By Judy Newell
Mexico News
New Hotel Alert: Rancho Pescadero in Baja
Rancho Pescadero is ready to open its doors this November. An adults-only hotel featuring 103 luxury accommodations, the property’s concept of connecting with your surroundings puts Baja California’s nature, local culture, and farm-to-table cuisine at the heart of the guest experience.
In addition to immersive, complementary, activities—add in a spa, swimming pool, two miles of beach, three restaurants, unique gardens, and you’ve got a luxury experience with authentic Baja spirit.
Located just outside the artist’s haven of Todos Santos on Mexico’s Pacific coast, the 30 acres of Rancho Pescadero are spectacular and emblematic of Baja’s wildness—mountains, desert scape, and ocean—while keeping Los Cabos (SJD) International Airport at around an hour’s drive away.
International News
Flexible Travelers Club—Open Enrollment
Lindblad Expeditions is extending an invitation to their past guests to join their Flexible Travelers Club. This is designed for those who have flexibility and can travel at short notice.
For more than 60 years, Lindblad Expeditions has been introducing guests to authentic expedition travel and this unique members-only savings club is designed for people who embody the same spirit of adventure.
If you are passionate about the natural world, inspired by the thrill of discovery in far-flung places, and able to make plans at relatively short notice, Lindblad invites you to take advantage of this special opportunity.
For an annual fee, club members enjoy exclusive and significant savings on a wide range of voyages. Once enrolled, members will receive a monthly email with the latest offers as well as access to a portal where all active offers can be found.
These are some current expeditions on offer and the kind of savings you can look forward to:
- 25 percent off Journey to Antarctica: The White Continent
- 40 percent off Galápagos, aboard National Geographic Endeavour II
- 30 percent off Iceland’s Wild West Coast to East Greenland
- 40 percent off Under the Southern Cross: New Zealand to Melanesia
Membership options include: one-year membership for US$1,500 per person; two-year membership for US$2,000 per person.
Enrollment is now open and runs through November 28, 2022.
Cruise News
150th Anniversary of HAL
Kick off the 150th anniversary celebration of Holland America Line, which they are commemorating by offering you a 50% reduced deposit and up to US$150 onboard credit per person when you book a 2023–2024 cruise before November 15, 2022.
On October 21, Holland America released the 2023–2024 itineraries for Hawaii, Mexico, the Panama Canal, and the Pacific Coast. This latest batch of sailings will include two Solar Eclipse cruises—a 14-day cruise along the beautiful Mexican Riviera, and a 22-day sailing to both Mexico and the iconic Hawaiian Islands.
These extra-special voyages will ensure that you are perfectly positioned within the path of totality during the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. As if that weren’t exciting enough, they’ve also added three new segments to the 2023, 128-day Grand World Voyage.
You can now traverse the Panama Canal en route from Ft. Lauderdale to Tahiti; discover French Polynesia, New Zealand, and Australia as you sail from Papeete to Adelaide; or call on the Indian Ocean’s tropical island treasures and South Africa as you make your way from Adelaide to Cape Town.
Deal of the Week
Wolf Watching in Yellowstone is Back
Yellowstone National Park has remained partially closed since the historic floods last summer, but the park service is about to announce the reopening of the Lamar Valley—Yellowstone’s prime habitat for gray wolves.
Travelers who return now are in for a rare experience: visitor numbers have been way down, and guides on the ground report that wolf sightings are way up. With far fewer people in the park, elusive wolves feel more freedom to roam in the open.
There may never be another year when wolf packs are as active or visible as they are at present.
And your presence now is especially important for wolf conservation, as the wolves’ protection is strongly related to the economic influence of ecotourism.
With special preparation for this unique season ahead, Natural Habitat Adventures is ready.
- They’ve secured specialized four-wheel-drive vans to negotiate any impaired roadways on the northern segment of the itinerary.
- They’ll use custom North American Safari Trucks on the southern sector, each with three roof hatches for 360-degree views of the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole.
- The expedition team will scout the prime wolf areas before the winter season starts, ensuring they have in-depth knowledge of where we can readily reach the park’s legendary wildlife.
You can be among the first adventurers returning to Yellowstone’s most remote reaches this winter. Join this wilderness wildlife quest for wolves, elk, bison, coyotes, and more. And amid the white silence of winter, animals are easier to spot. It’s an optimal time to go.
Natural Habitat Adventures offers three different winter safaris in Yellowstone and the Tetons, including specialized photography departures—rare winter wildlife expeditions deep into Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Seven or eight-day journeys; limited to 13 travelers; from US$6,695.
Judy Newell, an international travel consultant for over 50 years, heads Perfect Journeys and specializes in unique travel experiences to destinations around the world. She custom designs journeys that are tailored to suit client’s interests, physical abilities, and budgets. Please contact her for further information on Travel News topics, Mexico, and international travel. Cell phone 415 111 8765; Vonage 949 300 3682; email at judynewell@perfectjourneys.net. Her office is in Rancho Los Labradores on the highway to Dolores Hidalgo.
Sources: Journey Mexico, Lindblad Expeditions, Holland America Line, and Natural Habitat Adventures.
