Summer/Autumn 2013 BOOK NOW through your TRAVELBAG travel agent Contents 38 12 FEATURES 12-27 LATIN AMERICA Ultimate to do list 28-31 COSTA RICA In need of a little Adventure? 38-65 USA Charleston - Where history lives Your Guide to the Capital Region California - Seeing Stars 00-00 Discover Vegas & The Grand Canyon 66-81 ABU DHABI Your Guide to Abu Dhabi 82-131 AUSTRALIA There’s nothing like Australia Melbourne & Beyond A barmy summer in Queensland The Legendary Pacific Coast Western Australia - Into The Blue David Gower’s Perth 136 Tasmania - This Island was made for walking South Australia - A Genuine Australian Experience Revelling in Australia’s Red Centre Not the Ashes but Alice Springs 136-139 KENYA 72 28 African Adventures 140-157 CANADA & ALASKA Alberta - River Deep, Mountain High Find Your Alaska LIFESTYLE 158 Essential Holiday Reading 159 Top Travel Apps 160 Where in the World Published by: Travelbag, 205 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6BA Web: www.travelbag.co.uk 82 Publisher: Paul Hopkinson Design: Adrian Legouix Matt Sidebottom © Travelbag 2013. The opinions in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Travelbag. All reasonable attempts have been made to clear copyright before publication. 140 2959 Accredited .V0654 Agent 4 Escape To book call 0844 846 8992 Escape 5 WELCOME TAILOR-MADE TRAVEL EXPERTS Whatever your dream holiday is, let us inspire you with this issue of Escape Magazine. Whether your kind of When Travelbag began back in 1979, we wanted to offer more than package holidays, and that’s just one holiday is an adventurous escape, a relaxing retreat or an urban exploration, settle down, have a read and let us of the reasons why we’re still tailor-making holidays more than 30 years after and it’s no surprise that we’ve transport you to some of the most interesting, exotic and exciting destinations in the world including Australia, established ourselves as a leader in this market. As you’ll see throughout this issue of Escape magazine, our USA, Canada and Latin America. portfolio incorporates a wide range of travel options across the world. And because we only work with suppliers, properties and airlines that meet our exacting standards, customers can be sure that your trip will be of the very Once you have been inspired, come and speak to one of consultants, either in one of our seven shops, including highest quality. our recently opened premises at 205 Kensington High Street, London, or over the telephone. VISIT A Travelbag SHOP We look forward to welcoming you on a Travelbag holiday very soon. LONDON - RECENTLY OPENED BRIGHTON 205 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6BA 65 Western Road, Brighton, BN1 2HA CHELTENHAM KNUTSFORD 10-12 Pittville Street, Cheltenham, GL52 2LJ 8 Princess Street, Knutsford, WA16 6DD ALTON WINCHESTER Tony Carty, Managing Director, Travelbag 3-5 High Street, Alton, GU34 1TL 99 High Street, Winchester, SO23 9AH SOLIHULL CHESTER P.S. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, travelbag.co.uk and Twitter (@Travelbag1979) to be 26-28 Drury Lane, Solihull, B91 3BG Glendale Business Park, Sandycroft, CH5 2DL kept informed on all of our latest offers, competitions plus ideas and inspiration for future holidays. 6 Escape To book call 0844 846 8992 Escape 7 TRAVELBAg’s TOP TEN TRAVELBAg’s TOP TEN SOUTH AFRICA 3nts Cape Town, 4H Pepper Club Hotel & Spa BB, 2nts Garden Route, 4H Hog Hollow BB, BARBADOS 2nts Rippos Safari FB 7nts 4H The Club Barbados Includes full board safari with game All Inclusive EXCLUSIVE OFFER drives & 5 days car hire 1 SAVING UP TO £600 PER COUPLE fr £999pp inc direct flights SAVE UP TO £600 PER COUPL6E fr £1,089pp inc flights FREE SPEED BOAT TRANSFERS FREE UPGRADE TO ALL INCLUSIVE SAVING UP TO £850 PER COUPLE EXCLUSIVE OFFER TH2E MALDIVES 3 AU7STRALIA A8SIA 7nts 4H Meeru Island Resort & Spa NEW YORK 4nts 3H Sydney & 3nts 4H Hong Kong & All Inclusive, Jacuzzi Beach Villa 3nts 3H Wolcott 5 Day Discovery Blue Mountains Self Drive 3nts 4H Beijing fr £1,279pp inc flights fr £499pp inc direct flights fr £1,259pp inc flights fr £799pp inc flights FREE ROOM UPGRADE FREE UPGRADE TO HALF BOARD EXCLUSIVE FREE ROOM UPGRADES SAVING UP TO £150 PER COUPLE EXCLUSIVE FREE ROOM UPGRADE IN KRABI & KOH LANTA FREE UPGRADE TO HALF BOARD D4UBAI 5 THAILA9ND 10SRI LANKA 3nts 5H Fairmont the Palm MAURITIUS 3nts 3H Bangkok, 5nts 3H Krabi & 7nts 3H+ Coral Sands Half board 7nts 4H Le Meridien Ile Maurice Half Board 5nts 3H Koh Lanta Half board fr £559pp inc flights fr £999pp inc direct flights fr £799pp inc flights fr £599pp inc direct flights All offers valid for selected travel from July - September 2013. Subject to availability at time of going to press. 8 Escape To book call 0844 846 8992 Escape 9 ZSLOADC30308AGG_TravelbagEscape_420x297_Beijing_EN01_HR.pdf 1 08/07/2013 3:53 PM The For over 30 years, Travelbag has offered inspirational journeys in Latin America. Over the next few pages take a sneak preview Travelbag’s Ultimate To Do List, the full collection will be published in the autumn. In a new era of luxury travel, Travelbag is at the forefront of tailor- making unique itineraries to enrich every stage of your holiday. Ultimate We have long understood that it is not enough to tick off a checklist of places visited, rather it is how you spend your time and the experiences that you have that shape your days and nights. Highlighting the most unique, elite and enriching travel experiences in the region, our Ultimate To Do List aims to inspire your next trip to this part of the world - where time and events will To Do List effortlessly merge to give you a genuine, utterly unique and entirely Latin America exuberant experience. 12 Escape To book call 0844 846 8992 Escape 13 ULTIMATE TO DO LIST - Latin America Latin America - ULTIMATE TO DO LIST Long and slender, Chile stretches more than half the continent—from the explora Patagonia - explora offers Built into the outfit's programmes driest desert to the highest volcanoes, to beaches, rainforests and massive extraordinary all-season lodge-based are incredible daily excursions during Chile which guests explore the area's wildly glaciers Southern journeys through the windswept majesty of disparate terrains on foot, boat or Stretched out along the Pacific coast, Chile is packed with phenomenal and diverse vistas. Geological Patagonia Chilean Patagonia horseback. Longer explorations may idiosyncrasies – the highest volcano and the driest desert in the world, rainforests, floating and hanging include travel by van or catamaran, glaciers – have created striking landscapes, each inspiring unforgettable adventures. depending on the route. Millions of This desolate area of spectral beauty Four-wheel drive over the lunar landscape and glistening salt flats, dotted with flamingo-filled lakes, years ago, monumental geological at the bottom of the Americas is in the Atacama Desert. Trek through vast ice fields, tropical forests and watch the Andes disappear into transformations created the area's the Patagonian Sea. Spend days battling whitewater rapids or gently floating on quiet lagoons, scaling truly the 'final frontier' of the New stunning mountains, glaciers, lakes, icy blue glaciers or soaking in hot springs amidst ancient volcanoes. Trot on horseback over rolling World. Picture yourself at the edge rivers and a wide variety of flora and green hills in the Central Valley, the heart of Chile’s wine country. In between exciting expeditions, get of the world – icy fjords, towering, fauna, all of which vastly outnumber pampered at an amazing luxury lodge. snow-capped mountains 'tumbling' humans. In keeping with this spirit, Chile’s natural gifts are spectacular but urban culture vultures have plenty to sink their teeth into. groups are kept small and are into the sea, penguins, sea lions Santiago, the country’s cosmopolitan capital, has both the energy of a thriving metropolis and the accompanied by expert Wilderness and whales darting in and out of quaint nostalgia of a colonial town. New art galleries, boutiques and restaurants make this exuberant First Responder-certified bilingual city the perfect base from which to explore. the blue waters. Memorable bird- guides. watching excursions take you to Between adventures, the Hotel view black-faced ibis, white-tufted Salto Chico, a luxurious retreat in the grebe and distinguished black- heart of Torres del Paine National Park, provides relaxation and comfort. neck swans. Welcoming estancias Patagonian gauchos prepare hearty provide for comfortable stays. meals, like succulent pit-roast lamb, Retrace the footsteps of and the lodge's bathhouse and pool 16th century conquistador offer perfect pampering. explora Hernando de Magallanes as he Patagonia also offers horseback riding explored this enchanting land. programmes of four-nights' that allow you to live the gaucho lifestyle Located right on the Strait of and discover one of the world's most Magellan, the modern city of Punta The Aubrey Boutique Hotel - A stylish, pristine and wild landscapes. design-driven boutique hotel in Santiago Arenas is the centre for excursions Santiago & to islands inhabited only by The Singular - Located in Puerto Bories The hotel, which used to be a cold- The Aubrey Hotel offers personalised service and a great penguin colonies and to Tierra in the southernmost part of Chile, The storage plant for frozen mutton, was location. Nestled at the foot of Santiago's Metropolitan Park, re-purposed and opened in November Beyond del Fuego’s remote fjords. From Singular is on the route to the spectacular the hotel is just steps from restaurants, nightlife, and cultural 2011. Built in 1915, the building is the granite spires and turquoise Touching down in Santiago, and recreational activities.