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Gems of India Tour, Maharajas’ Express

When British tour operator Cox & Kings joined forces with Indian Railways to create the most luxurious train in the world, they spared no expense. Unveiled in 2010, and limited to 88 passengers on each trip, the Maharajas’ Express features lavish private suites with marble baths and large panoramic windows to take in the views. On the four-day, three-night Gems of India loop, which starts and ends in Delhi, passengers make stops to visit the resplendent Taj Mahal at Agra, take a tiger safari at Ranthambore National Park, and shop and watch an elephant-polo match in Jaipur. Along the way, passengers can marvel at the Hindu temples, village roads plied by camel carts and rivers lined with fishing boats.
 
The Gems of India tour is just one of ten scenic train rides I describe in my latest story for Executive Travel. Have a great weekend! 
 

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Let it Rain at Olympic National Park

Thanks to La Niña, weather in the Pacific Northwest this winter is supposed to be more extreme than usual. Big whoop. They’re used to winter storms and lots of rain in these parts. So much so that two lodges in Olympic National Park are offering a Storm Watcher Package. Stay at Kalaloch Lodge, featuring breathtaking vistas of the raw Pacific Ocean shoreline from October 21, 2010 to March 13, 2011, and for $149 a night, you’ll receive one night’s accommodation, breakfast for two, two rain ponchos, and a souvenir fleece blanket designed with an Olympic National Park logo. Additional nights may be added at $99 a night. Lake Quinault Lodge, in the heart of the Olympic National Forest, is offering a Storm Watcher Package at $119 a night that includes one night’s lodging, a rainforest tour for two, and the option to add extra nights for a measly $50 rate. Visit Olympic National Parks and use the promotional code: STORM10 for Kalaloch and LQSTORM10 for Lake Quinault Lodge or call 866-297-7367.
 

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September 2015 Newsletter: Cuba, Puerto Rico and Southern US

In this month’s newsletter at ActiveTravels, we talk about Puerto Rico, easy to access on direct flights and no passports required for Americans. It’s also a great month to head down South, so we divulge four hotels we like in Charleston, New Orleans, Tennessee, and Natchez, Mississippi. For our Quick Escape, I recently returned from a spectacular week of adventure in Acadia National Park. We also talk about an outfitter who specializes in custom-made trips to Cuba and introduce our Journey to Global Citizenship Travel Plan. 

 
The last item, a lengthy travel plan, is something we always try to emphasize. By creating a list of destinations you want to definitely visit in the next 3 years, you’ll be assured of finally going to those countries and cities on your wish list. Put them on a calendar and no longer will they be dreams, but a reality. Perhaps even more important, by being organized about where and when you want to go, we can book flights and hotels months in advance, saving you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Yes, it’s exhilarating to be spontaneous when it comes to travel, but realize that you pay a hefty price. 
 
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ActiveTravels Turns One!

I started writing this blog a little over a year ago, with readership and interest steadily growing. I know you have lots of options to read travel content on the web, so I want to personally pat you on the back and say thank you! My goal the next several months is to expand ActiveTravels to include much more of my travel content in the Go Play section, to be used as a reference. But that will have to wait until early August. I’m on assignment the next 22 of 31 days, traveling to Cape Cod, Maine, New Brunswick, Paris, and the UK. I’m gone so much that I’ve decided to give myself time off next week. So enjoy the 4th of July holiday and come back the week of July 12th when I’ll be divulging my Top 5 Wallet-Friendly Ways to Get Wet and Wild.

Best,

Steve
 

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A Necessary Stop at the Corning Museum of Glass on a College Road Trip

On our drive last week from the campuses of Penn State to Syracuse, we stopped about an hour south of Ithaca in the small town of Corning, New York. Here you’ll find one of my favorite museums in western New York, the Corning Museum of Glass. Founded in 1851, Corning Glass Works was instrumental in helping Thomas Edison create the light bulb on a mass scale, designed the first television screens, invente the first assembly-line bottling plant, and now the company is thriving with the proliferation of fiber optics. You can learn about the inventors and innovation of glass at the museum. Corning also features an exceptional collection of glass art from Egyptian times to the present that will only get bigger with the new $64 million Contemporary Art and Design Wing set to make its debut on March 20th. The 26,000-square-foot art gallery will be the largest space anywhere dedicated to the presentation of contemporary art in glass. It will also house one of the world’s largest facilities for glassblowing demonstrations and live glass design sessions, with 500 seats. Another highlight of the museum is the chance to create your own art, via glassblowing or sandblasting. My wife made a wind chime while my daughter created a glass pendant. 

 
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Celebrate the Year of the Horse in England

With the Chinese New Year quickly approaching, England is promoting the Year of the Horse by focusing on locales where horseback riding is available. Bath’s Relais & Chateaux property, Lucknam Park, is one of the many excellent riding hotels in England. With trained horses and staff on hand to help beginners and assist experienced riders, Lucknam Park’s Equestrian Centre offers classes that cater to every level. Out of the saddle, the property also has a highly prestigious cookery school and a first class spa. Horses are also allowed on a number of beaches in the country. With permits available from The National Trust, you can gallop, trot or canter to your heart’s content across the four-mile stretch of golden sand at Dorset’s Studland Beach. Studland Stables will even bring the bubbly, so you can pop the cork over views of Old Harry Rocks and make this trip even more special. 

 
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The Latest Film Series from Richard Bangs

One of my first stories as a journalist was a profile of explorer Richard Bangs for Men’s Journal magazine. Bangs had just published Rivergods: Exploring the World’s Great Wild Rivers. As co-founder of Sobek Expeditions in 1973, Bangs almost single handedly put the sport of whitewater rafting on the map. In fact, he led first descents on 35 rivers around the world, inspiring me to go on my own first descent, an epic whitewater run on the Klinaklini River in British Columbia. The restless Bangs has never been one to rest on his laurels. Lately, he has won two Emmy awards for his documentary work that has taken him all over the world, including trips to New Zealand, Egypt, Morocco, Hong Kong, and Norway. His latest release is South America: Quest for Wonder, now being shown on PBS stations across America. Join Richard as he travels to four of the greatest locales on the continent, Iguaçu Falls in Brazil and Argentina; Easter Island in Chile; the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru; and the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. “There are so many wonders in South America, I turned starboard to seek the latitudes of marvels, and this is what I found,” Bangs mentioned in a recent email. Have a look at any of the four episodes and you’ll understand why Bangs’ passion for travel is contagious. 
 

2 Comments

  1. Maharajas’ Express is like a Palace running on Wheels. With its modern amenities, impeccable service and elegant interiors, it’s one of the most exclusive ways to explore India’s famed golden triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

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