Trip Review: A London/Amsterdam Celebration

Mindy and her family (parents and young adult children ages 20 and 18) ventured to London and Amsterdam in celebration of her son’s high school graduation in June.  The trip began in London with a five-night stay at a self-catering, two-bedroom apartment in the Knightsbridge neighborhood.  The apartment was on a quiet cul-de-sac off a major street, with easy access to pubs, grocery stores, retail shops and dining. Their time in London was chock full of experiences with a variety of prebooked tours, dining reservations and entertainment which helped maximize their time and avoid long ticket lines.  The family began their visit with a city orientation tour.  Their private guide/driver took them around the city and understood the best places for viewing events while avoiding the crowds such as the practice sessions for the Changing of the Guard.  After the tour, the young adults enjoyed an exciting speedboat tour along the Thames River while mom and dad relaxed with a picnic lunch in a nearby park.  Among other sites, they visited the Tower of London, Spitafields Market and the Churchill War Rooms.  A guided tour of London’s Graffiti and Street Art was more educational and fun than expected.  Evening entertainment was also a special part of their time in London.  They saw the limited engagement of the Billy Holiday show on the West End (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill), Tape Face as well as Van Morrison.  The later was a real highlight as the intimate concert took place at the historical Hampton Court Palace in one of the courtyards.

The family then flew onto Amsterdam for three nights.  Their first lesson was how to avoid the city’s bike riders.  With 880,000 bikes on the city’s roads; they quickly figured out who has the right of way – not the pedestrians! They stayed at an apartment-hotel well located just a 10-minute stroll from the Central Rail Station. The new Erik Vokel Apartments offers spacious one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with lovely river views. Their visit to Amsterdam began with a private walking tour followed by visits to the Anne Frank House and a privately guided tour of the renovated Van Gogh Museum. While in the Museum Quarter, the family happily stumbled upon a special Banksy Laugh Now exhibition at the Modern Contemporary (Moco) Museum. It contains around 50 original works by London’s Street Art-legend whom the family learned about on their earlier street art tour.  For the first time in history there is a Banksy exhibition in a museum!  In addition, visits to the Amsterdam Cheese Museum and the Amsterdam Tulip Museum provided good entertainment along with yummy samples of Gouda cheese. The culinary highlight though was the local pancakes (pannenkoeken) served either savory or sweet and they indulged in these thin crepes multiple times. Another highlight was the city’s newest icon, the A’dam Lookout with 360 degrees views.  The young adults went Over the Edge on Europe’s highest rooftop swing atop the building. Dinner is served inside at M’adam where a spectacular sunset, nice ambiance and good food created a memorable occasion. On their last day, a small canal cruise allowed them to see Amsterdam from the water and to learn about the dam systems and bridges that are essential to the city. They also learned about of a rite of passage tradition that is unique to The Netherlands that was also significant to the Valencis.  Putting the country’s flag out and hanging your child’s school bag on the pole is a sign that they have passed their high school exams.  The family saw bag-on-a-flag all over Amsterdam in fitting celebration of their own special graduation celebration.

Trip Review: Our First Family Cruise

The Getsy Family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children ages 12 and 9) from Atlantic Beach, FL took their first family cruise for their summer getaway on the Celebrity Equinox.  They let us know that they had a fabulous time!!!  They stayed all together in a balcony cabin and thought it was  actually pretty awesome.  It was tight, of course, but had much more room than the family expected.  The room and bathroom had tons of storage; so they had plenty of places to put their things.  Even with the pullman beds dropped down at night for the children; they had room to move around and get to the veranda.  They loved having the balcony for star gazing, mother/daughter pedicures, reading and enjoying a cup of tea.

The family enjoyed the food on the ship, especially the specialty restaurants which included one night as an adult only meal.  They felt the supplement for these more intimate dining experiences was well worthwhile.  With no waits.  The gelato stand also received high marks from the children.  It too was a little extra cost, but not unreasonable.

The children tried the kids clubs, but decided not to spend a lot of time there.  But they still had fun.  The 8 year-old spent a lot of time on the lawn (yes, this ship has a lawn!) practicing his cart wheels and ninja moves and played ping pong outside the cafe anytime he could talk anyone into doing it with him.  Their daughter had fun looking around the shops and read some in the library.  Mom and daughter played Scrabble and the whole family had a game of Clue in the card table area.  They caught a couple of the family game shows at 8:00pm each night.  Everyone loved that.  Mom and dad went to an adult game show one evening and that was pretty funny too.  The son is just learning to play guitar; so they also appreciated the music acts.  Mom caught a movie one day and a yoga class one morning.

They also really enjoyed their excursions.  They explained that is is hard to say which excursion they liked the most because they were all so different.  The submarine in Cozumel was short, but super cool.  Just having that experience of being on a submarine and that close to the reefs was amazing.  The Mayan Experience Tour in Costa Maya was really neat, too.  The staff were very knowledgeable and fun.  Mom thought it was great for the children to see how people in other countries live and now her son wants a mango tree in their yard!  Mom and daughter loved having the stingrays swimming around them at Stingray City in Grand Cayman, but dad and son were a little disconcerted.  The family recommends to book this excursion early to avoid the crowds.  All of their hosts on the excursions were very courteous and fun.  Unfortunately their stop in Key West was canceled due to weather; so they got an extra day at sea.

 Overall the trip was a great success.  It was especially nice to disconnect.  In fact, the no dishes, no food prep, no laundry was mom’s favorite part.  Just not having anything to do, but relax was surreal, but amazing. They look forward to sailing again soon hopefully with other friends or family in tow.  We look forward to planning that trip for them!

Trip Review: Montana Dude Ranch Experience

Lauren was in Montana at the end of May to experience Averill’s Flathead Lodge in Big Fork. The trip was part of a gathering of travel agents who are members of the Family Travel Association.  It was a wonderful opportunity to network with agents from around the country who are working in agencies large and small to discuss the future of family travel and how to best promote all the wonderful aspects that go along with it.

Flathead Lake Lodge is a third-generation family run and operated dude ranch.  During the summer, week-long stays attract families from around the country year after year. A variety of accommodation options are available for families including cabin style and connecting rooms.  We stayed in a spacious and new one bedroom loft with two full bathrooms.  A spacious bedroom overlooked a living and dining room with sofabed and showcased typical Western cowboy themed decor.  A wooden porch swing outside the front was the ideal spot for enjoying beautiful lake views.

The feeling of summer camp pervades this unique ranch as it was originally built in 1932 as a boy’s camp.  The daily activities, lake activities and group dining promote that camp-like feeling as well.   Recreation includes a complete horse program highlighted by individual lessons, rodeo events, breakfast and lunch rides, a private elk preserve and more than 2,000 pristine acres for daily trail rides.  The ranch has 120 horses!  In addition to the riding programs, the lodge offers unmatched water activities on Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake West of the Mississippi and one of the cleanest lakes in the world.  Kayaks, sail boats, stand-up paddle boards, water skiing, wake boarding, canoes and more are at your disposal.  We enjoyed a very relaxing kayak trip around the lake as well as an evening motorboat tour.  There is also a lakefront heated pool; massages; hiking; mountain cookouts; barn dances; camp fires; mountain bikes and more.

The resort also showcases a children’s program where family interaction is key and children have the freedom to safely roam the property and indulge in the various activities as they like. Children focused activities include children’s horseback rides, arts & crafts, water activities, tepee overnight, children’s rodeo, organized games and a junior wrangler program to name a few.

The food was also plentiful, fresh and met most special dietary needs.  The hot breakfast buffet changed daily.  A bountiful outdoor buffet lunch also rotated themes each day.  Three course evening plated meals (with child-friendly options) were served in the main dining room with open seating.  And throughout the day freshly baked goods and drinks were available.  After a first night cocktail hour, parents can get a ride into the town of Big Fork to stock up on any alcohol needs.  There is a good size refrigerator in your room.

Our other dude ranch highlights included riding the mountain bikes into town for the Bigfork Whitewater Festival, an evening steak-out in the Elk Reserve (we got there by firetruck), a visit to Glacier National Park just 35 miles north and the super friendly staff.

Trip Review: Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall

Our new addition, Jen and her family (2 adults and 2 children ages 11) and the Murland Family (with 2 adults and 2 children ages 8 and 10), traveled from Philadelphia to the Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica for spring break.  Jen really enjoyed her one bedroom butler suite with two separate balconies with views of the pool and ocean.  A great place to relax and enjoy the lovely views.  She noted that her butlers were awesome and took great care of the family assisting them with dining reservations, birthday celebrations, cabana rentals, coolers for the pool, snacks, etc.

Both families noted that the food is overall quite good.  They really enjoyed the breakfast buffet, steakhouse and the Italian restaurant commenting that it easily could be a great restaurant at home.  Most enjoyed the sea food restaurant as well.  One night the adults ventured over to the Hyatt Zilara, the adult only property next door, to enjoy the Jamaican restaurant.  It was a new culinary experience for them.  Their butler kindly took the children to the evening programming at the kids’ club and stayed on as a babysitter afterward.  And everyone loved the jerk chicken available by the pool!  Ya mon.

There was plenty of recreation to keep everyone on the move as they indulged in water aerobics, yoga classes, beach volleyball, basketball, golf, snorkeling and boogie boards. Bring your own golf clubs if you are an avid player.  The two pools kept all the children quite happy especially the pool with the swim-up bar. The main pool by the beach offers lots of activities and music throughout the day.  There is also a nice jogging path through the property as well.  The kids club has day and evening programming, but they thought it was better suited for younger children in regards to the activities.

Jen noted that in general this property treats and trains its staff very well which is showcased in the way they treat their guests (and also the assistance we get with reservations and pre-trip planning).  That was proven with two very thoughtful birthday celebrations for Jen and her husband on different days with room and cabana decorations, cake, champagne and other goodies.

The families also ventured off the property for a fun excursion with a mini boat tour with Sun Wave Adventures that included time for snorkeling.

Overall a great trip for all and Jen’s first as an official travel agent!

Trip Review: Over the Moon in Cancun

The multi-generational Thomas family from Philadelphia (with 2 adults and 4 children ages 5-12 + grandparents) vacationed at Moon Palace in the Riviera Maya, Mexico.  Overall the family
gave high marks to the resort, staff, facilities, food and overall beauty and condition of the property.  They particularly enjoyed all the pools and the daily activities at the pool to keep the children entertained throughout the day.  Several family members took to the golf course which they gave high rating for skill and beauty while others tackled the mini-golf course nearly every day!  They also had fun at the children’s indoor arcade.

With over a dozen restaurant options, their favorite was the Asian themed, Momo.  Getting dinner reservations nightly did prove to be a challenge during a busy holiday period.  The parents also took advantage of the Romantic Dinner which is served beach side and used their resort credits as payment. Due to their dietary needs, fish was substituted for the normal Surf and Turf meal of steak and lobster.  Unfortunately they were dismayed that the fish dinner came at the same cost, but were pleased with the experience.

Their rooms at the resort provided a comfortable setting for the family.  They did take advantage of the resort shuttle as this property is quite large and spread out.

Their other resort credits were used to pay for two excursions.  The trip to Isla Mujeres was a highlight of their trip that included a sailboat ride to the resort’s exclusive beach club where you can snorkel and swim in calm waters and then a guided tour of the downtown area of the island.  They did have an issue with returning to the boat since some hotel guests added on a dolphin swim and there was some confusion about the meeting location.  But alas a short taxi ride later they were back on board.  They also used their resort credits on a Jungle Tower and Aqua Twister excursion to Aquaworld in Cancun which includes a snorkel tour and exciting speed boat ride across the lagoon and near the mangroves.  It was a lot of fun.

Overall Moon Palace provided three generations with plenty of recreation, relaxation, activities and bonding time.

Trip Review: Disney Cruise Line

The Fratello Family of Jacksonville (2 adults and 1 child, age 6) celebrated the New Year with a week-long Eastern Caribbean sailing on the Disney Fantasy.  Their adventure began with a call from Mickey Mouse on Christmas Day to get them all excited about the trip.  Once on board the ship, the family found the service to be excellent and they really enjoyed their large cabin with verandah.  Mom was especially happy to find everything to be really clean throughout the ship.  Their excursions too were great fun.  They started their day in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands with a guided tour and concluded the afternoon with a catamaran sail/snorkel/beach excursion.  The sailing and beach trip were amazing.  The catamaran was a fun vessel to sail and the beach was very picturesque.  In St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, they started the day with the kayak ecotour.  The tour guide was awesome.  He made every portion of the trip (kayak, hike, and snorkeling) very engaging.  Son Jackson rode in the guide’s kayak and hung with him while the parents snorkeled.  They were fast pals.  After the excursion, they made their way to Frenchtown and had an incredible lunch on the bay at Hook, Line & Sinker.  The seafood was fresh and perfectly prepared.  They are still talking about that lunch!  Speaking of food, the Remy specialty restaurant on the ship completely blew them away for their adult-only dinner.  Without a doubt, they both agree that it was one of the best meals they have ever had together. The menu was innovative and the courses were perfectly executed.  It was amazing.  Overall the food on the cruise could have been a better, but these gluten free issues know they can be picky.  They crushed the unlimited soft serve by the pool.  It was hysterical.  Also, the spa was great (The Family Traveler got them passes to indulge in the Rainforest Room which is a heat, steam and hydrotherapy circuit that is guaranteed to relax).  They had an awesome time together.  They were a bit disappointed with the couples massage, but not upset by any means.  One thing that we have learned from this trip is that they really love spas!   Son Jackson enjoyed the children’s programming in small doses.  Overall, this vacation was one of the best experiences we have had as a family.  We relaxed, bonded and experienced an adventure together.  Mom literally cried when they walked off the ship.

Trip Review: Riviera Maya Return

Mindy’s family of 4 (2 adults and 2 teens age 19 and 18) recently returned from Paradisus La Perla in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.   It is an adult-only resort that is part of a complex that also includes the family-friendly Paradisus La Esmeralda. Both resorts are wonderful!  The family stayed in a huge 2-bedroom Master Suite that offered a living room and dining room and connecting master bedrooms each with their own bathroom. There was a large balcony off each bedroom that featured a large jetted tub and lounge chairs.  The highlight of the resort was the service and food.

Meals were delicious… it was hard to believe that the caliber and variety of food was being served at all-inclusive resort!  Guests at both properties share a number of dining options.  In addition, there are some adult-only restaurants at La Perla.  Mindy was also impressed with the buffets that served lots of fresh seafood including sushi, langostino, shrimp, stone crab as well as other delicacies.  Best yet, Mindy was able to confirm dinner reservations prior to their arrival.

The resorts are both modern, intimate and easy to get around. The main pools are large with swim-up bars with lots of lounge chairs and Bali beds- which are first come; first serve at no charge. The resort also offers club level services with Royal Service for adults and Family Concierge Service for families.  Separate pools, beaches and dining options, along with butler services, are included with this level of service. The beach is nice here, but is not the main attraction.  It is narrow and rocky in certain areas.  You cross beautiful mangroves to reach it. The spa is very zen and Mindy enjoyed a hot stone massage.  It featured relaxing cabanas, quiet pool and various water therapies.  The gym was large and well equipped. Personal trainers, yoga and fitness classes are available.  Every day there was a different activity- salsa dancing, flower arranging, tequila tastings, etc. and the sushi making was a hit.

The family enjoyed visiting Playa del Carmen for shops and dining including a restaurant located in a cenote – a cave, which was a unique and special.  They also have fun on a variety of excursions.  The Coba ruins are great for those who already visited Tulum and where you can still climb the pyramid.  Their tour included bike rentals to explore the ruins, a visit to a local Mayan village, a traditional Mayan dinner with a show depicting ancient Mayan culture.  Another afternoon was spent riding ATVs and wave runners at Maroma Beach. This was the highlight of the trip for the teens.

This was the Valenci’s 5th trip to the Riviera Maya over the last 12 years. They keep going back because there are always new resorts to experience, new adventures to enjoy, and it is easy and convenient destination to reach from major cities in the US. The locals are friendly and welcoming. The Yucatan Peninsula is located just off the second largest barrier reef in the world making snorkeling, scuba and other water sports spectacular. The Riviera Maya and Cancun have a tremendous selection of resorts and there is plenty to do—ecoparks, zip lines, horseback riding, snorkeling or diving, fishing, swimming in cenotes and more along with lovely beaches and clear blue water. Many of our families are also returning time and again.

Trip Review: NYC

Lauren and her daughter, Anna (age 20) traveled to New York City right before Thanksgiving for a quick mother/daughter getaway.  We have made many trips to the city together over the years, but the magic of NYC is that there is always something new to explore and experience with each visit.  We stayed at the new Fairfield Inn a few blocks from Columbus Circle in Midtown West.  Friendly staff; small, but well appointed rooms and a large and communal breakfast room with a hearty breakfast buffet made for a comfortable stay.  We started off our stay with a visit to the new Whitney Museum.  We really enjoyed it inside and out with a wonderful array of modern art.  A short walk on the Highline next to the museum on a very windy day ended up with lunch at Chelsea
Market.  The following day we toured the UN; a first for Anna who is studying linguistics in college and therefore was interested in learning about the process of bringing the world together, the translators etc.  Before going to see The Great Comet of 1812, one of Broadway’s new hits that was taken from a part of Tolstoy’s War and Peace epic and takes place in Moscow, we had dinner at Samovar; a Russian eatery in the theater district.  We even had tea from a samovar!  It would be fun to make this an ongoing tradition by finding restaurants that match the topic of the show!  Anna was also thrilled to dine on Russian cuisine after spending the summer studying in Moscow.  The show was also fantastic.  We also saw the new acapella show, In Transit…another thumbs up for an entertaining show.  Overall a fun getaway.  And many thanks to the kind flight attendant on American Airlines for moving us up to first class!  We all share stories of the airlines when things go bad…but sometimes they can bring us joy as well.

Travel Review: Hawaii Adventure

The Hassoun Family (2 adults and 3 young adults ages 21, 18 and 16) traveled from Pittsburgh to Hawaii this summer for eight nights in paradise.  This travel loving family usually spends their vacation time in Europe with trips focusing on culture and history; so they were pleasantly surprised by their experience in the tropics! Hawaii is also a destination with rich culture and interesting history along with amazing scenery, outdoor adventures to experience the nature and relaxing resort time.  The family began their trip in Maui with four nights at the beautiful Ritz Carlton in Kapalua which is beautifully situated on the hillside overlooking Kapalua Bay.   The resort offers a nice array of amenities and recreation including excellent golf, tennis, gym with fitness classes, water sports, spa, pools, restaurants and the wonderful Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment program.  This program introduces families to the natural wonders and rich cultural traditions of the Hawaiian Islands.  The Kapalua Zip Line are located just across the way from the resort which made for a convenient adventure for the family.  They enjoyed the amazing views as they
zipped over the West Maui Mountains and over tropical forests, native pineapple fields, and waterfalls. The family also enjoyed a sunset sail from nearby Ka’anapali on the Trilogy catamaran offering great views of the nearby islands of Moloka‘i and Lana‘i.  The family then flew to the island of Kauai with a four-night stay at the lovely Grand Hyatt Kauai located in Poipu.  This upscale and oceanfront resort has a unique lagoon setting, golf, tennis, spa, water sports, gym with fitness classes, pools, restaurants and daily activities such as fitness walks, hydroponic garden tour and golf and tennis clinics.  The resort also showcases a variety of Hawaiian cultural activities including a luau which the family attended and appreciated.  The resort also offers a unique and local volunteer program called ENRICH providing guests another layer of learning about Hawaii.  Opportunities range from beach clean-up to forest restoration.  On Kauai, the Hassouns took a sail trip up to the Napili Coast with Captain Andy to see the amazing cliffs. It proved to be a bit of a rough sailing for some.  They also took the Blue Hawaiian helicopter to view this gorgeous island from the sky.  Overall the Hassoun children raved about their Hawaii experience and look forward to their next family trip!

Trip Review: Kosher Italy

The Erlbaum family of Philadelphia (2 adults and 4 children ages 14, 12, 9 and 6) traveled to Italy this summer in celebration of a Bat Mitzvah.  This religious family needed accommodations to keep their kosher dietary laws; so The Family Traveler arranged apartments and an apartment hotel that were also close to a synagogue, kosher markets and restaurants in each city they visited: Rome, Florence and Venice.  The trip was chock full of unique experiences and tours with the Sabbath open for relaxation, services and wandering.  The trip began in Rome with an apartment stay in the Jewish Ghetto.  Their first tour was a guided golf cart ride around the city for a nice city overview.  This is an ideal touring option especially after a long, overnight flight and zipping around in a golf cart allows you to get to many sights with ease.  Other Rome tours included private touring of the Jewish Ghetto, Great Synagogue and Jewish Museum as well as the Colosseum.  For a nice history lesson, they also visited the Time Elevator for a film about the city’s ancient past.  On the way from Rome to Florence, our favorite private driver and guide, Giancarlo, took the family for a day trip to Orvieto in Umbria which was enjoyed by all.  In Florence the family stayed at the Residence Hilda apartment hotel.  They took a private city tour to learn about its Renaissance past that also included the Accademia Museum, the Palazzo Davanzati (a reconstruction of an old Florentine home) and learned how to make Florentine marble paper with a local artisan.   A kosher cooking class in nearby Lucca was a highlight with bike riding along the rampart walls after a great meal.  A private drive and private boat ride brought them to their Venice apartment.  In Venice they took gondola rowing lessons, privately toured the Doge Palace along with a city orientation tour and took a private tour of the islands of Murano, Burano and the Jewish Ghetto.  Seeing the glass blowers and lace makers in action was a treat. Overall the family truly enjoyed Italy and its culture with so many special experiences to bring it all to life and to celebrate a special occasion!