The insider: Jeff Chow; Falls Creek; gingerbread; travel deals
The TripAdvisor executive learnt a lot on his first trip to Costa Rica.
The TripAdvisor executive learnt a lot on his first trip to Costa Rica.
MEMORABLE DESTINATION
Spending a week in Costa Rica right out of college with friends, we couldn’t afford much, but the diversity of activities, from zip-lining to bumming on the beach, cemented a love of travel and one we continue to appreciate.
TRAVEL TIPS
Whenever I arrive in a new city, especially internationally, I book a walking tour for my first day. I can then beat jet lag with exercise and, at the same time, gain an orientation to the destination. This helps me plot the rest of my stay.
COMING UP
I’m planning a family trip to Sydney and Perth next year and am looking forward to experiencing everything Australia has to offer. Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, spending time on Bondi and Manly beaches and visiting the wineries in the Margaret River region are at the top of my list.
Jeff Chow is the US-based vice president, product and consumer experience, of TripAdvisor, which has just launched a new mobile and site experience; tripadvisor.com.au.
-
HOME+AWAY
So, on this first day of summer, you’re already thinking of a winter break in the snow? It’s hard to keep an avid skier down. Astra Lodge in Falls Creek in the Victorian Alps is spending summer sprucing itself up for the June-October season with an even greater sense of pride. For the third year in a row the lodge has been named Australia’s best ski boutique hotel at the World Ski Awards in Austria. Proprietor Rosy Seaton likens the awards to the Oscars of the ski industry. The ski-in, ski-out Astra Lodge completed a renovation two years ago and offers 27 cosily-decorated guestrooms (including a wing of studios and family rooms), swish cocktail bar and restaurant, and a lounge with open fireplace for the relaxed apres-ski. Pop into the spa, too, for a spot of pampering after a hectic day on the slopes. There is also a library and kids’ play room. Rosy says the lodge aims to provide “a sanctuary” and world-class services (including state-of-the-art drying room) for guests. It will be open on the Victorian Labour Day weekend (March 8-11, 2019) for the Peaks Challenge, Falls Creek’s big bike race. The resort is seven-and-a-half hours by car from Sydney or three-and-a-half hours from Melbourne, or fly to Albury.
GRAHAM ERBACHER
-
TASTE
As Europe’s Christmas markets get into full swing, chocolate-box town squares across the continent will be heady with the scent of gingerbread. Historians have traced the roots of this baked treat back to ancient Roman and Greek times, but it was 13th-century Franconian monks who began making the biscuits in the shape of a heart, giving rise to Nuremburg’s famous lebkuchen (pictured). In 1487, Emperor Friedrich III enlisted gingerbread in a blatant PR exercise, giving the city’s 4000 children biscuits bearing his image. And records show England’s Queen Elizabeth I presented decorated gingerbread men to visiting dignitaries during her reign. This weekend sees the opening of the Gingerbread Village at Melbourne’s Federation Square, a charity event that benefits the city’s Royal Children’s Hospital. At New York’s Hall of Science museum in Queens, visitors have been streaming in to the annual Gingerbread Lane display, a multiple Guinness World Record-winner, for a couple of weeks. On the other side of the Atlantic, architects, designers and engineers have created more than 60 structures for the London V&A Museum of Architecture’s Gingerbread City, which opens next Saturday. But it’s Norway that really puts the icing on the biscuit with Gingerbread Town, or Pepperkakebyen. Billed as the world’s largest gingerbread town, it’s modelled on the city of Bergen, and with its snowy backdrop and cool blue winter light, it looks magical.
PENNY HUNTER
-
ON THE ROAD
McKEAN STUDIO AUSTRALIA SILK SCARF, $139
A great festive gift idea or stylish accessory, this 90cm-square silk twill scarf with hand-rolled hem is designed by Megan McKean and celebrates Australian flora and fauna; and comes in a gold-foil box.
SUSAN KUROSAWA
ANTHELIOS XL ULTRA-LIGHT FLUID SPF 50+, 50ml $29.95
Skincare company La Roche-Posay is the official sunscreen partner for January’s Australian Open, where its ultralight Anthelios range of sunscreens will be available free to spectators. The non-greasy lotion offers high broad-spectrum protection against UVB and UVA rays.
PENNY HUNTER
-
GREAT ESCAPES
HAPPY RETURNS Viking Cruises is offering return economy flights from Australia for $995, plus companions fly free, on its Portugal’s River of Gold cruise-tour. The 10-day itinerary on the Douro River from Lisbon to Porto includes excursions to the Mateus Palace, Castelo Rodrigo and the World Heritage-listed city of Salamanca in Spain. Deal applies to all departures in July and August next year; from $8495 a person, twin-share.
WALK THIS WAY Walking tour specialist Hidden Italy has early-bird savings on its 2020 guided trips to the likes of Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily and Piedmont. Book by December 31 and pay the 2018 tariff, with prices set to rise on January 1. A 12-night Puglia tour from Bari to Lecce in 2020 is priced at $6690 a person, twin-share.
SUMMER SAVINGS AccorHotels has discounts of up to 25 per cent on stays at more than 250 properties across Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and French Polynesia. Local hotels participating in the summer sale include Sofitel Gold Coast Broadbeach and Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa, where stays of four nights attract savings of more than $150. In Fiji, Sofitel Resort & Spa is priced at four nights from $1486, a saving of $371.
KIWI CAPERS A selection of Scenic’s New Zealand journeys of 15 days or longer come with free flights if booked by April 30 next year. The 2019-2020 offerings include the 24-day Ultimate New Zealand trip from Auckland to Christchurch, which features a night on a ship amid the majesty of Milford Sound and wine tasting at a Napier vineyard. From $9385 a person, twin-share.
YOUNG AND FREE Children aged 17 and under sail free on select 10 and 11-night Alaska voyages next year with luxury line Regent Seven Seas. For seven-night sailings (select dates), the price for youngsters is $675. Highlights of the popular itineraries include rafting on the Mendenhall River and bear-spotting in the Spasski River Valley. From $7370 a person, twin-share.
■ rssc.com
PENNY HUNTER
-
WHAT IN THE WORLD
■ A discount deal for a one-bedroom terrace suite at The Andara Phuket with breakfast and other extras such as resort credits starts at THB14,800 ($619) plus taxes a night for a minimum three-night stay; valid to December 23 and from February 16 to March 31.
■ Russian icebreaker and former research vessel Kapitan Khlebnikov will join the fleet of NZ-based expedition cruise company Heritage Expeditions for voyages in 2019-20.
■ The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo will return to Sydney for four shows at ANZ Stadium next October; a full-size replica of Edinburgh Castle will form the backdrop and tickets go on sale in April.
■ The non-profit Reef Restoration Foundation suggests adopting coral as feel-good Christmas gifts; vouchers start at $50 and help the growth of nursery-grown Acropora corals attached to a section of a reef at Fitzroy Island, Great Barrier Reef.
■ Pitcairn Islands Tourism has launched a round-trip cruise from Papeete, June 22 to July 10, that takes in a total solar eclipse over Oeno Island on July 2; book by January 31 for discount fares.