The Breakaway Travel Blog
Calling All Winos!
What’s better than a great trip paired with fine wine? We can’t think of much! So we’re offering all our guests a free bottle of Tuscan wine with every tour dinner when you book our
Gastronomic Walk in Tuscany.
Just imagine sipping a great bottle of red or white after a delicious day meandering through the hills of Tuscany. This tour is set in northern Tuscany between Bologna, Faenza and Florence. You’ll travel through a landscape of sunflower fields, flower-filled woodlands, ancient mule tracks, deserted stone farmhouses and panoramic hill towns set below the Apennine hills.
Heck, you might even save a bottle for an impromptu picnic with a majestic view. Cheers!
Labels: italy, walking
Get Going to Gozo!
Where in the world is Gozo, you ask? You may never have heard of it, but it’s a beautiful island in the Mediterranean definitely worth checking out. It’s popular with British tourists, but mostly unknown to Americans.
We offer a
cycling and
walking trip to this island jewel that is part of the Malta archipelago. Travelers take a ferry boat to the remote island best known for its “azure window,” an archway which frames the crystal blue sea and sky. The natural formation is often used in movie shoots and was featured in “The Count of Monte Cristo,” “Clash of the Titans” and “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.”
On the trips, guests walk or cycle past beaches, fishing harbors, small hilltop villages, windmills and Baroque churches throughout the island. You can even schedule an appointment at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz Spa, one of Europe’s leading spas, for a little post-walk or ride muscle massage.
We highly recommend it if you’re looking for somewhere truly off the beaten path! Check out our
blog that follows one person's journey on our cycling tour and watch a
video about the Gozo tours.
Labels: Cycling, mediterranean, walking
Short on Vacation Time?
Aren’t we all wishing we had more time to travel! Even if you don’t have many vacation days left for the year, we offer a “taster” tour-- five-day/four-night versions of some of our more popular walking and cycling tours through France and the Swiss Alps, which typically last from seven to 11 days.
The tours, all self-guided or fully-supported independent, include the same level of service, such as well-maintained bikes for cycling tours, accommodations at charming inns and daily continental breakfast and dinner. A representative is also always on call to answer questions, move luggage each day and even deliver wine purchases to the hotel.
You can take your pick of the following tours for your work-week getaway:
Heart of Provence
Loire Gastronomic Cycling (the quality of cuisine is emphasized on "gastronomic" tours)
Abbeys and Vineyards Cycling in Burgundy
Hidden Valleys Cycling in Lot
Bays of Brittany Cycling
Walkers can choose tours of varying levels of difficulty in the Loire Valley and Alsace and Burgundy regions of France, as well as the Bernese Oberland in the Swiss Alps.
*Click on “additional information” for each trip to find information on how to shorten the trips.
Prices start at $995 per person for double occupancy and do not include airfare. Call us at 1-800-567-6286 for more details!
Labels: Bays of Brittany, Burgundy, Cycling, Lot, Provence, walking
New York Times’ Destinations of the Year
The New York Times recently named their top destinations of the year (check out a slideshow of the locations
here). If any of them look appealing, our tours travel to many of these exotic locales and offer an unspoiled, up close view of their beauty and charm.
Listed as a cultural destination by the Times, Berlin is a stop on one of our
barging tours of Northern Europe along with stops in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Our 12-passenger boat offers en-suite accommodations, large dining, bar and lounge areas, a Jacuzzi, sauna and sundeck.
For families, they recommend
Africa as a family destination mainly for the “volun-tourism” trips that are available, but we also have many travel options that would allow you to see this beautiful country, including our Kenya Wildlife Adventure walking tour. This trip allows you to explore Africa’s Great Rift Valley on foot, walk in beautiful protected reserves next to giraffe, zebra and antelope and see red rock gorges, hot spring waterfalls and flamingo fringed lake with accommodations in historic colonial lodges, all with pools and outstanding cuisine.
We also offer guided walking tours, trekking and walking tours in
East Africa, an area known for the Great Rift Valley that stretches from The Gulf of Aquaba in the Red Sea to Mozambique. Here you’ll see some amazing natural wonders, including great blue soda lakes, volcanoes, mountains and great fertile plains.
Argentina makes for a great trip on a budget, says the New York Times, and we offer guided walking tours and trekking tours through the Andes of Chile and Argentina. A little more challenging, these tours take visitors among the soaring granite spires of the Fitzroy group and the peaks of the Torres del Paine. Other magnificent sites include the Perito Moreno Glacier and glacial lakes of turquoise and emerald reflecting the snow capped pinnacles piercing the skies above.
Labels: africa, argentina, barging, Germany, trekking, walking
