Make the Gift of Travel and Adventure a Memory to Last a Lifetime

Now is a great time to get started on your holiday gift shopping, especially when it to giving the gift of travel. There are a lot of great deals from cruise and tour companies, as well as incredible packages for destinations across the country and around the world. A gift of travel provides much more beyond a splendid vacation. Memories to last a lifetime are created, and add even more meaning to the holidays. By planning a special trip for your family or a loved one, you are also giving a unique opportunity for some quality time spent together.

One great idea for a family vacation with the kids and grandchildren is to rent a house at the destination of your choice. A vacation rental home can give you plenty of room for the entire family and a lot of freedom with what to do once you are there. Compared to hotels, a rental home can offer more for less. You get more space, the average vacation home is 2,000 square feet and is designed to sleep at least 6 people. Hotel rooms on the other hand, average around 400 square feet, and you are limited to the number of guests that can stay in one room. There are also amenities that make traveling with the family easier, such as a washer

and dryer and kitchen so you can dine in when you want to. Staying at a hotel means more fees to pay such as for laundry services, or the ever tempting mini bar. Many vacation homes provide extras such as a private pool or hot tub, games, and media entertainment, at no extra cost. By saving money on where you stay, you have more options on what you do while on vacation, this is especially helpful when there is a larger group traveling together.

If you want to take the family on a once in a life time journey, there are some great new options being offered by Adventures by Disney, and Tauk Tours, two of our preferred vendors. Each of these companies cares about you, the client. They seek to provide unique travel experiences for every generation. Adventures by Disney is now partnering with Ama Waterways to provide a Disney family experience while river cruising along the Danube through 4 countries. The adventures Disney provides beyond its resorts are in depth and full of excitement and fun. Families explore the destinations they visit through the eyes of a storyteller, their own guide, to give special history and insight into every location. Disney’s Auluani Hawaiian resort lets your kids experience island life based off the popular Lilo & Stich movie, from Lilo’s point of view.

Tauk Tours offers their Tauk Bridges Family Destination tours, where all the details are taken care of so you and your family can relax. The tours focus on local color and cultural experiences, enriching the lives of every generation. Each tour has family friendly interactive activities to participate in, bringing out the natural curiosity in everyone. For example, kids can learn to make pizza while parents enjoy wine tastings. The tours are also all inclusive and include experiences you can’t get anywhere else, like going on a scavenger hunt in the Louvre Museum, walking hand-in-trunk with an elephant, or riding a trail with a cowboy in one of our National Parks. Tauk offers family travel tours in Europe, the Americas and Africa with each itinerary designed to enrich and inspire. Tauk is leading the way along with other companies such as Windstar Cruises, in a wonderful new trend, that of providing exclusive experiences for tour and cruise guests. Special events such as private dinners at historical locations are included in the latest itineraries around the world. Instead of being just part of a larger crowd of tourists, tour and cruise companies are lining up events where the only guests are those on a tour or ship. This brings a more in depth, intimate experience to your vacation, and adds so much more to the memories made.

If you are ready to pop the question to your sweetheart and want to do so over the holiday season, why not top it off with a romantic weekend getaway? Are wedding plans in full swing but you are not sure what to do about your honeymoon? A holiday gift to a resort could be just the answer. Getting away to a tropical destination during the cold winter months will help keep the spirit of romance alive and well. Sandals Resorts are worth looking into for an adult only, top of the line pampered vacation. Each Sandals resorts has incredible cuisine and amenities such as spa services, pools and hot tubs. There are plenty of activities also from yoga sessions to parasailing, hiking to kayaking, or you can simply dance the night away at the resort lounge. Their pristine beaches and elegant rooms will have you feeling like you are on your own private island, just where romance can reign supreme and make your hearts happy.

Romance is always a welcome gift at the holidays whether there is a proposal pending or not. There are resorts for every budget and destination desired, and these make for an ideally sequestered vacation away from it all.

Whatever you decide to do, when you choose to give the gift of travel, you are giving a lifelong memory that will be treasured. Spend some quality time with your loved ones and enjoy an adventure together, you’ll be glad you did.