April is always one of the busiest months of the year for us as members book upcoming summer and winter travel. We try to get back to all requests as quick as possible but we appreciate your patience. We’ve also been traveling quite a bit to see firsthand the destinations, resorts, and tour operators we like to recommend. Lisa just returned from Queensland and Melbourne, Australia, which she reports on in our main feature in the April newsletter. On our last trip to Australia, we were stuck inside a small hotel in Cairns for 3 days as a cyclone barreled down the coastline. So, of course, the worst cyclone to hit Australia in 6 years happened in Queensland while Lisa was there again. Fortunately, the eye of the storm was an 8-hour drive to the south so it didn’t alter her itinerary. We also leave today for a weeklong trip to another popular destination, Greece, with a highly reputable tour operator from New York, Heritage Tours. We’ll describe our findings in the May newsletter.

 

In our Travel Tip column this month, we want to remind members to please think of us for all your travels, including cruises and guided trips with the likes of Backroads, Abercrombie & Kent, and Lindblad. We’re a full-service Virtuoso-aligned travel agency that can often get amenities like shore excursions and spa treatments thrown in at no additional cost. Also in this issue, we list our favorite properties in Maui, discuss deals in St. Barts in the shoulder season, and talk about the art scene in Houston for our Quick Escape column. 

 

Be on the lookout for a hotel giveaway in next month’s issue. May marks the 5th anniversary of ActiveTravels so we thought a free hotel giveaway was a good way to start the celebration. Thanks to all of you for helping to make ActiveTravels a success! 

 

See you again on May 1st when we return from our trip to Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini. Happy Travels!

 

Steve and Lisa