If you like active travel in exotic destinations, check out five new trips from G Adventures: Bhutan Trekking: the Druk Path; Cycle China: Hong Kong to Beijing; Japan Hike, Bike & Kayak; Patagonia Multisport: Santiago to Puerto Natales; and The Inca Trail in Comfort. Designed to be small-group tours, the itineraries emphasize an up-close look at local culture. For the most part, lodgings are modest. The most expensive of this bunch is the 13-day Japan tour, priced from $4,499 per person, double occupancy. That includes 12 nights’ lodging, some meals, transportation by train, bus, hiking, biking and kayaking, and guides throughout. See details of all of the trips at http://tinyurl.com/j8nm7th.
Cook with your kid
Parents looking for a summer activity for their budding chefs should check out Cooking Camp for Kids, being offered June 26-29 by Jekyll Island Club Hotel on Georgia’s Jekyll Island. Kids 8-14 will participate in hands-on cooking classes, watch chef demonstrations and learn about kitchen safety and proper food handling. Vegetable and watermelon carving and cake decorating will be covered, among other things. Though the emphasis is on cooking, time will be spent on other fun activities, such as visits to Summer Waves Waterpark and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. The package is priced at $999, which covers one adult and one child, three nights’ lodging, a daily breakfast buffet and two days of cooking classes. Extra charges apply for additional adults or children, and there are resort and state hotel fees. Parents must accompany the kids to classes. Info: 866-591-9005, http://tinyurl.com/zw4nlo3
Beyond base prices
When you’re scoping out a good deal on a cruise, tour, hotel or airfare, it’s smart to do some comparison shopping and not rely strictly on base price. On a cruise, for instance, intuitively you might think that the price from a higher-end line, such as Regent Seven Seas Cruises, would be much more expensive than from a more moderately priced line, such as Holland America Line. Looking at base prices, that’s true. But dig deeper, and it could be a different story. White Travel Service, a Connecticut-based travel agency, did some number crunching to compare comparable Mediterranean cruises from Regent, HAL and Celebrity Cruises. On the face of it, the Regent offering was as much as double the base price of the other two cruises. But Regent’s price included such things as round-trip business class air, shore excursions, gratuities, bar drinks and more. Adding those costs to the base prices from HAL and Celebrity, the bottom line ended up substantially higher than with Regent. The lesson? Do your homework. You can check out White’s comparison at http://tinyurl.com/z3etsyw.
Phil Marty is a freelance reporter.
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