 It’s no secret that this year has been a weird one for traveling due to COVID-19. As the country and the world has slowly started to open back up, you might be wondering if it’s okay to start adding stamps to your passport again.
I’ve had many travelers and wedding groups head to resorts since July, and I have prepared them all for the new expectations they may experience while vacationing during a pandemic. Things feel a little different than before and you may see some amenities or activities not available as they adhere to local laws and safety guidelines.
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 When 2020 began, I’m betting you had no idea things would turn out the way that they have. I sure didn't!! It feels like a lifetime ago, but I started out the year on a mind-blowing safari in Africa and just a few days after my return, the "world blew up", as I like to say.
This pandemic has certainly been an educational experience, to say the least. For many of us, it’s brought with it extreme stress and that is just one of the things that prompted this post today. If you’re anything like me, you might be in serious need of a massage to relieve some of that stress. After all, massage is more than just rubbing and pressing the skin. It’s actually “considered part of complementary and integrative medicine” due to the benefits the body can enjoy from it. (1) I had to learn the hard, and expensive way, when I didn't listen to my body and start treatments before it got too bad, and now I struggle to reverse the damage. I have a routine of massage that combines some physical therapy techniques to keep my pain at bay which could have been avoided. I wanted to share 7 reasons you need a massage for your health AND one of my favorite all-inclusive resorts that is a dream for spa treatments, relaxation and rejuvenation!  If you are anything like me, your travel bug is getting anxious to explore again! It's been great to see many destinations starting to re-open and accepting tourists again these past few weeks, and I'm looking forward to seeing even more this summer. As I have started planning new vacations again, there is one thing I noticed trending in regards to the immediate future of vacation planning... You must plan in advance and prepare more than you normally would. Let me take you on a quick imaginative journey of one of these exclusive experiences you must pre-plan, even earlier than before, to guarantee your spot! Imagine breathtaking views that are still largely untouched by commercialism and not overrun with tourists. Picture mountain views, canyons carved by rushing waters, and stunning landscapes. Now imagine being able to view it all from a world-class train that puts you up close with nature while transporting you in luxury. You can enjoy all this and more with one of the many Rocky Mountaineer luxury train tours. While this year is a no go for this adventure - there are already limited options for the 2021 season as everyone had to reschedule from their cancelled 2020 trip. They have a short season any how (from late April to October), so you should jump on pre-planning now or you may be stuck with waiting until 2022!  Photo courtesy of IG @navigating.nicole Like so many of you, we here at Destinations HD have been rethinking (and rescheduling!) our vacation plans this summer. The world is re-opening, but as we talked about recently, travel is going to be a little different for a while. So what next? If you aren't comfortable to jet-off to far away destinations with multiple plane trips right now, what can you look to do instead? The answer that we are excited to share, is small group adventures right here in the USA! When you have grown up here, I think it’s easy to forget how special your own backyard is. (not literally. I think we are all sick to death of our own backyards at this point, am I right?!) It's a perfect time to get out there and see our beautiful and diverse country with your friends and loved ones, as well as, put some fervor and finance back into the country. Read on below, to learn a little more about what Destinations HD can offer in terms of travel in the United States...  The last decade was an eye-opener when it came to the real problem that plastic is having on our environment. We saw countries and citizens around the world taking action to cut down on plastic use.
But what about when you travel? Trial size toiletries, plastic cups at hotels, ziplock bags for TSA screening – the list goes on and on. Some countries (and even some local US states) have banned the use of plastics, so be sure to check your destination before getting on that jet plane. So what can we as travelers do to minimize our impact on the beautiful destinations we visit and reduce plastic waste?  Well, this newsletter was supposed to be about my recent trip to a bucket list dream of mine – specifically Exuma, in the Bahamas.
If you don’t know about the famous swimming pigs of the Bahamas, give me a call and I can fill you in! It’s been a personal dream of mine to swim with the pigs in the crystal-clear waters, and this year I finally booked the trip! As the departure date got closer, I got more and more excited – I was packed and ready to go a week before we had to leave, the house was clean, and I was tying up loose ends at work – next stop, Bahamas! Until three days before I had to leave...  I just returned from Los Cabos, Mexico after attending a luxury travel conference. Afterwards, I also took the time to tour 12 resorts while I was there. If you haven't been to Cabo in the last few years - it's time to return! You won't recognize it with all the growth between the new resorts and infrastructure. Some major resort players in the luxury market that just opened within the last year are the Montage, Nobu and Viceroy just to name a few.
I was even told that over the last years their climate has been changing a bit too, making it greener than I remembered. Between the stunning mountain scapes with both tropical and desert landscaping as well as, the beautiful ocean views where you can watch whales breach the waters from the shoreline during this magical season - it's a true oasis you must see for yourself! Another unique feature about Cabo is if you stay in the right location, you can see both the sunrise and sunset each day! I was able to also enjoy the moon rise at the same time the sun was setting and it was a spectacular vision that no words can describe. Toward the end of my adventure though, I was feeling a little sluggish and started getting that "sick" feeling in my throat. As soon as the plane took off to return home, my nose started running as fast as the plane was going. I'm writing this with a full blown cold and my head about to pop, so don't judge me on the grammar errors you find. Too bad I can't use this excuse on my other posts. I felt this was a good topic to discuss and wanted to provide some of my recommendations on staying healthy when traveling...  It is finally feeling and looking a little more like Spring! I've been hearing more chatter about needing to get ready for swim-suit season. Yikes! This year is flying by too quickly!
If you’re in the health and wellness industry, you may want to consider tapping into Wellness Travel as a means of generating more revenue and interest in your company. Wellness Travel has been quickly becoming the largest growing niche for vacationers, and today I'm going to tell you exactly how you can capitalize on this trend...  Today is my last day in paradise and I will be leaving a piece of my heart in Fiji. I'm so sad to leave and wish life can be this beautiful all the time!
While I'm exhausted from a whirlwind visit seeing so many hotels around these amazing islands in just a week's time - I have to admit I was a little stressed at first thinking about the long travel time and packing for a trip this far. Did you know the inter-island flights only allows 33 lbs for checked luggage? YIKES! What girl can travel that light - Am I right?! haha! :) I'm pretty good at packing and mixing outfits to save space, as I've learned many years ago how much I hate lugging heavy bags around. However, 33 lbs adds up quickly and made for a new type of packing experience for me. Travel planning is exciting and fun, but when it's almost time to leave, and sometimes during your trip, things can go a different way that you may not be ready for. This can cause you to be just as stressed as you were prior to your departure. The number one cause of not full enjoying a vacation, is a tie between dealing with stressful situations that came up on your trip, and not leaving the stress of life back home at home. With that in mind, here are some simple tips for taking the stress out of travel...  In the Spirit of the Holidays...
We seem to all get along better and open our hearts to each other during this season. It would be so lovely to keep that going all year, which brings me to my topic today... |
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