Don’t feel like staying home for the holidays? If you’re thinking about booking travel this holiday season—which is right around the corner—don’t wait. Book your holiday travel ASAP.
For many travelers, the 2020 holiday season was a bust. This year it doesn’t have to be that way. Let our team help you skip the uncertainty and last-minute decision making when it comes to travel going forward.
People are travelling again, re-scheduling last years cancelled trips, and the places that were quiet at the peak of the pandemic are getting booked up. Our advice? Book a trip soon—like now. We’ve checked in with our partners in some of our favorite destinations on availability: Galapagos Islands, Tanzania, Botswana, newly reopened Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia, Colombia, and even Antarctica are the top contenders.
Have somewhere else in mind this winter? Check with our team and we’ll help you plan the perfect getaway. Want to really get ahead? We’re also anticipating a very busy summer, so now is a really great time to do some forward-thinking. It’s also a great time to start talking to us about spring travel between January and March.
If you’re traveling from the United States, a jaunt to Argentinian or Chilean Patagonia is quick and easy and for most travelers, and the time change is only a couple of hours. The entirety of Patagonia stretches across 400,000 square miles of Argentina and Chile. Southern Patagonia is one of the few places on Earth that feels completely remote and untouched by humankind. Patagonia may be the perfect destination for your next far-flung adventure. There’s gorgeous hiking, trekking, glaciers, Read our guide to Southern Patagonia here. Plus, the weather is the most pleasant from December to March, making it one of the best times to visit Patagonia.
For a luxurious home base for your Chilean Patagonia adventures we recommend Awasi Patagonia, Tierra Patagonia, and Explora Patagonia.
Planning a trip to one of the most biodiverse places on earth? Ecuador is open for travel. While international tourism is still somewhat slow, booking an expedition now means you’ll have fewer ships to share waters with, fewer passengers on board, and generally fewer travelers in the region. Read about our CEO Elizabeth’s trip on our blog here. Plus: A PCR test is no longer required for vaccinated travelers to enter the mainland or the islands.
Galápagos Safari Camp is a popular choice for families who appreciate personalized service and flexible schedules. Montemar Eco Luxury Private Villa was born out of the love for protecting the natural habitat of the Galápagos giant tortoise, Montemar consists of two villas, beautifully appointed and fully sustainable, located on 43-acres of private land on the island of Santa Cruz, Galápagos.
Contact Emily Cottingham—our Galápagos specialist—for more information on a holiday expedition to one of the most biodiverse places on earth.
Medellin and Cartagena: Colombia
Want to head south this holiday season? Now is the perfect time to visit the vibrant country of Colombia—which is having a major moment. They are a leader in sustainable tourism, have some of the greatest wildlife viewing opportunities and biodiversity on earth, a colorful culture, and a unique, storied history. From Medellin’s street art and expansive parks to Cartagena’s colonial streets, small beach towns, and the Andes—there’s so much to be explored.
Cartagena’s Casa San Agustin is an authentic boutique hotel which was reimagined to maintain a colonial heritage intact within three beautiful white-washing houses. And, for a genuine experience in the Colombian Andes, Casa Yahri in Barichara which was dubbed the prettiest village in Colombia. Hacienda Bambusa—a house built out of bamboo and clay, conserving the traditional architecture style of the Colombian Coffee Region.
Contact Kim Green—our Colombia specialist who recently traveled there—for more information on a holiday trip south.
Travel to the White Continent is an experience like no other. Of course, you know you’ll find wildlife, glaciers, and polar temperatures. But there’s also the deafening silence when you find yourself atop a mountain overlooking the Southern Ocean, camping overnight in a self-dug hole in the snow only to be awakened by a calving glacier or the moment when you stop paddling your kayak and are overcome by the nothingness.
White Desert is offering for you to experience a New Year’s Eve like no other under the Midnight Sun 2021. Prepare for a never to be repeated bucket list adventure that will see guests ring in the New Year under the mystical glow of Antarctica’s perpetual summer daylight after arriving in a private jet flight from Cape Town to Wolf’s Fang Runway, Antarctica. Oceanwide is also offering a 20% discount around the holidays on their Antarctica Discovery and Learning voyages around the Antarctic Peninsula, the best place for the widest possible experience of Antarctica, with hiking, swimming, camping on the ice, kayaking, and incredible wildlife viewing opportunities.
Contact Kim Green—our Antarctica specialist—for more information on a holiday expedition to the White Continent.
There are so many places to visit in Botswana we could go on forever, but one of the places that’s extra special around the holiday season is the Okavango Delta. Fly over the winding Delta where powerful elephants and lions swim across the river, river safaris happen daily, and some of the most beautiful properties that suit all budgets and styles have plenty of space for safari.
Wilderness Safari’s Chitabe Camp has eight Meru-style tents raised on wooden decks under large, shady trees. Situated in a private concession area on an island in the southeast of the Okavango Delta. Playing host to a breathtaking mosaic of wooded, wetland, and grassland habitats, the area is famed for its incredible numbers and diversity of wildlife, in particular predators. Great Plains Selinda Camp, Duba Plains, and Zarafa Camp also have space over the holiday season. They are beautiful luxury tented camps, and the region is home to some of the biggest cats in Africa, a rare southern white rhino population, incredible guides, and unique river safaris both in a boat or in vehicles set up for your camera gear—a true photographer’s dream.
Contact Lara Ray—our Botswana specialist—for more information on a safari in the sprawling grassy plains, rivers, and lush animal habitat of the Okavango Delta.
Tanzania is one of the last few havens for discerning explorers who long for the freedom of the true wild and the central Serengeti has consistently good game viewing year round.
Singita Faru Faru Lodge and Explore Camp: Singita Grumeti, situated adjacent to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, is an integral part of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, the home of the Great Migration. At Explore you can experience the most authentic “roughing-it in great style” experience the Serengeti has to offer. Faru Faru is an intimate and stylish property with great game viewing. Legendary Expedition’s Mila Tented Camp is located in a private 129,530-acre wildlife reserve, Mwiba Wildlife Reserve, adjoining the southern ecosystem of the Serengeti. Soak up the environment with breathtaking views from granite outcrops, prime wildlife viewing, and unique cultural experiences.
Contact Pearl or Jenny—our Tanzania specialists—for more information on planning a safari in the great, vast, wilderness that is Tanzania.