Inside the pages of the Exotics brochure are 28 tours to some of the world’s most sought out destinations including Namibia, Israel, Thailand, China, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica and the South Pacific.

New tours featured in the Exotics brochure include Collette’s Israel: A Journey to the Holy Land; Flavors of Thailand; The Wonders of South America; Avenue of the Volcanoes; and Three Kingdoms of Indochina, a 19-day Explorations tour which travels with no more than 28 passengers.

The brochure is available in print and  an e-brochure can soon be found online at http://www.collettevacations.com/ebrochure.cfm.

With competitive pricing and companion air offers on select Australia and New Zealand tours, Collette’s Exotics brochure is definitely worth taking a look at!

Iguazu Falls

Collette is introducing a new concept called modular touring and is launching it with their new Wonders of South America cornerstone itinerary which is on sale now with departures starting in May 2012.

Personally, I think the idea is a good one.

Cornerstone Itinerary

Rio de Janeiro

Essentially, travelers can purchase this 11-day South America highlights tour that will feature Rio, Iguazu Falls, Mendoza and Buenos Aires. Rio de Janeiro is host to soccer’s World Cup in 2014 as well as the 2016 Summer Olympics and Collette passengers can spend three nights in this exciting and happening city.

Spice it up with a bit of Chile

For those who want to delve deeper into the continent, the new 11-day tour may be extended to 16-days with the addition of Chile featuring Bariloche, a Lake Crossing of the Andes, Chilean Wine Country and the sights of Santiago, Chile’s capital city.

Add an Amazon experience or the Lost City of the Incas…or both!

Then there are the pre and post extensions that can be added to either the 11-day or 16-day  itinerary. Choices include the Brazilian Amazon pre-extension where you can spend three nights at the Jungle Lodge and one overnight in Rio; or add on the 7-night Machu Picchu and Peru post-extension to either base tour for a complete South American journey. 

South America – Your Way!

Machu Picchu

You see where I’m going? Not literally…though I have been to Chile and Argentina with Collette and, if time had allowed, I would have opted for some of these add-ons. After all, you’ve traveled a pretty long distance so why not take advantage of seeing more of what the continent has to offer, especially Machu Picchu? I recall on this journey meeting a couple who had been in South America close to a month – they were leaving Santiago, Chile, the next morning to fly to Easter Island. I think having the ability to customize your vacation…to take an escorted tour and add components that make it more personal - (all without having to do too much work) – is the best of both worlds.

Easy for travel agents to custom tailor a group trip

We have already been seeing interest in South America grow. With the introduction of this modular concept of a shorter base tour with many options, Collette has made it easy for travel agents to custom tailor an unforgettable and comprehensive South American vacation for their clients based on budget and desired length of vacation stay.  

“We created this new, flexible tour to be customizable with optional modules that will uncover the many marvels of South America – its beauty, culture, history, cuisine, entertainment, and geography,” says Allison Flint, Collette product manager. “It’s a South American vacation your way – as long or as short as you want and we will definitely have clients interested in the 28-day adventure. These are the same clients who have already traveled on our Complete South Pacific tour.”

Top attractions and off the beaten path experiences

On the cornerstone itinerary, Collette has included the most sought-after attractions like a visit to Iguazu Falls and  Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue with culinary experiences like learning how to craft the famous caipriniha cocktail and indulging in a Brazilian-style barbeque at a renowned ‘Churrascaria’ restaurant. In addition to the experience of viewing Iguazu Falls’ “Devil’s Throat” from a platform perch, other tour highlights include a tango lesson in Buenos Aires; a train ride to the top of Rio’s Corcovado Mountain to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; and a tour of Mendoza, the lovely Argentinean city within the shadows of the Andes Mountains and the ideal base for exploring the Caminos del Vino wine route. Experience the flavor and history of Argentina’s most famous wine, Malbec, during a gourmet wine pairing lunch and visits to bodegas in Mendoza.

The starting at price for the 11-day Wonders of South America tour is $2599 per person, double, land only. For more information and details of the pre- and post-extension options and alternate Chile itinerary, I suggest you call 800-340-5158.

An escorted tour that is flexible enough to fit any budget or length of stay issues. I think this will be a home run with travel agents and travelers and South America is the ideal destination to kick-off this modular tour concept.

More and more people are traveling to South America.

It’s an affordable destination and it boasts a dizzying array of spectacular landscapes. Collette Vacations invites you to cross the equator on the Pathway of the Sun for a once in a lifetime journey where you will find yourself immersed in the natural wonders of Ecuador.

Collette’s  Avenue of the Volcanoes tour is the newest addition to its growing lineup of South American tours. The unique vacation features the Haciendas of the Andes, a cruise of the impressive Cuicocha Crater Lake, and a journey through Cotopaxi National Park for views of one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. 

Here are 5 more things not to miss on our new 11-day tour:

1. Go back in time with a stay in centuries-old Andean haciendas boasting rich Spanish colonial history – these estate accommodations are unique to Ecuador.
2. Take a tour of rose, banana and cacao plantations, and learn how chocolate is made.
3. Witness local artisans transform toquilla palm straw into famous finely woven hats with a tour to a Panama hat factory in Cuenca and visit several other communities and colorful markets.
4. Visit the largest pre-Columbian archaeological site in Ecuador and walk the ancient streets of Cuenca, dating to the Incan Empire.
5. Enjoy a train ride through the Andes viewing fertile valleys of fruit and sugar plantations and see incredible waterfalls in Baños, at the foot of the active Tungurahua volcano and the gateway to the Amazon.

In response to input from past Collette passengers to this region, Collette is now offering an optional 4-night Ecuador Amazon pre-tour extension and a 5-night Galapagos Islands cruise post-tour extension to the Avenue of the Volcanoes tour. This added flexibility gives travelers the ability to optimize their journey to South America to best fit their vacation needs.

Thanks to those of you who have read our blog, returned for another visit, and maybe even commented on one of our posts.

Traveling Well has been going strong since 2009 when we launched our first Reality Tour series showcasing South America’s wines and wonders. No one is more amazed that we have been able to continually contribute travel news, tips, and destination spotlights each week  than your regular contributors given what comes up in the course of any given business day at Collette!

So now, we hope you’ll forgive us but for the next four days, you will see rcycled blog postings while Johnny Quest welcomes a new baby and I am off for some R&R with my family on the lakes and in the mountains of New Hampshire.

Recycling is good since maybe the articles we have chosen to highlight this week were missed the first time around and this is your second chance to read some of our more popular postings.

It also gives your contributors a chance to re-charge. I am counting on the fresh New Hampshire air to provide new insight and informative dialogue for future blog posts and, for my colleague; well, maybe a crying baby will bring him running back to the office filled with crazy inspiration that comes from lack of sleep.

Happy Reading!

Tech on Tour:  Postcards from around the World

Five Fresh Travel Tips

My Top 5 Travel Books

Food on Tour

Israel: You have to see it to believe it

Views from the top of Cerro San Cristobal

Santiago, Chile, has been named the top location to visit in 2011 by The New York Times’ list, Places to Go in 2011.

Collette offers two tours that visit Santiago, Chile: the 11-day Wines & Wonders of South America which spends three nights in Santiago, and the 15-day Discover South America tour which spends two nights in Santiago. South America continues to gain international recognition as an affordable, rewarding destination that exceeds expectations.

“Chile is an incredible destination!” says Allison Flint, Collette’s Product Manager for the region. “It is modern, cosmopolitan, with great shopping and full of opportunities to indulge in delicious Chilean wines – Santiago, the capital city of Chile, is the perfect city to start a South American adventure!”

For travelers on a Collette tour, you will find yourself immersed in the culture of Santiago during a welcome dinner, complete with Chilean wine, and a folkloric show interpreting the cultures and traditions of Chile. A locally guided tour of the heart of the city, the Plaza de Armas, provides a great overview of the history of Santiago. I recall the amazing views of Santiago and the Andes when I had the opportunity to ride the cable car up Cerro San Cristobal to admire the larger-than-life Statue of the Immaculate Conception.  With your Collette tour manager leading the way, you’ll view all the significant sights of Santiago including O’Higgins Park, the Palacio de la Moneda government building, and the many culturally rich and historic neighborhoods of the city.

Another highlight for me and a pleasant optional day trip from Santiago is the coastal resort towns of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar including a visit to the Pablo Neruda museum. And on Wines & Wonders of South America, Santiago is the base from which you explore the famous Colchagua wine valley on the Tren del Vino and spend the day learning about carmenere and other famous varietals.  Not to mention the unforgettable gourmet lunch with wine at the Santa Cruz winery!

You can read all about these experience by viewing posts from our South American reality tour. And for those of you who have been to Santiago, I’d love to hear your impressions of the city.

It looks hot here! Australia's Outback.

Here in New England the temperature has been hovering at zero. Old Man Winter has us in his grips and with more snow predicted, he doesn’t seem ready to loosen his stranglehold any time soon.

In spin class the other day, I pedaled furiously in an attempt to break a sweat and get warm for the first time in a long time. As often is the case with exercise and me, my mind wandered and I imaginined myself on a bike ride to a warmer destination.

Here are my top 5 warm weather longings (but not necessarily destinations I recommend biking to from New England):

1. Southern California. I guess the recent Academy Award nomination buzz and missing friends who live here, makes this my current top warm weather getaway…again.
2. A journey to the South Pacific. It’s summer time in Australia and New Zealand right now…enough said.
3. Just about any island in the Caribbean would work.
4. Argentina. I traveled here on our Wines and Wonders tour and would love to re-visit Mendoza and sip Malbec in a bodega along Los Caminos del Vino wine route.
5. A game drive in South Africa. I promise I wouldn’t complain about the heat – not once.

Where are you longing to go to escape winter?

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!

Keep your skin and thirst quenched
Drinking water is an obvious health travel tip, especially in an airplane. Ordering water from the flight attendant is not enough. You need to drink water the day before your trip – 6 to 8 glasses is a good rule to follow. And avoid alcohol and caffeine until you’ve arrived at your destination.

Keeping your insides hydrated doesn’t mean you should neglect the outside. I always apply a thick layer of moisturizer to my face and hands the morning of travel and I keep a small spray bottle of rose water in my carry-on which I mist on my face when I start to feel like I am drying out.

Keep it light

Ladies, go easy on the make up the day of travel. I find it much more beneficial to simply use a tinted moisturizer and lip balm and wait until I’ve reached my destination before applying makeup. Remember the nearest airport rest room I mentioned earlier? Or, if you simply can’t wait that long, squeeze into the plane’s lavatory and put your face on before the initial descent begins.

Remember though if you are bringing a cosmetic bag of toiletries on the airplane, make sure you know what’s allowed—and what’s not— by TSA. There’s nothing worse than having expensive cosmetics confiscated during security screening.

Wash often and well

This seems so obvious. Now that school has started I find myself constantly telling my three kids to wash their hands with soap and water - or use hand sanitizer regularly throughout the day. To no avail apparently as each of them has already missed a day at school due to illness…and it’s not yet October.

Washing your hands often and well (meaning at least 25 seconds) can help you avoid getting sick on vacation.  And while this tip may seem basic, I find that simple back-to-basics beauty routines are what keeps us looking the most refreshed when we arrive at our destination.

Share (Your tips; never cosmetics!)

Do you have tips for warding off the travel-weary look that comes from being a road warrior? Please share as I’ll be taking to the skies again soon.

Antarctica Cruising

Perhaps you read a few months back that due to the huge increases in tourism to Antarctica, new restrictions on large cruise ship visits have been implemented. Essentially what that means is that many of the large cruise ships will no longer be able to sail through Antarctic waters. 

I spoke with Allison Flint, Collette’s product manager for the White Continent, about the implications of these new tourism limits for Collette passengers planning a vacation here.

Q. How will these tourism limits affect Collette’s Antarctica tour in 2011?

AF: There will be no impact for Collette passengers because we use small expedition-style ships and they are unaffected by the restrictions. Collette guests will enjoy the MS Fram, a state-of-the-art polar explorer ship, which carries a maximum of 318 passengers, and is also the newest and most luxurious ship in the Hurtigruten fleet!

Q. Aside from the smaller size of the MS Fram, what other advantages does this ship offer?

AF:  The most important advantage of the MS Fram  is that its Polar Cirkel landings (rugged zodiac boats) guarantee up close wildlife viewings. I mean, why go to Antarctica unless you can set foot onshore?

Chin Strap Penguin

Also, on board lectures by expedition leaders specializing in biology, history and geology enhance your vacation experience as does the gourmet cuisine which our passengers rave about!

Q. How are sales to Antarctica and what do we offer for those interested in traveling there with Collette?

AF:  The seventh continent is a booming destination and Collette is enjoying that wave bringing many passengers here each year. In fact, we were able to secure additional cabins on our December 29 and January 7 departures, both of which were previously sold out. The December 29 departure is exciting because passengers on this date will experience a special New Year’s Eve celebration!  We will visit Buenos Aires just in time to ring in 2011 at the Hotel Panamericano complete with dinner, drinks, live music and dancing…

 Q. I have been to that hotel and it is in a great location right on the 9^th of July Boulevard.

AF:  Yes, our guests will enjoy two nights at this hotel before their cruise. It is centrally located and an easy walk to shopping and restaurants. Plus, Buenos Aires is a wonderful, vibrant city to experience “Año Nuevo”.

 Q. What else would you like to share about this destination?

 AF: I encourage people thinking about traveling to Antarctica to take advantage of the fact that large cruise ships may no longer be an option; the future of big cruise ships in Antarctica is uncertain. The fact is we have always used a smaller ship because we felt that it made for a more intimate, environmentally friendly experience. Be sure to check itineraries closely. Collette offers a fantastic, unique itinerary – a 9 night cruise plus Buenos Aires plus Ushuaia!

Q. Ushuaia is a port town…

AF: Yes and we overnight here at the gorgeous Las Yamanas boutique hotel, where every room has a view of the Beagle Channel.  From here we take an excursion into Tierra del Fuego National Park – “Land of Fire” – where you feel like you’ve journeyed to the “end of the world”!  Also in Ushuaia, Collette passengers experience a home hosted dinner with a local Fuegon family – we consistently get rave reviews from our travelers on this intimate cultural experience. 

Tierra del Fuego

Q. Sounds like another dream destination to add to my list.

AF:  Yes, Dan [Collette President and CEO] went to Antarctica a few years back with his wife, Kathy, and both considered it one of their favorite destinations in the world -  a dream worth seeing. In fact Kathy said, that “Antarctica will always be the icing on my cake of travels”. I think that sums it up nicely.

Any readers been to the Seventh Continent or thinking of going? I’d love to hear your impressions of it or what so far has held you back from going.

Tuscan Vineyards

We’ve all heard it; drinking a glass of red wine daily promotes good health. Though I’ve never needed an excuse to enjoy a glass of wine, having it validated makes it taste even better!

Travelers continue to search for tours with a wine component. There are many places to learn about wine making and its subtle tasting nuances. Italy tops our list.   

“As the media expounds the health benefits of drinking wine, travelers continue to search for tours with a wine component,” said Annette Morejon, Collette Vacations product manager for Italy. “‘Wine Tours’ are a growing trend, and we’re on it – winery or vineyard visits and tastings are now a part of nearly all of Collette’s tours to Italy.”

Most of Collette’s Italy programs also feature even more cultural and educational components than before like learning about grapes used for different types of wine, participating in chef-led cooking demonstrations, witnessing gourmet food demonstrations and enjoying feasts that showcase the regional flavors of Italy.

“We offer programs with a culinary focus because we know from research that Collette’s passengers enjoy this element of their vacation,” says Annette.

Italy is known for its food and wine; they play a major role in the culture here – what are some of your favorite wine regions and why? I’ll write about your favorites in upcoming posts beginning with my favorite…Mendoza, Argentina.