Beach Vacations

Although for a lot of us the idea of lying on the beach tanning with a cocktail in hand is the greatest draw of a beach vacation, it is not the healthiest activity…though I do advise doing it, just not all day.  You are at the beach! Go swim in the ocean, snorkel, scuba dive, walk  or jog on the beach.  Another favorite activity of mine is yoga on the beach. If you haven’t tried it- you must!

Not into sand or sea life? Not a problem, most beach destinations also have a plethora of pools for swimming in. Not a water person in general? If you cannot handle the sand in your toes- walk through the cute little downtown that most beach destinations have or the boardwalk. And then after you have thoroughly exhausted your physical options- lay down on the beach chair with your pina colada. I mean after that 30 minute walk, swim, jog, dive, etc., you sure do deserve it! 

This is a photo of my husband Jon. He found a Horseshoe crab shell while we were on a guided nature walk on the beach in Hilton Head, SC.

The other photo is me "attemping" to paddle board on the Sea of Cortez in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico!

What are you favorite healthy beach activities?

Family Vacations

With Thanksgiving being a few days away, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about family vacations! Which also applies to visits with family, even if you don't consider it a "vacation." 

Play with your children or someone else’s if you don’t have any. Build a sand castle, run to every ride in Disney World, leap into every pool or lake.  Not only will you be assured a good night’s sleep in a strange bed, you will have had a blast! Go for a walk as a family -- with kids, call it a Nature Hike or Adventure to find a hidden pirate treasure.  

You don’t have any kids in your family? Not a problem!  After a large meal instead of sitting around watching TV, encourage everyone to go on a walk together or, my personal favorite, have a dance party! It will not only be healthy but also create laughter and lasting memories! Another fun filled option is playing an active game.  If you have a large group head outside and play a family kickball game! Is it raining? Play charades or guess the picture. Something where you are on your feet, flailing your arms and having fun! 

This is my nieces and I swimming in a lake this past summer:

Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Healthy Travel Series

I am both a travel aficionada and a travel agent. Traveling brings me a sense of joy that nothing else does. I’ve recently realized that for me travel and health really go hand in hand because I always manage to have healthy vacations.  As matter of fact when I got married in Mexico last year I was there for 8 days at an all-inclusive resort and I managed to lose 2lbs without even trying! I go weeks at home trying to lose 2lbs and usually end up gaining 1lb! J I recently had this aha moment that I can use the same mechanisms from traveling that I do at home. I wanted to share my knowledge and tips on how to travel healthy despite the tempting circumstances.

Try to stay at a hotel near a park or a nice place to walk, jog, bike or do whatever you enjoy, even if that is going to the gym.  Most hotels now have fitness centers on site. You can find out on their website what they offer. My husband and I went to Sandal’s Royal Bohemian where the gym is on the 5^th floor and looks out over the ocean. The view is literally breathtaking. My husband, who has never gone to the gym in his entire life, went to the gym almost every day of that trip!

So for the next few weeks I will be doing a healthy travel blog series! I hope you get some new fun ideas from it and enjoy!

A photo of some friends and I at a Pole Dancing class while on a girls weekend in Charlotte, NC! (What we lacked in talent we made up for in enthusiasm!) 

Bon Voyage!

To go All-inclusive or not to go All-inclusive, That is the Question

I often have clients ask whether or not they should stay at an all-inclusive
resort; the pros, cons etc. It is an excellent question, so I decided to address the issue
here for everyone to refer to before making the decision.
In today’s travel industry where the cost of your flight can easily be more
expensive than a week’s hotel stay, vacation expenses can add up pretty quickly
for travelers. Most travelers want to stay within a specific budget, and staying
at a normal resort makes budgeting particularly difficult. If you haven’t been to
the specific destination before and you don’t know the cost of things in that area,
creating a budget can be particularly difficult. You might want a secluded beach
resort, but get there and find out the nearest restaurant is a 15 minute cab ride
away. Now you’ve got to factor round trip cab rides into your budget, not to mention
all the time you’ll spend traveling back and forth for meals. Sometimes an all-
inclusive can just be more of a hassle free holiday.
Knowing what you are spending before you head to the airport can help you
feel at ease. Of course, the all-inclusive will be more expensive upfront than an a la
carte resort, but don’t let this be a deterrent. You need to remember all of the things
you are getting for your money. All-inclusive resorts should include a minimum
of 3 meals per day, all beverages (including alcoholic drinks), a wide variety of
daily activities, nightly entertainment, AND gratuities. There are some hotels that
go above and beyond the basics of all-inclusive and include transfers, motorized
water sports, 24/7 snacks, fitness classes, children’s programs, spa treatments and
excursions!
These are not one size fits all resorts and there are a wide variety of all-
inclusives that meet the needs of any kind of traveler. Whether you want something
family friendly, budget friendly, 5-Star luxury, or adult only, those are out there too!
They range in size from small boutique hotels, to large 700+ room properties. It’s
about finding the property that best meets your needs.
A common question I get is, what about the food? As a foodie myself, I
appreciate this question! At some all-inclusives the food will be rather basic and
nothing to write home about. At others the food is quite exceptional. Quality food
is becoming more important to a lot of people and the resorts are taking note and
providing guests with what they want. On that note, keep in mind that if you are
going to the cheapest resort you can possibly find, the food isn’t going to be as
spectacular as something with a slightly higher price tag.
All-inclusives offer great value to their guests and more often than not doing
an all-inclusive comes out less expensive than if you do a comparable vacation a la
carte.
A few tips to help you with your all-inclusive vacation:
1. Make your dinner reservations for specialty restaurants immediately upon your arrival, as they generally fill up fast!
2. Confirm with your travel agent where you can locate your transfer company at the airport! (Especially, in Mexico where you will be bombarded with Time-Share sales agents.)
3. Early risers will get the best seats by the beach, pool, and the swim up bar! Get those towels out early if you can! 
Hopefully you understand all-inclusives a bit better now! Please let me know
if you need any help determining if an all-inclusive would be the best choice for you
and your family, and which property would be the best fit as well.
Remember, don’t just dream it- DO IT!

Eco Friendly Cruise Lines

It sounds like an oxymoron, right? Cruises in general are not at all eco friendly, but they are a lot of fun! Fortunately, in the past few years cruise lines have been doing their part to be friendlier to the oceans. If you are considering a cruise, I suggest you first educate yourself on some of the steps that vendors are taking to stay green; that way, on your next cruise you can be sure to support a company that shares your eco friendly attitude!

Here is some info on what various cruise lines are doing:

Celebrity Solstice: The Solstice is the first solar powered cruise ship! But aside from that, Celebrity has not done too much. All of their ships have environmental stewards on them to provide staff and guest education, and they also have advanced water purification systems so that they aren’t dumping so much grey and black water into the ocean.

Disney Cruise Line: Uses the water generated from the air conditioner to do laundry! They also mandate that their staff be educated on green practices.

Carnival: Aboard the fun ships waste is either recycled, incinerated, or off loaded for disposal on land.

Costa: This beautiful Italian cruise line has received the “Green Star” award for all 11 of the ships in their fleet! They meet all of the energy protection standards.

There is one cruise line though that goes above and beyond the industry standard and is truly an eco-friendly inspiration for all other cruise lines, and that is…

Holland America

They are by far the greenest of all cruise lines. They have gone above and beyond to be efficient and reduce waste.

· They have a black water treatment system, so they aren’t sending sewage directly into the ocean.

· They treat grey water as well before putting it into the ocean.

· They put NO waste overboard.

· They have environmental officers on each and every ship and the staff is eco educated.

· They have a towel reuse program so that they are not using water to wash 3,000+ towels per day.

· They have installed low flow toilets, shower heads and faucets.

· They use green, non-toxic cleaning supplies on all their ships, as well as natural detergents that are plant based.

· They create routes around tide schedules to maximize their fuel efficiency.

· They put their money where their mouth is by offering senior staff a monetary incentive to encourage fuel conservation!

For further information on this impressive cruise line, visit their website and check out their Sustainability Report! It is remarkable!!! Their work to be green as not gone unnoticed and they have won several awards including: Marine Environmental Business of the year 2010, Responsible Tourism Award, Gold Medal Best Eco Friendly “Green” Cruise Ship, ms Zuiderdam, Green Planet Award for outstanding environmental standards, and Best Eco Friendly Cruiseline from Porthole Magazine!

Our caps off to you Holland America, and I don’t know about you all, but I look forward to cruising with them real soon! They are currently offering 7 night Caribbean cruises starting at $549... Alaska cruises starting at $499...anddddd Pacific Coastal cruises starting from $249!

I hope you found this information useful and can use it when selecting your next cruise line!

Bon Voyage!

Tips to keep your travel green

1. Use your do not disturb sign!

Most of us do not change our towels and sheets daily at home, so why should we do that on vacation? If you don’t have a maid cleaning your room every day you will save the resources involved in cleaning the room, washing sheets and towels and vacuuming the floors. (The only excuse not to put the sign up is naturally on a cruise when they make you those cute little towel animals. ;-) )

2. Support vendors with a vision for the planet that is in alignment with yours! Do research; most cities have eco friendly hotels or hotels that are on the path to becoming eco friendly. Also, B&Bs are always an eco-friendly option and you have the perk of supporting a small, locally owned business.

3. Hike, bike and use public transit whenever possible while travelling. In most cities you can do walking tours. If you are physically able to do so, it a very healthy alternative to going on a tour bus or even using public transportation. Use public transit as opposed to renting a car. You can use the internet to figure out which form of public transportation would support you best.

4. Visit CarbonFund.org to learn ways to offset your carbon emissions.

5. Just because you are on vacation doesn’t mean your eco friendly practices should take a vacation too! It can be easy to take a 20 minute shower while you’re on vacation just because you have the time. Let us not forget that we are using the same resources; just because it is on someone else’s dime, environmentally it has the same impact as it would at home. The same goes for leaving lights on in your hotel room or cruise cabin when you leave for the day. If you wouldn’t do it at home, don’t do it on vacation!

For those of you that would like to start supporting green hotels, here are some good questions to ask to gage how much effort the property is taking to be green:

1. Is the hotel locally owned and operated?

2. Is it staffed by local employees?

3. What kinds of recycling programs does the hotel have?

4. Do guests have the option to reuse towels and sheets instead of having them changed?

5. What programs does the hotel have in place in order to reduce consumption?

6. Do they have low-flow toilets and showers?

7. How does the hotel contribute to its local community?

June Blog Series!

Keeping the planet beautiful for future generations is something I am very passionate about, but travel is the greatest love and joy in life. To me there is nothing more amazing than waking up in a strange city somewhere half way around the world….not understanding the language, the people or the culture. Everything is a mystery! I thrive on that excitement when every moment is an opportunity to learn. The problem is, in general travel is not the most environmentally friendly hobby. As matter of fact, cars, planes, cruises and huge hotels create some of the greatest pollutants on the planet. I am committed to caring for and protecting our planet, but not at the sake of my travels. For this reason, I have decided to do a blog series this month on how to make your travel greener! I will be featuring blog entries that will include tips on keeping your travel green, info on which vendors are taking green initiative, and many other helpful topics . My hope is that by the end of the month people will have a better understanding of what vendors are doing to go green and what travelers can do to help.

I hope you all enjoy this series and I look forward to sharing lots of great info with you!