SHOULDN'T ALL TRIPS SURPASS EXPECTATION?

The stage is set for discovery, enrichment  -  and having the time of your life.  Travel is enlightening, relaxing and many other things but above all, it's FUN!

Perhaps the important word in travel is expectations.  Everybody has their own.  They should always surpassed or where is the exhilaration?  How can it be a really great trip?  A good advisor gets very clear on your intentions and then uses them as a springboard to go beyond the anticipated.  Identifying what you really want from your journey is essential, but it's only the start.

Philosopher Martin Buber said, “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”

KEYS:

1. A great welcome.  From the moment you arrive the path is clear.  Doors open.  You feel at least somewhat oriented.  How else can you have the freedom to open up and enjoy new surroundings fully?

2. Personal contacts.  The kind that last.  Now that you've reached your destination,  taking it all in requires a knowing eye.  From teeming city to remote wilderness, local expertise is golden.  While there's nothing like a great professional guide, the highest form of "insider information" is actually a two-way street and the result is lasting friendship.
All around the world there are people who share your specific interests, hobbies, pursuits of every imaginable type. They bring a whole new dimension to your trip and they're just waiting to meet you in the most far-flung places imaginable.

3.  Interactive experience.  How much more memorable and rewarding is it to participate rather than just observe?
We know sometimes you just want to escape to a great resort, and we can put you in the best on the planet - at the best price - but we  great trip is about genuine connection with people and place.  The two do not have to be mutually exclusive!  Example:  Brando, the innovative new off-the-grid luxury resort in French Polynesia, or a small ship luxury cruise by Seabourn or Paul Gauguin.

4.  That all important flow.   Timing, pace,  how your trip unfolds.  It's everything.

  

When you think of a trip of deep and authentic connection, a cruise may not be the first thing that pops to mind, BUT consider this.

A delicate dance between two powerful cultures plays out over the centuries in French Polynesia.

…the 300 guest m/s Paul Gauguin is a very special cruise designed for a place like no other.  It's not just that the ship spends a lot of time in outrageously beautiful settings.  There's much more to it.   Right now we're at anchor off Tehuata, in the Marquesas.  When pictures can't capture the lush ambiance how can words?  

French Polynesia consists of 5 distinct island groups, the Marquesas
among the most far-flung.  Paul Gauguin ascribed to Marquesan
artists "an unheard of sense of decoration" in all they created. 

The sea: undulating blue velvet, in dramatic contrast with the day-glo turquoise of the Tuamotus atolls, our last port of call.  The land: brocade of greens draped across steep crags soaring into clouds. Fragrance of fruit and flowers, gentle waves create lace edging against volcanic rock, someone is playing gently on a guitar.
 It all adds up to one word: exotic.
Exotic but authentic.  Remote but real.  Down to earth in paradise is where we've spent the day.  Not just a sail by, a personal interaction with ebullient and beautiful people who are almost never visited by a cruise ship, but sure know how to put on a show.  All ages  turned out  to greet us with leis and singing.  I got a really good dancing lesson from a 5 year old. Though I rarely buy local crafts, there was no resisting the bone carvings, offered with pride, no hard sell here. 

Thanks to the Paul Gauguin it's possible to interact with the inhabitants of such an isolated and unspoiled port  and yet return to the ship for champagne lunch without the feeling of worlds colliding awkwardly.  
That's partly because of the unique nature of French Polynesia itself, and partly because the people of  "The Paul"  take their mission so seriously and accomplish it so gracefully.  
More on that interesting story later, including an introduction to a cast of characters you really must meet in person, aboard ship!  
Come with me to escape the winter chill - or the summer heat!   

The Tuamotu Atolls  contrast with the soaring Marquesas - perfect water temperature year round, great fishing.

Free Admission at Paris Museums

When in Paris, it's always nice to have a little quiet time with Monet at L'Orangerie.  The museum pass and a bit of planning make it easy.

THESE MUSEUMS ARE FREE THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH YEAR-ROUND. 
OTHERS, INCLUDING THE LOUVRE, HAVE FREE SUNDAYS FROM OCTOBER TO APRIL.
WHEN YOU RESIDE IN ONE OF MY  PERSONALLY SELECTED PARIS HOTELS OR APARTMENTS,  WE'LL DEVISE A STRATEGY TO OPTIMIZE FREE ADMISSION DATES WITH USE OF GUIDES AND YOUR MUSEUM AND TRANSPORTATION PASS  - WHILE AVOIDING THE CROWDS.

*Musée National d'Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou
Place Georges Pompidou, Paris 4th

*Musée des Arts et Métiers
60, rue Réaumur, Paris 16th

*Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
Hôtel de Mongelas, 62, rue des Archives, Paris 3rd

*Musée National Eugène Delacroix
6 rue de Furstenberg

*Musée national du Moyen Âge - Thermes de Cluny
6, place Paul Painlevé, Paris 5th

*Musée national de l'Orangerie
Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

*Musée d'Orsay
1, rue de la Légion d'Honneur, Paris 7th

*Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine
Palais de Chaillot - 1, place du Trocadéro

*Musée du Quai Branly
37, Quai Branly Portail Debilly, Paris 7^th

*Musée Rodin
79, rue de Varenne, Paris 7th
 

$2600: 8 nights, 2 of my favorite islands, including air from Los Angeles

A one-of-a-kind trip at package price:
The perfect introductory package to take you beneath the surface of what Polynesia is all about.
Lush Huahine  - with so much to do besides just gazing at Bora Bora on the horizon, it's an ideal combination with Moorea, everybody's favorite island.  Lovely Lapita Village Resort will steal your heart and you can't beat Moorea Intercontinental.  Ideal beachside setting with convenient all-island access, and friends to envelope you with true Polynesian hospitality - on both islands.

Call 314-401-9797 or info@cristacarr.com 

I will personalize and enrich this trip for you with the generous management of both hotels and introduce you to some charming locals on Huahine and Moorea.

Just one of the pools - and views - too numerous to count

.What's Included

• Round-trip international airfare from Los Angeles on Air Tahiti Nui
• Round-trip inter-island air transportation on Air Tahiti
• 5 nights at the Maitai Lapita Village Huahine in a Garden Bungalow 
• 3 nights at the InterContinental Moorea Resort and Spa in a Lanai Room 
• Daily American Breakfast for Two
• Welcome flower lei, all transfers and baggage handling
• Room Tax and VAT, Air Taxes and Fuel Surcharges Included

All you'll find here is exhilarating, enlightening travel - at exceptional value

We know you travel for all kinds of reasons.  Business and pleasure.  From overnight to around the world,  Singer Travel has been at it for 30 years.  Call us for anything.   We promise superior value.   We're Virtuoso.

But I'm here because the world is brimming with richly rewarding travel like never before.
Seriously, the possibilities are unprecedented.  It fires the imagination.   My purpose is:
                              
                   To share with you what's available out there - within your reach
              and to transform "where you've always wanted to go" into a real trip.

 A trip that surpass expectation (and cost less than you thought)  is just the starting point.  New destinations, new ways of getting there and completely fresh takes on the familiar add up to getting more out of travel.

Let's put a departure date on that dream of yours and get you packing!

If you see travel as an essential piece of life lived fully, not a product to be consumed, come with me. Whether it's that perfect hotel, cruise or tour offered by one of my preferred partners,  or a one-of-a-kind journey built around the passions of each individual traveler.