With another year all wrapped up, and one where I did the most travelling ever, I need to challenge myself by setting the “travel bar” even higher in 2018. I have quite a few things already booked, but have made sure to leave room to squeeze in a few unexpected jaunts, whilst I continue to arrange some amazing trips for my clients.
Maybe like me, you are starting 2018 with a New Year’s resolution to travel more or try something new? But with so many wonderful places to discover in the world, both far and near, where will 2018 take you?
As for me, in 2018, I will be:
Looking forward to….
Valletta becoming the 2018 European Capital of Culture. If like me you’d always thought of Malta as a cheap package beach holiday destination with no notable places to stay, think again. The Mediterranean island is drenched in history from megalithic temples older than Stonehenge to medieval cities, and its capital, Valletta, has UNESCO World Heritage status for good reason. Set on the waterfront with the stunning Grand Harbour, the city is crammed with baroque architecture, palaces and churches, whilst its Capital of Cultural status has brought a raft of new museum, shop, restaurant and hotel openings. Valletta is definitely worth considering for your next city break and you can read more about it here.
Waiting patiently for….
Clients to return from skiing in the pretty Swiss resort of Andermatt. I want to hear all about the virgin slopes they will have been able to explore after a network of new chairlifts and gondolas have opened up 30km of trails. There is also a new cable car station which means one of my favourite luxury ski hotels, the Chedi Andermatt, is now fully ski in / ski out, making it easier to get from the slopes to the amazing spa, gorgeous rooms and the delicious Japanese restaurant which was awarded a Michelin star last October. Click here to read more about the wonderful Chedi Andermatt.
Trekking in glorious isolation in….
Ladakh. Located in an untouched part of the high Indian Himalaya, Ladakh is actually geographically and culturally part of Tibet, but its remoteness and sheer inaccessibility have meant that it has had a very different history to the rest of the country. Here Julian and I will be getting away from the touristy areas, such as Leh, and heading to small rural villages to glimpse a snapshot into a unique mountain culture, whilst staying in traditional, yet enhanced village houses. We will visit monasteries for morning prayers, receive blessings by local Buddhist monks, learn to cook Ladakhi food and raft the Indus. Then we will head out into the high altitude desert, just the two of us with our guide, cook and herdsmen, to camp in remote areas where we will get up close to the rugged snow-capped mountains and deep turquoise lakes that dominate the area.
Getting excited about….
Clients heading to India this month. This is the first big adventure for my intrepid couple since their children have flown the nest. And what a place to start. I have had a love affair with India since I first arrived in the country straight out of University. Then, as a fresh faced 21 year old, I spent months lugging my ever burgeoning rucksack around the country, totally mesmerised every step of the way by the riot of colour, the vibrancy, the food, the smells, the people, the culture. India can certainly be an assault on the senses on your first visit, but with a personally curated itinerary and good help on the ground, as my wonderful clients will have, a trip to India will be totally rewarding and I know this couple will return with wonderful memories. For a first time visit to India, I always suggest clients start in the north combining Delhi and the iconic Taj Mahal with the palaces and forts of Rajasthan, the authentic villages of the Thar Desert and maybe a beautiful tented camp for a spot of tiger or leopard spotting, before heading to the lake city of Udaipur. My clients are also adding in sometime on the coast in Kerala. For more on information on India, read my articles here and here.
Booking my first clients into….
What I think is one of the most gorgeous places in the bush, Arijuju, a unique family home in Kenya. The property has been built to blend into the landscape, but once inside it’s anything but non-descript. Inspired by Ethiopian monasteries, everything has been considered and I was totally blown away by its beauty when I visited last year. Set on the 32,000 acre Borana Conservancy in Laikipia, the land is teeming with wildlife including Africa’s Big Five, wild dog and cheetah. The Reserve has also recently become home to 22 of the rare black rhino which were relocated from other areas in kenya. Game drives are a must, but you are also encouraged to explore on foot, mountain bike or horseback. However, given how gorgeous Arijuju is, it would be a shame not to chill out around the pool, play a game of tennis, relax on the yoga deck, or be pampered in the spa where the fabulous highly skilled therapist creates her own spa products from local ingredients, whilst your private chef rustles up delicious Ottolenghi style food. This is a truly luxury booking, but for larger families, renting a private house can work out better value than separate rooms in a high end safari lodge, so definitely something to consider.
Telling you all about….
The amazing journey to Japan Julian and I recently took. Travelling through the main island of Honshu, we ate the freshest sushi in Tokyo, glimpsed mighty Mount Fuji whilst whizzing through the countryside on the Shinkhansen bullet train, donned our yukatas and slept on futons in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Kanazawa, delighted in the scenic areas around Takayama in the Japanese alps, were deeply moved in Hiroshima, got lots of inspiration on the art island of Naoshima and marvelled at the beautiful shrines and zen gardens in Kyoto. There will be more to follow on our wonderful trip next month.
Putting the finishing touches to….
A client trip to Chile. Many people only scratch the surface of Chile when they visit, since its sheer size means you do need a reasonable amount of time in the country to do it justice. With nearly three weeks my clients will be waking up with views of the Torres del Paine, Chile’s most beautiful national park, a magnificent place of towering peaks, turquoise lakes a miles and miles of hiking. They will be flying to Easter Island, a tiny speck in the Pacific Ocean, to learn the mysteries of the brooding stone moai that litter the volcanic landscape. Discovering the maze of colour buildings, artistic graffiti and funicular railways of Valparaiso is also in the itinerary, before relaxing in the Colchagua Valley where they will enjoy fabulous food and sample some delicious vintages at the numerous vineyards and wineries. The last bit of the jigsaw puzzle to be slotted in, is whether to also scale a volcano in the Pucon or discover the magical mystical maritime culture of the unique island of Chiloé. Decisions! Decisions! Read about my last trip to Chile and the enigmatic Easter Island here.
I hope that you may have found some inspiration from a few of the travel related things I’m looking forward to in 2018. If you would like some more information on any of the ideas, or if you have some wonderful ideas of your own that you would like help turning in to a reality, please do get in touch. I’m here to help make 2018 a fabulous travel year for you.
{Pictures: All my own}