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Self-Guided Inn-to-Inn Bike Trips in New England

For riders looking for a little inn-to-inn action this summer, it’s never been cheaper to bike in New England. Two outfitters, Bike the Whites in New Hampshire, and Country Inns Along the Trail in Vermont, are offering three days of riding for as low as $379 per person. What does that money get you? Detailed maps depending on you ability, from 20 to 80 miles a day, emergency roadside assistance, two nights lodging, two dinners, two breakfasts, and transport of your luggage from one inn to the next. Country Inns has rides in several of my favorite spots in Vermont, including Addison along Lake Champlain, where you spend the night at the Barsen House Inn. See the story I wrote on biking with Country Inns Along the Trail for The Boston Globe. 

 

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October 2015 Newsletter: Canadian Ski Resorts, New Hotels, Just Ahead

The favorable exchange rate for the American dollar continues to ensure that Canada is the place to be this winter. If you haven’t looked lately, $1 US will now fetch $1.31 in Canada, an 11-year low for the Canadian loonie. So if you’ve ever wanted to ski Whistler, Tremblant, or the Canadian Rockies, now would be the time. In this month’s ActiveTravels newsletter, we talk about our favorite places to ski in Canada, including off-the-beaten track Red Mountain. We also want to introduce you to Just Ahead, a guided audio tour through many national parks that is easily accessible from your smart phone. Amanera, the ultra-posh resort opening in the Dominican Republic on November 23rd, is one of the new Caribbean, Florida, and Mexican properties we discuss. Another new hotel, The Taconic, will be the first Kimpton property in Vermont when it opens in Manchester, Vermont, this winter. Lastly, I preview the recent trip I took with Dan Austin, owner of Austin Adventures, to Colorado, where the legendary Broadmoor resort has expanded their holdings, opening three boutique properties in the mountains and rivers outside of Colorado Springs. Check it out, and, if you ever have any travel-related questions, please ask. 

 
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A Visit to Quebec City’s Ice Hotel

On my last day in Quebec, I took a tour of the only ice hotel in North America. Now in its 13th incarnation, the Hotel de Glace features 44 rooms and suites, a chapel that hosts around 20 weddings each winter, and a bar with incredible acoustics that was blasting a Led Zeppelin tune when I strolled in. It took more than 50 people some 4 to 6 weeks to build the structure, which opened on January 5 and will close on March 24th. Rooms are unheated. You warm up in an outdoor Jacuzzi and then go straight under the blankets for the night. I blew off that option, choosing instead to have a drink of vodka and cider served in an ice flute. Then I took a taxi back to the warm confines of my Hilton room. 
 
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Seastreak Ferry Announces New Bus/Ferry Service from Boston in 2014

I just received word that Seastreak, the company that offers ferry service from New Bedford to Martha’s Vineyard, will bus clientele from Boston’s South Station to the ferry in New Bedford starting next April. This is wonderful news for people traveling into the Boston area who don’t want to rent a car, only to leave it at the ferry terminal parking lot. It’s also much cheaper than flying into the Vineyard. You’re shuttled one hour by bus from Boston’s South Station to the ferry terminal in New Bedford, where you board the high-speed ferry for the short crossing on Buzzards Bay to the Vineyard. Cost is $68 round-trip for adults including both bus and ferry. 
 
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Exciting Times at ActiveTravels!

These are busy times for us at ActiveTravels as we listened to our growing membership and have started to design food, art, biking inn-to-inn, family adventure, and yoga trips exclusively for our clientele. We are partnering with some of our favorite people, including food and cocktail writers, restaurateurs, art historians, renowned adventure outfitters, and beloved yoga instructors to help lead these tours. Lisa and I hope to finalize the pricing and dates (starting in the fall of 2016) by the new year, when we also roll out our new website redesign. Yea! Thanks again for your continued support! What a long strange trip it’s been. As my dad used to say, “Enjoy the ride.”
 
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ActiveTravels Custom Designs College Trips

Heading out with your child this fall to look at colleges? Well, we’re happy to report that ActiveTravels has already designed itineraries for college tours in New England and New York, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the Southeast, and California. Tell us the colleges you want to tour, and we’ll package it together with hotels, restaurants, and sites along the way. Also have a look at this story I wrote for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine on 20 college towns in the Northeast. It’s a pretty good tip sheet on where to stay and eat and what to do when you’re in each one of these college towns, including Boston. If you are going on the college tour this year, have a look. 

 
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Vienna Celebrates the 150th Birthday of Klimt

Despite the flagging economy and increasing concern over Eurozone debt, Vienna’s tourism industry is booming. Overnight hotel stays in Austria’s capital city in 2011 reached 11.4 million, a 5% increase from 2010, which was already a record-breaking year. Increased traffic from Russia, Spain, and Switzerland spurred on the high numbers, but the US still remains a vital market. The numbers of travelers to Vienna should only increase in 2012, with the city hosting a 150th birthday party for artist Gustav Klimt. Ten Viennese museums are offering special exhibitions in 2012 to display the paintings, drawings, and designs by Klimt. First stop should be the Belvedere, which owns the world’s largest collection of paintings by Klimt, including The Kiss. A show at the Albertina will delve into Klimt’s versatility as an artist, displaying 170 of his drawings.

 

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