DEL.ICIO.USFor the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/29/05
 Safari West | |||
| Communing with giraffes at Safari West outside Santa Rosa, CA. | |||
 Breakers | |||
| Tai Chi at The Breakers | |||
 Ananda | |||
| Ananda. The Palace at night. | |||
 Ananda | |||
| Ananda. Yoga to greet the morning. | |||
 Judi Dash/Special | |||
| Palmas del Mar's gorgeous three-mile beach with condos in background. | |||
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MOST POPULARLife is short. So how about resolving to follow some of those travel dreams in 2006? You don't have to spend thousands for a memorable experience.
Can't afford to lease a private island villa? Book an oceanfront apartment at a fraction of the cost.
Is an African safari too haute for your herd? Get a thriftier taste of wild Africa on American turf.
Want to de-stress at a spa without the distress of a stratospheric tab? Calm yourself with an affordable alternative that is (almost) as enticing.
So let the cash flow with a vacation that's out of this world, book a more down-to-earth journey or nab a bedrock bargain that won't feel like you're making do.
Here are some ideas:
Idyll on an island
Out of this world: Cerulean Villa, Barnes Bay, Anguilla, British West Indies. Take the family (or up to seven favorite couples) on a Caribbean dream week at this airy, Moorish-looking estate set beachfront on the island of Anguilla, about four miles off St. Maarten.
All seven suites, each with a large marble bathroom and terrace, overlook the sea (a rare amenity in private villas), as do the large free-form pool and indoor-outdoor dining area. A staff of 14 — including round-the-clock chefs — caters to your every desire, whether that's a lobster-bake lunch on a deserted island, snorkeling offshore amid neon fish, a sunset sail or a romantic torch-lit formal dinner on the villa beach, serenaded by an island band.
If you like, the chef will work with you ahead of your arrival, planning every meal according to your health needs (or decadent fantasies), or let the culinary team surprise you. A sample dinner: risotto with asparagus and truffle oil, grilled Black Angus filet mignon and Anguillan lobster, Parmesan polenta, and apple tart with homemade ginger ice cream and coconut chocolate soufflé (yes, both if you like). In-room massages and facials, private trainers, horseback riding and gallery hops are all options (at an extra charge), as is full-time nanny care for the junior set.
The villa's boat picks you up and returns you either to Anguilla's little airport or — better — the dock by the St. Maarten airport so you don't have to hassle with inter-island flights.
The tab: $42,000 through April 30, $30,000 May 1-Nov. 13. Price includes the villa, staff, breakfast and airport transfers. Everything else is extra, but think of the bragging rights.
Down-to-earth: Palmas del Mar, Humacao, Puerto Rico. Rent a one- to three-bedroom beachfront condo (called villas here) at this 3,000-acre gated community on the southeast coast of Puerto Rico, about an hour's drive from San Juan.
A sprawling community with beach- and hillside condos, private homes, two golf courses, a tennis club, horseback riding, a marina and restaurants, Palmas has a lovely three-mile-long beach with views to the island of Vieques and the southeast curve of Puerto Rico. All apartments are fully furnished and air-conditioned, with TVs (including cable), VCR, phone, washer and dryer, fully equipped kitchens and housekeeping service.
Reserve a transfer from the airport to Palmas and back with Palmas Transport (about $20 each way for a shared ride). You can get around the community by car or golf cart — both available for rent on the property. There's a small food market in Palmas, and big ones within a 15-minute drive.
For adventure, take a day-trip to El Yunque rain forest, book a snorkeling trip or a boat ride to Vieques or head into San Juan for walks in the Old City, great dining and shopping. Most of the staff around the resort is bilingual, so you'll feel at home whether English or Spanish is your preference.
The tab: From about $1,500 a week for a one-bedroom villa mid-December through mid-April, less than $1,000 the rest of the year. Add $500 a week for two bedrooms, $1,000 for three bedrooms. Make sure you know whether your condo has an ocean or "garden" view. Golf, tennis and other activities cost extra.
Bedrock bargain: Maho Bay Camps, St. John, Virgin Islands. Set on a hillside overlooking its namesake bay and surrounded by Virgin Islands National Park, Maho Bay Camps is actually 114 tent cottages on platforms (so as not to damage the vegetation), connected by wooden walkways and stairs.
Each dwelling has screened windows, a private deck, two twin beds, linens, a couch, propane stove, ice chest and cooking and eating utensils. Barbecue areas and fresh water are available along the walkways. Guests share bathhouses.
The outdoor restaurant is a favorite gathering place, and classes in crafts as well as island ecology are offered, as are outdoor activities. Hiking trails run right from the property. Snorkel in the coral gardens of the national park's underwater snorkeling trail. Getting to St. John involves a scenic ferry ride from St. Thomas.
The tab: Through April 30, $125 a night per room for two people, $15 each additional person; May 1-Dec. 14, $75 per room for two, $12 each additional person.
De-stress at a spa
Out of this world: Ananda in the Himalayas, Narendra Nagar, India. India's only destination spa, Ananda mixes the healing principles of the East with the pampering cravings of the West.
Built around a maharaja's palace in the forested foothills of the mountains and overlooking the Ganges River, the lush, Moorish-inspired resort is in the region that gave birth to the ancient arts of yoga, meditation and ayurveda, a holistic healing process that uses herbal therapies to achieve harmony in body, mind and soul.
About a 45-minute flight (or four-hour train journey) from New Delhi, the spa also is near the holy Indian town of Rishikesh (made famous by the Beatles in the '60s when they stayed there with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi).
Guests stay in 75 rooms and suites, each with a view of the Ganges or the palace. The 21,000-square-foot spa offers more than 79 body and beauty treatments. Choose treatments à la carte, or buy a package. The seven-day Ayurvedic Rejuvenation program includes lodgings, a personalized ayurvedic diet, therapeutic juices, purifying therapies (including massage) and private yoga and meditation sessions.
Outdoor excursions include explorations into the Himalayas, Ganges and surrounding national parks for trekking, white-water rafting, nature walks and photo safaris.
The tab: Seven-day Ayurvedic Rejuvenation packages start at $2,560 per person, double occupancy, October through April; $1,938 the rest of the year. À la carte accommodations, including yoga, meditation, fitness classes and other activities, but excluding meals and spa treatments, start at $330 per room per night. The spa's actually a great price, but of course the flight to India ups the ante by $1,000 or more.
Down-to-earth: Red Mountain Spa, Ivins, Utah. Set amid the stunning red rock country of southern Utah, just an hour from Zion National Park and two hours from Las Vegas, Red Mountain provides the perfect mix of pampering spa treatments and energizing outdoor adventures, from easy hikes in the surrounding hills and valleys to rock climbing and awe-inspiring treks in Zion and Bryce national parks.
Meals, which are included in the room price, are in the airy dining room or on an adjoining patio overlooking the mountains. The food is low-fat but creatively prepared. Wine and beer are available for purchase, but guests are more inclined to go the way of fruit smoothies in a bid for detoxification — at least for the length of their stay.
Guest rooms are in a series of two-story clusters — some with gorgeous mountain views, others overlooking each other — so specify your request when booking. The top-end rooms are spacious villa suites, with sprawling living rooms with fireplaces, full kitchens and enormous marble-floored baths with separate shower and Jacuzzi.
Daily morning hikes are graded from easy (but wear hiking boots; this is rocky, rocky terrain) to highly challenging (could you sprint up a mountain, then go for a bike ride?).
There's a lovely Native American bent to the spa, with evening bonfire circles built around tribal storytelling, and Spirit Hikes where the journey is as much inward as forward. Red Mountain has a full roster of aerobics, stretching and yoga classes as well as private instruction in meditation and pampering massages, wraps and hydro treatments. Specialty weeks range from Recharging at Midlife, to Controlling Clutter to Detoxifying Diets.
The tab: Nightly rates start at about $260 per person double occupancy (less for last-minute deals and seasonal specials), including all meals, daily hikes and fitness classes. The seven-day detoxification weeks are a good deal because for $1,813 per person you get all of the above, plus a body wrap, nutrition consultation, acupuncture treatment, cooking class and nutritional supplements.
Bedrock bargain: What a difference a day (spa) makes — a great gift for him or her, or yourself. Packages range from a few hours with a massage, facial or other treatment to all day with the works, including lunch.
The New Jersey-based Day Spa Association (www.day
spaassociation.com) provides information on member spas in every state. SpaFinders (www.spafinders.com) lists day spas worldwide, with an explanation of services, spa etiquette and cutting-edge treatments.
A sampling of half-day spa packages: At Osmosis, a woodsy retreat in the coastal hills of Sonoma County, Calif., the half-day Ultimate Experience package includes tea in the spa's Japanese Garden, a cedar enzyme bath, a 75-minute Swedish massage and an aromatherapy facial.
At the grande dame Breakers Hotel & Spa in Palm Beach, Fla., the Gentleman's Revitalizer is three hours of pampering — a 50-minute sports or deep-tissue massage, facial and pedicure (he'll never pooh-pooh them again).
The tab: Half-day packages typically run $200 to $500, depending on location, and may include lunch. At Osmosis, the Ultimate Experience package costs $265-$280 ($20 more in a private Japanese pagoda in the woods). At the Breakers, the Gentleman's Revitalizer is $350 and includes unlimited same-day use of the spa's workout equipment and classes.
Go wild on safari
Out of this world: A 17-day southern Africa wildlife adventure, plus more. Silvia Berman of Post Haste Travel Service in Hollywood, Fla., has designed a dream trip incorporating two days at majestic Victoria Falls (including a helicopter flight over the falls and elephant-back safari); a three-day canoe safari along Zambia's Zambezi River, paddling by elephants and hippos; three days of game drives in South Africa's Kruger National Park, with lodgings in swank Singita Boulders Lodge; an overnight journey on the chichi Blue Train, with fine dining and great views of the passing countryside from your sumptuous suite and the observation car; and five days around Cape Town, exploring the cosmopolitan seaside city (with afternoon tea at the Mount Nelson hotel and hot nighttime jazz), the Cape of Good Hope, the wine country and Robben Island (where former President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned).
This trip obviously isn't for youngsters, but Post Haste can make modifications geared more to the junior set.
The ideal time to go for best animal viewing and least rain is August or September, but it's not too soon to start planning. Top accommodations book fast.
The tab: About $13,000 per person, including land portion and internal flights.
Down-to-earth: One-week Kenya Safari. Kenya is the tried-and-true safari-land, the place you're most likely to see lions, rhinos, leopards and elephants — plus giraffes, hippos, cheetahs and more, albeit with a lot of other safari vehicles sharing the experience.
Go2Africa, a booking agency based in Cape Town, South Africa, has some good deals on Kenya wildlife trips. The Highlights of Kenya tour includes game drives via minibus in some of the most popular animal-viewing reserves — semi-desert Samburu; Lake Nakuru (home to huge flocks of flamingos); Mount Kenya National Park, in the shadow of Kenya's highest mountain; and the legendary, game-rich Masai Mara savanna, where you can mingle with Masai villagers (usually for an extra camera fee).
Definitely splurge on an optional (but unforgettable) hot-air balloon safari over the savanna and twisting Mara River.
The tab: From $1,220 per person; $610 children ages 2-12. Optional balloon safari — about $400 for an hour in the air — is worth every penny.
Bedrock bargains: Two-night family adventure at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, with a one-day pass to Animal Kingdom, Orlando. Or Safari Adventure at Safari West, Santa Rosa, Calif.
OK, so it's not Africa, but Disney's African-lodge-style resort, set on 33 acres of "tropical savanna" outside Orlando, feels pretty safari-esque nonetheless, and the kids will love it. The lodge is the ideal base for exploring Disney's Animal Kingdom, which offers game drives amid zebras, elephants, tigers, gazelles and giraffes; raft runs; and other jungle shtick.
Disney resort guests get free shuttle service to and from the theme parks, as well as access to the parks an hour before the rest of the crowd and up to three hours after everyone else has to leave. From the lodge's premium savanna-view guestrooms and some public areas, you can look out on free-roaming giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, Congo buffalo, spiral-horned antelope and other mammals, as well as exotic birds such as African spoonbills, storks and cranes.
Safari West in California, a 400-acre wildlife reserve 65 miles north of San Francisco, takes a more serious approach to animal-watching.
Created to promote conservation through breeding, education and research, the sanctuary offers naturalist-guided jeep rides (by appointment only) amid 80 species of free-roaming mammals and birds. Visitors can stay in permanent African-style tents overlooking the animals, which include herds of antelope, eland, gazelle, zebra, giraffe and wildebeest.
The tab: Disney's Animal Kingdom's "Magic Your Way" package is $877 for two adults and two children for two nights in an Animal Kingdom Lodge savanna-view room and one-day ticket to Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
Nightly rate for Safari West tent lodgings, with en suite bathrooms with shower, is $225 for two people, $25 each additional person (maximum five people in a tent), including a continental breakfast. Jeep safaris with a naturalist last 2 1/2 to three hours and run $52-$60 for adults, depending on the day; $25-$28 for ages 3-12. (Parents are discouraged from bringing children under 3.)
(Note: Prices for all the trips do not include transportation to the destination. Some meals and other incidentals also may cost extra.)
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