Forget the megaships. The best way to experience Alaska’s watery wilderness up-close-and-personal is aboard a luxury yacht.
The company tag line reads “Luxury in the Pursuit of Adventure.” They got that right. Our week-long voyage aboard American Safari Cruises’ new flagship vessel, Safari Explorer, served up plenty of luxury and adventure.
Here’s their winning formula:
Take 36 curious travelers age young to young-at-heart, 18 expert and friendly crew and put them together for 8 days aboard an elegantly outfitted yacht. Add in all-inclusive extras such as adventurous activities, gourmet meals, premium wines and spirits, on-deck hot tub and sauna, massage treatments and Tempur-Pedic mattresses. Then top it off with plenty of bears, whales, bald eagles, seals and sea lions, and float them among shimmering icebergs, beneath thundering waterfalls, and to the lip of calving glaciers. Oh, and demand nothing of them but that they have fun.Think you could stand it?
Click here to view a full gallery of photographs from the voyage.
Still not convinced? Read travel writer (and fellow passenger) Suzanne Wright’s day-by-day accounting of the cruise atwww.wanderwomanonline.com.
Ready to hop aboard but craving a warm-water destination? Come join me in Mexico’s nature-rich Sea of Cortez March 8 - 15, 2009 aboard American Safari Cruises’ 22-passenger luxury yacht, Safari Quest. I’ll be aboard as ‘photo host’ providing one-on-one field instruction to help you bring back vacation photos that will make your friends and family feel like they’ve come along for the ride.
So, get your digital equipment ready. Polish up your SLR. Dust off your vintage Brownie. Or-if you aren’t a photographer at all-just pack up your sunglasses. This promises to be an extraordinary adventure.
Check out my online gallery featuring last year’s fun-filled AMS Sea of Cortez photo cruise.
To learn more, click here. For booking and reservations, contact American Safari Cruises toll-free at (888) 862-8881 or visit their website at www.amsafari.com.
Hope to see you there!
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
On the west side of the famed Teton mountains, the living is easy at Teton Springs Lodge & Spa.
Each year, more than five million visitors succumb to the scenic allure of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, cranking its tourist trade – and accommodation prices - into overdrive. Thankfully, I recently discovered, just over the mountains, on the west side of the Tetons, slower ways and budget-friendly hospitality can still be found.
But that doesn’t mean you’re in for the cheap-seat treatment. Concierge service, 300 count Italian cotton sheets, high speed wireless Internet, gas fireplaces and fully equipped kitchens come standard in the one or two bedroom suites at Teton Springs Lodge & Spa, a 52-room luxury base camp ideally situated for exploring the surrounding Teton Valley.
The friendly local staff, however, is the real amenity. They suggest the best restaurants, arrange fly fishing and horseback riding adventures, create gourmet meals and lead morning yoga sessions, custom created to limber you up for a trek in the forest or day on the slopes. And, here’s the rub, when you’ve had enough, their Stillwaters Spa therapists will rub, scrub and massage the life back into you so you can do it all again the next day.
Think Teton Valley is only a summertime destination? Think again. My October visit was perfect with its photogenic mix of autumn colors against the backdrop of freshly fallen snow. Did it stop me from casting a line or hitting the trails for horseback riding? No way. Better yet, the reward was ample wildlife sightings and a healthy dose of crisp clean air.
MUST-DOS: Take a Grand Teton National Park Wildlife Safari with resort naturalist Kurt Johnson. If there are eagles, antelope, wolves or moose to be spotted, he’ll find them. Or, try your hand at fly fishing with Worldcast Anglers for a guided adventure on the south fork of the Snake River, rated as the top cutthroat stream in the West. Book the rosemary, sage and eucalyptus Alpine Massage with Lori at Stillwaters Spa. It’s heavenly! Try the carrot ginger soup and the fish taco plate at Miso Hungry Restaurant (165 N. Main Street, Driggs, Idaho). And, OMG, don’t miss the brandy creamed local organic mushrooms with crispy polenta starter or no flour chocolate cake at the Sun Dog Deli & Café (57 S. Main Street, Victor, Idaho). Looking for the latest and greatest in adventure clothing, check out the top-name selection on tap at Yostmark Mountain Equipment (12 East Little, Driggs, Idaho).
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".