The Hitching Post

Romance so close, but so far away, in your own secluded bungalow on a luxury island hideaway resort - Little Palm Island Resort and Spa is paradise just off the Florida Keys. It is just a short flight from Miami and no passport is needed.

This resort is perfect to trade daily distractions and let your body and soul wander in a tropical gardens surrounded by Jamaican palms, dense foliage, tropical breezes, white sand beaches and smoldering sunsets. Make it a peaceful retreat or take part in water sports such as kayaking, windsurfing, fishing and snorkeling. Imagine exchanging vows in the peace and tranquility of a Zen Garden under a floral palapa gazebo, just like my clients....

The resort was fantastic and our secluded bungalow exceeded our expectations. Within hours of our arrival the staff knew us both by name and they made me feel like a fairy tale princess. Little Palm Island Resort was all the luxury we could have asked for.

Our wedding ceremony took place in their Zen Garden under a floral palapa gazebo surrounded by our guests.

Since the resort took care of all of the details of the wedding ceremony, it was so nice to relax in the tropical garden and it felt like a peaceful retreat to both of us. On the days we were not relaxing at the spa, we took advantage of the all the water sports that were offered and I learned how to windsurf and did kayaking for the first time.

Christopher & Michelle G. from Reno, NV

Agent: Jeanine Arnsdorf, Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Specialist
Email: Jeanine.A@travelstoreusa.com

Buon Giorno Kyra!

Again, thank you so much for the most beautiful trip of our lives. Truly spectacular!!

Our flight to London was comfortable and without incident (no one took the seat in between us so we had the row to ourselves). We both really liked British Airways! Upon arrival in London, we were picked up by our driver who was waiting exactly where you said he would be. He gave us such a wonderful first impression of Italy! He answered a bunch of questions we had, and offered up advice on driving in Rome (watch out for scooters, etc.). The highlight of the ride in was when he said he had a "small surprise" for us and took us to a small gate where we were able to peek through a peephole and see these beautiful gardens and the top of St. Peter's Basilica! We were very grateful for his extra steps in making our arrival special. His personality was a fantastic welcome to such a beautiful country. 

We were greeted warmly at the Mecenate Palace Hotel and our room had an amazing view overlooking the Santa Maria Maggiore. The front desk agent was extremely helpful and knowledgeable in every way. They gave us each a complimentary drink at the rooftop bar. Over the course of our stay, they helped us find a bank, explained to us how to take the subway to the Vatican and called us a cab when we checked out. We especially liked that they had coffee in the room (which none of our other hotels had). We loved the breakfast on the rooftop! We think we would happily stay here again. Rome has so many great places, but this hotel was fantastic. 

Regarding the private Vatican tour, we loved the tour and were very pleased with our guide's knowledge of the museum, Basilica, etc. Another couple we had met was able to go down into the catacombs to see the tombs, without a reservation, and as part of their tour. We weren't sure if that was something that could be added or looked into for the future. 

The next day we took a cab to Hertz and were very excited when they upgraded us from a Ford to a Mercedes! They were very helpful with directions out of Rome and even let us leave the car parked at the gas pump while we ran into the bank across the street. Everything with Hertz worked like clockwork. Fantastic to work with. 

We took our time driving to Cortona and stopped in Orvieto (spectacular!) for lunch. It wasn't difficult navigating the highway and we would suggest driving through the Tuscan countryside to anyone debating between car and train. Driving up from Rome to Cortona was a highlight of our trip!

The drive up to the Villa di Piazzano was tree-lined and beautiful and the receptionist gave us mint lemonade while we checked in. There was champagne on ice for us in our room and a sweet congratulatory note from the Wimpole family. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and probably slept better here, than anywhere else (the peace and quiet was a nice shift from the hustle and bustle of Rome). When we weren't in the car, we enjoyed walking around the property and using the free wi-fi (only hotel we stayed at to offer it). The breakfast at the villa was top notch (amazing cakes and eggs!) and we had dinner there our last night. We would most definitely stay here again, as we felt very at home and relaxed. Our only regret was that it wasn't warm enough to enjoy the pool :) Oh, one other thing--they let us take the bikes out free of charge and it ended up being one of our favorite "Italian" experiences.

The cooking class was FANTASTIC. The owner of the property, actually instructed us, and it was a blast. There were six of us in the class, and we were served wine and cheese throughout the lesson. Adrianna was such a sweetheart. We are so glad we decided to take the cooking class here versus somewhere else (like Florence), since there wasn't as much to do and see in Cortona. It was the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon :)

Our last full day at the villa we drove up to Greve in Chianti and had the most amazing wine tour and tasting at Castello di Verrazzano. The tour guides we met, were fantastic, especially in showing us around and explaining how they make the different types of wines. After the winery, we drove south to Siena and spent a few hours there before heading back to the villa.

After checking out the next morning, we decided not to drive up to the Maranello to see the Ferrari Museum (which worked out fine because there was the Mille Miglia in Florence!) and did laundry at a nearby laundromat instead. For anyone staying in Cortona, this is a great recommendation if someone needs to do laundry. The Star Wash was fast and effective. Our drive into Florence was much more challenging than exiting Rome, much to our surprise, and it took us awhile to find the Hertz location. We were especially glad in our decision not to drive north that morning, as we probably would not have had the car back on time!

Nevertheless, we found Hertz and turned the car back in with no trouble. A taxi took us to the Hotel Albani, and since we weren't pleased with the room they initially put us in, they switched us to a much nicer wing of the hotel in our opinion (the first room was neon green with a view of an alley, while the second was brightly lit and overlooked a lovely courtyard/garden). The bellman, was especially helpful in making sure that our room met our liking and was the sweetest person. He made sure that everything went well for us and took care of our bags upon our arrival. Please make sure to thank him for us. The breakfast here was also very good and we thought the location of the hotel was convenient. It was especially helpful that it was just a block away from the train station, which we navigated easily.

Thank you again for pre-booking our tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries. I think if we could change one thing about our trip, we would have also booked a private tour for the Uffizi. The Duomo in Florence was AMAZING. It was one of our highlights and favorite memories in Florence. We would recommend that anyone traveling there take the time to walk to the top of the Duomo. Beautiful!! The train ride to Venice was quick and easy. The train system is Europe is far and away better and efficient than anything here in the States.

Regarding the hotel in Venice, there were things we liked, and things we didn't. Overall, our stay was comfortable, next time we probably would like to stay somewhere on the Grand Canal.

Any dissatisfaction we felt in Venice, was quickly erased when we reached Lake Como, however! The Grand Hotel Tremezzo was AMAZING!!! It was the most expensive of our accommodations, and worth every penny. We had a beautiful room with a recently renovated bathroom overlooking the lake. We were greeted with champagne on ice and fruit in our room along with a note of congrats from the hotel (and from you!). The front desk staff was so polite and friendly in every way. We were checked in very easily and then the next day made sure that John's dress shirt and slacks were able to be pressed on time for dinner that evening. We took the ferry to Bellagio one afternoon, but spent the rest of the time in the hotel. It was the perfect end to our stay, honestly.

As we discussed before, it was quite rainy, so we just enjoyed our gorgeous room and view, as well as other hotel amenities such as the indoor pool (WOW) and billiards room. We are still speechless about the indoor pool at the hotel and the staff at the spa. So relaxing! We had dinner both nights at the hotel and loved both meals, probably the one in the wine bar the most (complimentary with our stay). It felt so good just to stay put and reflect on our trip while enjoying a little luxury. We will definitely return to Lake Como and the Grand Hotel Tremezzo! Oh, and I forgot to mention the breakfast...the spread was HUGE and had lots of indulgent choices (and champagne!). There really is no reason to ever leave this hotel.

But leave we did, and in style. Our private transfer to the airport was very necessary (as you said) and we were so grateful for the stress-free departure. The car was big and comfortable and the driver had water for each of us. We ran into some pretty nasty traffic at one point, but he pulled off the highway and took us down some smaller roads to get us to the airport on time. This was probably one of the best decisions we made! Please recommend this car service and the driver to your future clients. Worth every penny. 

You pieced together the trip of a lifetime for us, and for that we are forever grateful! Please know that we will definitely consult you for any of our future travel plans. You made our honeymoon absolutely.....PERFECT. 

Ciao for now!
Annie and John A., Denver, CO

Agent: Kyra Heede, Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Specialist
Email:Kyra.h@travelstoreusa.com

Croatia is, at least to me, the Mediterranean country with the most upcoming potential for Honeymooners.

Croatia has over 1100 islands and only 66 of them are inhabited!  The country boasts some of the cleanest beaches in the Mediterranean, has 8 national parks, numerous UNESCO sites, and an amazing history & gastronomy.
I recently returned from a visit to Dubrovnik and the surrounding areas and just fell in love with the destination.

With more than 1000 years of history (and boy, what an eventful history!), Dubrovnik is primarily a cultural destination, but surrounded by the most amazing beaches and water which also make it a fantastic vacation spot!

What is there to do you may ask? Walk the walls, visit the museums, cathedrals, churches, and numerous art galleries of the city, try the local gastronomy (very healthy with lots of seafood and great chocolates) while enjoying the local folklore.  Taking an excursion to the nearby towns of Cavtat, Mlini and Konavle is a great way to spend a day, or you could visit the nearby islands of Lokrum (where legend has it that Richard the Lionheart found shelter on the way back from the crusades in Palestine) or Korcula (the birth place of Marco Polo) for some snorkeling, fishing or diving.

While on my trip, I visited about 15 to 20 different properties, some of them just wonderful, worth a stay of several nights.  I really like to make sure a get a good feel for the various accommodation options so that I am sure to direct my clients to the perfect property for them.

In my opinion, the 2 best hotels in Dubrovnik are the Hilton Imperial and Villa Argentina, with the latter being my personal favorite. Both properties are located within walking distance from Old Town. There are, however, several other great hotels in the city. Some other I favor would be the Pucic Palace, the Lapad hotel and the Kazbek villa.

If you've ever considered a honeymoon or any vacation to Croatia, don’t hesitate to contact me for more exciting details about visiting this great European country!

Author: Florence Brethome, Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Specialist
Email: Florence.b@travelstoreusa.com

I recently returned from leading a small group on a Uniworld River Cruise. It was absolutely wonderful in pretty much every way, and it exceeded the group's expectations.

Prior to embarkation we spent 3 nights in Prague. What a JEWEL Prague is! You could easily be in Prague for 7 nights and still have left some corners of the city undiscovered. It is a beautiful city with some amazing historical architecture –from Art Nouveau to Baroque to Gothic. Prague has a lively nightlife – thanks to a terrific selection of beers in some very historical pubs and restaurants! It is a wonderful city to walk, walk and walk – but is also very easy to get about on the rail system. The areas of Prague to explore are Old Town, Old Town Square, New Town, Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge, Lesser Town and much more. I would recommend spending a whole day up at Prague Castle as well.

We stayed at the Hotel Adria while in Prague, which is a LUXE Hotel located on Wenceslas Square. Terrific location on the Square – very easy to walk from there to Old Town, Charles Bridge, etc. The hotel staff was just okay – I found that as a group leader they were not as helpful as I would have hoped, and even snappy when I would ask for information for my group. Housekeeping, however, did a terrific job – the hotel was very clean at all times. Breakfast was included in the rates and it was very good. One day the breakfast room was closed so we had breakfast in the ‘Cave’ Dinner restaurant – which was a fun experience. There is a small lounge off the lobby which provided a fun, convivial meeting place. The hotel is made up of several buildings, so it was a bit confusing as to which elevator serviced your part of the hotel - but we soon caught on.

While in Prague, I did a site-inspection of the Four Seasons and it was absolutely stunning. First of all the location was fabulous – just down from the Charles Bridge, with a fantastic view of the River and the Prague Castle. Having a river view room is a MUST, especially for a honeymoon couple, however all of the rooms were very well appointed, spacious and quiet (even on the city side). They are doing some renovations this year to some of the rooms and the Bar on the Lobby level. They did a beautiful job of combining centuries old architecture with new buildings and making it one of the nicest Four Seasons I've seen!

Sadly, the time came for us to depart Prague and travel the 4 hours down to Nuremburg. It was a beautiful country drive and we were in good hands with our Signature Destination Specialist.

The River Countess is very lovely and we all enjoyed the facilities very much. The Reception Desk and the Cruise Directors desk are in the center as you enter the ship. The staterooms are small, but very well appointed and the bedding was luscious! Most of the group was confirmed in a Category 2, which had picture windows. One room was confirmed in a Category 4, which was on the Moselle Deck (lower deck) and had a ‘Tip-Toe’ Window. While the room was fine, they had the experience of a bad odor in the room. We talked with the Reception and they kindly moved the guests. Once they had moved, they said that next time they would definately book a higher category because it made a BIG difference in their experience having a window. Definitely something to think about when planning your honeymoon. The bathroom was also finely appointed and the best part is that Uniworld offers L'Occitaine products in the bathrooms - what a treat!

The Main Restaurant was aft on the Rhine Deck, which was wonderful with all floor to ceiling windows so you really had some great panoramas nearly all of the time (except when in the depth of the locks). The tables were very well spaced and the center buffet area had plenty of room for everyone to move through. Even with the ship full it never felt crowded. The food was VERY good. There was always a terrific selection and the wines served for dinner were lovely. The staff was excellent and the Restaurant Manager went above and beyond. We had 2 members of our group that had food allergies and diet restrictions and he made sure to go over the menu with them daily to advise as to what they could or could not consume.

The Main Lounge was a beautiful room, forward on the Rhine Deck. Again, very spacious, and there was always nightly entertainment provided by a couple that also gave massages during the day! There was also local entertainment on 3 of the cruise nights which was very lively and fun and it was wonderful to hear local musicians and really get a feeling for where we were.

Other public areas were the Captains Library, which was just off the Main Lounge, where there were 2 computers that you could use during the cruise. There was a nice selection of games in the library as well. There was a small Fitness room on the Moselle Deck which, if you were so inclined, had a small selection of machines to work on . The Boutique was on the Main Deck and had a nice selection of local handicrafts. Next to the Boutique was a 24hr Coffee/Tea Station with a few nice tables and Bistro chairs to sit in.

The Sun Deck was wonderful, complete with chess and shuffleboard. The Sky Lounge was also on the Sun Deck and is the location for the ‘Al Fresco’ Dining option. On our cruise they offered the ‘Al Fresco’ option on 2 evenings . The option is open to only 20 guests and we were fortunate enough to confirm the night of outdoor dining when we sailed through the Passau Valley. What an AWESOME night and experience! Another memorable experience was making use of the bicycles that were available on board. We grabbed the bikes the day that we were in Regensburg and took a 4 hour trip along the Danube through the countryside and a couple of villages.

All in all, we had an absolutely fabulous time. If you'd love to travel through Europe, especially on a honeymoon, but a tour just isn't your thing, be sure to consider a river cruise. I can recommend some fabulous and romantic itineraries for honeymooners!

Author: Maggie Condon-Campos, Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Specialist
Email: Maggie.C@travelstoreusa.com

I recently came back from an amazing trip to Australia and Thailand with V Australia, a full service airline of the Virgin Blue Airlines group.

Now, maybe a routing via Australia is not the shortest way to get to Thailand, but it's certainly one of the most comfortable, especially when you sit and sleep on a feather bed in "Rock Star Row". The flight becomes a distention by itself with the most amazing, friendly service where the word no does not exist. Australian's are known to be friendly and it certainly showed in all of the V Australia staff, from check-in to cabin crew.

When we arrived in Sydney, I stayed at the Taj Blue, which is a contemporary style hotel in Sydney Harbor. The Taj Blue was built in a former ferry building which originally held the wool while it was waiting to be shipped overseas. They have kept all of the old construction and even have an indoor pool. Surrounded by hip and trendy restaurants and boasting amazing views, this hotel is a must when staying in Sydney.

From Sydney, I flew to Phuket on V Australia and slept in feather bed high above the clouds.

Outside the hustle and bustle of Phuket town, I stayed at the private island resort of Yao Noi, a Six Senses Resort. With my own private villa, indoor/outdoor bathroom, private pool and living room I really felt like a celebrity. The staff is incredibly friendly and you even have your own villa butler. The resort is built on a hillside with the most amazing views of "James Bond" island from every villa.

All in all, an incredible trip of amazing beauty with unlimited potential for adventure and romance. Sound like your dream honeymoon? Ask me how you can go!

Author: Susanne Hamer, Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Specialist
Contact: Susanne.H@travelstoreusa.com

Why should a honeymoon vacation be so special? After all, shouldn’t it be just one of those trips? Let me tell you why a Honeymoon is so much more than a regular vacation.

The honeymoon is YOUR chance to show your new husband or wife what she/he means to you. After all the hustle and bustle of the wedding, entertaining family and friends, and professing your love to one another in front of the world, this vacation gives you the opportunity to show each other how much you have been listening, caring, understanding his/her choices, his/her tastes and his/her expectations. Your wedding day may very likely be the most wonderful day of your life up to this point, however the unfortunate reality is that between photos, family, friends, and traditions, the two of you may very well not get as much "together" time as you would think. Your honeymoon gives you the chance to reconnect and reflect on your amazing day while just basking in the joy of being husband and wife.

The pace of your vacation, its design, its contents and all the components, should be carefully customized to fit just 2 people on earth: You and your better half. The honeymoon is the first adventure you and your fiancé(e) take in the world as husband and wife. When you return home, this will be the vacation you dream of for years to come filled with romance and amazing memories of your first days together as a married couple. It will be the trip you will talk about to your friends, family members, coworkers, and ultimately your children and your grandchildren.

A honeymoon is the trip of a lifetime, and it's the little details that can make all the difference. This is why it is so important to be certain that you trust only a Honeymoon Specialist with the planning of your trip. When you book a trip online, for example, you never know what you might get, but when a Honeymoon Specialist books your trip, we make sure you receive the little extras which could be things like an upgraded room with a great view, a welcome bottle of champagne, a candlelit dinner on the beach or a private couples massage - those special touches that make every moment that much more special.
Isn’t all this enough said on how special and fabulous your honeymoon must be?

I love creating honeymoons because of you: the bride and groom. I must get to know you very well, so well that your honeymoon will be exclusively yours, designed to make your dreams come true. Each and every one of the vacations I create are different, and I would love to create yours next!

Your honeymoon or destination wedding should be one of the most romantic and unforgettable experiences of your life. You’ve dreamt about it, imagined what it would be like and quite frankly, after all the planning that goes along with getting married, you really need it! That being said, there is so much to co-ordinate with regard to the wedding itself that having someone to handle all the travel arrangements and details will make your trip much more enjoyable. That’s where we come in. We’ve created this blog to give you insider tips, helpful hints and “been there, done that” stories we’ve pulled together through years of personal experience planning the perfect honeymoons and destination weddings for hundreds of couples.

Whether you’re dreaming of an exotic island, an adventurous safari, zip-lining in Costa Rica, a romantic cruise through the Greek Isles or the ultimate food & wine experience in Italy & France, the knowledge and expertise of our professional romance specialists enables us to turn your dream into a unique honeymoon or destination wedding that you will never forget. Our team travels the globe. We’ve seen the destinations and hotels in person and we can make sure that you get the most romantic room with the best view and don’t end up in the back of the hotel overlooking the trash bins (yes, it can happen if you’re not familiar with the destination or property you’re booking).

So, welcome to The Hitching Post! We’re here to share our expertise and experience with you. We welcome your questions and comments as well, so feel free to post comments or ask questions anytime – we’ll be sure to respond. Here’s to romance…