The National Wildlife Refuge is a short trip off Highway 56. The overlook is an outstanding place to see birds swirling above their nests in the cliffs. It is also home to the Nene, the Hawaiian geese. During the right times of year, you can see whales, spinner dolphins, turtles, monk seals and other sea life. If you get to see the albatross listen to their calls- kinda like small children in distress.

From the overlook you get to see the lighthouse built in 1913 and restored 100 years later in 2013. It is the northern-most point in Hawai’i. It is worth it to take the $10 guided tour on Wednesdays or Saturdays. It used to be that you got there early to sign up for the tour but with the pandemic, you need to make reservations in advance.

Jon and Carol are owners of Vista Curated Travel, specializing in designing trips with WOW moments and hosting small group tours to incredible places.

iOn our recent trip to Kauai we got to experience firsthand what it is like trying to rent a car in this post COVID world. As you can see in the pictures below, the lines can be intimidating.

After finding what we thought was an overpriced rental for the 6 days needed the vehicle, we arrived to find a two-hour line at the rental counter. We were the lucky ones as we got off the plane early and were the first in line from our plane to join the queue. The 30 or so people from our plane lined up behind us. The key is to keep an Aloha spirt. Taking it out on the overworked counter people will only be counterproductive. Just remember the reasons you came to Hawaii will all be there once you drive off the rental lot.

How did it get like this you might ask. The rental companies sold off many of their cars during the pandemic to keep afloat. Rental companies cannot just buy replacement cars because new cars are in short supply; manufacturers have not fully ramped up and a semiconductor chip problem impacts car manufacturers like so many other industries. As we talked with the rental agent, their corporate division over-booked their location. In the Hawaiian airport locations, waits can be expected as there are fewer flights, so this causes surges at the rental desk. In addition, the incoming flight arrives about 4 hours before the plane is turned around to head back to where it came from. As people don’t return their cars until about 90 min before a flight, it makes it difficult to have a sufficient stock of cleaned cars ready when people arrive.

I suggest the following if you want to avoid much of the wait: 1) Join the preferred member club (Gold, Fastbreak, Plus, Insiders, Preferred, etc..) of whichever rental agency you are renting from. We saw so many people going to the preferred desk and avoiding two hours of waiting. Many of these memberships are free and allow you to skip the counter and go directly to your car. Note: you must join the club before you make your rental booking. 2) Leave others to pick up your luggage and go immediately to the rental location to join the queue. This will save a little time but not nearly as much as being a preferred member. 3) Before making your rental booking, see if the rental agency has a neighborhood location. This requires a ride into town, but you can usually save some on the rental price also.

How we typically save money on the price of a rental. 1) Deciding if you really need a rental car to begin with. Talking to a fellow passenger who just got back from Maui, she paid $1400 for four days of car rental and only used the car three times. Well, in hindsight, she could have had many Uber or taxi rides for that. Even private limos and day tours would have been cheaper. Really, when going to resorts, how often will you use your rental? 2) When making your booking check the neighborhood locations of the car rental companies. For our upcoming trip to Boston, we save $300 dollars by going the neighborhood rental route. Yes, it adds a taxi ride and inconvenience, but for significant saving it is worth it to us. We really don’t recommend number 3&4 but if you are stuck 3) A bit out on a limb but you can check the AirBnB of rental cars called Turo. If you don’t mind renting someone else’s car you can save big. 4) Really out on a limb but if all else fails and you can’t find a car anywhere and decide you need one, U-Haul and other self-move agencies rent vans and pickup trucks. Obviously, this would be a last resort as you don’t want to be manhandling a moving van around on your vacation.

One last point to consider, they look cool but beware of the Mustang convertible. We speak from experience of upgrading to a convertible only to find the luggage capacity extremely limited. These cars may be good if you are traveling with only one other person, but with three or four you will end up sitting on your luggage with the top down on your rides to and from the airport. Operation of the convertible top is one extra step every time you park and typically your valuables are less secure.  In addition, you will not be able to carry on any conversations with the kids in the back seat. In some cases this might be a bonus! 

As always, as your travel advisors, we are able to help you navigate the added complexities of travel during Covid-19.

Jon and Carol are owners of Vista Curated Travel specializing in small group tours to incredible places.

Right now, it is difficult to travel through the UK due to a lockdown and a requirement that you quarantine for 10 days.  This requirement can be reduced if you “Test to Release” by taking a test at 5 days and release when you receive the results. This scheme may only work for England as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own requirements.   All passengers entering the UK must have a negative Covid-19 test.  This test must be taken in the 3 days before departure and must be in English, French, or Spanish.  If you try to enter the country without this test, it is considered a criminal offence and the fines can run as high as 10,000 pounds.   You are then going to have to self-isolate for 10 days unless it is to complete onward travel.

Assuming you are going to transit through the UK, you are still required to have a negative Covid-19 test to enter. In addition to the Covid-19 test you are also required to pre-purchase 2 Covid-19 tests (2 and 8 day) which run about 200 pounds. Yes, you must buy this even if you will not use it as you are only going through Heathrow.  If you never leave the secured area of the airport, you may be able to bypass this requirement.   One of the many sites to book the two tests are at the following link (International Arrivals – Managed Quarantine in a Hotel https://quarantinehotels.ctmportal.co.uk/ ).  Once purchased, you receive an access code that you use for your UK passenger locator form, which you will need for entry at the airport. You complete this form no sooner than 48 hours before entry into the country.  When I went through Heathrow in January 2021 the airport queue was approximately 2 hours to show the various forms required.

Furthermore, if you have been in or traveled through any of the following Red List Countries in the previous 10 days you will be denied entry into the UK (unless you are a UK citizen or have residence rights then you will be required to stay at a government hotel for 10 days).  The current Red List:

• Angola
• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Botswana
• Brazil
• Burundi
• Cape Verde
• Chile
• Colombia
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Ecuador
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia (will be added to the list 4am Friday 19 March)
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mauritius (will be removed from the list 4am Friday 19 March)
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Oman (will be added to the list 4am Friday 19 March)
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores) (will be removed from the list 4am Friday 19 March)
• Qatar (will be added to the list 4am Friday 19 March)
• Rwanda
• Seychelles
• Somalia (will be added to the list 4am Friday 19 March)
• South Africa
• Suriname
• Tanzania
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Uruguay
• Venezuela
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

This list is fairly fluid with countries being removed and added so you should check for updates at GOV.UK.  As the penalties for breaking the UK quarantine or entering the country without proper authorization ad paperwork are severe, it is important to keep abreast of the current regulations and follow them exactly.     It is not impossible to travel to or through the UK but it is difficult and there are added expenses.

As always, as your travel advisors, we are able to help you navigate the added complexities of travel during Covid-19.

Jon and Carol are owners of Vista Curated Travel specializing in small group tours to incredible places.

Singapore is one of our favorite cities in the world. A sophisticated, multicultural, modern, clean, well-run city that is a foodie’s heaven.  This guide is designed for first-time visitors as the frequent traveler will have done these things already or may say they are too touristy.  As we are foodies, we could list well over 50 of our favorite restaurants and you would not have time to see any of the cultural sites. If we listed our favorite restaurants, we would be barraged with suggestions of others that have better (Have you seen Crazy Rich Asians or read the book?).  Singapore is a food-obsessed nation, and for good reason as they have some of the best food in the world.  It is almost the national pastime to discuss which restaurant has the best (name your dish here).  We tried not to make this too much a food obsessed article, but is is really hard as our trips usually revolve around a new spot to try the best…..

This article is geared for someone that has 3 or 4 days in Singapore and want to get the local flavor.

Changi Airport:  In our opinion the nicest airport in the world –  others are trying to surpass it, but it is the gold standard.  From free massage chairs, butterfly pavilion, movie theater, koi ponds and art throughout, it is a great place to spend an hour or two.  But, you didn’t travel all that way to hang out in the airport.

The MRT: The Singapore subway system is one of the nicest in the world.  It is clean, well-run, on-time and it makes it easy to get around Singapore.  The best deal is to get the Singapore Tourist pass for two or three days.  It covers the bus and MRT in Singapore and it makes getting around so easy.  Cabs are generally cheap, but the MRT is ridiculously cheap.  The card covers the train between the Airport and Town for less than a cab.  For the first ride into town, I would take a cab.  Not only will you be tired, but you get to talk with your driver and see the road that supposedly can be turned into a fighter jet runway at a moments notice which makes it kind of worth it.

East Coast Seafood Center:  We would say if you only have one local dish it should be here. One of Singapore’s signature dishes can be found here and eating by the water makes it that much better.  Come here for crab.  Order a large Sri Lankan Crab in either black pepper sauce or chili sauce.  We prefer the black pepper and then we order prawns in the chili sauce so we have both flavors without breaking the bank.  This is usually our most expensive meal during the trip, but it can’t be missed.  Go pick a restaurant along the water.  Foodies will argue if Jumbo, Long Beach, No Sign Board, Eng Seng or some other place really has the best pepper/chili crab.  They are all really delicious so I don’t think you can go wrong with picking one and enjoying.

The Botanic/National Orchid Garden:  The Botanic gardens are free to enter and they are beautifully maintained.  The Orchid Garden is at the top of the Botanic Garden and is spectacular and well worth the very small entrance fee.  Bring your camera as there are so many spots to take memorable pictures.  Also there are not many shelters to get out of the rain, so it you would be lucky to have a dryer day or bring an umbrella.

Visit Chinatown and Little India:  By this I mean walk through Chinatown and then take the MRT to Little India and stroll around there and walk to Arab street.  Chinatown has the food complex that is a hawker center on the 2nd floor, shopping and a wet market below.  The wet market is something to see if you have never been to one.  The Buddha Tooth relic temple is there and worth a visit.  Walking around Chinatown can feel a bit too touristy, but some cheap shopping and good places to eat.  Save time to get a signature Dish of Chicken Rice.  We like Tian Tian (Maxwell Food Court) or Hawker Chans (the new stand alone restaurant).  Then go through Little India for a different feel and smell. Nice little Hindu Tempe (Sir Veeramakalimman) to visit and after your walk through Little India you can walk over to Arab Street and see the Sultan Mosque. You can go to Kampong Glam or Zum Zum for a cheap late night meal with many Malaysian and Indonesian things on the menu.

Take a stroll along Orchard Road:  This is a great place to people watch and at one time was the high end spot to shop in Singapore.  Still plenty of high end shops and it would be easy to drop into one of the malls and spend a few hours.  Better yet would be to get a coffee at one of the coffee shops with sidewalk seating and watch the crowd.

 
Have a drink:  Now the most famous spot is the Long Bar in the Raffles hotel.  Their claim to fame is they invented the Singapore Sling.  It was a beautiful bar but I have not been back since it reopened as they were/are remodeling the hotel. This is a bit pricey even by Singapore standards.  As I am not much for the overly sweet Singapore sling, another great bar choice is CÉ LA VI at the top of the Marina Bay Sands.  They do charge to get to the bar, but you get a voucher for food or drinks when you get there.  An incredible view of the city and the infinity pool on top of the hotel.  This way you can see the Marina Bay Sands and the Gardens by the Bay on the way to your lunch or afternoon drink.  One less explored place is the Bar Rouge at the top of the Swisshotel/Stamford.  They have a dress code and cover on weekends as this has gone from a sleepy hotel bar to a nightclub.  They open at 5 and the action does not get going until a lot later.  They have a fantastic view of the bay from the bar on the 72nd floor.

Singapore Zoo:  This is a smallish zoo that is well run, clean and visitor friendly.  You get to see rainforest animals that you would never see anywhere else.  The stars of the zoo are the Orangutans.  They also are very active in helping save the remaining population of Orangutans.  Very good for kids with lots of activities and you can even have breakfast in the zoo close to the animals.

Tiger Brewery:  A nice brewery tour.  You used to go to over the bottling area that was just amazing watching the packaging conveyors.  They don’t do that anymore, but it is still a nice tour and it finishes with beer tasting at the bar.  Even with your admission figured in, this is about the cheapest beer you will drink in Singapore.

Hawker Center:  You really have to go to a hawker center and order the local delicacies.   Lau Pa Sat is probably the best known hawker center, and in the evening has many food vendors to choose from.  It blends architecture from the 1890’s with modern hawker food.  This may be a bit too touristy, but the satay can’t be beat.  This is a World Heritage site so worth visiting.  Other more local hawker centers offer all the famous Singapore dishes but you really should have Roti Prata at least once, Chicken Rice, and Mee Goring or Nasi Kandar.  There are so many more like the peanut pancakes and….I could go on and on.

The Quays:  Clarke Quay and Boat Quay are nice little areas along the river banks that have numerous restaurants and bars.  These are places to be seen and for late night clubbing.  We really don’t do that so we only walk through during the day.  A lot of history packed in a small area.  We take visitors on a Bum Boat tour that nicely gives the history and a short boat ride.  From the Quays you can walk to the Merlion and take some pictures.

 These next places either take too much time on a short trip or are a bit too touristy for us. Things we love like hiking the Southern Ridges or MacRitchey Reservoir are so nice but they do take time.  There are also area attractions like the cable car to Sentosa island, the Singapore Flyer, gambling at one of the casinos, and so many museums. 

If you are intrigued and would like to visit Singapore but don’t want to venture on your own – join us on one of our trips to this fascinating region!

Jon and Carol are owners of Vista Adventure Travel specializing in small group tours to incredible places.

Paris is one of the most amazing cities in the world and I want to urge you to visit Paris despite the current disruptions.  As I am sure you are aware, the last two months have been trying for Paris and the Parisians. Throughout France, the outcry over an increase in the gasoline tax has driven French people to don yellow vests and protest in the streets.  Mostly, these have been peaceful. In Paris, what began as a peaceful gathering was turned ugly by hooligans. It might have been said that this was due to an overreaction by the police but I really don’t think that was the case.  You could have made that argument after the first instance of violent protests, but for the protesters to show up week after week and each time be better prepared for the police response, it shows they are there for the action. It is hard to say if the peaceful protesters naturally had hooligans in their makeup or hooligans chose the protests to come out and wreak havoc. 

But even with the “riots” Paris is still the Paris that you love. The protests started on the Champs-Élysées and pretty much stayed there until the police tried to clear the rioters. This caused it to spill over from the Champs, but it only moved about three blocks each side. Yes, the hooligans did break storefront windows, spray-painted graffiti, burned cars and vandalized centuries-old statues.  Why they would even uproot Christmas trees and burn them in the streets is beyond me, but they did that too. 

Having our trip dates set and our non-refundable tickets and hotel, we did not want to cancel because of the rioting.  We had scored a hotel in a prime location, only half a block form the Champs. We were there on December 1st, the biggest day of protests. You will probably see the coverage of the ongoing protests, and the news will show pictures from December 1st as it was the most disruptive day.  Since we were right in the middle of that mess, we decided to get away and explore other parts of Paris that we had not been to. The metro was still running, so it was easy to be far away in less than a half an hour. 

We went to the 11th Arrondissement and walked around the rue Oberkampf.  As we walked we saw a line out the door and down the side of this little boulangerie (bakery and bread shop). We got in line and ordered some coffee, baguette, butter, and jam and grabbed one of the few tables.  The coffee was good but the bread was out of this world. We are always amazed at how much better the baguettes taste in France/Paris. It could be that we are usually on a low-carb diet when not on vacation or they really are that much better in France. I have trouble describing how heavenly simple baguette and butter tastes is it the right amount of crust or chewiness or..  This is something not to miss when you visit Paris. If we had not been away from the Champs we never would have found this place. Also they had a little Christmas market right there in the wide median area of the adjoining boulevard. We got to see local delicacies and handicrafts. Sometimes just walking through undiscovered parts of a city without a mapped out itinerary and timetable is the best way to really get to know a place. Stopping in at a Bistro for a charcuterie and glass of wine makes for perfect people watching. Taking a chance on an unknown spot and finding an excellent place for dinner, was all because of the problems in the Champs. 

Two days later, Paris was still cleaning up the Champs when we stopped in at one of our favorite restaurants, La Cordonnerie.  We were discussing the disruption with Chef Hugo and how his restaurant only 5 blocks away form the Champs was untouched. He commented that it was untouched by the riots, but those riots were televised around the world.  As the news has a tendency to do, they dramatize the events and make them a lot more sensational than is usually the case. Hugo’s family run restaurant depends on tourism and the Parisian love of good food. When a few hooligans make news and disrupt business, the ripple effect on the everyday working Parisian is felt.   

Paris is a big city and small disruptions should not scare you away from experiencing this magnificent city. Chances are the Parisians will be appreciative that you are willing to visit their city, and they will show you an even better time.

Jon and Carol are owners of Vista Adventure Travel specializing in small group tours to incredible places.