Why Hiring a Private Jet Is the Best and Fastest Way to Travel

Oh private jets, how we love thee. Let us count the ways.

It’s fun.

Who hasn’t seen a private jet on TV and thought about how much fun it would be? You could make noise, run around, or simply sit and sip champagne. And you’d always have a window seat.

It’s exclusive.

How many people do you know who have chartered a jet?

It allows you to control your departure time or arrival time.

Commercial flights, especially overseas, tend to depart and arrive at the same times each day. If you need more flexibility in your flight times, a private jet flies according to your time frame.

Less traffic and hassle when you take off—avoid the crowded airport.

You won’t have to find parking and then rush through the airport to your flight. You drive up to the hangar or the runway, get out, and board. It’s that easy.

No-hassle security lines.

Although you still have to go through a security check, traveling via private jet ensures that you receive VIP security checks. This means no hassle from TSA, no waiting in long lines, no stranger going through your luggage, and no worries that you accidentally left your nail file in your bag.

No lost luggage.

You know your bags are with you at all times, and you won’t worry about finding your luggage—or someone else taking it. Plus, you don’t have to carefully plan what you carry on.

Depending on your destination, flying by private jet could save you time and connection hassles.

You won’t have to scramble through the airport, hoping you and your luggage don’t miss your connecting flight. You’ll have less stress because you decide how and when you arrive at your destination. Also, your connection flights have flexibility to fly around areas with bad weather, unlike commercial airliners that would be delayed or canceled due to bad weather in their designated path.

Most private jets are more luxurious than the first-class section of commercial jets.

Known for their comfort, luxury, and amenities, on a private jet you’ll feel pampered and special.

Sometimes you can travel for less.

It doesn’t get much classier than a private jet. If you’re planning to travel first class anyway, why not go that extra step and travel in style the way millionaires do?

Flying commercially is like being on a bus, and taking a private jet is like using a luxury car service.

When you board your private jet, you relax immediately, and it sets the tone for your vacation. Flying commercially can be extremely stressful, and it’s not a relaxing way to start the trip you’ve been looking forward to.

Flying by private jet is romantic, so if you were a honeymooner going somewhere, this could make it even more special.

Your honeymoon will get off to a great start on a private jet. Your new spouse will love it, and you can talk, laugh, and make some romantic memories without worrying about other people.

You can conduct business in private.

A private jet not only impresses clients, but also gives you seclusion to freely discuss sensitive or proprietary information.

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of traveling by private jet? 

All images courtesy of my preferred partner Sentient Jet

Discover Istanbul, Turkey’s Culinary Sensations—Your Way

Next to accompanying clients on trips, the most magical and exciting aspect of working in travel is planning customized trips. For example, if you’d like to take a culinary trip to Istanbul, Turkey, I can literally plan anything you can think of—thanks to contacts I have there. Don’t be shy in asking for what you want, as I want to design a trip you’ll never forget.

Turkey is a land of exotic beauty, and it’s full of unique architecture and beauty. In addition to visiting popular attractions such as the Hippodrome and Topkapi Palace, you’ll find plenty to do. Browse the 4,000-shop Grand Bazaar, travel by private yacht on the Bosphorus Strait, or go hot air ballooning over Cappadocia. You’ll visit historic villages such as Tire and Zelve, and the white marble city of Ephesus is always a fascinating excursion. Your imagination is your only limit.

Your accommodations will be lavish, and you’ll travel in style in a luxury vehicle with a professional driver. Turkish cuisine is delicious and made from seasonal ingredients. You’ll enjoy delicious meals at Ottoman restaurants as well as fresh-caught seafood complemented by wine from famous vineyards such as Doluca and Gulor.

Culinary and wine experiences you can have on a tour of Turkey include . . .

•  Learning Turkish and Ottoman cuisine in a private cooking class.
• Visiting Turkey’s finest vineyards and sampling a variety of wines such as Montepulciano, Papazkarasi, and Gewurtztraminer.
• Enjoying the sights and seafood of Kumkapi Fish Market.
• Discovering exotic ingredients, herbs, and spices with an in-depth tasting tour through the Egyptian Spice Bazaar and the Beyoglu Market.
• Tasting regional cuisine and experiencing the warmth of Turkish hospitality with an invitation into a traditional village home.
• Following the path of the humble olive from the September harvest to premium Aegean olive oil.

Setting up entry to Turkey couldn’t be simpler. An expediter service will pick you up at the gate in Turkey, take care of your visa, escort you through immigration, and then take you to your luggage. No stress, no fuss. 

Contact me today to get started planning your customized trip to Turkey

Celebrate with the Gift that Keeps on Giving: Travel

Travel is an experience that changes your life in a far more lasting way than any material gift you use or display on a shelf. It is one gift that is treasured forever, and travel is meaningful beyond the time it takes place for several reasons:

Travel creates memories you’ll always remember and cherish. Unlike material possessions, memories are not lost, stolen, or broken. You’ll remember that river cruise along the Rhine well into your 80s, and the sights, sounds, and smells of your trip will come flooding back to you like it was yesterday.

No matter where you go or what you do, travel changes you. We don’t pay much attention to the lives of others until we experience them firsthand. You’ll remember helping that community water well project in Africa or visiting that quaint village in Switzerland. You’ll carry the faces of the people you meet in your heart forever, and you’ll realize what truly matters in your life and what doesn’t. Travel is a deeply felt transformation that we all experience differently.

You realize the true worth of your free time. Time is the only resource we have that does not renew itself. You can spend money and make more, and you can buy more food when you run out—but after time is gone, you can’t get it back, and you can’t create more of it. All you can do is use what you have as wisely as possible. Travel helps you make the most of your free time and takes you to visit the people and places that are valuable to you.

Family traveling creates precious moments you can’t buy at any price. You purchase tickets and hotel reservations, but you can’t buy that comical moment your daughter realized what escargot is. You can’t purchase the joyful tears of your grandfather when he stepped foot on the land of his ancestors. No amount of money could give you the awe and wonder in your mother’s eyes when she stood at the one historical site she’s read about and always wanted to visit. Only travel can do that.

Compare all these moments, memories, and experiences to material gifts, and travel is the perfect gift for you or anyone on your list. Consider celebrating a holiday with the gift that keeps on giving, and schedule your next trip today. 

Virtuoso Travel Mart 2010 Event in Las Vegas: Part I

I recently returned from my trip to Las Vegas where I had the pleasure of meeting some of the most influential and interesting individuals in the travel industry. This 2010 Virtuoso Travel Mart event, which began on August 14, brought in more than 3,200 attendees traveling to the U.S. from almost 100 countries—making this year the largest gathering for Virtuoso Travel Mart to date. In fact, this event was so large and successful that by the end of the 6-day event, there were a total of 312,000 one-on-one appointments, and 1.25 millions minutes of networking that occurred (which converts to 2 and a half years of networking!).

The 6-day event took place at the gorgeous Bellagio hotel to celebrate the companies that have operated under the Virtuoso status to make a difference in the lives of their clients. The event also served to bring relationships between travel agents to fruition, as well as facilitate the power of connection and communication between agents to help reinforce the Virtuoso difference.

Each year, the Virtuoso Travel Mart has a different theme and this year, it was “Defining Moments,” which “refers to the power of the travel advisor to transform a travel purchase into a defining moment for their client.”

Below is a breakdown of each day:

Saturday, August 14

Today’s big activity was VAST Virtuoso Active & Specialty Travel, which was a fast-pace networking session with 36 different suppliers presenting their services for six minutes each. Once the six minutes were up, we were moved to the next booth. These four hours of non-stop meet and greet was a great intro for Monday's schedule.

During this networking session, my first stop—and the most powerful in my opinion—was Micato Safaris. This year, Micato Safaris focused on the benefits of sending clients on one of their exclusive safaris.

Each safari Micato Safaris sells allows them to send one child to school, which they call their one-for-one program. This exceptional program gives back to a community of over 100,000 children who aren’t attending school. Everything Micato Safaris does supports and embodies the belief that in order to change the future, we must start with the children.

Some of my other favorite suppliers included AuthentEscapes, Epic Private Journeys, Horizon & Co, Cox & Kings, and Greaves. I enjoyed hearing about these companies’ level of services and their unique offerings.

During the night, Travel Experts celebrated their 21^st birthday Las Vegas style with a Cher entertainer and some Las Vegas-inspired decorations.  This exciting event, sponsored by Silversea Cruises, brought together over 200 independent contractors from all across the U.S. to meet and mingle for the first time and be able to match a name and personality with a face.

Sunday, August 15

Today, there were some heavy and highly informative professional development sessions from morning until early afternoon. My favorite speakers were Helen Nodland and Anne Scully who provided excellent and helpful tips on the direction of business practices.

But the highlight of the entire day was the General Opening Session where people shared stories of their biggest defining moments. The keynote speaker of this session was Simon Sinek, a highly charismatic speaker, who shared his thoughts from his latest book, “Start with Why,” which focuses on attracting likeminded people to your business. He told a great story that focused on the brand, Apple. Specifically he walked through the steps of “what” Apple does, “how” they do it, and ended with “why” they do what they do. He then illustrated that when you think in terms of “why” you do what you do as the core belief behind your business, then the "how" and the "what" naturally follow. And in the end, the why is the main driving force behind your company’s success.

I have not read Simon’s book yet but I plan on purchasing it, and based on his presentation of the book, I strongly urge anyone who owns a business to purchase it as well.

After the session, I had the pleasure of meeting with some wonderful Twitter friends at a pre-cocktail tweet up: @elitetravelgal  @paulomeara  @epsteintravels  @bethlovestravel  @jillsetgo  @fullersloane  @customtravel  and @luxetiffany.

Several parties followed that evening.

Check back for part II of this blog post.

101 Things To Do on a Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Crossing: Part 2

Our continuation of the Cunard Line Queen Mary 2’s list of 101 things to do on a transatlantic crossing covers the Cultural Affairs category. If you missed part 1 of our series, you can view it here. Each new post, I’ll be adding to the list that was originally published in the Cunard Line 2010 Transatlantic Crossing. Thought provoking from the perspective that you are only limited by your own imagination as to what you can do on-board. We hope you find some inspiring cruise ideas.

Here is the next list of things to do under Cultural Affairs.

11.  Capture memories on your digital camera and have them printed in the onboard photo lab.
12.  Renew your wedding vows and enjoy a ceremony conducted by the Captain.
13.  Brush up on your Excel spreadsheet skills at a computer learning class in ConneXions.
14.  Sit in on a reading by mystery author P.D. James followed by a book signing.
15.  Have a body composition analysis with experts in the Fitness Centre.
16.  Be inspired to start your own epic tome at a workshop with a published novelist.
17.  Strap yourself into your seat and enjoy a virtual ride through space in Illuminations – the only Planetarium at sea.
18.  Head to Deck 2 to begin a Cunard history lesson with the Maritime Quest Exhibit. The 10 historical “pathways” located throughout the ship include A Great History, On the Bridge, Stars Aboard and more.
19.  Attend a lecture about Beethoven’s Fidelio and find out why it was his only opera.
20.  Enjoy the classic works of the great 20th Century masters such as Dali, Chagall, Erte, and Picasso in the Art Gallery.
21.  Take a third and final Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) workshop, “Speaking the Speech”. You’ll learn to perform a Shakespeare monolog.
22.  Listen to the dramatic reading of The Old Man and the Sea in Illuminations.
23.  Shiver me timbers. Sit in on a lecture about piracy with English diplomacy expert, Vincent Strudwick.
24.  Brush up on your Russian, French, Spanish, or even Mandarin. Parlez vous chinois?

Are you dreaming of a transatlantic crossing voyage yet? Share with us what cruise journey you have been deeply enriched on. 

Next, we will present Thoroughly British Moments.

All images are courtesy of Cunard Cruise Lines

Tulips, Castles & River Cruising: Part 1 of 4

This four part series will cover my experiences  on Tulips, Castles & River Cruising – small group luxury tour by Want To Go Travel. It is a 12 day journey that started today. We will spend several days in Amsterdam, then cruise down the Rhine River visiting various quaint towns and ending in Switzerland where we spend our last two days in Lucerne.

You know your trip is off to a great start when:

• Your main handle breaks off your suitcase thus forcing you to repack into another suitcase entirely
• The airline check-in person is “in training” and to enhance their learning curve, the computer is broken
• And finally the airplane in-flight entertainment system (yes with the movies, music and games) does not work on the 9 hour flight – good thing I can sleep

Honestly, the KLM equipment was in need of a refresh but the crew was of high quality.  The flight seemed to go by faster than the last time I made this trip, which was nice. Most of our bags were already to be picked up by time we cleared immigration.  Our driver Cedric, reminded me of Morgan Freeman in looks, was fantastic with the most positive spirit and in depth city knowledge you will find! I look forward to using his services again.

The Sofitel Grand is well located in the heart of Amsterdam, although it may be a bit close to the Red Light District for some people. This former Amsterdam City Hall is a lovely upscale hotel. Check in was prompt and thankfully they had our rooms ready and waiting. The rooms, recently renovated, are very spacious by european standards and feature a large wall of windows that have a nice view of the canal. The marble bathroom offered a huge soaking tub with a TV in the wall, a generous separate shower and dressing area.

Several of us took a cruise to see the sights and amazing architecture from the waterways. My only issue with this boat tour is the glass windows, which don’t open.  Any photos taken from inside the boat would have reflections of the all the passengers – several places will have to be revisited if we want quality pictures. It is nice that Amsterdam is very walkable that retracing our journey is easily doable.

The most colorful experience of the day was taking several wrong turns in the red light district. Oh how very special and exhilarating to my jet-lagged self. Thankfully, no one I was traveling with was too shocked, although the “ladies” in the windows were eagerly trying to get our attention.

As I write this, I have all the windows open to let the fresh air in,enjoying the sounds of seagulls, bicycles and church bells. Texas was 90 when I left, so this mild 50’s weather is very refreshing.

What do you love about Amsterdam in the spring?