The latest Auberge Resorts Collection lodging, Wildflower Farms, opened on October 1 in Gardiner, New York, about a 10-minute drive from New Paltz and about a 90-minute drive from Manhattan. The 65 stand-alone accommodations are spread out on 140 bucolic acres and feature a large balcony space to take in the rural surroundings (pictured above). Hike on property, even snowshoe and ice climb in winter, then check out their indoor and outdoor pools and enjoy some treatments at the Thimble Spa. The resort is really putting a focus on their produce grown on property, offering cooking courses and foraging with a naturalist. Sounds like a great weekend escape!

Also, don’t forget about the Chatwal Lodge, which we’ve written about in the past, the sister property to the Chatwal Hotel in New York City. The 11-room lodge on a vast estate just opened in White Lake, about an hour’s drive east of Wildflower Farms and about a 2-hour drive from Manhattan.

Backroads recently rolled out a revamped private trips webpage with new features that make finding available private trips easy. They also announced some of their most popular private trips including California’s Wine Country, San Juan Islands, Yellowstone and the Tetons, Greece, and Provence. While there’s no minimum amount of people, the best pricing is available when you reach 16 people. As many of you know, we have a fantastic relationship with Backroads, often getting people on trips that look sold out online. If you don’t see dates for a private trip that work, please let us know and we’ll see what they can do. Let us do the booking and we’ll also help with pre- and post-lodging and itineraries, as well as flights.

We had the pleasure of meeting Tietse Stelma, owner of 50 Degrees North, a tour operator who’s designed many of our Scandinavia and Iceland trips. The first thing he mentioned to us is to book early for both Iceland and Norway. Many of the wonderful lodgings they select are 10 rooms or less and are reserved a year or two in advance for summer. He also mentioned that Havila Voyages, the latest cruise ship company to navigate the Norwegian fjords out of Bergen, are much more comfortable than the better-known Hurtigruten cruises. He tries to include their ships on many of his itineraries.

Every time we meet Don Martinson from Natural Habitat Adventures, we get super excited about their trips. Whether it’s viewing the monarch butterfly migration in San Miguel de Allende, seeing polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, or kayaking with whales in Greenland, we’ll do our part to help spread the word enthusiastically!

This visit, he wanted to remind us of Nat Hab’s Alaska Bear Camp located in Lake Clark National Park. On the site of an old homestead, brown bears are rampant in the surrounding meadows. 14 lucky guests get to spend 3 nights at this remote outpost learning about the bears with topnotch naturalists and guides. The other 2 nights are spent in Homer on the Kenai Peninsula. This is a great land-based add-on to any cruise you want to do in Alaska. Or if you’ve already done an Alaskan cruise, go back and we’ll design a Dream Day Itinerary on the Kenai Peninsula before or after Bear Camp.

Those of you who have traveled to Costa Rica with us know we’re big fans of the 3 Nayara properties in the Arenal region of the country, including the latest addition, Nayara Tented Camp, luxury glamping in the bush. Yet, Nayara also owns 3 other properties outside Costa Rica. Bocas Bali is a luxury private island in Panama (pictured above). 16 overwater villas dot the island, along with their own aerial beach, an artificial beach built over the water on stilts and dotted with palm trees.

At Nayara Alto Atacama, guest spend their days exploring the Chilean desert. Back on property, enjoy some R&R at the spa, select from six pools to lounge, meditate at Lake Tilo, or enjoy the adobe architecture of the accommodations. As night falls, take in the clear view of the famous star-filled Atacama Desert skies from a private outdoor observation deck or by a bonfire with Chilean wine in hand.

Lastly, Nayara Hangaroa is the most upscale property on Easter Island. All three properties are member of The Leading Hotels of the World.

So, if you like the Costa Rican Nayara properties, keep heading south!

One of the most exciting stories in the cruise world is the launch of Explora Journeys coming this summer, 2023. The new line is part of MSC, the family-owned cruise and shipping giant that traces its legacy all the way back to 1675. Explora Journeys is their most luxurious product to date. Starting in May, they will unveil the first of 6 luxury ships, Explora I, with room for 461 guest suites, all with private terraces; nine restaurants; a massive indoor-outdoor spa and fitness facility; four pools, including an indoor one with a retractable roof; and 64 private cabanas for day-long sunbathing sessions. Itineraries start in the Mediterranean in May and June, the UK in August, Greenland in September, the Northeast and Canada in September and October, then the Caribbean through March 2024. Have a look and let us know if you want ActiveTravels to check availability and pricing!

We always strive to remember our valued ActiveTravels members every month (really every day!) of the year. But, November is when we begin to reflect on the year that is coming to a close and we're reminded how grateful we are for our amazing coterie of ActiveTravels members. Here are some of the pictures we've posted over this year on our ActiveTravels Facebook page of the trips we've planned for you and the wonderful memories that hopefully will stay with you for a lifetime.

We truly appreciate that so many of you are traveling again and coming back with more requests than ever. People just don't want to wait anymore to start planning their bucket list trips from month long sabbaticals in Europe with their small children, to journeying far and wide to destinations like Japan, Korea, New Zealand, lots of Africa requests, and, of course, Europe remains ever-so popular.

We don't advertise anywhere. We barely have time to post on social media! Thankfully, you all have referred your friends, neighbors, family members, and colleagues to us and that has kept us thriving for over 10 years in this business! That's one of the reasons why we were thrilled to receive the Shining Star award from our host agency, Largay Travel, last month at our yearly retreat. We know that we couldn't have received this award for our sales numbers without you! With Thanksgiving coming up, we don't take this for granted and we are incredibly thankful for your support and your confidence in us.

If you want to spread the word about ActiveTravels and you need a gift for someone special in your life, consider The Gift of Membership. It's a program that we have been offering every November since we began our company. It's the perfect gift idea for the friend or family member who loves to travel and doesn't have the time to plan any getaways. Give that person in your life a gift membership for one year in the amount of $75. We will send our Gift Membership certificate with their name on it and your personal message. An added bonus is that we will donate half of the cost of the gift membership to a specially selected charity for this year.

We have chosen Casita Huaran in the Sacred Valley of Peru, just outside of Cusco, for our charity this year. Our wonderful assistant, Rachel, visited this special place on her trip to Peru last month and raved about it. It's an organic farm and ranch, an educational collective where local Quechua youth can come and learn agricultural skills and gain other educational opportunities, and find a safe place to explore their culture and the region's resources.

Casita Huaran welcomes local youth, artisans, farmers in vulnerable situations to live and work on the premises, on farm and ranch projects, fixing the water system, and they've also been creating tourist routes for hiking and an ecolodge for visitors to come and stay.

Thank you again for being our wonderful ActiveTravels members. We couldn't do this without your kind support and your loyalty!

Please contact ActiveTravels if you want to purchase a gift membership or find out more about Casita Huaran.

After an extensive renovation, the National Air and Space Museum reopened in mid-October on the National Mall. It includes eight new galleries with displays such as America by Air, Destination Moon, Early Flight and Nation of Speed. Please note that free timed passes will be required.

Over at the National Gallery, “Vermeer’s Secrets” looks at the 4 works the National Galley possesses, utilizing the latest imaging technology to share unique findings about the Vermeer’s technique. It’s on display until January 8^th and it’s a nice little warm-up to the blockbuster Vermeer retrospective opening in February at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The National Gallery is also featuring a “Sargent and Spain” show, on view until January 2^nd, featuring 120 of Sargent’s watercolors, oils, and drawings. The Hirshhorn has been collecting the prolific work of Yayoi Kusama since 1996. Beginning November 9^th, the Hirshhorn will showcase five of Kusama’s works from the museum’s permanent collection in their exhibition, One with Eternity. Any Kusama show these days is always popular, so you’ll need to get tickets in advance.

If you’re looking for a place to stay, Salamander Resorts recently purchased and rebranded the former Mandarin Oriental, now called the Salamander Washington D.C. The property will feature a new restaurant and lobby bar, spa improvements, and refurbishment of all rooms.

     

If you need some assistance with a quick getaway, please reach out to ActiveTravels and we’ll be happy to come up with some suggestions!