As a luxury travel advisor, I've had the privilege of curating exceptional vacations for some of the world's most discerning travelers.
16.10.2024 - 16:09 / cntraveler.com
I stepped into a cat's cradle of belts and buckles of the harness that have to be adjusted around the groin and middle. It’s not a great look. I shuffled closer to the precipice I was going to leap from, yet absurdly, in my hyper-adrenalized state, all I was thinking was, does my butt look big in this?
10 years earlier, that thought alone would have held me back—my self-consciousness would have prevented me from seeking out adventure or thrilling experiences. While that feeling had clearly not dissipated entirely, I focused on controlling my breathing and being in the moment.
The author embraces an unusual welcome to her golden years—rappelling down the longest abseil in the world.
It was a 350-foot drop, the longest abseil in the world. I could just about make out the white horses of the endless, wild Cape seaboard, with the smudge of Robben Island and Lions Head in my eyeline. Every fiber of my being wondered what had made me, at the sensible age of 54, sign up to abseil Cape Town’s Table Mountain? Vertigo is not just a fear of heights, but a compulsion to hurl yourself off. This was my chance to do something I had waited to do all my life.
I obeyed the command and counted down from five, leaning backwards into the blue void. I was attached to planet Earth with a single rope-and-pulley system. I took the final step, released the catch, and glided quite smoothly down the rock face, before a hitch from above suddenly jerked me upwards, dangling over the abyss. I tried to focus on what I could see, desperate to soak it all up—I spied a rock hyrax scampering across a ledge, the sun bouncing off Camps Bay.
Time loses all meaning when you’re hovering in space. I felt giddy and giggly. I hadn't expected a jump to stir up the sense of exhilaration that had eluded me since I was a teenager; the smile that couldn’t be wiped from my face. I thought to myself, this is the ultimate in liberation; this sense of untethering. It is a little like falling in love—you feel so alive your heart could burst out of your chest and expand to fill the entire horizon.
“This is the ultimate in liberation; this sense of untethering,” the author writes of her experience of dangling over Cape Town's Table Mountain.
That day ignited a desire. In the ensuing months and years of travel, I committed to keep pushing the boundaries. I wanted to try new things, hone unfamiliar skills, or tease out hidden talents.
Apparently, I am not the only restless midlife soul on the block, according to Journeywoman, the world's first solo travel website and directory for women that makes an unofficial community of 150,000 like-minded female solo travelers over the age of 50. Its CEO and editor, Carolyn Ray, is a passionate advocate of living the
As a luxury travel advisor, I've had the privilege of curating exceptional vacations for some of the world's most discerning travelers.
Whenever you're dreaming of cosmopolitan cities, glistening lakes, and verdant mountain vales—that's the best time to visit Switzerland. If the mood strikes you to dip into Lake Geneva in the summertime, or cozy up in the winter for a dinner of raclette-covered everything, you need to go to Switzerland as soon as you can. As for the actual logistics of how to time your visit to this landlocked European country of centuries-old culture and commerce, it all depends on what you want to get out of your trip.
If you're familiar with TPG's valuations, you'll notice transferable rewards currencies such as American Express Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points consistently rank as some of the most valuable rewards.
“As far back as I can remember, I knew I was different,” says Alexander Smalls. Growing up in a Gullah Geechee household in Spartanburg, North Carolina, the chef says he recognized the implication of those differences—in appearance, history, and cuisine. “I discovered early that my friends did not eat any of the foods that I ate. My foods were more akin to West Africa, you know, and very much pronounced in that way,” he says. It wan't until he moved to New York as an adult, that he assimilated the value of that diasporic connective tissue. “Food was a big part of cultural expression and identity of the African diaspora,” he says.
Universal Orlando Resort has revealed an opening timeline for its highly-anticipated new theme park, Epic Universe.
I’m a devout fan of the Outlander books, so much so that I once spent a week making an 18th-century corset inspired by the main character, Claire. That’s why, when presented with an opportunity to visit Scotland and tour various filming locations for the long-running TV adaptation, I jumped at the chance.
Ancillary fees were once a nice little add-on for airlines. Now they are becoming more and more of a revenue driver.
A new report from leading global travel service provider, Trip.com Group, found that while travelers are more aware of sustainability than ever before, there’s a gap between that awareness and action when it comes to their travel.
While women have been traveling the world on their own for decades (centuries, really), a 2024 report from Booking.com reveals that solo travel is surging this year, in particular.The booking engine says 54 percent of women are embracing solo journeys.A separate report from Road Scholar, which offers educational travel for older adults, says up to 85 percent of the company’s tour participants that travel solo are women. These reports underscore what plenty of female travelers have long known: Solo women travelers are a force to be reckoned with. Write us off at your own peril.Within the travel industry itself, there are a number of high-profile solo female travelers who are constantly serving up an inspiring look at what it’s like to be a woman exploring the world boldly - doing so with comfort, ease, and a level sheer joy that’s contagious.So, rather than publish another staid round-up of destinations that might be worth considering if you’re a woman traveling alone, we asked a handful of these fearless, globetrotting women what their favorite destinations are to explore solo and why.Consider this your insider’s destination guide, curated by a handful of women who, collectively, have visited nearly every corner of the globe and have done so with abandon.
The traditional territories in Alberta are home to many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit who have called these territories home for time immemorial. We respectfully acknowledge the diverse histories, cultures, and territories of Treaty 6, 7, 8, 4, and 10, as well as the homelands of the Métis, the 8 Métis Settlements, the 6 Métis Regions of the Métis Nation of Alberta.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Wednesday it’s requiring Marriott to put in place a new data security program following three breaches from 2014 to 2020 that affected over 300 million people worldwide.
In a move that has aviation circles buzzing, United Airlines announced its biggest international expansion ever, with eight new international cities added for 2025. The new routes span multiple continents and include destinations that are especially difficult to access, such as Senegal, Greenland, Taiwan, and Mongolia.