Travel Trends 2023 – Shoulder Season is Dead.

Where to GO – Japan, better book now for 2024, Cherry Blossom Journeys for this year sold out last summer. A combination of Covid rollover reservations and cherished Cherry Blossom Customs, this tradition has always been popular. It may be a secret, but spring in South Korea is just as magical as the country shrugs off winter and reemerges bearing the pop of Cherry Blossom shades and scents. The most popular place to see cherry blossoms in Korea is the Jinhae Gunhangje Cherry Blossom Festival, which has attracted over 2,000,000 visitors per year in past years.

Cherry Blossoms, Japan

Sicily, led by the outrageous popularity of White Lotus, clients clamor to trek the trails and plop at super swanky Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina. Even if you just make the hotel your only seaside destination, the 14th-century Dominican convent turned luxury hotel in the coastal town of Taormina, has stunning views not just of the Ionian Sea, but also of Mt. Etna volcano and the Greek Theatre of Taormina, a historical landmark. Famous guests, including our chic clients, who have shared their praise include Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren, King Edward VIII and Oscar Wilde. History, art, and delicious food – everyone loves Italy, even if you are island based. Sicily’s luxury hotel scene has been enriched in the last few years, by the classic Belmond properties, Grand Hotel Timeo, and Villa Sant’Andrea, as well as newer hotels Il san Corrado di Noto and Rocco Forte Hotel Villa Igiea. Imagine two weeks crisscrossing the island – I once settled into a village for an inspiring week in summer to participate in a David Tanis cooking school.

Italian charisma, is that redundant?

Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo, Sicily
Sicily

Spring Summer or Autumn in Paris? – if you haven’t booked yet, get out your candle’s, rosary, and Bhutanese prayer beads. The Rugby World Cup train visits 51 cities in France during a 4-month Journey.  Veuillez m’excuser” – please accept my apologies if you have not reserved Paris yet. One of our savviest sophisticated couples will spend a glorious month as Parisians at La Réserve Apartments. At home in Paris with the Eiffel Tower as your neighbor.

Sleekly neutral and lavishly roomy, the first-class serviced apartments facing the Eiffel Tower, are perfect for travelers wanting to blend as chic locals, invite the entourage. This is not Emily in Paris! Carry your cashmere and smart walking shoes.

La Réserve Apartments, Paris
La Réserve Apartments, Paris

Bhutan was one of my most glorious adventures ever. Slowly western culture will invade and diffuse the pureness of the Happiest Kingdom. Visit before the traditional values, beliefs are modified. Nothing prepared me for my Journey to this tiny Himalayan country, memories still wash over me in waves. Staying in five individual Amankora properties, meeting gentle and kind locals, hiking through mountain landscapes unlike any other, dining on local delicious delicacies, wandering through colorful ancient temples, and learning Bhutanese customs. With the recent opening of the Trans Bhutan Trail, a 250-mile sacred hiking trail for the first time in 60 years, more hikers will be drawn to this mountain Paradise!

Captivated by rich history and ancient culture? Egypt is overrun by Americans this year, plan now for next spring or fall. In sharing once in a lifetime adventures, it’s hard to ignore the allure of Africa and the Middle East, and in particular, Egypt – the pyramids are still magnificently standing, having withstood every imaginable world crisis. The history, the pyramids, the sphinx, and the ancient burial tombs all standing amid a hectic twenty first century life.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

Morocco – if you read my posts, you appreciate my obsession! Our clients are following my lead, as is most of America, Morocco is one of The Hottest travel destinations. Book in advance for the best five-star properties and stand by in fall, as I uncover the new luxury hotels in Tangier and visit a small riad in the Atlas Mountain’s – opened by well-known Marrakech hotelier, giving Kasbah Tamadot a little healthy hotel competition.

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Also, on the hot list is Colombia. With world-class coffee plantations, amazing beaches to the north and west, remarkable dining, rich history, and friendly people, Colombia tourism is exploding. Colombia’s diversity runs from mountain peaks to tropical grasslands, from spectacular museums and private art collections to coffee plantations, from ancient history to natural wonders.

Ancient mysteries come to life in cities rife with culture and charm. Near the city of Agustin more than 500 life-sized carved volcanic stone figures and tombs litter the Forest of Statues, amid native trees and flowers.

Four Seasons Vasa Medina Bogota

Cartagena has become one of South America’s most vibrant cities – and the undoubted queen of Columbia’s northern coast. Offering old-world luxury, exquisite fine-dining options, and a hip nightlife. Having witnessed 500 years of piracy, wars and slavery, Cartagena’s Walled City is steeped in history. Every house and street here have meaning – right down to the intricate door handles used to signal your hierarchy in society.

Iglesia de San Pedro Claver, Cartagena

Colombia’s capital of Bogota is rich with vitality, a blend of world-class restaurants, and sophisticated shopping. The energy and creativity of Colombia’s capital city are best experienced with a stay at Four Seasons Hotel Bogotá. In the buzzing Zona Rosa area, find yourself just steps away from the city’s best shopping, nightlife, and cafés, then come back to settle in at the intimate, modern Hotel, where contemporary elegance is found everywhere from the spacious suites to the perfectly poured Colombian espresso.

More than 99.5% of Colombians speak Spanish. Oh dear, un poquito Español!

Living the Ultimate Pharaoh Lifestyle!

In sharing once in a lifetime adventures, it’s hard to ignore the allure of Africa and the Middle East, and in particular, Egypt – the pyramids are still magnificently standing, having withstood every imaginable world crisis. The history, the pyramids, the sphinx, and the ancient burial tombs all standing amid a hectic twenty first century life. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

Wadi Rum

Merely weeks before lockdown I enjoyed a glorious visit to Jordan and Egypt, who could ask for a more perfect ending to travel. I began in Jordan exploring Amman and made my way to the Rose City of Petra. We will help you arrive for a night walk under moonlight. I trekked through the narrow dirt Siq passage of Petra by candlelight, to reach the spectacle of The Treasury illuminated by thousands of candles. It was perfectly quiet except for a haunting flute melody played by a local Bedouin. Explore Petra for at least two days, there is much to discover besides the famed Treasury, stroll the colonnades of the Great Temple complex, climb up more than 800 steps to the top of the impressive Monastery. Add on a day or two for glamping in Wadi Rum.

The Treasury, Petra

We always send a box of books and reading list pre-departure and Agatha Christie is at the top of the list for Egypt. It’s a personal choice whether you gather your finest floppy sun hat and white linen, don’t forget evening clothes.  Plan to begin in Cairo, the boisterous capital of Egypt. Known alternately as “The Mother of the World” or “The City of a Thousand Minarets”— visit the tangled narrow alleys and bustling marketplaces and the larger-than-life Pyramids of Giza. If you dropped the pyramid in New York City, it would take up a whole city block.

The soon to be opened vast Grand Egyptian Museum, is a treasure trove of antiquities, including royal mummies and gilded King Tutankhamun artifacts, is not far from the Giza pyramids. In the shadow of the pyramids, the grand Mena House hotel provides easy access to Giza and the new museum. Arrive early to explore – there’s no better place to initiate your visit, laying out a cultural map of your upcoming days of exploration. Marvel at the majestic Sphinx, buried for most of its life in the sand, an air of mystery has always surrounded the great Sphinx. Then head to the Nile and board a private Felucca or one of our favorites, the intimate 22-cabin Oberoi Philae, we enjoyed an onboard tour. For the ultimate in indulgence and comfort consider a Dahabiya Nile cruise. A Nile cruise has long been one of the classic experiences of travel. Long stretches of river have changed little over the centuries, it’s truly Biblical in nature. Lounging on the sundeck, watching the ancient scenes glide past is a contemplative experience, I moseyed to the upper deck at dawn and couldn’t tear myself away. Absorb archaeological wonders, explore vibrant bazaars, and ponder pharaonic temples as you cruise the Nile. Float past lush sugarcane fields, sleepy rural villages, and oases of date palms as your boat glides up the Nile. The Dahabiya is an ancient iconic boat style, a reminder of the romance of the past with modern comfort and convenience. It’s a leisurely way to get between Luxor and Aswan. Sailing the Nile in a private Dahabiya is what inspired the Victorian allure of boat travel. The most serene of river boats, it offers the ultimate in privacy and convenience for stopping at any riverbank. Fancy a shore break to bicycle around an oasis of date palms or an impromptu farmers market, this is the only river boat allowing such intimate shore access. Elegant in design, designed for modern comfort with light filled comfy cabins and acres of outdoor lounging space.

The Old Cataract Hotel

The Old Cataract Hotel is the historic site where King Fouad once entertained, and Agatha Christie sipped cocktails in the colonial era five-star hotel on the banks of the Nile. The hotel faces out over the Nile to Elephantine Island and the sands of the Sahara beyond.

The Treasury, Petra

“(Egypt) is a great place for contrasts: splendid things gleam in the dust.”
― Gustave Flaubert, Flaubert in Egypt: A Sensibility on Tour