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Orange Walk District and its principal town of the same name, are situated north of Belize City. Orange Walk Town is about 55 miles from Belize City. The main tourist attractions are the New River and the famous Mayan ruins of Lamanai. Mexican influence is evident and there are some Mennonite communities in the area.

Located in the Cayo District, San Ignacio features cathedral-like forests, shimmering emerald rivers, caves, mountains, cascading falls, and mighty ruins. It is here where the Mountain Pine Ridge and the Mopan and Macal rivers are located. The various lodges in the area offer diverse activities including hiking, trekking, kayaking, canoeing, horseback riding, and bird watching. It is also in this area where the Mayan ruins of Caracol and Xunantunich are located.

Ambergris Caye is the largest of Belize’s nearly 200 offshore cayes . Commuter planes (15- minute ride) and water taxis (1-hour ride) link it to Belize City. The airstrip is in the heart of town, so most resorts are just a jump away. This is the capital of carefree and casual: there are no paved roads, traffic lights, and no high-rise buildings. Although most resorts are beach-front, Ambergris is not a beach destination in the traditional sense.

10 Nights from $1625* $1699 w/tax
Departure from Houston All Airports, TX
Itinerary Includes:

* International round-trip airfare
* All transfers between cities
* 3 nights in Orange Walk
* 3 nights in San Ignacio
* 4 nights in Ambergris Caye
* Daily breakfast (most hotels)
* Hotel Taxes

Price history for this itinerary (past 14 days):
From Chicago Ohare Intl, IL for 10 nights $1,816 $1,935 w/tax
From Dallas Ft Worth, TX for 10 nights $1,699 $1,767 w/tax
From Hartford, CT for 10 nights $1,736 $1,811 w/tax
From Houston G.Bush Intercont, TX for 10 nights $1,624 $1,697 w/tax
From Los Angeles Intl, CA for 10 nights $1,662 $1,737 w/tax
From Miami, FL for 10 nights $1,804 $1,865 w/tax

The itinerary can be customized per your preferences — Book / Inquire / Contact Us

40% Off Luxury 7 Day Itinerary - $969 Net Per Person!
- June to November 2009

In collabration with our Guatemala partners and the luxury boutique hotels of Palacio Dona Leonor (Antigua) and Laguna Lodge (Lake Atitlan) we are proud to offer a 7 Day Luxury Tour of the Guatemalan Highlands for just $969 per person - thats 40% off the normal net rate of $1615 per person
• Availble for tours June to November 2009
• Only for the itinerary listed below
• Start day has to be Sunday
• Price based on double occupancy - please enquire for single or small group travelers
• Book / Inquire

ITINERARY OUTLINE

SUN - ARRIVAL & PRIVATE TRANSFER TO ANTIGUA
• Guests will be met at Guatemala City Airport by their bi-lingual Drive
• Private transfer to Antigua (1hr)
• Overnight Palacio Dona Leonor

MON - ANTIGUA WALKING TOUR & FREE FTERNOON (B)
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Your private guide will meet you at your hotel for a half day walking tour of Antigua
• Free afternoon
• Overnight Palacio Dona Leonor

TUE - FREE DAY IN ANTIGUA (B)
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Free Day in Antigua - book tours locally to visit Coffee Farms, Maya museums, textile tours, climb the active volcano of Pacaya or any number of interesting activities.
• Overnight Palacio Dona Leonor

WED - TRANSFER TO LAKE ATITLAN (B)
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Private Transfer to Lake Atitlan (Approx 2hr 30 trf)
• Private Boat transfer from Panajachel to the Lodge (15min)
• Overnight Laguna Lodge - Eco Boutique Lodge
• (N.B Gourmet Vegetarian Food Only in this Hotel)

THU - CHICHICASTENANGO MARKET (B)
• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Private Transfer to Chichi by boat & vehicle (Approx 1.5hr)
• Time to explore Chichi Market (Unguided)
• Private Transfer back to your hotel by boat & vehicle (Approx 1.5hr)
• Overnight Laguna Lodge - Eco Boutique Lodge

FRI - LAKE TOUR (B,L)
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Private Full Day, Private Lake & Village Tour by boat to San Juan La Laguna and Santiago -Includes Lunch
• Overnight Laguna Lodge - Eco Boutique Lodge
• (N.B Gourmet Vegetarian Food Only in this Hote l)

Maya textiles

SAT - TRANSFER OUT (B)

• Breakfast in the hotel
• Transfers to Airport in time for international flight departure. (3hr)

Book / ASK US ABOUT EXTENSIONS TO INCLUDE THE JUNGLE & MAYA SITE AT TIKAL

HOTEL & DESTINATION INFORMATION

ANTIGUA
Antigua Guatemala. La Antigua (the old one), former colonial capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala, combines 17th and 18th century buildings and ruins with all the modern conveniences discerning travelers desire. The city was established as Santiago (St James) in 1543 after a mudslide destroyed the former capital. Santiago’s history was punctuated by massive earthquakes, followed by rebuilding and reparation, until the earthquake of Santa Marta in 1773 prompted a move to the present capital in Guatemala City. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, Antigua exudes a unique atmosphere of history, intrigue and surprise. Resting in a fertile valley at 1530 m and surrounded by hills and volcanoes, Antigua’s climate is likened to ‘eternal spring’.

Luxury Boutique Hotel - Palacio de Dona Leonor
An authentic colonial mansion is the location for this beautiful 12 room boutique hotel right in the heart of Antigua. Just half a block from the central park this is Antigua’s most central hotel. Each room is named after a historical figure from Antigua’s past and is decorated in a different way still in keeping with the colonial theme of the hotel. There is a restaurant, breakfast room, outdoor lounge and breakfast areas in the central courtyard. The hotel prides itself on offering the best service in Antigua and lots of personal touches to make the guest’s experience truly outstanding. This is a wonderful hotel for couples and small groups.
Facilities: 12 Rooms, Restaurant, Tea room, Outdoor lounges.
Location: Heart of Central Antigua, 1/2 block from the main square

LAKE ATITLAN
Lake Atitlanhas been called by many “the most beautiful lake in the world”. It is indeed an amazing setting with the crystal blue waters of the lake surrounded by the three lofty peaks of Toliman, San Pedro and Atitlan Volcanoes. You can take a private boat to villages surrounding the lake and experience the local indigenous customs, traditions, dress and crafts. In the village of Santiago guides can show you where the local Mayan community worships an image called Maximon feeding him alcohol and cigarettes in an attempt to make their wishes come true. This village is also f
famous for its primitive art and beautiful woven “huipiles” - women’s tunics.

Laguna Lodge - Luxury Eco-Boutique Hotel
* VEGETARIAN FOOD ONLY
Laguna Lodge is a luxury, boutique hotel on the shores of Lake Atitlan close to the village of St Cruz. The hotel is in fact located on a large private area of land called the Tzantizotz Nature Reserve and the hotel is operated with a strong focus on sustainable travel best practice. The rooms and bathrooms are spacious and with balconies that offer wonderful views across the lake to the San Pedro and Atitlan Volcanoes. Food is gourmet vegetarian. A great hotel for honeymooners, couples and small groups.
Facilities: 7 Rooms, Vegetarian Restaurant, Bar, Hiking on private nature reserve
Location: Accessible only by boat. 10mins from Panajachel.

CHICHICASTENANGO
Chichicastenango is famous for its large craft market on Sunday and Thursday. This is when craftsmen and villagers from all over the highlands converge on this small town to sell their wares. Sunday is an interesting day to visit because as well as the hugely colorful market, many village shamans will come from miles around to “Chichi”, as the locals call it, to perform Mayan rituals on behalf of people in their community. There are many hillside Mayan altar sites where the rituals are performed and, yet more strangely, many are performed on altar slabs inside the catholic church. Chichi is one of the easiest places for travelers to experience the strange way that Mayan & Catholic faiths have merged in Guatemala. During a trip to Chichi, you can also visit the small mask factory and see a traditional dance display performed by the local children.

LAKE TOUR DESCRIPTION
Guests are picked up from their hotel & transfer to San Juan La Laguna Village where they visit a local textile cooperative to see the back strap loom in use and to see how they still dye with natural dyes. Guests also visit the home and workshop of local naïf painters before boarding the boat onto Santiago Village for lunch. After lunch guests will walk with their guide to find the house where the Maya God Maximon is living. Each year a different “brotherhood” has the privilege of taking care of their God so his location changes. Once with Maximon you may see local shaman performing rituals for local people and if you wish you can ask your guide to help you hire the services of a shaman for you to have a personal ceremony performed. After visiting Maximon guests can visit the local church and learn about the history of this very traditional town and also see the market and learn about the distinctive textiles and primitive art that is famous from this area. When guests are ready they will be transferred back to their hotel.

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Neeleshwar Hermitage www.neeleshwarhermitage.com in northern Kerala is all set to open in  July 2008. Promoted as a spa beach resort, Neeleshwar in located on the pristine Malabar coast of North Kerala short drives from Mangalore, Bekal , Tellichery and forms interesting programs when clubbed with Coorg as well as Goa and Gokarna.

Welcome Heritage www.welcomeheritagehotels.com is India’s largest chain of heritage hotels adds three interesting properties to its list taking its collection to 56. Latest on its list include WH Chalet Naldhera near Shimla, WH Bijay Niwas Palace in Ajmer and WH Calve in Puducherry.

The owners of Tito’s www.titosbeachretreat.com the most happening club in GOA have opened a six room hotel in Sinquerim- Condolim in North Goa. A 100 m from the beach, Tito’s Beach Retreat is a classy mix of design Japanese, Scandinavian and Indian. What’s more Tito’s Retreat has taken the environment conscious route organic and natural.
Delhi now has a retreat virtually at its door step. Westin Sohna Gurgaon Resort and Spa www.westin.com is roughly an hour’s drive from the capital and can be your post tour indulgence.

Mumba’s boutique Gordon House Hotel www.ghhotel.com now has a stylish sibling The Gordon House Suites which has about 102 suites on a spectacularly landscaped area close to the Mumbai International Airport.

Last weekend presented an opportunity for a quick visit to Chhatrasagar Nimaj, before they wound up the camp for the season.
Saturday Morning we set off  in our cars  and accomplished this road trip all the way from Delhi to Chhatra Sagar in about eight hours. The next 2 days at Chhatra Sagar were a series of fun moments and unforgettable experiences. The accommodation, cuisine and simple activities like village walks, open jeep safaris, nature and bird walks, an introduction to the star-gazing, all taken care by the family added up to one memorable holiday. The elements of learning at Chhatra Sagar are immense - culture, cuisine , nature, rural life, environment and its protection.

The naturally air-cooled lounge tent, uses a screen made of locally grown dry weeds put into a bamboo frame and kept moist with water from a trough.  A simple technology that’s not only effective but also environment friendly.  The lounge tent especially on a March afternoon is where most guests lounge, read a book , relax or look out over the lake. All this while you sip a tall cool drink or a chilled beer .

There’s always someone at hand to announce the spotting of a rare bird, a giant sized toad, turtles or fish in the lake. The occasional sight of blue-bulls wading through the Lake was a fascinating sight. The lounge also doubles up as a dining tent during lunch / dinner.

At Chhatra Sagar, every meal was a highlight with a varied menu and a family member ready to explain the concepts of Rajasthani cuisine. How the cuisine adapted to the extremely hot and dry conditions of Rajasthan and how locals invented innovative methods of not only preserving food but putting to use whatever grew best in the arid desert climate. Harsh would also take us on an adventure on his 4×4 Jeep through the villages and countryside around Chhatrasagar, which brought an opportunity to see some of the wildlife of the area like blue bulls, birds etc from close quarters. The best was to watch Trigger (Harsh’s impish fox terrier ), chasing a group of blue bulls. The Afternoon birding walk along a trail marked out along the estate and around the lake was most interesting. Nandi not only showed us a lot of birds but also his remarkable training given to one of the young men ( a part of Chhatra Sagar staff now ) from the village on birding.  One of the staff accompanies Nandi with a Binoculars, tripod, bottled water and a bird book in hand. I was amazed to see that he could identify the birds being spotted by Nandi and open the appropriate page in the book to show guests the bird being spotted. Another simple activity is the small walk up the hillock present close to the reservoir. The ten minute walk up to the top of the hillock at sunset affords fantastic views of the surrounding country side and breathtaking sunsets. The night sky brought us more learning. With two telescope set to view the clear night skies, Vasundhara (Nandi’s wife) pointed out various stars, constellations, planets, how to identify them etc. We even had a glimpse of a Saturn with its rings in clear view.

The accommodations are most comfortable with spacious tents, providing enough space to walk around inspite of  the large bed with bed side lamps, a writing table, 2 pedestal fans and a couple of cane chairs. Infact we had an extra bed places closed to the windows and the tents still managed to look large and spacious. The tents have attached bathrooms with western toilets, shower area and wash basin with running hot and cold water, a dressing mirror and a luggage rack large enough to hold all your luggage. All tents have draw-up canvas netted windows, you can see the lake lying right there on the large comfortable bed. Just outside the tent is a sit out facing the Lake, ideal to watch sun-rise and lake views throughout the day.

Chhatrasagar is a home stay, boutique and very special. Most of all it is entirely personal and unique to the location. Each member of the family contributes to the wonderful experience we have had there. Little wonder why one of our recent clients adjudged the Chhatrasagar experience as THE BEST on her trip.

Magic Rajasthan

The Four Seasons in Guanacaste, Costa Rica offers truly spectacular location on the Peninsula Papagayo. You can fish, scuba and dive on fabulous excursions, and the personalized services are beyond the ordninary. This beautiful and luxurious resort was built with the inspiration of nature, and camouflaged by the forest that surrounds it to make this an intimate and unforgettable place. It offers 120 spacious rooms and 35 suites,  5 exceptional options for dining and cocktails, infinity-edge swimming pools, fitness center, full service tropical spa, an 18 hole Arnold Palmer designed golf course and much more. Rooms and suites are crafted with indigenous woods and stone finishes. At Four Seasons Costa Rica guests will savor a sense of perfect peace and unlimited possibilities: their own personal paradise. Contact us to include this fine resort in your Costa Rica itinerary.

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