A lot of attention has been drawn to the resorts and islands of Tahiti with the filming of the Bachelorette, but not every couple has the budget to honeymoon in an overwater bungalow on Bora Bora.  So here are some of the best values, resort specials and honeymoon packages for the South Pacific -

The  Bora Bora Pearl Resort offers one free night and breakfast daily with every 4 night stay.  This is one of my all time favorite resorts and every room category has something extra special.  The garden bungalows have a private plunge pool.  The beach bungalows have a private courtyard with Jacuzzi and outdoor shower.  And the fabulous overwater bungalows offer stairs from the deck into the clear, warm, shimmering lagoon filled with brightly colored tropical fish and turquoise water.

The Hilton Moorea and Bora Bora Nui  have some great deals going and I recently combined the two islands for an 8 night package including air and an overwater bungalow for under $7K total for two.  The final episode of the Bachelorette was filmed almost exclusively at the Bora Bora Nui so the location obviously has the romantic ambiance and beautiful settings for a very special honeymoon.

The Sofitel Resorts offer free breakfast and dinner with a 4 night stay on Moorea or Bora Bora and if you stay 8 nights in any combination of Softel Resorts you’ll get a bonus night on Tahiti.  The Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora  is widely considered the best resort on Moorea and is located on a gorgeous beach with beautifully remodeled garden, beach and overwater bungalows.  My personal favorite is the beach bungalow with more space, more privacy and great views.

Besides catching a great resort special another way to stretch your Bora Bora vacation budget is to dine at a local restaurant.   A couple of favorites include Matira Beach, about a 15 minute walk from the Sofitel, where a popular lunch of kabobs, beer and fries runs about $20.  Or try Le Bounty for a dinner of pizza, pasta or fondue for around $25.

And remember, most non motorized watersports in Tahiti are free.  So you can enjoy snorkeling, sailing, canoeing and kayaks to your heart’s content.  Speaking of hearts…. the secluded white sand beaches and romantic sunsets are free too!  

Please call or email linda@totemtravel.com if you need help planning your South Pacific vacation. I am a Tahiti, Fiji and South Pacific island specialist and would love to help you find the perfect spot for your romantic getaway!

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We are always looking for new and different all inclusive resorts for families and we have found them!!  Azul Beach and Azul Sensatori are beautiful, beachfront resorts perfect for adults, little ones and those in between!

Azul Beach Hotel is a small, 98 room resort with amenities found mainly at larger resorts.  One focus is on gourmet food and they mean it!  Even the baby food at Azul Beach is Gourmet Gerber!  There are 4 a la carte restaurants, no buffets, an all lobster menu at the Blue Restaurant and sushi served on a swinging bed! 

Since this is a family resort, the little ones will love the specialized kids’ menus which are intended to please even the pickiest of eaters.  For the health concious there is a snack bar with gourmet healthy snacks and made to order fruit smoothies and every week there’s a special “fish fry” with freshly caught fish delivered, prepared and served by the chef right on the beach!  And don’t forget room service, it’s available 24 hours a day!

Your kids will love the Kids Club whether they are participating in the many water sports, playing with a selction of Fisher Price toys, exercising with “My Gym” playground equipment or just having fun with their new friends.

Since the kids are occupied with fun activities, Mom and Dad can enjoy some “grown-up” activities such as beach volleyball, water aerobics, snorkeling (right off the beach), dance classes and weekly beach parties.  And when it’s time to relax you’ll find beach butlers with soft towel service, refreshment deliveries, tanning products and mineral water facial spritzers. 

Cabanas on the beach offer magnificent views of the sea.  The cabanas are outfitted with king size, four poster beds that have retractable drapes which make them the perfect for private sunbathing and stargazing at night!

For a perfect family dinner, how about a picnic on the beach?  Beach picnics are included in your Gourmet Inclusive package and good times continue into the evening with live family shows such as the acrobatic Cirque de Soleil-inspired show.  Nightly entertainment also includes fire dancers, karaoke performances, and local bands and singers.

Just because this is a family resort doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the taste of Mexico:  a frozen bar, yes the bar is frozen at Agavero Tequila Lounge.  They serve 30 varieties of tequila:  straight, frozen, or mixed into many, many different choices of margaritas…including chocolate!  (Very different)

Accommodations include rooms with king or 2 double beds.  Also included, advance notice requested, are all the baby amenities you may need:  strollers, cribs, baby bottle warmers, bottle sterilizers, baby bathtub, beach games, refrigerators for milk and medicines! No need to lug all of those things from home!    There’s also a shallow pool near the rooms, so the little ones can enjoy swimming with mom and dad.

Totem Travel has several all inclusive specialists on staff to help you choose the family vacation in Mexico.  Please give me a call or send an email to sandi@totemtravel.com when you are planning your all-inclusive family vacation!

When a well traveled friend dropped by to chat, she positively drooled over the fabulous beach at the Hapuna Prince Resort in Hawaii.  Since we agree it’s the best beach on the Big Island and the Hapuna Prince is one of our favorite resorts for a family vacation, we asked if she’d like to share her thoughts with the rest of the world.  Here’s her report….  we enjoyed it and think you will too!

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Okay, okay so my doctor didn’t say “Your stress levels will be reduced substantially if you sit on a beach once a month for ten days!” But if I could sit on this beach again for any amount of time, I’d do it. Some of the best snorkeling and swimming any one could want helps melt away that horrid stress at the shoulders. Ahhh…………..!

The middle of June found us on one of the best trips to Hawaii we’ve ever had. We’re very fortunate to have been to Paradise many times and quite honestly when someone asks “so, you’ve been to Hawaii a lot, which island is your favorite?” I always say, “the one I was on last.” I love them all! They’re all so different but we always have a great time no matter which we visit or how long we stay. Being on the West Coast makes it fairly easy to hop over (if you call a 4 1/2 - 5 hour flight a hop?!) even for a few nights, especially if we just stay on Oahu. Haven’t been to Molokai or Lanai yet so I can’t really say anything about them. Once in Hawaii you forget all about the flight anyway.

This is the beach at the Hapuna Beach Prince on the Big Island.  Even though the Big Island isn’t known for great beaches like Maui, I have to say this beach was superb. Long, wide and very few people on it. Hapuna State Park is down from this part of the beach that’s right in front of the hotel. Lots of people walked (or ran) all the way past the park and back….not me, I’d rather watch. Seeing others “workin’ it” helps my stress too!!

The kids (13 & 17) loved having so much space to do their boogie boarding and of course we loved not having to fight for a chair or space. This age is a tad challenging so watching our guys  play together while they’re in this teenage “I’m so cool” time in their lives did a world of good for their dad and me. There weren’t many teen girls when we were there so that probably had a lot to do with them letting their boyhood show versus their “mental manhood” shouting for attention!!

The staff at this hotel was great, the rooms are big and it was nice having a large patio (lanai…sorry, gotta get with the local lingo!) where all four of us could watch the sunset. Do our kids really care about the sunset? Not so much! But when we make them slow down (put the Nintendo DS down!!) sip their juice or soda while we have our wine watching those glorious sunsets, we’re hoping this will be some of their favorite memories. It does promote conversation about beautiful things, not being something material which we definitely try to encourage at every opportunity.

One quick comment on material things…if you haven’t done the Hawaii Forest and Trail Mauna Kea Tour of the Stars, make sure you do it next you visit the Big Island! It’s spendy especially for the 4 of us (yikes!) but worth every penny. We were very lucky, the sky was so clear it was white with so many stars. I’d much rather put my money into an experience like that than any material thing!! (Boys! - Put down the Nintendo DS!!)

The bad thing? We ended up being so relaxed with comfortable beds, great food, long lazy days that we didn’t take as many pictures as we normally do. Now that we’re home we have some regrets about that but on the other hand, the memories made will always be vivid reminders; you just can’t put that in your wallet.

Speaking of wallet - another nice thing about this hotel is you can visit another hotel just up from this one, the MaunaKea. I think they have the same owners because you can eat there, use the Spa (don’t ask me why but I’m not really a spa woman - odd I know) which according to a woman at the pool was wonderful. You can even sit at their beach bar and sign your bill to your room at the Hapuna. We really liked the beach bar, Hau. And even though we were staying at Hapuna, we took the shuttle (free) between the two hotels and used the beach there a couple of times. We didn’t have dinner over there because we ordered room service at the Hapuna a couple of times (in room movies - even in Hawaii…..”boys, put the Nintendo DS down! We’re watching this movie as a family!”) But we ate at their Ocean Grill which was very good. My husband and I love beets and their beet salad is one of the best I’ve ever had. It’s served in a tall glass of sorts, can’t explain it but it really works!

We toured the Volcano which to me, if you visit the Big Island and don’t see the lava flowing……frankly, I think you’re nuts! This is earth growing people! Of course the main reason was to show the boys. Both of them thought it was way cool so we scored on that one. There are lots of things to do on this island but really, this trip was about sitting on the beach. A great stretch of sand with nothing but shades of blue stretching for as far as you can see is just what the Dr. ordered!

We had Totem Travel make our arrangements and I highly recommend them. Sandi knows Hawaii and was the one that suggested this hotel. When we looked at different hotel websites  - the boys had wanted to go to the Hilton Waioloa that was much bigger and offered a dolphin experience. While the hotel seemed like it would be very nice, we just couldn’t see ourselves having to walk too far to the beach. We wanted a great beach close, and the best view we could get for the money. Sandi listened and ended up making the perfect recommendation.

Please call Sandi @425-821-4100 or email sandi@totemtravel.com, to follow your Dr’s orders for that relaxing family vacation!

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Beach Palace in Cancun was nearly destroyed in a hurricane a couple of years ago.  But Beach Palace is back as a brand new resort. All Inclusive, beautiful pools, small but lovely beach, 24 hour room service and restaurants requiring no reservations.

I had visited Beach Palace in 2002 on my first trip to Cancun.  I was not all that impressed.  In October of 2008, I visited again. I was certainly impressed this time!  I loved this resort.  The rooms are all beautifully appointed with soft colors, jetted tubs, and flat screen televisions.  The complimentary mini-bar is stocked with sodas, bottled water and beer, and a liquor dispenser, with whiskey, tequila, rum and vodka, is also complimentary.  Turn down service, with mints on the pillow, is available for every room.

Beach Palace offers a very unique entertainment venue.  Movies poolside! A very large movie screen drops from an arch between the pool and the beach.  You can watch the movie from the beach or pool side.  Just like the drive-in, but without the car!  Imagine sitting in your lounge chair, watching the movie, listening to the waves crashing on the beach, and a frozen Margarita in your hand….what could be cooler!

Weddings at Beach Palace are very popular.  No wonder!  With the Sky Terrace as your setting, you and your guests will have a 360 degree view of the open sea and the white sand beach.   Beach Palace knows how to do your wedding right with a personal wedding planner, numerous restaurants, bars and the Infinity Ballroom, for an elaborate event.  Free weddings at the Sky Terrace are available with few restrictions!

Select tours are included in your Beach Palace vacation.  You can visit Chichen Itza, the famous Mayan Ruins, or Tulum/Xpu-Ha, a smaller Mayan ruin site, or maybe a day at Wet ’n Wild with the kids.

Kids are welcome at the Beach Palace and a kids club for those youngsters 4-12 years old.  Age appropriate activities are planned for each group.  Crafts, water sports (the kids have their own pool), singing & dancing, and just plain fun on the playground, are all included at the kids club.

Of course, the adults have a couple of unique pools, too.  The 2 Rooftop pools offer beautiful beach beds and loungers, and swim-up bars and amazing views.  There is a large family pool, as well, with pool games and activities.

Food is plentiful at Beach Palace.  Breakfast is usually a buffet, so everyone will be happy.  Lunch can be an Italian buffet, or hamburgers and hot dogs on the terrace.  During the day, dress codes are very, very casual, a cover-up over that swim-suit is required, but shorts & t-shirts are fine.    But dinner….dress codes are enforced but are very liberal:  long pants, collared shirts and shoes for the gentlemen are required.  Ladies are appropriately dressed in sundresses and sandals.

Dinner offerings at Beach Palace include Tequila, with a Mexican Buffet, or Bocacelli with an Italian a la carte menu.  The Wok Restaurant serves Oriental cuisine, a la carte.  La Terazza, the terrace restaurant outside Bocacellis, has a more casual dress code, but serves fine grilled cuts of meat.

In addition to the restaurants, Beach Palace also offers 24 hour room service.  My guess is that the dress code here is very casual!

If Beach Palace sounds like your idea of a great family vacation, or the perfect venue for your wedding, please give me a call or send an email.  I am happy to help you plan that perfect experience, be it a wedding, honeymoon, or family vacation.

Sandi Moore

sandi@totemtravel.com

425-821-4100

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Last fall I was in France completing my travel agent France Specialist Certification. While there I was lucky enough to be ale to visit Chambord Castle in the Loire Valley. A favorite Chateau of many, it’s one of the most ornate and architecturally interesting castles I’ve seen, topped with all the spires and towers. 

Started in the early 1500’s it has been added to over and over by different owners, some using the Gothic theme others adding with a more Classical theme, some Romanesque others French or Italian. With some 32 apartments, life at Chambord consisted of periods of intense activity followed by long periods of total abandon. When occupied the whole court was installed with the Royal caravan bringing trunks, beds, tables and chairs, tapestries, works of art, book and trestles and all that was necessary for the comfort of the king, actually a whole village. While in residence one of the favorite activities was the royal hunts on the vast estate and then when the court departed again the immense castle would be abandoned until next time. 

The French government bought Chambord in 1930 and has fully renovated it, filing the moats and landscaping the grounds. The castle conservation organization keeps the building furnished and even carries on the tradition of the hunt. Today the crowds of tourists have replaced that of the court and Chambord is a place to stroll the grounds on a beautiful day, you can walk for hours on trails or spend your time exploring the inside the apartments for a glimpse of the early life at the castle and beautiful and unexpected views from the many towers and keeps. 

Chambord is also known for its famous Black Raspberry Liqueur and other culinary treats available from around the region.  

The Loire Valley is dotted with Chateaus such as Chambord, Chenonceau, Villandry, Cheverny and Chateau de Blois to name a few.  If you’d like more information on traveling in France and the Loire Valley call or email Jennefer our France Specialist at Totem Travel.