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Note from the Office...
 As I write this I am sitting in one of my favorite spots. I’m soaking up the sun on a beautiful Saturday morning at the front table of Biggby Coffee on Byron Center & M6 sipping a Mocha Mocha. (those in West Michigan will know where that is!) This is surprising for an EARLY Saturday morning for me. Usually right now I am still sleeping (if the girls had a late night) or am being woken up by James and Arlana bringing me my breakfast. (Have I told you all yet that I have the best husband in the world?!) I still haven’t trained him how to make coffee but hey, I’m not complaining! Anyway, this morning the girls are at Grandma’s, James is at a church work project and I got stood up by my garage sale buddy so find myself here alone. (It’s OK Natalie, I understand double bookings!) Really, it’s a good thing, I’ve been meaning to start writing this month’s newsletter but you all are keeping me so busy I hadn’t gotten to it and wasn’t sure of when I would have otherwise.
This month I am focusing on experiences and what they mean to us. For me, sipping coffee at my favorite shop is worth a lot more than the $6.08 I spend on a tall Mocha Mocha and a Cinnamon muffin. (Hey, the cinnamon muffin alone is worth that much!). For someone like my Dad who likes to smell coffee but hates the taste, this seems like a huge waste of money considering I come here a lot. For me though it is more then the coffee, it is the soft music, the busy atmosphere, the friendly baristas who know what I like. It’s the solitude I find amongst all the happily chatting people and the policeman ordering his grande skinny Teddy Bear with extra whip. This is what I come for and pay for. To tell you the truth, even if it cost me 3 times as much I would still come. It’s a good fit. Now, I could go to the store and buy a whole box of muffins and brew 10 pots of coffee at home for about the same price or less (considering I would save on gas) but it just wouldn’t be the same. It would be a waste for me really because I wouldn’t receive what I hoped to get out of the experience.
Travel is the same way. For example, I like Celebrity Cruise Lines, they give me a fun vacation with everything I look for at a fair price. Sure, I can go on the cheapest cruise available for the same wee k but they won’t greet me at the gangway with Champagne and they won’t have a smiling steward with white gloves take my luggage and show me my room. Even though I am an able bodied woman with an even more able bodied husband that could carry our luggage and I usually memorize the ship layout before we even arrive so could find our cabin on our own, I would rather not have to. There is something about that first 5 minutes on Celebrity that prepares me for the rest of the vacation. It’s the little extra pampering touches that tells me I have arrived. This to me is worth a little more. If the experience does not match up with my goals it is not worth what I spent on it.
I would encourage everyone who travels to really look at your needs and wants when considering a vacation. If that $799.00 one week cruise to Alaska doesn’t leave you walking away wowed because  you kept missing the sights while you were getting ready in your inside cabin, then it will feel like money wasted. But if waking up to breakfast on the balcony with the view of glaciers is what you were really after then the extra premium for that balcony will feel like money very well spent. By the way, for Alaska we feel the balcony experience is so important we WILL NOT book an Alaskan cruise without one. (Unless you are bringing your kids and they are staying across the hall)
So, I hope you enjoy this issue as we touch on experiences and memories.
-Nina Van Harn Ambiance Travel
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| | 5 of My Favorite Travel Experiences - Eating fish & chips in a bustling British Pub, the English know how to do fish right! - Shopping for bread in the open air market in Risnov, Romania, I loved the smells, the cobblestone street and the sight of horse drawn carts loaded with spring produce. - Whale watching in Maui, never realized just how big they are! - Visiting a village tucked away in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, it was like stepping into the pages of a fairytale. - Shopping for diamonds in St. Thomas, (What girl wouldn't enjoy this!?)
Traveling with Washington  Let’s face it, George Washington is not as strong as he once was the world over and this can put a damper on foreign travel. Particularly to places like Britain and Western Europe where the Pound and Euro is strong. Situations like these may cause you to look at your “must see” list with a little disappointment but don’t give up hope! What your Must See list may need is just a little rearranging. For example, Italy has been at the top of my “must see” list for quite some time and South America close to the bottom. However, when looking at the cost of traveling to those two locations it is clear that turning my list upside down is going to enable me to see more of my list faster while giving me more value for the money. I can go, stay in comfortable accommodations while still having money left over to go and do the things that will really make the trip a success. Things like Tango lessons, a cooking class or guided shopping trip. Things that in Europe would cost twice as much. Still stuck on seeing things in a certain order? The next best option is to go at a non-peak travel times when prices are lower. For Europe (with the exception of ski-destinations) that is just about anytime between September and May. The Caribbean is still very nice in January and February before the March spring break crowds (and the higher prices that come with them) start arriving. Here’s a little insider tip for you: For those with the ultimate in flexible schedules, if you can travel between Nov. 30th and Dec. 15th you can find some of the very best prices of the year on hotels, airfare and particularly cruises.
Another tip, especially if going to Australia, Africa  or Asia is to try and plan for as long a trip as possible. A major portion of the cost of trips to these destinations is the airfare. Not to mention the hassle of long flights. By seeing more of the area on the same trip you can cut down on the number of return trips and the airfare costs that go with them. For example, if visiting Asia plan a 14-20 day trip to include China, Hong Kong, Thailand, & Cambodia rather than two, 7-10 day trips. Once you are in Asia, George goes a LONG way and you may be surprised at some of the exclusive experiences that can be had for little cost. Not only that but spending more time in each region will enable you to have a much better feel for the destination's culture and history. After all, isn't immersing ourselves in the local culture a key to exploratory travel anyway? Travel is one of the best ways to create lasting memories and the experiences you have will truly shape your life. By being flexible and using a little creativity you don’t have to deny yourself the right to experience the World.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain
| | Shore Excursions and Day Trips
This is probably one of the most fun aspects of  planning a trip. It can also be the most daunting, what to do first! Your day tour will be the time that will most define your impression of a destination so you want to be sure that what you want to do is going to be a positive experience. If you are not an adventurous eater don’t sign up for a cooking class in Thailand! The tour through the Louvre in Paris might fascinate you for hours but your 5 year old is going to get bored really quickly. It is important to plan ahead, research what each area is known for and what is most interesting to your whole traveling party.
Also remember that it is OK to split up every once in awhile. Dad and the kids can go hiking with a nature guide or snorkeling with stingrays while Mom shops or reads on the beach. This will ensure a lively conversation later as you share what each of you did. Mom can show off her finds and Dad can show off the pictures. Besides, what could be more precious then watching your kids tell you how cool it was and that you are the best parents in the World for taking them?
So how do you go about creating these special experiences? I mean, don’t most tours consist of 40-50 people on a bus going to one place for 5 minutes then rushing off to the next? Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. If large group tours are not your thing then a personal tour may be the way to go. You may also find that it is not that much more expensive then the group tour but offering a slower/faster pace and including only those things you are interested in. Overall, you may find a private tour to be a far better value in both time and money.
 Take a private tour in Hawaii for example. For a couple hundred dollars a guide will take you off roading in a jeep out to a remote waterfall fed lagoon and then leave you all alone for a picnic lunch and swim with your better half. Telling you exactly when they will be back. That’s an experience worth it’s weight in gold if you ask me!
Now, not all experiences have to cost you a lot of money, look back a few issues and you can read about one of the best days I had in Kona while in Hawaii, we only spent about $30.00 and had a wonderful day exploring that I still think back on fondly.
A Note on Personalizing the Cruising Experience
For those who love to cruise but want to get a little more out of it personally, start looking around for "themed" cruises. Or, cruises that offer a special program on board for different interests. This will give you a great vacation with the added value of activities that you are specifically interested in. Regent Seven Seas often offers special Chocolate & Cooking themed cruises, Cunard has special guest lecturer’s onboard and is often the host of ballroom dancing groups. These types of cruises bring you special opportunities for making memories as you participate in fun and interactive workshops and events.
Do you have a favorite travel experience/memory you would like to share? Please send it to us with a picture if you have it, to be featured in a future issue!
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