides, hikes and/or a guided tour of nearby Yellowstone National Park. This all-inclusive four-night package costs $1,100. Phone 800-548-3392 or click on: www.mtnsky.com ______
Duty-free status, thousands of souks (markets) and eye-popping luxurious, megaplex shopping, Dubai has become the mall of the Middle East for all consumer products – fashion, jewelry, equipment, cars…and thanks to low import duties and open port policy, many prices are actually lower than elsewhere. Dubai is the second largest of the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf, and Emirates Air will whisk you there from New York on a 12-1/2 hour non-stop flight for an economical $1200-or so- ticket.Gold is front and center in Dubai’s famous super souk. Wear sunglasses to inspect floor-to-ceiling, tons and tons of gold jewelry that is sold by its weight (not its artistry) and in a marvelous variety of gold colors – pink to yellow to green and on. And although it may not go over in the Dubai branch of Yves St. Laurent, bargaining is basic in the gold souk. Second biggest market, the carpet souk, offers a treacherous, endless array of Persian and other Middle Eastern carpet treasures. Every type and price of hotel abounds. The sail-shaped Burj Al Arab Hotel, sleepover is center to the wildly rich and architecture-enthralled, the iconic image of this desert metropolis. Click: http://www.burj-al-arab.com/ The Al Maha Desert experience, almost as expensive, houses guests in elegant tents with private swimming pools (we’re in the desert, remember…), with exotic activities such as camel treks and jeep rides into the dunes, archery and falconry. http://www.al-maha.com/. If you can’t stand the heat, you don’t have to get out of the kitchen. Just check in to the opulent Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, which houses the biggest surprise in the Middle East – not only the most mega of all malls, but an actual, extraordinary indoor ski resort. Honest! Click on: http://www.kempinski-dubai.com/en/ And hey, dhows watch out.The world's largest ocean liner and flagship of the Cunard fleet, the Queen Mary 2, is about make her first call in Dubai as part of her Maiden World Cruise. She will certainly be the largest passenger ship ever to visit this hot little emirate. What an entrance! _____ 4-Wheel Forays Nestled in the rugged Pyrenees Mountains of northern Spain, the year-round five-star La Pleta Hotel & Spa has always been popular with Spanish high society as a ski resort. In the crispy light air of summer, the hotel also offers great horseback riding, hiking, fly-fishing and white water rafting. Their wild new offering is the chance learn to drive a Jeep and on the kind of terrain where they were designed to be driven. Jeep-driving actually requires a new set of skills -- learned only via experience. If Spain sounds a bit far, how about Sedona, Arizona? Phone 928-274-0570 to know more about the Sedona Jeep School, or click on www.sedonajeepschool.com _____
The awesomely, elegantly historic University of Oxford offers stimulating residential one-week courses from July 1-August 4, 2007 at the prestigious college of Christ Church (home to Christopher Wren’s Tom Tower). A wide variety of (about 50) subjects, scholarly and cultural, are available: Cathedrals of Britain, The Crusades, William the Conqueror, Arts and Crafts Movement, Shakespeare’s Romances, and Enjoying the Cotswalds, to mention a few. Most courses include marvelous outings, tours of the campus, the city of Oxford, pub walks, lectures, whiskey tastings, concerts, and Oxford is only a bit more than an hour from London’s Heathrow. $1850 per person tuition covers the week-long course, accommodations, and all meals (except while touring). Bonus: By signing up for two contiguous courses, the university treats you to a free room and meals over the bridge weekend. The annual popularity of this excellent program requires early registration - before April 1, 2007. Go to: www.conted.ox.ac.uk, then: Summer School for Adults. _____
Tauck World Discovery Tours, award-winning classy escorted land, cruise, riverboat journeys since 1925 and acclaimed industry leader, is offering solo travelers the gift of either zero or greatly reduced single supplements on an eye-popping menu of 47 fine packages and 16 beautiful cruises. Excellent hotels, dining, professional guides and escorts combine to provide thrilling and carefree international experiences of the highest quality. Best bets: save up to $3,000 on such beautifully planned trips as: Their motto, “The world is Waiting!” is actually ours too. Click: http://www.tauck.com/ or http://www.taucktravel.com/ _____ ScholarShip Intelligent and enriching: Princess Cruises, the original TV-star “Love Boat,” operates a fleet of 17 cruise ships and offers a vast selection of on-board educational programs (up to 40 courses per voyage.) Studying almost anything aboard the cosseted and detached elegance of a great cruising ship sounds like the right way to learn. In addition to the latest in cooking, computer skills and digital photography, courses in beginning and advanced ceramics teach the art of “throwing” clay on a pottery wheel, plus the instant “grat” of having it fired right then in an onboard kiln. Phone: 800-774-6237 or click on: www.princess.com/learn/ _____ Buzz Here’s the ultimate buzz: you, in the starry starry night on a classic Vespa being driven by a knowledgeable guide. Spectac 4-hour tours of Rome to see the city’s monumenti illuminati, and all you have to do is hang on. Buzz through the best piazzas, gawk and stop at the Colosseum, buzz the Arch of Constantine and the Circus Maximus. Then sip a cool drink amidst the sipping cool locals. Or, another choice, buzz through the real scenes filmed in Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck’s Roman Holiday (1953) which features the divine Trevi Fountain. _____ Chopper Chicks Renowned heli-skiing operator, Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), follows up on last year’s success with two new heli skiing trips for women with a cool concept, “Chicks in the Chopper” -sensational spring skiing for women only. Although no prior heli-skiing experience is necessary, these two trips are geared for strong intermediate and advanced women skiers who would enjoy supportive and fun group skiing on Western Canada’s wildly beautiful, untouched mountainscapes. Swoooosh: A typical day: morning stretch or yoga class – breakfast –heli-lifts for group downhill powder runs with two CMH’s experts - back to the lodge – lunch - soothing massage - hot tub soak - blazing fire – exceptional food and wine - lively conversation …then good, well-deserved zzzzzz’s. Choice of two mountain lodges: Adamants Mountain: April 14 – 19, 2007 for a five day - powder experience with a guaranteed vertical 21,780 m. (13.5-mile) run -- $3291. Or for a four-day powder introduction choose the Bugaboos trip: April 21-25, 2007 with a guaranteed vertical of 12,000 m. (7.5-mile) run -- $3135. Call 1-800-661-0252, or click www.CanadianMountainHolidays.com _____ Cook Learn to cook the most exotic Passover dinner ever in charming and brilliant Janet Amateau’s two-day workshop in Spain. Like what? How about Supa de gayina, Harosi, Ouevos haminados, Birmuelos de Pesah con arrope, and/or Mustachudos. If these authentic, marvelous Sephardic traditional treats do not sound familiar, they will after studying in one of the three workshops she is currently offering: March 10-11, March 14-15 or March 19-20. Each session is only 195 Euros per person and her sunny site is easily reached via car, train, or bus a bit north of Barcelona. For reservations, please her directly via email:Janet Amateau at janetamateau@yahoo.com _____ First-ever: Running Safari in Kenya Micato Safaris – the 40-year old tour operator voted “World’s Best” for many years by readers of Travel + Leisure Magazine - will operate a unique Running Safari from March 15-25, 2007 starting northwest of Nairobi in Kenya through the highlands to wrap up in the exotic port city of Mombasa on the Indian Ocean. _____ New Year’s Eve –Second Chance Even though we’re not there yet, if you miss the boat making plans for December 31st think Hong Kong -- especially in this, the Year of the Pig which does not burst out in the skies until February 18, 2007. The New Year in China is a city-wide, on-going party featuring the truly fabulous annual Night Parade, awe-inspiring fireworks over Victoria Harbor, beautiful flower markets, tons of dim sum, and visit the nearby island of the newly casino’d Macau… not even to mention the shopping. Of the many tour operator options, Frommer recommends: _____ Peach For over 21 years, Bill Peach Journeys has specialized in luxurious innovative tours in Australia and New Zealand. The company is well-known for their unique aircruise sightseeing (via 36-seater Dash 8’s) over the outback, to which they have now adding railcruising by private train. _____
For an incredible array of dude ranch vacations in US, Canada and So. America , save this very well-designed, ultra-comprehensive website: www.ranchweb.com. It assists dude-searchers to pair their special interests (e.g., cattle drives, hiking, polo, pilates(!), fly fishing, golfing, rock climbing) with authentic dude ranch experiences. _____ Brangelinaville Passing, per chance, through scorchingly sunny Namibia to check on the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie digs? If so, check out the sightseeing train there: The Desert Express offers a 24-hour train ride from the capital, Windhoek. Chug off into the ochre soil and sands, stop for a late afternoon game drive in the middle of nowhere, enjoy a fine dinner with local wines, get gently rocked on the rails, listen to jackals howl, and watch stars. For the whole scoop, click: www.desertexpress.com.na/ _____
Quick, before global warming has the waters of the high Arctic bubbling! Well-established 28-year old Peregrine Adventures is offering 10-day trips to the island of Spitsbergen (Norway), way north (690 nautical miles) of the Arctic Circle aboard their former sonar research vessel, The Voyager. Their ever-adaptable Zodiacs then thread through Svalbard, a pristine, awesome archipelago so that their highly skilled professional guides can get as close as they dare to polar bear, walrus, and those cute bearded seals. As you might imagine, departures are in summer only. www.peregrineadventures.com/ _____
Note received by a good friend and passionate traveler (thank you S.R.): Here is an English tour operator that is fantastic! They go everywhere, are honest and detailed about how strenuous things are and how long you'll spend in the "coach" every day. Their thick catalogue is illustrated in b&w with antique engravings of the places they visit, and arrives from London within a week. Look up www.martinrandall.co.uk.Check out their marvelous music tours. They are also the exclusive tour operator for Friends of the Royal Academy so you can imagine the level of excellence in their art tours to the French Riviera, Florence, Rome, Venice, and on… Exceptional lecturers who have themselves been instructed to “enlighten and stimulate, not merely to inform.” Love that. _____ Hot Scots Clever website, www.DateAHotScot.com, offers a pre-Valentine Day competition: simply vote for the cutest of 20 young Scotsmen. If you pick the winner and then if your name is randomly selected you win an all-expense paid visit to Scotland filled with hip people, places, shopping, sites and lots of handsome young kilt-sporting fellows tootin’ bagpipes. _____ Jazz Cool sounds under the hot sun… From November 9-12, 2006 the gorgeous Caribbean island of Anguilla hosts its annual, ultra-popular four-day jazz festival. Enjoy round-the-clock soft sounds of McCoy Tyner, Javon Jackson, Jayne Rogers, Pharaoh Sanders and Michael Carvin.In addition to its 33 white powdery beaches, Anguilla offers six marine parks, wrecked pirate ship diving, coral reef snorkeling, hiking, horseback riding and even occasional opportunities to delicately spy on the nesting grounds of the elusive hawksbill turtle. All the best hotels participate: Cap Juluca, Carimar Beach Club, Cuisinart Resort and Spa, Kú Hotel Paradise Cove Resort and Anguilla Great House Beach Resort and the price is right, starting at $699 which includes American Airline flights, transfers, taxes, and festival tix. _____
The elegant Fremont hotels (almost 40 of which are located in the U.S.and Canada) are beginning to offer in-house bicycle rentals, for fun, exercise and exploration. Five that just popped up are: ** Boston: The Fairmont Copley Plaza is offering rentals of the iconic Copley Cruiser – a replica of the original 1877 model. ** Chicago: Wheel around the Windy City on a bike from The Fairmont Chicago; small rental fee includes helmets, maps and locks. ** Ottawa, Canada: The Fairmont Chateau Laurier will provide guest-renters with a map of the perfect route for stops at Canadian Museum of Nature, the National Art Gallery, the National Art Centre, and on. ** Napa Valley from May through September, bicycles are available to guests free at the front door at The Fairmont Waterfront. ** The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn: 8-12 mile bike tours are offered with picnics and winery visits. _____
Original Shopping Queen, Suzy Gershman, and indefatigable, globe-trottin’ author of the trusty and fun "Born to Shop" book series is offering her third foray deep into the drama of Hong Kong.Nov. 12 to 18, 2006, together with the InterContinental Hong Kong, Suzy is offering (after two previous successes) the ultimate shop and spa trip: - six-nights in a harbor-view room with access to the executive lounge - daily buffet breakfast - afternoon tea - evening cocktails - a one-hour jet lag relief massage - a fab farewell dinner at Yan Toh Heen, the famous Cantonese restaurant -- plus, the most valuable perk of all: zipping around with Suzy to meet her fave merchants and learn all the sexy shopping secrets of Hong Kong. And if you have one yen left and one erg of energy: consider optional Born-to-Shop add-on packages to Shanghai and Beijing. For more information, call 011-852-2721-1211 or click www.hongkong-ic.intercontinental.com. _____
Their just-published the 2007 schedule for the Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity cruises includes: _____ See Jane Rum First ever for St. Lucia, the Caribbean windward island of bustling markets, quaint fishing villages and the world renown Piton Mountains -- a Food & Rum Festival based in Rodney Bay, October 26– 29, 2006. Tastings and demos of regional cooking, lots of rums and wines with chefs from all over the Caribbean and around the world.Plus cigar-rolling, live music, book signings and hands-on cooking lessons interwoven with rum boat cruises around the island. Special hotel packages are available at the Coco Palm Hotel, Windjammer Landing Villas, and Coconut Bay Resort & Spa.For the full scoop, click: www.foodandrumfestival.com_ ____ Buy Buy If you love ethnic markets, crafts, antiques, jewelry and all the arts that will evoke the essence of the country in which you bought them, do check out the very interesting high-end tour operator, Artisans of Leisure.Their luxury excursions delve deep into fine marketplaces and shops and private designer showrooms for unique local arts and crafts -- one-of-a-kind jewelry in Hong Kong, traditional Spanish country cookware, antique English garden furniture, ironwork in Morocco, as example. The best hotels and sophisticated, expert advice is part of the deal, as are shopping excursions customized to the traveler’s interests, private bi-lingual guides, and the logistics of private transfers, special appointments, packing and shipping – and all within the context of cultural immersion. “Shopping overseas is a highly experiential way of traveling,” says Ashley Isaacs Ganz, president and founder. “It offers an authentic window into another culture’s history, traditions, and aesthetics… and the objects one acquires overseas remain forever imbued with the stories and memories of that place.” For additional information, call (800) 214-8144 or click on: www.artisansofleisure.com/ _____ No Single Sting Just in from Ecuador: _____ Instant Incas No longer a week’s trek or four hours by chugging train, Inkaterra, top Peruvian eco-tourism company, now offers helicopter service direct from Cuzco to Machu Picchu, the extraordinary pre-Columbian fortress city of the ancient Incas. Half-an-hour on their five-passenger, non-polluting French-built Allouette bestows the gift of extra time to explore the spectacular, sacred, enigmatic sites in the high Andes mountains.Their Heliexplorer trip is an incredible opportunity to spend 2 or 3 nights in Inkaterra’s eco-friendly, charming Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, a little village of whitewashed cottages with great authentic food and a unique Andean-style sauna that sit prettily amongst the orchids in the Machu Picchu Cloud Forest. This incomparable hotel becomes home base for side trips to rarely-visited Choquequirao, the recently uncovered ancient Incan ceremonial site, similar in purpose and grandeur to Machu Picchu. Click on www.inkaterra.com and then on “Inkaterra Heliexplorer.” _____ Boo! Halloween sailings for solos - - cheerily brought to you by SinglesCruise.com - - have become wildly successful. About 300 unattached, costume-toting fun-seekers depart from either Miami or San Diego on sell-out 8-night cruises in the Caribbean or Mexico.Onboard relationship experts toss out insights on finding lasting love. Interesting itineraries, big mixer-upper parties and even a roommate matching service- -the well-priced Halloween cruises sound like fun if you are game. So dust off your Cleopatra outfit and check their site for details: www.singlescruise.com _____ Cruise and Climb Of the two million cruises available, every now and then one pops out in Technicolor and here’s the one that popped for us: Pushing off from Cape Town next March, Crystal Cruises (rated the best ship in the world by Condé Nast Traveler) in conjunction with Micato Safari (voted world’s best tour operator in Travel + Leisure) is offering a unique 10-day trek to the top of the world, to the fabled Mount Kilimanjaro. Hikes to the peak take 4-6 hours a day. To experience this apex of adventure, you must commit to required training for the four months prior to sailing. And you must agree to leave all mascara at home. For full details plus prices, dates, etc. please click on: http://www.crystalcruises.com/ _____ Float Summertime and the floatin’ is easy… Lake Powell in Arizona, fed by five rivers, is the second largest man-made lake in the U.S. and a geologic wonder of awesome red rock canyons, thousands of miles of shoreline with pristine sandy beaches and coves, and home to hundreds of kinds of animals. Gather together a small group and consider hanging out on a houseboat on the turquoise waters of this great lake set in the high desert of the American southwest. Accommodations run the gamut from basic to luxe and the rates are remarkably reasonable: The cost per person, based on 10 people (even though most boats accommodate 12) ranges from $18 - $158 per person per day, depending on season and equipment. Summer is peak but the shoulder periods are really equally wonderful. Two companies rent houseboats on Lake Powell (www.lakepowell.com) which for us is houseboat heaven: And/or: http://foreverhouseboats.com/ _____ Forget St. Louis! For high flyers who actually want to socialize up there in the clouds and not hide under an eye mask or inside an iPod, here’s an idea that’s really out-there, and the time is so now. Frequent-flying New York P.R. man, Peter Shankman created AirTroductions™ to make it easy to know beforehand what you have in common with someone else on the flight…and heaven knows where this could lead. Business? Romance? A date in Chicago? A network intro in Tokyo? Someone to hang with during a 4-hour layover? Or share a cab into center city? In order to connect high in the sky, you need only to create a profile, include your itinerary, and register. A sign-up costs only $5 a flight or $19.95 a month. There are already over 8,000 members in many countries, although the most popular routes are surely New York-LA, New York-London, and New York-Tokyo. “We're growing!” says Shankman. “Today, the seatmate. Tomorrow, AirTroductions Global Domination!!” Love could actually be in the air! Click quick: www.airtroductions.com p.s. A major TV news program has begun to chronicle some of the AirTroduction meetings… _____ Some like it chaud - HOT Just a bit outside Paris in the northern suburb of St.-Denis and at the end of Métro Line 13, is the site of a great cathedral and a wonderful outdoor Sunday market for hand-crafted cheeses and gloriously fresh produce. It is also home to a women-only Turkish bath. The fee is approximately $40 pp (everything is expensive in Europe) which includes a body exfoliation (“gommage.”). Women who are not wearing fresh white cotton robes and snap-together flip flops are wearing either bikini bottoms or zero in the steam room and Moroccan-style lounge, Hammam Pasha is at 147 rue Gabriel Péri, marvelously translated on their rather comically computer-translated website as "Perished Gabriel Street." Drop in to: www.hammampacha.com, and when you are in Paris, call 01.48.29.19.66. _____ Study! Over the course of its 30 years, LanguagesAbroad.com (LA) has grown into an incredibly rich source of inspired and inspiring travel ideas centered on the core experience of in-place language study. Selecting the perfect program requires many decisions: study in a classroom or with personal teachers? Study in high or low gear? Live with a host family, in an apartment or in a school? With or without academic credit? Or forget studying a foreign language and learn, instead, to teach English as a Second Language (“ESL”) so you can then travel more and work as you go? An amazing menu of volunteer opportunities and adventure tours can be tacked on, before or after, the language study in about 50 destinations. Snoop through their very well-designed, user-friendly website: http://www.languagesabroad.com. and search by language, by country, and by length of time. Popular samples:
_____
SwellWomen Hawaiian Islands Surf and Yoga vacations offer the perfect marriage
of surfing and yoga on Ka’anapali, one of the most beautiful of all
Hawaiian beaches on the idyllic island of Maui. These
carefully-designed week-long vacations were created by a woman named Me-Shell
Barnas, a former professional snowboarder. SwellWomen is gathering
increasing numbers of women participants as well as lots of media attention. _____ Dream Try-outs!
Or try out any number of other dream jobs for 3 risk-free days and under the trained eye of an expert-mentor in VocationVacations ®, a unique work-travel program that offers over 70 professional experiences with over 170 expert mentors. This is not a tag-along look-see. All VocationVacations are hands-on, feet-in, and shoulder-to-the-wheel. For example, click on “Auctioneer” … and you’ll
find an opportunity to study with a well-established professional in Bozeman,
MT for three days in a one-on-one mentorship. $499. Or how about: “Wardrobe Stylist” …to hang out and learn the moves with an LA pro for two days of one-on-one mentorship. $999. In addition, these dream-job-vacation try-outs are bookended by pre- and post- coaching that can take place wherever the dream leads, Scotland, New York City and on. The founder, Brian Kurth, developed the concept two years ago and it shifted into high gear almost immediately. The program is so unusual and so rewarding, that it has become the subject of a new 13-part TV series on the Travel Channel. Visit www.vocationvacations.com or call (971) 544-1535. _____ Whisk Around the world! Small classes, great chefs, and almost everywhere around the world -- Europe, the Caribbean, and even in the U.S. Cooking schools are delicious cultural immersions, guided explorations into local markets for beautiful produce, wines, cheeses, antiques, tiny towns—and most probably, fun fellow-students. The Shaw Guide to Cooking Schools (17th annual) is a treasure trove of just this information plus career ideas. Their excellent, extraordinary website is easy to navigate. It also offers help on selecting the right cooking vacation for you. Please click on: http://cookforfun.shawguides.com/ _____ Polo The real mallet-swinging thing. Not the Ralph Lauren thing. In addition to high-power glam, Palm Beach is the place to rub shoulders with sexy, sweaty polo players and world-class equestrians. Nearby Wellington is, in fact, equestrian utopia. Polo matches are held on Saturdays from the end of January to the beginning of April and seats at the Polo Stadium in Wellington are complimentary! Cute muscular guys with names like Marcos, Adolfo, Lolo and Calixto are everywhere including on the field, plus there are horse shows, dressage competitions, and festivals. The Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club's motto is: "Where the World Comes to Play" …. so do it!! Local hot line: 561-282-5290 www.internationalpoloclub.com or www.palmbeachpolo.com. And let us not forget Palm Beach itself, a great place for a solo lady to hang out and feel good. Palm Beach International Airport is small and efficient, about 15 minutes from the heart of town, and where local volunteers meet, greet and assist. The manicured foliage, wide palm-lined avenues, bright blue sunny skies all sooth and comfort. And this being "The Season" (high), outdoor cafes, restaurants, sports facilities are a-buzz with energy. Hospitable hotel suggestions: The Breakers, legendary Italian Renaissance-style oceanfront castle operates a luxurious Guerlain spa, fitness center, golf course, 10 tennis courts. Cute cabanas and bungalows line its beach, and a selection of pools. The Ritz-Carlton caters to women travelers with exclusive Bulgari amenities and plush bathrobes, good tennis and excellent Plaza del Mar shopping across the street. The Chesterfield Hotel coddles female guests traveling alone with specially allocated rooms, enhanced security features and all-female service staff. The Colony, chic landmark boutique hotel, is THE place for those "in the know." Inches off Worth Avenue, and yards from the Atlantic Ocean, it is perfect for non-stop shopping, dining and – unique in Florida – sophisticated New York-style cabaret in their Royal Room. For the Palm Beach big picture click on www.palmbeachfl.com or call: (800) 833-5733. ______ Dance! We all know what it takes two to…and here is a terrific T A N G O option: For under $1,500, you can travel for 10 days in Buenos Aires with Coco Arregui and his lovely wife, Maria Jose - - fun, fine professional tango dancers. They know everything about tango in gorgeous Buenos Aires, which is today one of the best travel-bargain destinations in the world. The price includes center-city hotel with breakfasts, lessons with great teachers, a guided city tour, visits to the best Milongas (dance halls) at night, shopping for tango shoes and music, a day on a working estancia (horse ranch), and a stunning tango dinner show. They only escort two trips a year, in February and in October in to catch perfect weather. (Airfare is extra of course.) For reservations or more information, click on: www.cocotangotours.com. Or phone 917-385-9698. Foot note! If you're not quite ready to fly south with them and live in New York City, check out their tango setting at La Nacional, the oldest Spanish-American Association in the U.S. on West 14th Street. Not commercial. No signs. No ads. This is a high energy center for tango and social dancing. Singles. Couples. Beginners and Pros. For details, please call 917-385-9686 or 917-691-6399. If you're not quite ready to fly south with them, check out the scene in New York City at La Nacional, the oldest Spanish-American Association in the U.S., on West 14th Street. Not commercial. No signs. No ads. This is a high energy center for tango and social dancing. Singles. Couples. Beginners and Pros. For details, please call 917-385-9686 or 917-691-6399. _____ Sip! According to Women & Wine, a newly formed travel company, "travel has definitely become the ‘superglue' of female bonding!" For women with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to travel, solos and groups of friends are signing on for their well-crafted wine-oriented trips and experiences. Here's a sip of their exciting trips planned for this year: _____ |
Have a Ball 
Cowgirl Alert
Owner/Instructor Nena Barlow recently opened her Sedona Jeep School to fill the gap between Jeep tours and rentals and teaches drivers to navigate dirt tracks and rock-crawls as well as trail etiquette and outdoor preparedness. This kind of a trip is confidence-building, skill-stockpiling, and freedom-fuelling for super solo women travelers.
La Vita Nocturna! Spettacolare Roma! Città Eterna
Dudes!
The good news: 450,000 single men between the ages of 20-40.
Bike Around the Block Tonight
Born to Shop, Hong Kong 
MALAGA,
Spain. Study in always-sunny clime near great beaches. Immerse
in the cultural wealth of Andalusia, home of fiery flamenco music and
dance. (This is their most popular school.)
PLAYA
DEL CARMEN, Mexico. A small school (60 students max) set right
on the Caribbean coast of Mexico 40 miles south of Cancun, on what is
now called the Mayan Riviera. Close to the magnificent Mayan ruins
of Chichen Itza, Tulum, and Uxmal.