Emily Westaby, one of Skylark's lovely travel gurus, just got back from Puerto Vallarta, one of the finest stretches of beach on Mexico's Pacific coast. Here is her report.
Top down, music up—the California road trip is as quintessentially American as apple pie or baseball. Unfortunately Mother Nature is preventing us from driving the whole Pacific Coast Highway at the moment—need to say why. But a jaunt along the southern coast still lets you live the California dream.
Rome is one of our favorite cities, but the high “touristy” quotient can make it tricky to navigate. Luckily, Skylark’s lead travel advisor Marley Gibbons shared her intelligence from a recent scouting trip.
THE BRIEFING
Rome’s ancient roots make it fascinating and beautiful, wherever you look. But it’s also surprisingly accessible—I felt like I knew my way around after just three days. And Romans are very friendly, clearly loving their city as much as I did.
What would macaroni be without cheese? Beavis without Butthead? Some things not only naturally go together, they make each other better. The same is true for traveling. Like Bogey and Bacall, there are destinations that bring out one another’s nuances and make the whole experience so much richer. Here are a couple of our favorite places and their better(ing) halves.
Welcome to the first in our series of Skylark Journeys, where we showcase a spectacular itinerary we recently put together for a Skylark member. First up: a trip to Iceland for a woman in her 30s, who wanted a solo adventure to see the Northern Lights before they go dim.
We know: It seems crazy to even think about the holiday season in May, never mind plan it. But hear us out. Hotels fill up way faster than you think. In fact, most are booked solid by July. So while your family gathers for Memorial Day weekend, start talking about where you want to go in December. Read below for some places that have availability and still-reasonable rates—plus our pointers on how to book smart.
To check real-time availability and pricing, visit our website.
Apparently, poor Bono and the boys still haven’t found what they’re looking for—even 30 years after releasing The Joshua Tree. If you don’t know what we’re talking about, crawl out from under that rock and get yourself tickets to see U2’s Joshua Tree 2017 Tour, which will have the band performing the classic album in 26 cities across North America and, starting in July, Europe. We’ve had several clients ask us to help plan a European vacation around the concerts, so here’s a little guide to doing it yourself. Go ahead, reach out and touch the flame.
(Tickets? Well, we got ours a while ago, but if you’re looking for a miracle, reach out to one of our agents and we’ll see what we can do.)
We keep seeing more and more interest from clients about visiting Portugal, and it’s easy to see the reason why. Make that reasons, plural: It’s one of Europe’s most easy-going and affordable destinations. Lisbon’s old-world charm is intact but there’s also an exciting contemporary design scene. The food is fantastic (exceptional seafood, succulent, Alentejo pork, sweet custard tarts called pasteis de nata) and the wine even better. Abundant sunshine warms Portugal’s many beaches—Lisbon has more sunny days per year than Athens.
So how to do it right? Here’s what we usually recommend:
Effortlessly sexy and elegant, the Amalfi Coast summons all the sepia-tinged nostalgia we have for the days of Federico Fellini and Sophia Loren. It’s Italy at its most joyfully Italian—think colorful buildings, twisting cliffside roads, bronzed Italians basking under bright yellow umbrellas. With designer sunglasses on your face and an aperol spritz in your hand, you'll fit right in.