Recommend March 2013 - (Page 97)

ran. Rates are $3,495 pp dbl (minimum age is 16 and it’s about three to ﬁve hours of paddling daily), land-only, and all kayaking and safety equipment is included. Departure dates are May 25; June 8 and 22; and Sept. 7 and 21. Getting there: Air France, Lufthansa, Delta Air Lines and other major airlines offer ﬂights from New York into Dubrovnik and Zagreb via their European hubs. on two wheels in slovenia & austria Sea kayaking not your client’s thing? Then tell them to jump on a bike with ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours to explore the region historically dubbed Carinthia, but today known as Slovenia, with a bit of Austria thrown in for good measure. The tour outﬁtter’s new 11-day Cycling the Lakes of Austria and Slovenia Plus! Ljubljana itinerary—which begins in Klagenfurt, Austria and ends in Ljubljana, Slovenia—dips into Austria and Italy before crisscrossing Slovenia’s Goldenhorn route, which takes its name from a mythic white buck with golden horns that was said to have lived in the region. Participants will visit small and large towns with classic middle-European architecture, ancient stone houses, gothic-style churches and buildings, and imposing palaces. “There are also,” notes Monica Mapezzi-Price, co-owner and director of international operations for ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours, “stunning lake views with forested shores, and Alpine scenery towering over tranquil valleys and pastures, as well as classic Central European sites like Maria Saal Cathedral in Austria and in Slovenia, its lake and island, Lake Bohinj. Not to mention, rides on bike paths with short climbs into and out of valleys and lake beds.” Guests will also spend time visiting a cheese-making farm; needless to say, the beneﬁt of bicycle travel allows guests to stop, visit and chat with craftspeople and learn about day-to-day life. The total distance covered is 253-260 miles, with an average daily mileage of 25 to 30 miles. Mapezzi-Price stresses that there is “no tour that has the extensive coverage of the area like we do. Other companies have tours in parts of the region featured in our tour, but we cover the most extensive itinerary of all adventure tour operators offering trips in the region.” Rates for the tour, which is appropriate for experienced cyclists as well as novice ones who are capable of some short climbs and some short stretches with trafﬁc, are $4,250 pp dbl, land-only, and include bicycles. Departures are June 16 and Sept. 9. Accommodations include Insel Hotel, Austia’s only island hotel (travelers access the island via ferry). Getting there: Austrian Airlines offers ﬂights from New York to Klagenfurt via Vienna. DuVine’s Slovenia DuVine also has a new 6-day tour of Slovenia, that, says Justin Wuycheck, a senior guide and pro series manager at DuVine, highlights the country’s food and wine, as the group visits the wine country of Goriska Brda to sample wines and enjoy a meal prepared by the chefs at Vila Bled (one of the on-tour accommodations). To read more, visit recommend. com and search for “Biking Through Europe.” horsing around in romania With departure dates from April to September, Hidden Trails’ 7-day Transylvania Ride has participants taking a step back in time as they mount their horses and explore the forested hills of northern Romania, where horses are still used to plow the ﬁelds and to pull hay carts during harvest time. The tour operator stresses that your clients will feel as if they are in the Transylvania of the 1800s, especially when you take into consideration that the tour hosts are one of the area’s most ancient families with a history in the area that stems back to AD 1252. The tour begins in Miklosvar, a remote village situated in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, which, says Alb of the Romanian National Tourist Ofﬁce, are “much more often mentioned by U.S. travelers who contact the tourist ofﬁce. They are easily accessible, offer excellent hiking, birding and wildlife watching opportunities and they are home to beautiful villages that have not changed much over the years.” He adds that travel agents play a crucial role in U.S. tourism to Romania, as they can “give more credibility to Romania and they have the means and skills to introduce Romania as a desirable vacation destination to their clients.” Blazingly beautiful valleys, forests that are home to bears, wolves, lynx and deer, hay ﬁelds overgrowing with wild ﬂowers, exploring medieval villages and Dracula’s domain, getting to know the locals, dining on typical rural Romanian cuisine and wine, and accommodations in rural village guesthouses and hunting lodges are the highlights that weave this tour together. The horses that participants ride on for the duration of the tour are all locally bred, and the pace is moderate with canters about four to six hours daily (ﬁve days of riding). Rates for the tour, which is limited to eight persons, are approximately $1,565, land-only and include equestrian guide and Brasov train station transfer, as well as the usuals such as meals, etc. Getting there: Delta Air Lines ﬂies direct from New York to Bucharest. There are easy and frequent train connections from Bucharest to Brasov, or a private transfer from Bucharest can be arranged on request (approximately $187 one way). customize it with brendan vacations For clients who do not want to travel in a group tour, don’t want to be boxed in by set departure dates and are looking for a traditional way to sightsee through Central Europe—i.e., walking and by car—recommend Brendan Vacations’ Independent and/or Private Chauffeur Vacations. As Nico Zenner, president of Brendan Vacations, says, “You travel on your own, but never alone.” The 7-, 8- or 10-day Prague, Vienna & Budapest independent itinerary, for example, includes the services of an Englishspeaking guide in each city (available 24/7), high-speed train transportation from city to city and the customary sightseeing such as the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, a tour of Budapest’s main attractions, including Hero’s Square, and the world-famous Astronomical Clock in Prague. Rates start at $1,162 land-only; arrival is in Prague (major airlines, including Czech Airlines, ﬂy directly into the city from New York). Recommend clients take advantage of the tour operator’s Optional Sightseeing opportunities. One that caught our eye was march 2013 97 95-99 EU Tours.indd 97 2/21/13 8:24 AM http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend March 2013

Editor's Notes/Agent Speak
Hotel Desk: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Tour Talk: Travel Indochina
Safaris in Southern Africa
Un-Cruise Adventures in Alaska
Alaska is Celebrating in 2013
"Hard Rock" Chicago-Style: Rock out in the Windy City
Mexico Destination Weddings & Honeymoon Planner
Girldfriends' Getaway at Eden Roc, Miami Beach
Kyushu: The Rising Sun of Japanese Destinations
The New All-Inclusives in Jamaica Claim Their Turf
RIU Punta Cana
Costa Rica: A Trio of Detours
Touring Central & Eastern Europe

Recommend March 2013