IT IS TIME TO PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY TRAVEL!
While sunny weather and days at the pool may not send your mind straight to winter vacay, Summer is the best time to get the jump on festive availability in some of our favorite wintertime spots. Whether you are in the mood for chestnuts roasting under the Northern Lights or you have dreams of sugarplums and white sandy beaches dancing in your head, we’re here to help you decide where to travel for the holidays. These are a few destinations that made our nice list.
Where to Stay - Belmond Cap Juluca
Why We Love It - Escape those chilly winter temps and soak up some sun in Anguilla! Set up camp in a lounge chair on the beach, rum punch in hand. In a recent survey, we found that all of our travelers who returned from Belmond Cap Juluca appeared more relaxed (and tan!) than those who did not visit Anguilla over the holidays.
Weather - Low 80’s
Where to Stay - A cozy villa, like A&K Villa's Foxhill Manor
Why We Love It - Jump across the pond to the English countryside, and spend time with the entire family in one place with your own private villa. With a villa as your home-away-from-home, you can spend the holidays away without sacrificing an intimate setting with the ones you love. We can even arrange to have a decorated tree waiting for you! Settled in next to a roaring fire with a piping hot cup of tea (or a hot toddy, if you prefer), you’ll feel snug as a bug in a rug villa.
Weather - High 30’s to Low 40’s
Where to Stay - The Farm at Cape Kidnappers
Why We Love It - Escape to New Zealand for a holiday adventure you won’t forget. With temperatures rising in December, there is no better time to visit the Kiwis and experience the beauty of New Zealand.
Weather - Mid 60s
Where to Stay - A customized itinerary with Nordic Luxury
Why We Love It - Take a journey to Iceland in the midst of Northern Lights season for a holiday in a true winter wonderland. With reindeer and snow as far as the eye can see, Iceland is serving up some major holiday cheer.
Weather - Mid 30s
TREAT YOURSELF!
ARE YOU LOOKING TO GO SOMEWHERE EXTRA SPECIAL?
The Brando is French Polynesia’s premier private island resort, offering carefree luxury on the beautiful Tetiaroa atoll, just 30 miles north of Tahiti. As conceived by the late, great Marlon Brando, The Brando is an eco-sensitive retreat that reflects Polynesian lifestyle and culture while still offering discerning guests the luxuries they enjoy. This includes haute cuisine courtesy of Guy Martin, the man behind the Michelin two-star restaurant Le Grand Véfour in Paris; the finest holistic Polynesian-inspired treatments in the Varua Polynesian Spa; and water sports including snorkeling, paddle boarding, Polynesian canoeing, scuba diving, as well as guided island explorations led by naturalists. With only 35 villas, the privacy offered is matched only by the exceptional service.
MY FAVORITE FAMILY VACATIONS
Some of my fondest memories are of my family’s vacations. For years, we went skiing in February – most of the time with a couple of other families, but other times we were on our own. We’ve headed north to Vermont and west to Colorado, Wyoming and British Columbia. We knew the mountains in Snowmass and Beaver Creek, Colorado, so well we knew exactly where to head for the terrain that was right for each of us without having to look at a trail map. My kids loved Beaver Creek, especially when they were younger, because the excitement of skiing through the “bear cave” and finding candy that was scattered about by their ski school instructors was a highlight at the end of the day as we did our last runs together as a family. But we also enjoyed skiing with our friends at Snowmass, especially when you could leave your skis right outside the door to your ski-in/ski-out accommodations.
We’ve always been a sand and snow family – we loved skiing, but we also loved our lazy days on a beach in the Caribbean or Mexico. Our vacations gradually drifted more toward sand than snow and we have been frequent visitors to so many warm-weather destinations – St. John, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Riviera Maya, Turks & Caicos, Los Cabos, Barbados, Mustique, the Bahamas, and so many others. We've seen fireworks displays off of Grace Bay in Providenciales, taken our annual holiday card photos of the kids wearing their Santa hats on the beach in Anguilla, Los Cabos and Barbados.
All of those family vacations bring back such wonderful memories. It was quality time that we spent together just enjoying each other’s company, having fun, staying in nice hotels, villas and condo resorts, having family meals together and getting away from the every day. We laughed and lazed and skied or took long walks on the beach and truly enjoyed our time together.
Now that our kids are getting older – Jay living on his own in Colorado, and Lauren going into her Junior year in college – those family vacations are becoming fewer and further between. I miss the frequency of them (there were a lot!) and the togetherness that we enjoyed by getting away from our responsibilities at home and just having fun. I have promised myself that I will plan at least one vacation a year for all of us and have started making plans for our next adventure – stay tuned….
Where will you and your family go this year?
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**Some of the original content in Maximizing Moments can be found at www.brownelltravel.com/blog and https://blog.virtuoso.com/
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