[trip style = all-inclusive + beach + foodie + adventure]
This time last year I sampled several Air Transat, itineraries in Puerto Vallarta, a destination I'm drawn to for its swaths of sand, cobblestone streets and authentic Mexican flavors {like the guacamole I handmade at a cooking class in the photo above}. The trip was not my first Transat voyage with the Canada-based and operated airline; in the past I've traveled under their wing via packages and direct flights to Europe and the Caribbean.
Given my Transat experience and travel expertise, they've asked me to be a Canadian spokesperson for the all-important winter season {read: jetting to the South!}. While this opportunity does not afford me weekly jaunts to Jamaica to savor jerk chicken or float down the Rio Grande river in a bamboo raft, it does mean I will lend my know-how as a traveler who is particularly passionate about experiencing a destination through a number of vacation lenses, which I term trip styles {all-inclusive, adventure, sightseeing, foodie, etc.}.
Starting in mid fall, Canada's leading holiday travel airline begins a wave of direct flights from Vancouver and other Canadian departure points to beachy locales like Mexico and Jamaica, in addition to their staple European outposts like London. While Europe calls my name d-a-i-l-y, and I would like to do all my Christmas shopping at Harrods {as well as get a peek at petite Prince George}, the vacation collections I'm most drawn to are trip styled with beach lovers and culture vultures in mind.
Enter Transat Holidays' DUO and Escapade vacations. In the DUO scenario, a two-in-one vacay combines opposite corners of a country. For example, sample Veradero's oh-so-sultry sand and Havana's historic rhythm in one vacation. Escapades are for those who want to infuse some added flavor into their all-inclusive getaway. For two days and one night you leave the resort---without even checking out!---and dive into the destination's sense of place. For example, in Jamaica spend 80% of your trip lounging under a palm and 20% taking a cooking class, dipping into a waterfall and sojourning at an eco-spa. Culture and coastal life, accomplished.
If you're involved in the travel biz and want to learn more about Transat trips to the South, join me at an upcoming event I'm co-organizing with a group of travel professionals and Air Transat in Vancouver on November, 20th, 2013. Details here.
[photos by @tripstyler brought to you in collab with transat holidays]