For the first installment of our new Getaway Guide series, T asked readers who hadn’t settled on their summer travel plans yet to describe their dream trip (but set a realistic budget, not including airfare). After consulting with a few travel experts, we came up with some suggestions. Below are answers to several of the most intriguing queries we received.
“I’m a federal contractor who recently got laid off, so I’m trying to find some budget travel options. I’d be traveling with my spouse and our 3-year-old and I’m hoping to take two or three weeks off — they could be different weeks — before preschool starts at the end of August. We enjoy swimming and water activities to stay cool during the summer. Any lodging options that offer separate sleeping areas and/or babysitting would be a huge bonus.” — Danielle, Washington, D.C.; budget: $2,500
Losing a job is stressful enough. Why add flying with a toddler to the mix? Lee Friedman, the founder of Mango Tree, a travel agency specializing in family vacations at boutique hotels, also lives in D.C., and she’s a big fan of the 50-room Wylder hotel on Tilghman Island, Md., about a two-hour drive east, in Chesapeake Bay. It offers a saltwater pool, paddle boards, kayaks, a crab shack and lawn games. “My husband and I have had some incredible long weekends there with our kids,” says Friedman, “Book one of the two suites if you want a separate living room. A week there would be more than $3,000, but you don’t need a full week to really feel unplugged.” (From about $375 a night for the suite in summer during the week; $700 a night on weekends.)
If the Eastern Shore of Maryland doesn’t feel like enough of an escape from the Beltway and you don’t mind a relatively short flight, you can find some great off-season deals in the Caribbean. Direct flights to St. Martin, for instance, which Friedman deems one of the most toddler-friendly islands (“It’s easy to navigate and the French influence is a delight,” she says) take about four hours and at press time cost under $600 a person from D.C. in August. Friedman’s especially fond of the island’s Grand Case Beach Club hotel, which juts out on a small peninsula and faces two quiet beaches. It has a seafront swimming pool, assorted water sports and split-level “loft” rooms with separate sleeping spaces and a balcony overlooking the ocean that run about $320 a night in summer. The hotel can also help arrange babysitting. You’ll find more bargains in Belize, but with fewer direct flights from D.C., it’s more logistically challenging. Although you’ll be rewarded for your effort at the Resort at Almond Beach — about a 90-minute drive south of Belize City — where you can book a one-bedroom beachfront suite for about $1,500 a week. “You can take drum lessons, rent a golf cart to explore the nearby town and go in search of howler monkeys,” says Friedman.
“I want to take my 14-year-old grandson on an adventure holiday for seven to nine days. We usually visit museums and art galleries, but this summer I want to give him a shock, an adventure to remember. So maybe a via ferrata [climbing route] in a couple of places like the Dolomites, then hang-gliding in Switzerland. I’m 78 and no one else in the family wants to climb or hang glide. If I can throw in a museum, I will.” — Maureen, Bowling Green, Ohio; budget: $5,000 to $6,000
When it comes to high-altitude excursions, I’m more aligned with the rest of your family — I’d rather cheer you and your grandson on while firmly planted on terra firma — so I asked Jack Shaw and Susanna Magruder, who run Epic Europe, a luxury travel company based in the Swiss Alps, for their tips. For the via ferrata — “iron path” in Italian, a climbing route equipped with metal rungs, ladders and suspension bridges affixed to mountains — they suggested the Kaiserjager Path near Cortina d’Ampezzo, one of the main towns of the Italian Dolomites. Named for the Austro-Hungarian troops who built it during World War I (to stealthily travel around northern Italy), the half-day Kaiserjager Path is good for first-timers but, as Shaw points out, involves climbing more than 2,200 feet. “Not a small amount,” he says. He advises beginners to spend a day “warming up with a softer option” on a nearby trail and, most importantly, to hire an accredited IFMGA mountain guide. Since Epic Europe only books full-service itineraries (starting at about $915 per person per day, not including airfare), I also asked the adventure journalist Brigid Mander to recommend an à la carte guiding service and she led me to Marcello Cominetti, who charges from about $550 for up to four climbers. For reasonably priced accommodations in Cortina, Mander likes the “no-frills but still delightful” Hotel Natele, where nightly room rates in June start at about $200.
Now for the hang-gliding leg: Paragliding is actually more common in the Alps and easier for novices since tour operators usually provide a tandem option, which means that you’d be strapped into the parachute alongside a pilot. Switzerland’s Engadin Valley — about a four-hour drive from Cortina — offers fabulous paragliding, not to mention views, says Magruder, especially from the Muottas Muragl summit. As luck would have it, Engadin, home to St. Moritz, also has some first-rate art museums, and, outside of town, warm and rustic inns (including Berninahaus, from about $245 a night). Closer to Geneva, Verbier is Switzerland’s largest ski area and just as scenic in summer, but with lower room rates. It’s also a hub for paragliding operators, including Mander’s top pick, Verbier Summits (tandem flights from about $230 per person). Best of all, there’s a museum nearby that’s sure to impress most 14-year-olds: Barryland, devoted to the St. Bernard, Switzerland’s national dog, is scheduled to reopen this summer in Martigny.
“I’m a writer and my husband runs a nonprofit organization. We have two teenagers and are the type of family that typically goes to national parks, museums and cultural events for our vacations. We’re big on educational travel. Now that the kids are old enough to be left behind, my husband and I are looking to take our first extended kid-free vacation in almost two decades. (We’ll also be celebrating my 50th birthday.) I want to go abroad for two weeks and have the middle-aged equivalent of the monthlong backpacking trip through Eastern Europe that I did in college in the 1990s. We don’t want an organized tour but do want opportunities to learn new things, stretch our minds and bodies — and perhaps have a little bit of an adventure and return home with a new perspective on the world.” — Heather, Staunton, Va.; budget: under $10,000
A few years ago, T asked the travel writer Pico Iyer and T writer-at-large Aatish Taseer, as well as three other professional wanderers, to devise a list of the 25 most extraordinary travel experiences, which should make for an excellent starting point for your big trip. Had I been on that panel (I joined the magazine the following year), I would’ve lobbied to add one more destination to the list: Rwanda. For me, the most memorable trips, the ones that “reverberate inside of me,” as Iyer said in that article, are to places that have experienced recent devastating upheaval yet convey a tremendous sense of optimism. Rwanda, a small East-Central African country with epic mountain landscapes, is a prime example, having famously rehabilitated itself after the 1994 genocide in which some 800,000 people were killed, thanks in part to tourism. Today, it’s a sparkling conference hub and a luxury tourist destination. The main draw for visitors are the gorilla treks — hikes into the forests of Volcanoes National Park to see some of the last remaining mountain gorillas left in the wild (the park is home to about 360 habituated gorillas, about a third of the world’s total population). And while those encounters are undeniably thrilling, the hiking permits are pricey ($1,500 per person per day), as are many of the mountain lodges, though one of my favorites, Amakoro Songa Lodge, set in an immaculate garden, is a particularly good value (from $2,300 a night for two, including meals). To save money, you could skip the gorilla trek and go in search of golden monkeys instead ($100 per permit).
You’ll also want to spend time in the capital, Kigali, with its art galleries, open-air restaurants and craft shops. The museum at the Kigali Genocide Memorial is alone worth the trip. For hotels there, Heaven (from about $125 a night) and its upscale sister property, the Retreat (from about $570 a night), offer abundant charm and city tours. If you’d like help organizing the entire trip (and a guide and driver), try Custom Safaris or Micato Safaris. They’ll likely exceed your budget but both companies are longtime supporters of various community projects, including schools and scholarships. I can think of no better splurge.
“I’m an art school graduate working in catering, nannying and other freelance jobs to support my studio practice. My partner and I are planning to save up till the end of summer to go on a trip. We’d like to go to a city with an amazing food and bar scene but also a place that feels relaxing. If we could go for two weeks or more, we’d want to travel to multiple places within the country. We’ve been thinking about Japan and Europe (Italy or Portugal).” Emily, Brooklyn, N.Y.; budget: $2,000.
Japan and Italy, tempting as they are, could easily consume your budget in just a few days, and even at the tail end of summer, the main cities in both countries are typically swarming with tourists. In other words, they might not feel very relaxing. Portugal sees fewer visitors (though far more in recent years) and prices are generally lower. But as much as I love the easy charm of Lisbon, I instantly think of Mexico City when I think of amazing food cities. Given the sheer variety of fresh, flavorful ingredients, the skills and creativity of the chefs and the dizzying range of options for all budgets, it’s hard to beat. Then there are all the incredible art museums (Museo Anahuacalli is my favorite) and reasonably priced hotels like Casa Cuenca (from about $195 a night in August). If you do go, be sure to take a food tour with the Curious Mexican, a company founded by Anais Martinez, who also owns an adorable bar, Manada, in the Narvarte neighborhood, and can lead you to others (she’s particularly fond of Tlecan, among the most inventive of the city’s many cocktail bars). From Mexico City, it’s easy to travel around the country — maybe go hole up in a hacienda in the neighboring Morelos State or eat your way around Oaxaca. Or you can do what a lot of locals do, says Martinez, and head to Malinalco, a mountain town about a two-hour drive southwest of the capital (your hotel can arrange for a driver). “It’s really cute. It’s full of artists, hand-pedaled looms and gardens growing,” she says. There aren’t many hotels: She likes Flora y Fauna, with its cabins and natural pool (from about $190 a night in August). If you’re in the mood for a grander adventure, Bangkok is another great food-and-nightlife city, and it’s a short flight to Chiang Rai, in lush, lovely and mellower northern Thailand.
Deborah Dunn is the executive features director of T Magazine.
The post You Sent Us Your Travel Quandaries. Here Are Our Suggestions. appeared first on New York Times.
