It’s an exciting day for me!

Collette Vacations just announced the launch of Collette Family Vacations, complete with new logo, brochure and micro-site.

Collette Family Vacations are kid friendly travel options for parents and grandparents. On the roster of Family Vacations are nine new, specially-crafted itineraries that bring travelers of all ages together to experience destinations ranging from U.S. National Parks and Canada to the Galapagos and Kenya.

As the mother of three children, and someone who works in travel, it is always disheartening to me to see friends take their children year after year to Disney (no offense to Disney – we’ve taken the kids there a few times as well and have enjoyed it). But there is so much more to see and do and seven continents to do them!

It’s important to my husband and me to expose our kids to new sights and cultures – or at least as much as our budget allows. Living in a fairly small town in the smallest state, why not broaden their perspective a bit (and enhance their overall education)?

Plus, check out some of these family-friendly vacation inclusions and tell me what kid wouldn’t give up Space Mountain to try this:

• a zip-line canopy tour in Costa Rica.
• a wildlife encounter in the Galapagos.
• a ride on the London Eye.

I like to believe that families grow closer with shared experiences like rafting the Athabasca River in the Canadian Rockies, learning to make an authentic pizza in Italy or watching Old Faithful erupt in Yellowstone.

Here are a few more things about Collette Family Vacations that I think parents and grandparents will like:

• They offer the ease and convenience of an escorted tour but are geared toward parents and grandparents traveling with children.
• Child Rates up to 50% Off adult rates for children (14 and under).
• Child rates that apply even with only one accompanying adult.
• Family-friendly hotels and activities; and itineraries designed to keep all generations engaged.

In a written announcement, Collette President and CEO Dan Sullivan, Jr. said of the new brand, “Launching Collette Family Vacations is really a natural extension of what we’re all about – Collette is in its third generation of Sullivan family ownership. I remember my dad (Dan Sullivan, Sr.) taking my siblings and I, along with our cousins, to the New York World’s Fair. This was the first of many family adventures that would serve to form lasting family bonds that are still strong today.”

What family trips do you remember from when you were a child?

For me, our family vacations always involved long car rides and too many visits to  forts and historic battlefields (my dad is a war buff). My brother and I just hoped for a motel with a pool.

Budapest

 Imagine your are Retired, sitting at home and dreaming of traveling to Europe.  You fought in WORLD WAR II, or grew up during the freeze of the Cold War: East Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Krakow, Warsaw – ALL OFF LIMITS. You yearn to go to all those magnificent cities that lay locked in mystery behind the Iron Curtain.

Well, today these are some of the top travel destinations in the world, and Collette Vacations will introduce them to you in style!

That was the opening of an email my Collette colleague, David Lutz, product manager, recently sent. I admit I was intrigued. Funny how words have a way of doing that.

Of course, it is David’s job to encourage our District Sales Managers to promote itineraries that he is responsible for…in this case, the Magnificent Cities of Central and Eastern Europe program.  WIth a land only price of $2199 – that’s just $150 per day - this tour unlocks those destinations and will take you from West to East – from Old Europe to New Europe.

Krakow Wawel Castle

Said David, “We have all heard of Checkpoint Charlie;  Prague Castle; Budapest, Queen of the Danube; Vienna, City of Mozart;  the Ghettos of Krakow; Auschwitz; and the bombing of Warsaw.”

On this tour, this is all included and travelers here are awed by the stunning architecture, history, culture, and delectable cuisine. “I tell people to travel to this area before it’s too late –in Eastern Europe our clients can see European culture the way it once was, before McDonald’s, before Hollywood, before consumerism,” explains David. “It’s authentic travel at its best.”

Some other points worth noting:

• Collette includes more sightseeing than anyone else.
• Our hotels are all centrally located in the cities.
• We use local cultural experts for inclusive city tours in Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, and Warsaw.
• 2 night stays in each city = Easy Pace.
• 6 Countries – the only Collette program that visits 6 countries (including Slovakia)!

Are you intrigued yet? If not, maybe this will help…

Consider travel to Eastern and Central Europe in 2011…where family is #1, where food is still home made, where people walk everywhere and have their own gardens, where history doesn’t come alive at the museum – but LIVES ON THE STREET!

Happy Travels!

Warsaw, Poland

Obidos and castle view

It’s our second full day of touring on our Sunny Portugal vacation. Unfortunately today is not sunny and Emily, our tour manager, tells us that rain is forecast. We hope we can dodge the rain drops when we travel to Portugal’s beautiful ‘Silver Coast”. On the agenda:  Obidos, Nazaré and Fatima, the world-famous Marian pilgrimage site.

I’ve said hello to many of our passengers this morning at breakfast and now that they are starting to fill the motorcoach, I can see that everyone is looking forward to this day, not deterred in the least by the weather which Emily calls “liquid sunshine”. Some of our group arrived in Portugal early just to visit and overnight in the Fatima region so this will be their second visit there.

I worried a bit about experiencing motion sickness on Portugal’s winding roads but Bruce and Maria, our passengers from Southern California, were kind enough to let me take their assigned seats in the front of the motorcoach because they prefer riding in the back.  In case you didn’t know, tour managers will typically put your name on an index card above a seat on the motorcoach so that each day you sit somewhere different. It keeps it fair for everyone, especially if you prefer the front like I do.

In the walled town of Óbidos, we entered through the southern gate whose interior is embellished with pretty 18^th century tiles. We made our way to the church of Santa Maria. Its exterior is whitewashed like the homes in Óbidos and the interior is simple with a painted wooden ceiling and 17^th century tiles.

Church of Santa Maria, Obidos

There were few tourists aside from our group and it was easy to navigate the charming, winding streets. I enjoyed taking pathways not knowing where they would lead but always pleasantly surprised. Many of my excursions led to a view of the castle that dominates the town.

Today the castle is a pousada. The concept of the pousada originated in the 1940’s when the Portuguese government establish a network of state-run country inns set in scenic locations with most having fewer than 30 rooms.

Nazare's beautiful beach

Many in our group hated to leave Óbidos but it was off to Nazaré, a fishing village and popular summer resort. A sweeping bay backed by steep cliffs frames a beautiful stretch of beach. The rain was teeming by now, however, so after a quick lunch it was back on the motorcoach. There’s nothing you can do about the weather and our group made the best of it – fingers crossed that the sun would shine when we arrived in Fatima.

Before Fatima, Emily and our driver make an unscheduled stop. I’ll tell you all about it in my next  post.

Monastery and Royal Palace, Mafra

We traveled north today to the town of Mafra, one of the oldest in Portugal, known for its off-white pottery accented with pale blue designs and, yes, an architectural masterpiece which rivals that of Versailles.

Laura, our step on guide for the day recounted the history of the Portuguese monarchy and she was with us throughout our tour of the enormous Mosteiro Palácio Nacional de Mafra (Monastery and Royal Palace). In a nutshell, the story goes that in 1711 King João V vowed that should his Hapsburg queen, Mariana, bear him an heir, then he would build a monastery dedicated to St. Anthony. A girl, who would later become queen of Spain, was born the same year with João’s eventual heir, José I, born three years after that.

A highlight of the tour is the magnificent baroque bibliotheque (library) shaped like a cross. The two-tiered, barrel-vaulted room houses some 36,000 books from mainly the 16^th – 18^th centuries. Bats make their home in the library and serve to attack moths and worms thereby protecting the ancient books from corrosion. They are not sure how the bats got there but as they are doing a fine job protecting the books, they are left alone to do their job.   

 A few additional things that struck me about the Royal Palace:

•  The construction of the Palace was built on the gold and riches brought from Brazil.
• Upwards of 50,000 workers labored in the construction which includes 880 halls and rooms and 154 stairways.
• In the monastery infirmary, there were no mattresses on the beds. It’s a wonder how anyone convalesced.
• The gilded throne room, called the audience room, contains life-size painted renditions of the seven virtues and an imposing figure of Hercules.
• The basilica was patterned after St. Peter’s in the Vatican.
  

  Imposing Basilica, Mafra

• And while I can’t for the life of me figure out why there are no fireplaces in any area of the complex (save for the kitchens I would imagine), there was some glimmer of innovation including an early version of a pinball machine in the games room.

 Mafra and its impressive palace were a great way to kick off our first full tour day.  Our next stop was Sintra, an UNESCO World Heritage site and favorite summer residence of Portuguese kings for six centuries.

It was here that Lisa and I ducked into a hole-in-the-wall shop after lunch and indulged in a quintessential Portuguese drink, ginginha (zheen-zheen-yah).

Portugal's Ginja Drink

Sold for about a buck a shot, its liquor made from the sour cherry-like ginja berry. The best part was our shot glass was made of chocolate. Very sweet!

Lisa & Melissa at the Boca de Inferno, Cascais, Portugal

We arrived early morning and once situated at Hotel Estoril Eden (and the view of the ocean from our room was heavenly), we opted to fight the jet lag with a walk along the promenade to Cascais. Sunny and warm – we worried that we had packed too many cold weather clothes. 

View of promenade from our hotel., Estoril

There were many people taking advantage of the beautiful day, families, young lovers, retirees, and lots of unleashed dogs (the Portuguese love their dogs as does my room mate Lisa and I’ve got the photos to prove it). The walk from the hotel to Cascais was a mere 20 minutes and it felt good to stretch the legs after our transatlantic flight.

Cascais is a resort town and though fairly quiet now (it is November after all), you can sense the crush of masses that must descend on its shops, cafés, and sandy bays and beaches during the summer months. I admired the lace and linens and other handicrafts at roadside stalls just off what appeared to be the main square. Our walk took us as far as the harbor with its fishing boats and yachts, not realizing that a bit further up the road was the most visited attraction in the area, the forbiddingly named Boca de Inferno (mouth of Hell), a natural grotto tucked in the rugged coastline.

Bounty from the Sea - Yum!

Fortunately on a return trip to Cascais, we took advantage of stormy weather to photograph the sea show of waves crashing the cliffs and to enjoy the day’s fresh catch at a lovely restaurant overlooking the Atlantic.

Quintessential Portugal

I’ve just returned from Collette Vacations’ Sunny Portugal tour, a 10-day leisurely-paced journey that took us from the capital city of Lisbon to the Estoril Coast then south to the pristine Algarve.

My travel companion was Lisa from Collette’s Groups department and together with our tour manager and leader, Emily, and a group of 33 other fun, engaging travelers we set out to discover Portugal… the historic land of great explorers, Fado, azulejos and bacalhau. From the Portuguese Riviera to the world famous Fatima and the many fishing villages that dot the Atlantic coastline, I’ll try to give you a sense of what I saw and experienced as well as all things quintessential Portugal.

As Emily told our group early on, “This tour is a like a sampler platter; we’ll give you a taste of a lot of things, in the hope that you’ll come back and visit Portugal for more.”

Check back in the coming days!

Russian River Cruise

Thanks USA Today for highlighting the following Collette tour in your USATODAY.com Travel Tips section. We love that kind of promotion!

Collette Vacations’ Russian River Cruise

Collette Vacations’ Russian River Cruise is an 11-day journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Begin with a tour of Moscow’s landmarks, such as Red Square and St. Basil’s Cathedral, followed by an afternoon at leisure in the city. The river cruise begins the next day after a visit to the Kremlin, with musical entertainment on-board as you sail away from Moscow. The first destination is Uglich, where you will take a walking tour and see a choir performance in the Transfiguration Cathedral. Spend the following days visiting the rural town of Goritsy, cruising over White Lake and Lake Onega, and touring the historic churches of Kizhi Island. On the way to St. Petersburg, cruise along the Svir River, stopping in the riverside towns of Mandroghi or Svirstroy, then along the Neva River. Three days are dedicated to sightseeing in St. Petersburg, before returning home.

USA TODAY  - Travel Tips

The Baby Boomer episodes aired on the Hallmark Channel on Wednesday, November 10^th at 7:30am (6:30am CST), with reruns airing on the Hallmark Movie Channel on Thursday, November 11^th at 5:00am EST, Monday, November 15^th at 5:30am EST and Tuesday, November 16^th at 5:00am. 

Don’t worry if you weren’t up that early and missed our segment. Here it is for your viewing pleasure!

L-R: Melanie McDonald, Collette tour manager with Jacque Stacy in NYC

Member Spotlight:  Jacque Stacy

Ever thought how wonderful it would be to travel for free? As a group leader, you can do just that – but how do you get started and what does it entail? I decided to ask a successful group leader these questions and others in the following interview.

Self-starter and highly motivated Senior Circle Director – Jacque Stacy, South Texas Regional Medical Center,  impressed me with her initiatives and comprehensive outreach to her 1,000 members. This savvy Senior Circle Director uses travel with Collette Vacations as a way to increase member participation.

 Collette Vacations:

What made you start offering group travel to your membership?

JS:

I have a serious wanderlust so the idea of travel really appealed to me. Plus, I find that seniors like the idea of travel – it is a great stress reducer. Because Senior Circle chapters are in rural areas typically far from the big cities, we look for ways to make our members feel connected so that the first place they go if an issue comes up is our medical center. The excitement of travel affords me the opportunity to market the services of our health care family.

Collette Vacations:

Speaking of marketing, what is your strategy when it comes to marketing your travel opportunities?

JS:

In the beginning I talked a lot. I like to think of my strategy as relationship-building marketing. Word of mouth is the best marketing tool for us in a rural area. Because our membership demographics are over 65, email is not a consistent tool for getting the word out – not everyone has it and those that do have an email account don’t always check it. Our first tour was Back Roads of New England and I think my enthusiasm helped others get enthused about traveling. That first trip I signed up 31 people and from there we were off and running. Now I survey members once a year and have them rank where they would like to go – so now in addition to talking, it’s about listening…

Collette Vacations:

What marketing tools do you use to stay in touch with past travelers and prospective new travelers?

JS:

I promote an upcoming tour in our quarterly newsletter which goes to over a thousand members. I promote a slide show presentation “Travel Night” in the newsletter and on posters that Collette provides. I also write up a press release for our local newspaper that gives details about the Travel Night. Travel Nights are a great way to publicize an upcoming trip and the presentation really gets people excited about the destination. I also send postcards provided by Collette that I can customize to get the word out.

Collette Vacations:

What are the rewards of being a Senior Circle Group Leader?

JS:

When you travel with your members, you really get to know them. That is so important as it helps participation in so many other areas like our exercise program, Birthday Bingo Potluck and our physician hosted lunch and learn opportunities. There is great satisfaction in traveling and seeing a place for the first time with my members and I think there is a level of comfort in traveling with a group – that is probably why our Beijing trip was so successful. We’ve traveled to New York City a few times and I currently have 49 travelers booked to go to Ireland with Collette in March 2011.

Collette Vacations:

You are a Collette President’s Club member which recognizes successful group leaders and rewards them with a free trip. What makes working with Collette special?

JS:

Collette makes it so easy! It really is as simple as that. When I hear that other Senior Circle chapters are reluctant to utilize the travel program partnership with Collette Vacations, I find it hard to believe. Group travel opportunities with Collette Vacations are one of my biggest recruitment tools making it a win-win relationship.  The close working relationship I have with my area Collette District Sales Manager and inside group department really does make it easy to promote travel. Even if a Senior Circle Director has no interest in traveling, you can still host a trip – Collette’s escorted tours feature the services of a professional tour manager who is with the group throughout the trip.

Stay tuned for more tips on how to become a group leader and travel for free – next time I’ll show you how easy it is to “find” a group and build its numbers.

More and more, travelers today want a vacation where food and wine is the main attraction. Knowing this, Explorations have included plenty of wine tastings, culinary classes and opportunities to savor local cuisine in each of its small group tours.

To really get to know a destination, there’s arguably no better way to do it than by diving right into its cuisine. Winery visits and samplings, especially, can impart a whole text book’s worth of history – how the grape came to the region, how things like climate and irrigation affect the wines taste, and how wine production can impact a region’s entire economy.

And while I love all the background commentary, there is nothing quite like simply sipping a chardonnay or full-bodied red surrounded by beautiful scenery. Here are my personal favorite places to enjoy a sip or two of vino:

1. Napa Valley, California
2. Mendoza, Argentina
3. Tuscany, Italy
4. Colchagua  Valley, Chile
5. Champs-Elysées, Paris

I’d love to hear your favorite places to sniff, swirl and taste. Comments are always welcome!